The Calling-Part 2

It is not strange that Yeshua/Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, 14, enter by the narrow gate because narrow is the gate and difficult is the Way which leads to life and few there are that find it!

So if your life is difficult, it’s the WAY, the right WAY. Easy-street is the broad road that leads to destruction. We, in our fleshly selves, are resistant to the talk of hard, difficult and sacrificial lives. We don’t want it. We just want the blessings of a life of comfort and prosperity with no problems.

That’s not what Yeshua/Jesus promised. His words were: in this world you will have tribulation. If we are going to live the life of a disciple of Yeshua/Jesus, it will help us to remember that anything of worth or excellence is going to be difficult. Of the 12, only John lived to old age and he was in exile!

This ‘knowing’, should inspire us to press on and overcome as Yeshua/Jesus has overcome this world.

God has saved us through the atonement of Jesus/Yeshua, by His sovereign Grace. Philippians 2:13. He works in us vs.12; our part is to work out that salvation in every day practical life.

It requires bravery, courage and holiness.

He is bringing many sons/children to glory; Heb. 2:10, and according to the scriptures, requirements of sonship are not associated with pampered, spoilt weaklings, still drinking milk, holding selfish, prideful attitudes of entitlement and exhibiting self-righteousness; or those with religious thinking, based on doctrines of demons and traditions of men.We Must answer His CALL IMMEDIATELY.

It takes a tremendous amount of discipline, to live the worthy and excellent life of being His disciple in the realities of life, especially in this day and age. And for the effect our lives are to make, it’s absolutely necessary for us to live a life of worth and excellence.

With this in mind, consider whether the disciples of Yeshua/Jesus were talmidim as understood by the people of His time.

They were to be with Him, Mark 3:13-19;

to follow Him, Mark 1:16-20;

to live by His teaching, John 8:31.

They were to imitate His actions, John 13:13-15.

They were to make everything else secondary to their learning from the rabbi. Luke 14:26.
When the teacher believed that his talmidim were prepared to be like him; he would commission them to become disciple-makers. He was saying ‘As far as is possible you are like me. Now go and seek others who will imitate you. Because you are like me, when they imitate you they will be like me.’ This practice certainly lies behind Jesus/Yeshua’ great commission; the focus of which, was the reconciling of our relationship with the Father. (Matt. 28:18-20).

DISCIPLES-MAKE-DISCIPLES!

While in one sense, no one can be like Yeshua/Jesus in His divine nature, or in His perfect human nature; when taught by the Rabbi, empowered and blessed by the Spirit of God, imitating Yeshua/Jesus becomes a possibility. The mission of the disciples was to seek others, who would imitate them and therefore become like Yeshua/Jesus.He chose disciples whom He would empower to become like Him and led them around, (the shepherd with His sheep), until they began to imitate Him.

Then after Pentecost/Shavuot/the gift of the Holy Spirit was given and received; He sent them out to make disciples…to lead people to imitate them, by obeying Yeshua/Jesus. Yeshua/Jesus calls us to be His talmidim and to know God’s Word and Yeshua/Jesus’ interpretation of it.

We must be passionate in our devotion to that Word and to His example, then, when we are filled with His Spirit, we must be filled with the desire to become like Him as far as is humanly possible.

This means that the present day talmid /disciple, must be no less focused on the rabbi.

We must be with Him in His Word,

we must follow Him even if we are not sure of the final destination,

we must live by His teaching; which means we must know those teachings well;

and we must imitate Him whenever we can.

In other words everything becomes secondary in life to being like Him.

When they had observed and learned for a time they were sent out to begin to practice being like the teacher (Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-24)

This is one of the most significant concepts of the New Testament. Jesus, the divine Messiah Yeshua, chose the rabbi-talmid system.

He taught like a rabbi in real life situations, using the most brilliant methods ever devised, (e.g. using parables).

He interpreted God’s Word and completed it.

He demonstrated obedience to it.

He says to us today, you are…

In Revelation we read that Messiah’s Bride is CALLED, CHOSEN and FAITHFUL:

Revelation/Chazown 17:14

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Master of masters, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

  1. Ve•hem yi•la•cha•moo et-ha•Seh ve•ha•Seh yig•bar aley•hem ki hoo Adon ha•a•do•nim oo•Me•lech ha•m`la•chim ootz•va•av ee•mo k`ri•ey El be•chi•rav ve•ne•e•ma•nav.

יד. וְהֵם יִלָּחֲמוּ אֶת-הַשֶּׂה וְהַשֶּׂה יִגְבַּר עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי הוּא אֲדוֹן הָאֲדֹנִים וּמֶלֶךְ הַמְּלָכִים וּצְבָאָיו עִמּוֹ קְרִיאֵי אֵל בְּחִירָיו וְנֶאֱמָנָיו:

Why 3 CALLED, CHOSEN and FAITHFUL?

Matt 22;14 holds a clue those who are CALLED then those who are CALLED AND CHOSEN; and finally in Rev. 17:15 CALLED, CHOSEN AND FAITHFUL.

Seems like there are 3 stages here.  

There are also 3 groups at the Wedding of the Lamb.

The guests who are CALLED

The 5 of the 10 bridal attendants who are CHOSEN 

and

The bride who is FAITHFUL.

However Jesus/Yeshua asks the critical ?

and continued to make it clear in Matthew 22

What is our identity as grafted in believers? Are we Called, Chosen, Faithful, Hebrews, Israelites, Jews or Gentiles?

The terms Hebrew, Israelite and Jew, originated through 3 different biblical personalities:

The first Hebrew was Abraham.The word Hebrew/Ibriym means ‘one who crosses over,’ as Abraham crossed over from paganism into a set-apart life with YHWH (YaHuWaH). Therefore, Abraham was the first one to become a ‘Hebrew.’ He was CALLEDand he obeyed the call.

The first Israelite was Jacob.

He was the first one to be called ‘Yisra’EL,’ which means ‘one who prevails or overcomes with Elohiym.’

He was CHOSENover his twin brother Esau.

And the first one to be called a Jew/Yahuwdiy was Judah.Jacob (ISRAEL), and Leah named their 4th son Judah/Yahuwdah; from where we derive the term ‘Jew’ and it means ‘I will praise YaHuWaH.’

Judah was ultimately FAITHFUL because he honored his promise to his father Jacob when he promised to ’bear the blame forever’ if something bad happened to Benjamin. (Gen. 43:9). Judah is the tribe that volunteered to become the scapegoat. And ultimately why Messiah was born into that Tribe because as the scapegoat, He was the sinless lamb who took the punishment for guilty sinners.

Hebrew = called out (Genesis 12:1; Revelation 18:4).

וָאֶשְׁמַע קוֹל אַחֵר מִן-הַשָּׁמַיִם קֹרֵא צְאוּ מִתּוֹכָהּ עַמִּי פֶּן-תִּגְּעוּ בְחַטֹּאתֶיהָ וְדָבְקוּ בָכֶם תַּחֲלֻאֶיהָ:

  1. Va•esh•ma kol a•cher min-ha•sha•ma•yim ko•re tze•oo mi•to•cha ami pen-tig•oo ve•cha•to•te•ha ve•dav•koo va•chem ta•cha•loo•e•ha.

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Could it be said that when we are saved/born-again, we begin as a Hebrew, because we obey the CALLING to come out of paganism and the sinfulness of this present world and cross over into our new life?

Yisra’el means an overcomer, or one who prevails. (Gen. 32:28; Rev. 3:12).

Then, we become like Jacob, an Israelite/Yisraelite when we wrestle with Elohiym to find our identity in Him. Like Jacob, we prevail against the enemy of our soul when we conquer the sinful nature (Rom. 8:37). This is what qualified Jacob/Ya’aqob to have his name changed to Israel/Yisra’EL. 

Likewise our names will be changed as seen in

Rev 3:12,

  1. Mee asher-oz•na•yim lo yak•shiv et asher ha•Roo•ach ma•gid la•k`hi•lot lam•na•tze•ach e•ten min-ha•man ha•sha•moor ve•na•ta•ti lo even le•va•na ve•al-ha•e•ven cha•kook shem cha•dash asher eesh lo yi•ko•ve•noo bil•tee ha•m`ka•bel.

  2. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The scripture says that those who receive a new name, are those who overcome, or in other words, they prevail with Elohiym!

Jew/Yahuwdiy means one who praises YHWH. (Gen. 29:35; Rev.19:5).

Do we finally become a Jew/Yahuwdiy when we learn to praise YaHuWaH no matter what the circumstances are? This would seem to be the mark of a mature believer who is ready to be the bride!

The Hebrew Strong’s Concordance shows the definition of the name Judah as follows: 

#3063 Yhuwdah yeh-hoo-daw from 3034; celebrated; praised; Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory, Judah.

It stems from another root word: 

#3034 yadah yaw-daw’ a primitive root; used only as denominative from 3027; literally, to use (i.e. hold out) the hand; physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively, to bemoan (by wringing the hands):–cast (out), (make) confess(-ion), praise, shoot, give thanks; thanksgiving; thankful.

#3064 Yhuwdiy yeh-hoo-dee’ patronymically from 3063; a Jehudite (i.e. Judaite or Jew), or descendant of Jehudah (i.e. Judah):–Jew.

By the definitions above, the name Judah/Yahuwdah means one who praises YaHuWaH.

Remember everything is connected!

Many are CALLED (Hebrews) but few are CHOSEN (Israel/Yisra’el).

And of those who are CHOSEN, only the FAITHFUL (Yahuwdiy) are the ones who praise YaHuWaH!

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the term Jew/Yahuwdiy. The term Jew or Yahuwdiy comes from the Tribe of Judah /Yahuwdah. Melchizedek is from the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Hebrews 7:14).

(Remember the Priests of Jesus/Yeshua’s day were corrupt: click link below to see relevant post.)

https://www.minimannamoments.com/why-was-the-priest-in-the-water-conclusion-of-the-mystery

Paul uses the term Jew/Yahuwdiy in Romans 2:28, to describe those whose hearts are circumcised. Why does he use the term Jew to define somebody who has a circumcised heart? Why does he not use the terms Hebrew or Yisraelite?

Could it be because a bride joins the tribe of her bridegroom when she marries him.

So to be called a Jew/Yahuwdiy, means that you have reached the place of maturity where you are ready to be called Messiah’s bride?

In a previous post about Ruth the scripture records that she was a Moabite, and Torah/Towrah says that no Moabite may enter the congregation of Israel/Yisra’el forever (Deuteronomy 23:3; Nehemiah 13:1).

So how was she able to marry Boaz who was from the Tribe of Judah? She ‘crossed over’ when she followed Naomi to Bethlehem, Judah and she said ‘Your God/Elohiym is my God/Elohiym, and your people shall be my people’.

in Ezek. 47:21-22 where any stranger may join the tribe of their choosing simply by ‘sojourning‘ with that tribe, and they would also inherit land with that tribe; so the principle is clearly referenced here too.

If, as believers in Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, we are ‘walking with’, or ‘sojourning with‘, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah/Yahuwdah (Rev.5:5); should it not follow that those who are His bride are going to be married into His tribe?

Followers of Messiah are called a royal priesthood. (1Peter 2:9). This royal priesthood is the priesthood of Melchizedek, and Melchizedek is the King of Salem. Salem is the ancient name for Jerusalem, and according to Hebrews 7:14 Melchizedek also sprang out of Judah/Yahuwdah. Followers of Messiah are therefore part of this priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.

See last 2 posts for more of on Melchizedek.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/a-mystery-why-was-the-priest-in-the-water/

However we must still have our hearts circumcised in order to be counted as a Jew/Yahuwdiy by our Messiah. (Rom. 2:28-29; Rev.2:9 & 3:9).

Another amazing point to note is in the paleo Hebrew, alef bet, there is only one letter different from the name YaHuWaH

to YaHuWDaH.

The difference is the letter Dalet in the middle of the name Judah/ YaHuWDaH. 

The letter Dalet means the Door!

Also meaning (by the definitions above,) the name Judah/Yahuwdah means one who praises YaHuWaH.

Click link below for more on the alef bet

https://www.minimannamoments.com/alef-bet-alphabet/

Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is the DALET/DOOR to the Father (John 10:7-9)and

He came from the Tribe of Judah/YaHuWDaH (Rev. 5:5).

The only tribe that bears the Father’s name is Judah/YaHuWDaH!

Messiah’s name is Yeshua and can be written and said YaHuWShuWA which means YaHuWaH is Salvation, as seen in 

Hebrew Strong’s Concordance:#3091 Yhowshuwa` yeh-ho-shoo’-ah or Yhowshua {yeh-ho-shoo’-ah}; from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader:–Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare both 1954, 3442.

Now it makes sense as to why our Messiah came from the Tribe of Judah/Yahuwdah , and why He told the Samaritan woman at the well that Salvation is of the Jews/Yahuwdiy (John 4:22).

It’s because the Levite Priesthood could not act as the permanent Kinsman Redeemer* for Israel/Yisra’el.

For the simple reason that they would eventually die because they were mortals. However in the scriptures we are told that Melchizedek, who sprang out of Judah/YaHuWDaH has an endless life, and he never dies behind the veil. (Hebrews 7:14-16).

(Boaz was Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer*, a type of Messiah, offering to redeem her and marry her, (covenant), and it took place located right on Mt. Moriah where Yeshua was crucified)!

Those who are the bride of Messiah are part of His ‘Royal Priesthood’ (1Pet.2:9), and they bear the Father’s name, YaHuWaH, just like Ruth we have crossed over.

Crossing over and entering the narrow WAY through The Door/Dalet of Yahuwdah/Judah, praising the Father YHWH, in every circumstance, appears to mean that we have reached the place of maturity where we are ready to be called Messiah’s bride?

The bride also is married into the Tribe, YaHuWDaH. The five wise virgins in Matt 25 will enter into the bridegroom’s chamber and the door will be shut!

The key of David which qualifies the bride to enter into the chamber is only open to those whose hearts are circumcised for they have kept His Word/Torah/Towrah and have not denied his name (Rev 3:8).

Remember Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah who called their 4th son Judah In Gen. 29:16-25, we learn that Jacob loved Rachel because she was beautiful, but her sister Leah was not very attractive.

The same thing happened with our Messiah, Jesus/Yeshua orYahuwshuwa. In Matthew 15:24, Yeshua/Yahuwshuwa said that He had come for only the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el. Like Jacob who only loved Rachel, our Messiah only wanted to remarry His divorced bride, Israel/Yisra’el (Jer. 3:8; Hos. 2:19-20; Rom. 7:4).

The leadership in Israel/Yisra’el however, did not accept Him as their Messiah, and the gentiles were the ones who accepted Him.

Leah typifies the gentiles who were not the favored ones, and Rachel typifies Israel/Yisra’el who was favored by Messiah. Surely Messiah was disappointed in the same way Jacob was. He had come for his beloved Israel/Yisra’el, but instead, He was married to the gentiles who accepted His message, and thus, they were grafted into the olive tree of Israel/Yisra’el (Romans 11:17-25).  There were also many 1000’s who accepted Him at Pentecost who were not gentiles.

John/Yahuwchanon 1:11

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Leah typifies the bride of Messiah who first comes into the understanding of her salvation when she gives birth to a son (1Timothy 2:15). Leah was CALLED to be the bride of Jacob/Ya’aqob and she accepted the call to be married to him.

This means that she was CHOSEN by YaHuWaH.

Leah typifies the person who is called, then chosen. However, once she is chosen, she goes through affliction and testing.

Leah represents the bride of Messiah who will be married to Him first, just as Leah was the first to marry Jacob. in the future, possibly on a Feast of Trumpets /Yom Teruah, the faithful bride, typified by Leah, will be taken for seven days to the New Jerusalem for the wedding. Then she will return with Messiah in her new resurrected body riding white horses (Rev.19).

This event could take place on a future Yom Kippur, and could be when Messiah will meet the other bride who typifies Rachel, the House of Judah.

They will look upon Him whom they have pierced as His feet touch the Mount of Olives

they will mourn for him as one mourns his only son. (Zech. 12:10; 14:4).

Mount of Olives was and is,

Ha Makem nitsachon/the place of victory.

Ha Makem-The Place-המקום

Instructions are given in Lev. 16:18, for what the High Priest/Kohen ha’Gadowl has to do on Yom Kippur.

He is commanded to combine the blood of the goat with the blood of the bullock and to sprinkle that mixed blood on the altar.

What is this representing?

The Hebrew origin of Rachel’s name means ‘LAMB‘,’Ewe,’ or ‘female sheep’, and Leah’s, meaning ‘Gazelle’ which is ‘beauty and grace’,’contented One,’ ‘also worthy COW‘, as in the biblical days cows were very valuable and treasured.

This means that both brides shall combine and become one bride on a future Yom Kippur, under our High Priest Jesus the Messiah/Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach.

Leah’s faithfulness to YHWH/YaHuWaH caused her sorrow and rejection to be turned into happiness, for she was rewarded with fruitfulness.

Faithfulness is doing what we need to do regardless of feelings or personal preferences, our desires need to be His desires then we make the right choices.

There is a prophetic picture of Messiah and His FAITHFUL bride told in the story of Leah & Jacob. Leah was willing to die to her own selfish desires in order to please her husband.

Similarly, those who follow the lamb wherever he goes (Rev. 14:4) are the ones who are ready to die and be buried with him:

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

הֲלֹא הֵם אֲשֶׁר לֹא-נְגֹאֲלוּ בְנָשִׁים כִּי בְתֻמָּתָם הֵם כִּבְתוּלוֹת וְהֹלְכִים אַחֲרֵי הַשֶּׂה אֶל-אֲשֶׁר יֵלֵךְ וּפְדוּיִם הֵם מִקֶּרֶב בְּנֵי הָאָדָם כְּבִכּוּרִים לֵאלֹהִים וְלַשֶּׂה:

  1. Ha•lo hem asher lo-n`go•a•loo ve•na•shim ki ve•too•ma•tam hem kiv•too•lot ve•hol•chim a•cha•rey ha•Seh el-asher ye•lech oof•doo•yim hem mi•ke•rev b`ney ha•a•dam ke•vi•koo•rim le•Elohim ve•la•Seh.

Romans/Romiym 6:4; Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Messiah/Mashiyach was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

Leah finally found contentment in her circumstances when she trusted in YaHuWaH and praised him. This is what made her a faithful bride to Jacob

Leah symbolizes the gentile who begins with an uncircumcised heart (Romans 2:26), but learns to place their trust in God.

Rachel symbolizes the one who only appears to be a Jew/Yahuwdiy externally, or in other words only beautiful outwardly (Rom. 2:28).

Those whose hearts are circumcised inwardly are true Jews/Yahuwdiy for they are the ones who faithfully offer up praises to God/YaHuWaH:

Romans/Romiym 2:29 But he is a Jew/Yahuwdiy, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of Elohiym.

A chosen remnant of Israel survives today namely those who have received Jesus/Yeshua, their promised Messiah, as the 3000 did on the day of the first Pentecost/Shavuot.

To the Jew first and then to the Gentile/Greek. Rom.1:16

Over the centuries Gentiles/ גּוֹי/ Goy (go’-ee)
Goyim/Nations, have been made partakers of the grace given to this remnant of Israel. Rom. 11:2–5

Israel is compared to the Olive tree because of unbelief. Many of the Olives branches had been broken off and wild Olive branches had been grafted into the stock.

Click link below for more on the Olive tree:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/grafted-in-to-the-olive-tree/

This is an unnatural act, performed by the sovereign hand of God. As gentiles we are to be humble, because we are grafted in on the basis of our faith and not by any merit we have in ourselves. We should be mindful not to boast in our position even as grafted in believers, since we are supported by the root, (Abraham and his family); and not by means of our own lineage or merit.

The root supports us.

ALWAYS.

Romans 11:9

Whether natural descendents or Gentile, the picture of the Olive tree illustrates that the branches are those who come To the Lord by trusting in His promises of deliverance, just as father Abraham did.

May our faith in Him be solid and unwavering.

Receiving The Hidden Manna And The White Stone. Rev. 2:17

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Once again, like the previous CALLINGS, the one who hears is CALLED to OBEY.

Hebrew has no word for obedience. The word SHEMA or SH’MA means HEAR and OBEY.To hear someone means to obey him. He who obeys is described as conqueror and overcomer. To this particular overcomer, Messiah is promising something very special – hidden manna and a white stone with a new secret name.

Manna is a symbol of God’s sustenance and provision for the people of Israel in the wilderness; as they came out/crossed over the Reed Sea, leaving Egypt in obedience to God’s call, risking their own lives to go by faith, to a land they would only later be shown.

When Jesus/Yeshua spoke with the Samaritan Israelite woman (John 4), His Judean, Israelite disciples were returning from a nearby town with food acceptable for consumption by the Judeans (Ioudaioi). The disciples asked among themselves if someone already had brought food to Him. He then answered them that He had something that, in the passage in Revelation, also being promised to the one who overcomes – the hidden manna.

He said: I have food to eat that you do not know about. (Jn.4:32)

This secret food that ‘the rest’ did not know about is nothing less than, divine energy of Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh, who is able to provide sustenance in the most unimaginable and perilous circumstances. This characterized what was soon to become a reality for believers in Pergamum. Jesus/Yeshua promised this power/energy/dunamis, to the one who obeys God’s Words. This is why the one who obeys also is the one who overcomes.

The Identity of the White Stone. 

Among the most-likely interpretations that may fit the context is a suggestion that the white stones, with names of the recipients inscribed, were given to contest winners of the Roman sport races. The white stone inscribed with a personal name presumably served as a pass to a prestigious banquet only attended by the winners.

Symbolic of the marriage supper of the Lamb, and the need to have a robe of righteousness, that would be the pass into the banquet.

This stone would have been received upon completion of the race. While this is not a particularly Jewish cultural reference, we do know of many biblical examples of the use of Greco-Roman cultural references as illustrations for and by the Jews. For example, the Apostle Paul used many Roman sports metaphors to make his points (Phil. 3:12-141 Cor. 9:24-272 Tim. 4:6-8).

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also employed Roman sport imagery of running a race and receiving a winner’s wreath (See also Heb. 12:1). This kind of imagery was well known in Judea where there were elaborate sports arenas. The analogy much more closely matches the culture of the Roman city of Pergamum.

No doubt the persecuted believers, both Jewish and former pagans, were aware of this practice and the elaborate banquets of honor for the overcomers/winners of the race. Most of the believers did not take part in these games by the virtue of the fact that the games included a dedication to the Roman gods. Jesus/Yeshua tells them that in all reality they have not missed out on anything. The real race is the race of perseverance dedicated to the God of Israel. Whoever perseveres in this race and overcomes will receive ‘a pass’ into the heavenly banquet of eternal honor.

Another intriguing possibility continues with the theme of priestly attire as was already used in Revelation. The High Priest’s robe had 12 stones with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.

One of the stones was actually WHITE – Yahalom

(it was WHITE stone number 6),

signifying the 6th son of Leah – Zebulun. What’s Important About Zebulun?

We read in Is. 9:1-7, quoted in Matt. 4:15 that:

“In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”

According to this interpretation, the sacred WHITE STONE is a symbol of Greco-Romans residing in Galilee who would receive light through the birth of Messiah.

Could the secret here be Messiah Himself?

Could the white stone point to Jesus/Yeshua through the yahalom stone once adorning the breast of the High Priest of Israel? … Perhaps.

As believers we are not called to force or make people receive salvation but rather to make DISCIPLES of those who have been CALLED and CHOSEN and have shown themselves FAITHFUL.

So the question we must ask ourselves is, are we true DISCIPLES and if we are

CALLED and CHOSEN

are we being FAITHFUL in following Him?

And

Have you heard the calling?

And did you answer?

Will our names be inscribed on a white stone?

Those who are with Him are CALLED CHOSEN and FAITHFUL.

ee mo k ri-ey El be-chi-rav ve-ne-e-ma-nav.

Don’t let anyone or anything take your crown!

Yes we are predestined in Father’s plan.. however, we still have a free will to CHOOSE! Choose this day and Choose LIFE, The Way and Truth.

Shalom!

PLEASE Don’t leave this page without making that life-saving decision – time is running out. Don’t miss the day of your visitation!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

Have We Heard It??

          קָרָא    qara – to call, proclaim.

(Strong’s Hebrew 7121)

Calling someone by their name,

or summoning them, is “Likro”

Can also be found in Scripture..

More importantly… Did we answer??

And what did we say??

The Father is the one who draws us to Himself.  John 6:34-71 (verse 37)

Every one the Father would give to Me will come to Me.

The Father/Avinu/Abba is the one who draws us to Himself

and NO ONE can come unless the Father draws them.

He chooses us and calls us.

Is this why some of our friends and family members will not change or believe? (Verse 65)

John 15:16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [and I have placed and purposefully planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you.

Psalm 139:16 . KJ21. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet … All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence.

Is this why Many are CALLED but few are CHOSEN? (Matthew 22:14)

‘All the Jews had first been called; then all the Gentiles; many were they who obeyed not the call; and of those who did come in, many were not of the inner election, of those, that is, whose life and character were worthy of the call to follow Him.’

In the Hebraic thinking, ‘BELIEVE’, is not simple agreement, or mental assent, it requires a change in behavior – action.

Verse 65 God has not called them..??

So is it predestination??

Even as He chose us, in Him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and blameless before Him.

In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ/Messiah Yeshua, according to Eph. 1:4,5

For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

…Rom 8:29,30

What God has for us to do while we are here is ordained by Him. 

We are CALLED out of darkness into the light, the light of the revealed knowledge of the Son of God who gave His life for us.

CALLED out of the world’s system, to ‘come out from among them and be ye separate’.

CALLED to be ‘changed from glory to glory’.

CALLED to follow Yeshua/Jesus and walk in His Way which is Truth and Life.

CALLED to be a witness of that WAY, TRUTH and LIFE by how it has changed us so that others will see Him.

CALLED to be a Holy people set-apart unto good works to fulfill His will on the earth.

CALLED to preach the gospel/the truth of the good news His message of Malchut Shemayim –‘The kingdom of heaven’ and to MAKE DISCIPLES, to heal the sick and cast out demons in His Name. 

Our new life is progressive – salvation is continual; ‘be-being saved’. Salvation is being born again from above by His Holy Spirit, however it’s not an end in itself; rather it’s a beginning of a process. His working in us. To will and ro work after His good pleasure.

Matthew 4:18-22 … Immediately they left their nets and followed him. … Immediately they left the boat and their father and the family business, their livlihood and WAY of LIFE …. and followed Him.

There is more to the concept of the CALLING, other than the choosing and recruiting of the 12 disciples.

Interestingly, further research shows information contrary to what we may have thought concerning the people of Galilee being simple and uneducated fishermen in an isolated village. The reality of the world at the time of Yeshua/Jesus, records Galilean Jews were actually more educated in the Bible and its application than most. They were known for their great reverence for the Scriptures and their passionate desire to be faithful and committed to their faith.

Famous teachers came from Galilee more than anywhere else in the world.

Due to the location noted in Matt 4:15 on ‘the way of the sea’, (a trade route), they would have had more opportunity to meet foreigners, whereas in Jerusalem where the comments were made, was in the mountains.

In the book of Acts during Shavuoth, people seemed amazed that the Galileans were capable of speaking in other languages. These comments appear to belittle them and it gives an inaccurate perspective for the people in Judea no doubt were biased against them.

The people of Gallilee resisted the pagan influences of Hellenism and when the great revolt started against the pagan Romans and their collaborators in 66-74 AD, it began among the Galileans.

It was by perfect design that Yeshua/Jesus would fit His world perfectly and the environment to which Yeshua/Jesus was born, grew up, and spent His ministry was among people who knew Scripture by memory, and as who debated its application with enthusiasm, and according to might (Deut. 6:5). People who loved God with all their hearts, all their souls and all their might.

Here Yeshua/Jesus would have exactly the context He needed to present His message of Malchut Shemayim/ The kingdom of heaven, and His followers would have had no problem understanding His message or joining Him.

The Mishnah gives an enlightening description of Yeshua/Jesus’s day and of His education as a young Jewish boy.

(The Mishnah contains rabbinic interpretations of Scripture written down during the second century AD. Jewish scholars believe it contains the oral traditions present during the 1st century BC to 1st century AD and therefore would reflect what was true during Jesus’ lifetime.)

At five years old [one is fit] for the Scripture, at ten years the Mishnah (oral Torah, interpretations) at thirteen for the fulfilling of the commandments, at fifteen the Talmud (making Rabbinic interpretations), at eighteen the bride-chamber, at twenty pursuing a vocation,

at thirty for authority (able to teach others).

This clearly describes the exceptional student, for very few would become teachers but indicates the centrality of Scripture in the education in Galilee.

This parallels the Mishnah description quite closely.

Not much is stated about His childhood, we know that He “grew in wisdom” as a boy; (Luke 2:52) and that He reached the “fulfilling of the commandments”; indicated by ones first Passover at age twelve and amazing the rabbis in the Temple by His insight of the scripture. (Luke 2:41- 47).

He then learned a trade (Matt. 13:55, Mark 6:3) and spent time with John the Baptist (Luke 3:21; John 3:22-26) and began His ministry at about age thirty. (Luke 3:23).

In first century Galilee Schools were associated with the local synagogue each community would hire a teacher for the school. (respectfully called Rabbi).

Children began their study at age 4-5 in Beth Sefer (elementary school). Most scholars believe both boys and girls attended the class in the synagogue.

The teaching focused primarily on the Torah, emphasizing both reading and writing Scripture.

Large portions were memorized and it is likely that many students knew the entire Torah by memory by the time this level of education was finished!

At this point most students (and certainly the girls) stayed at home to help with the family and in the case of boys to learn the family trade.

It is at this point that a boy would participate in his first Passover in Jerusalem; (a ceremony that probably forms the background of today’s bar mitzvah in orthodox Jewish families today.) Yeshua/Jesus’ excellent questions for the teachers in the temple at His first Passover indicate the study He had done.

The best students continued their study (while learning a trade) in Beth Midrash (secondary school) also taught by a rabbi of the community. Here they (along with the adults in the town) studied the prophets and the writings in addition to Torah and began to learn the interpretations of the Oral Torah to learn how to make their own applications and interpretations much like a catechism class might in some Churches today.

Memorization continued to be important because most people did not have their own copy of the Scripture. so they either had to know it by heart or go to the synagogue to consult the village scroll. Memory was enhanced by reciting aloud, a practice still widely used in Middle Eastern education both Jewish and Muslim. Constant repetition was considered to be an essential element of learning.

Just a very few of the most outstanding Beth Midrash students sought permission to study with a famous rabbi; often leaving home to travel with him for a long period of time. These students were called talmidim, (talmid’s) in Hebrew, which translates as disciple. There is much more to a talmid than who we call a student.

A student wants to know what the teacher knows for the grade, to complete the class or the degree or even out of respect for the teacher.

A talmid wants to be like the teacher, that is to become what the teacher is.

That meant that students were passionately devoted to their rabbi and noted everything he did or said. This meant the rabbi-talmid relationship was a very intense and personal system of education. As the rabbi lived and taught his understanding of the Scripture his students (talmidim) listened and watched and imitated so as to become like him. Eventually they would become teachers passing on a lifestyle to their talmidim.

Because of this, Galilee was a place of intense study of Scripture. People were knowledgeable about its content and the various applications made by their tradition. They were determined to live by it and to pass their faith and knowledge and lifestyle on to their children. It was into this world that Yeshua/Jesus came as a child and eventually a rabbi.

Many people referred to Jesus as Rabbi and He certainly fitted the description of a first century rabbi especially one at the most advanced level, the one sought by talmidim. It was a word meaning “great one” or “my master” which was applied to many kinds of people in everyday speech. The use of this term for Him by the people of His day, is a measure of their great respect for Him as a person and as a teacher; and not just a reference to the activity of teaching He was engaged in.

Rabbis used similar methods of interpreting Scripture. For example the great teachers used a technique today called remez or hint, in which they used part of a Scripture passage in discussion assuming their audience’s knowledge of the Bible would allow them to deduce for themselves fuller meaning.

Click link for more on Remez

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-rules-of-pardes/

Apparently Yeshua/Jesus used this method often.

Contrary to what some think Yeshua/Jesus did not come to do away with God’s Torah or Old Testament. He came to complete it and to show how to correctly keep it. Also to point out that much of what had been added by the Pharisees and Scribes was the letter of the law and did not engender life, calling them ‘religious traditions of men’ and referred to in 1Tim 4:1 as doctrines of demons because they confused man’s traditions with God’s commandments, adding to His Word.

These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’” 10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.…

One of the ways Jesus interpreted the Torah was to stress the importance of the right attitude of heart as well as the right action done in love (Matt. 5:27-28)

This is why His followers were completely devoted to God and His Word.

And it helps us to understand their great faith and courage, born in the godly communities in the Galilee; which enabled them to leave their homes and take the good news to the world and fulfill their CALLING.

A Disciple is a Talmidim

The decision to follow a rabbi as a talmid meant total commitment in the first century as it does today. Since a talmid was totally devoted to becoming like the rabbi he would have spent his entire time listening and observing the teacher to know how to understand the Scripture and how to put it into practice.

Yeshua/Jesus describes His relationship to His disciples in exactly this way (Matt. 10:24-25; Luke 6:40) He chose them to be with Him (Mark 3:13-19) so they could be like Him (John 13:15)

Most students sought out the rabbis they wished to follow. This happened to Yeshua/Jesus on occasion. (Mark 5:19; Luke 9:57).

There were a few exceptional rabbis who were famous for seeking out their own students.

If a student wanted to study with a rabbi he would ask if he might “follow” the rabbi.

The rabbi would consider the students potential to become like him and whether he would make the commitment necessary.

It is likely most students were turned away.

Some of course were invited to “follow me”. This indicated the rabbi believed the potential talmid had the ability and commitment to become like him.

It would be a remarkable affirmation of the confidence the teacher had in the student.

This makes so much more sense when we read of their immediate reaction to leave everything and follow Him when He called them.

They knew It was an honor and they did not hesitate!

They were CALLED and He had CHOSEN them!!!

Again without an understanding of the Hebrew culture and how they lived we are left with more questions than answers;

and why its so helpful to return to the very real roots of our faith and to examine,

what it is that we really do believe???……..

The Conclusion Coming in Part Two

Shalom!

PLEASE Don’t leave this page without making that decision – time is running out. Don’t miss the day of your visitation!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

 

Why was the Priest in the water? Conclusion of the Mystery …

Continued from previous post …conclusion of the Mystery …Why was the Priest by the river and what’s the 2000 year old connection to Abraham meeting a King?

Before tying all the threads together, brief reference to the origin and descendants of the Aaronic Priesthood because…

In Luke 1: 8-23, we see that God chose to speak to Zechariah through His angel Gabriel; while Zechariah is ministering before the Most High God in the Temple, burning incense at the Altar of Incense.

Does this reveal additional clues to our mystery?

Vs. 8 reminds us that he is ministering before God, which again is inferring, that Zechariah belongs to the seed of Zadok. Is this possible? Maybe…because for God’s angel to speak to Zechariah means positively that he had to be a son of Zadok, for God will not violate His own Holy Word. Ex. 30:7 tells us that the Altar of Incense was the position of the high priest Aaron, and of Aaron’s future sons who would serve before God as high priest.

So for angel Gabriel to also speak to Zechariah while he is ministering
 at the Altar of Incense, may mean that God was secretly telling us that Zechariah was the mystery high priest of the family of Zadok. 

Different priests had served at this position daily, twice a day, for 160 years, all done in direct violation of the Word of God, bringing corruption of the Temple priesthood.

King David had two high priests, one was Zadok who was descended from Eleazar, the son of Aaron.

(meaning Righteous, Justified).

King Solomon continued keeping Zadok on as his only high priest. That was around 1000 B.C. and from 1000 B.C. to 160 B.C., the Zadok’s were God’s high priests of the Aaronic priesthood and of the Temple in Jerusalem, when not in exile.

Around 160 B.C., in direct violation of the Word of God, the Macabees removed the Zadok’s from being the high priests of the Jerusalem Temple.

From 160 B.C. to the opening scene of the New Covenant, the Aaronic priesthood was corrupted.

How would God restore the Aaronic priesthood for the Messiah to be able to come to earth through the Zadok Priesthood?

(Some possibilities:)

God had foretold us in Jeremiah 33:17-19, that the Messiah would be coming from two families, that David would never lack a Man who would reign as King over the House of Israel, and also that Aaron would never lack a Man who would represent the Aaronic priesthood, making a Sacrifice 
that would be “for all days”, an Eternal Sacrifice. Jer. 33:18

Another of the last of the Old Covenant prophesies was that the Messiah would come from the family of the high priest. Yeshua of Zadok of Aaron; (not only from king David). See Zechariah 3:1-10 and 6:11-13

This righteous elderly Aaronic priest couple, (Zechariah and Elisheva/Elizabeth); who were well advanced in years and walked in all the ordinances
 of the LORD, (blameless) … (and who we now also know are possibly the mystery Zadok high priest family;) and with Zechariah’s wife Elisheva now 6 months pregnant; suddenly they invite an unwed pregnant young Miriam/Mary in, to stay/live with them, for the next 3 months!

This is really telling us a lot! What is their relationship to young Mary/Miriam? The only possible answer is they had to be Miriam’s closest blood-kin family! Miriam/Mary is not only from Judah but she is also from this family, she and Elizabeth are cousins!

When Miriam of Judah is told by the angel Gabriel that she will give birth to a Son who will be Great and who will be called the Son of the Highest, and that the LORD God will give Him the Throne of His father David (Luke 1:32), she is then told next by the angel Gabriel about her ‘karov’, (Hebrew), her close relative Elisheva, of the family of Aaron.

The virgin Miriam (Isaiah 7:14) had a father & a mother. Both Miriam and her mother had to come from this same family as Elisheva of Aaron. What was this relationship? Why has it been kept a secret? Many Scripture prophesies clearly reveal the Messiah would be coming from the family of Aaron [Zadok], besides coming from the family of David!

This great high priest family secret seems to be the key to understand this whole story, and the great mystery of our LORD, Jesus/Yeshua being the very fulfillment of the Aaronic priesthood.

If Zechariah was the mystery Zadok high priest, and as priesthood was passed by God from father to son, it would follow that Yochanan was to be the next mystery Zadok high priest.

But why did God specifically say that their child had to be called Yochanan?

Because God would keep His Word that He had made to Israel and given to the Zadok priests; (found in five places in Ezekiel, from chapter 40 to 48!)

What does all that mean?

Remember that around 160 B.C., the Zadok priest’s were removed as high priests of the Jerusalem Temple by the Macabees, and because of this, the Aaronic priesthood was then corrupted
 for the next 160 years, until the opening scene in the book of Luke in the New Covenant and why there is precise geneology recorded, as there had to be proof they were eligible for the position. Every ‘begat’ is significant! Proof of Bloodline was required.

 The answer to that mystery is that, the name of the last Zadok high priest of the Jerusalem Temple, just before the Macabees removed the Zadok priests, was Yochanan/John!

God was making sure that this son who would be born to Elisheva and to Zadok high priest Zechariah, would be called Yochanan; the name of the last Zadok high priest, around 160 B.C. [Art Scroll Publications, Yoma Edition, Volume 9, Section: ‘Kohanim Gedolim in 1st and 2nd Temples!]A closer look at the name Melchi-zedek

Malki-tsedeq: From melek and tsedeq;

“my king is right,” an early king of Salem Palestine/Israel

מַלְכִּיצֶֿ֫דֶק  proper name, masculine; king of Salem שָׁלֵם 

Strong’s Hebrew 4442

Original Word: מַלְכִּי־צֶ֫דֶק

Transliteration: Malki-tsedeq

Phonetic Spelling: (mal-kee-tseh’-dek)

Short Definition: Melchi-zedek

 מַלְכִּי   Malki

־צֶ֫דֶק     tsedeq

מלך The noun מלך (melek) is usually translated as king  (מלכי, meaning kings of)              

The verb מלך (malak), to be or become king.

In the Greek New Testament the name Melchi-zedek is spelled Μελχισεδεκ (Melchi-sedek).

The use of a hyphen in a name is quite unusual, and although Melchi-zedek seems a personal name, it looks more like a title. It consists of two elements, the first one taken from the noun מלך (melek), meaning king:

Note that theTorah includes rules and restrictions specifically for the king, which in itself is highly unusual if not wholly without precedent in the old world. A king had to be chosen by Adonai and not by the people. (Deuteronomy 17:15).

The one and only thing the King of Israel was supposed to do was to create a copy of the Law/Torah, with his own hands, and meditate on his copy all the days of his life. (17:18-19).

צדק The verb צדק (sadeq) means to be just or righteous. HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament confidently assures that: “this root basically connotes conformity to an ethical or moral standard,” also connotes synchronicity with the natural laws by which creation operates and by which mankind functions most fully and most satisfactorily for all parties involved (humans, animals, plants and the Creator.

The individual paleo hebrew letters have meanings:

Melchizedek, the King of Salem and Priest of El Elyon  (Genesis 14:18). He has a small but far stretching role in the War of Four against Five Kings. (In the aftermath of which Abraham’s nephew Lot is abducted by the survivors of that war and subsequently freed by Abraham and his coalition.)

So our Messiah as a priest/king in the Order of Melchizedek has dual offices or authority.

David had written that the Messiah would be both a king and a priest just like Melchizedek had been.

From Genesis 14:18 we learn that Melchi-zedek, whose name means King of Righteousness, was both a priest of the Most High God and the King of Salem, (from Shalom = Peace), a Jebusite city that later became known as Jerusalem.  When David conquered the Jebusites he made Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and purchased the land on nearby Mount Moriah where Abraham had sacrificed Isaac several hundred years earlier for the Temple location.

Click links for more on Mount Moriah

https://www.minimannamoments.com/what-lies-beneath-ancient-urusalima/ 

https://www.minimannamoments.com/i-will-put-my-name-here/

Never since the founding of Israel had one man been both a king and a priest.

It was forbidden.

Kings came from the tribe of Judah, while priests were descended from Levi. 

Some prophets were also priests, (e.g. Ezekiel and Zechariah), and David was a king and a prophet; 

 however, no one was ever both a king and a priest in Israel.

Furthermore, prophecies in Ezekiel 21:25-27 and  Zechariah 6:9-13 tell us the two offices will eventually be united when Messiah comes and that He will be both a king and a priest.   And of course in the Book of Hebrews Jesus is called our King (Heb. 1:8) and Our High Priest (Heb. 4:14).  This is possible because Jesus is not a priest in the Levitical sense but in the higher order of Melchizedek.  All of Hebrews 7 is devoted to this.

In Exodus 19:6 Israel is called a kingdom of priests but in 1 Peter 2:9 we read, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

He was speaking to the Church, calling us a royal priesthood.   Only kings are considered royalty.

And in Revelation 1:5-6 it’s even clearer. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)

Some of the modern translations prefer the word kingdom over kings in the passage above, and it’s true, the Greek word there can be translated either way. They try to compare the Revelation passage with Exodus 19:6 to bolster their replacement theology bias, making the Church look like Israel. But to most conservative scholars it’s clear that both the context and the grammatical structure of the passage require that the Greek word be translated kings. (The same is true in Revelation 5:10 where the same phrase is repeated.)

Kings Of What?

The Bible doesn’t have a specific answer for this, but in Ephesians 2:6-7 Paul wrote,  “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” 

The “coming ages” alludes to the time of the Millennium and beyond where we’ll serve as living examples of the incomparable riches of God’s grace, seated with our King and High Priest on His throne.

First, ‘Lord’, is a title one uses in addressing a superior, and only two were superior to the King. One was God the Father, represented by LORD and the other was God the Son, called Lord.  In effect Jesus reminded the Pharisees that David would have referred to a merely human descendant as his son, not as his Lord.

And second, in Hebrew the “word” translated LORD is YHWH, the four initials of the unpronounceable name of God, and used only of Him, while the one translated Lord is a different word, Adonai.

Melchizadek from king and zedek meaning righteousness or the right use of consciousness!

He was born in Salem, in Canaan, which later became Jerusalem. In an era of paganism and idolatry, Melchizedek clung to God Most High and served him faithfully.

Melchizedek worshiped God Most High, the one true God.

Understanding Jesus’ status as our high priest is a key point in Hebrews.

Just as Melchizedek was not born into the Levitical priesthood but was appointed by God, so Jesus was named our eternal high priest, interceding with God the Father on our behalf.

Hebrews 5:8-10 says: “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

He was the great high priest who lived at the time of Abraham.

His name means king of righteousness.

Lived 2000 years before Jesus.

He was a man of faith and magnified his holy office.

As a child he stopped the mouths of lions and quenched the violence of fire.

He ordained a high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch. Gen. 14:28.

He was placed in charge of the Lord’s kingdom as the keeper of the storehouse of God and who God had appointed to receive tithes for the poor.

Abraham gave tithes to him and he gave Abraham the Melchizadek priesthood.

The Melchizadek priesthood was named after him.

Melchizedek gives Abraham bread and wine and blesses him, and Abraham gives Melchizedek a tenth of the goods that he retrieved from the looters.

This action gave rise to the law of tithing (via Genesis 28:22, via Leviticus 27:30 to Deuteronomy 14:22-29; also see Hebrews 7:1-10).

The Order of Melchizedek Is Seen in David and His Seed. 

Beginning with 2 Samuel 8:17 until Ezek. 48:11, we see 52 references in the Old Testament (TaNaKh)_ (to the Zadok (Tzadowq) priesthood. As Strong’s Concordance explains they were:

#6659 Tsadowq tsaw-doke’ from 6663; just; Tsadok, the name of eight or nine Israelites:–Zadok.

The Brown’s Driver-Brigg’s Lexicon gives a brief history of the Zadok (Tzadowq) priesthood: #H6659 Zadok = “righteous.”

The high priest, son of Ahitub of the house of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, and 11th in descent from Aaron; joined David after Saul’s death and supported him against Absalom and Adonijah; anointed Solomon as king a priest, son of Meraioth, father of Meshullam of the house of Ahitub; apparently a nephew of father of Jerusha, the wife of king Uzziah and mother of king Jotham of Judah son of Baana and repairer of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah son of Immer and repairer of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah. A leader of the people in the time of Nehemiah; a scribe appointed by Nehemiah as one of the treasurers over the storehouse; a valiant warrior of the tribe of Benjamin who joined David at Hebron. 

 

The Zadok /Tzadowq priesthood were a “type and shadow,” a precursor to the final resurrected ones who will be part of the priesthood of Messiah in his Millennial Reign. (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). 

So why does YaHuWaH say to David in Psalm 110:4 “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek?”

King David was from the Tribe of Judah, and the Messiah was prophesied to come through his “seed.”

Miryam, the earthly mother of Jesus/Yeshua was from the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah) and so was His earthly father, Yahuwceph (Joseph).

Even though Jesus/Yeshua was conceived by the Holy Spirit/Ruwach ha’Qodesh, His physical body was human, of the seed (lineage) of King David.

Israel/Yisra’el has not had an earthly king since the Roman Siege in 70 C.E., Messiah is the one who will carry on the throne of David as prophesied:

1 Kings/ Melakiym 8:25 Therefore now, YHWH Elohiym of Yisra’el, keep with your servant Dawiyd (David) my father that you promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Yisra’el; so that your children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as you have walked before me.

1 Kings/ Melakiym 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom upon Yisra’el forever, as I promised to David (Dawiyd) your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Yisra’el.

If there would not fail to be a man on the throne of King David’s lineage, then why is there not an earthly king today in Jerusalem? Where is the throne of King David today? 

Matthew/Mattithyahuw 26:64 Jesus/Yeshua said unto him, You have said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mark/Marqos14:62 And Jesus/Yeshua said, I AM: and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Hebrews/ Ibriym 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

1Peter/Keefa 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of Elohiym; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Revelation/Chazown 5:5 And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah), the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of Elohiym sent forth into all the earth.

It is important now to note the difference between the high priest “Melchizedek,” who is referred to as an individual, and those priests who are “after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews/Ibriym 7:7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high Elohiym, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of Elohiym; abides a priest continually.

4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils

We can see from the above verses, that Melchizedek is one single individual, but he does have an “order” of priests who will follow in his foot-steps.

Who are they who belong to this order of priests?

The next few verses were addressed to those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev. 14:4) who also have the name of the Father, (Emet/Truth), written in their foreheads.

When those who are a part of the remnant of the “seed of the woman” (mother from above Jerusalem), are caught up to meet YaHuWaH in the air (1Thess. 4:17), they will be changed into incorruption or immortality (1 Cor. 15:42-53). This it seems is when they will serve in the priesthood of Melchizedek during the Millennial Reign of Messiah here on earth (Rev. 20:4):

1st Keefa (Peter) 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should shew forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

Chazown (Revelation) 1:6 And has made us kings and priests unto Elohiym and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

Chazown (Revelation) 5:10 ‘And has made us unto our Elohiym kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’

This has everything to do with us because it is written. ‘you are a chosen people a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession.’

So if we belong to God, we are a priest, we are one of His cohanim and every priest and holy vessel must be separated from everything else, set apart to God.

Under the renewed covenant, He separates His priests by other means, by what ever it takes to separate them from everything else and bring them to Himself. He will use everything to bring you to Himself, to separate you from the rest of this world, the rejection of man, disappointment, heartbreak, crisis, hurt, sorrow, disillusionment, lack of fulfillment, discontentment, trouble, abandonment and failure. Whatever it takes to separate His priest from the world and bring them to Himself.

That which is separated to God is Holy.

Ex.28:1–2; Ez.44:16; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 2:9

The key people involved in delivering Messiah to His death where the Sanhedrin.Led by the high priest including the chief priests of the temple, the sons of Aaron the same ones ordained by God to offer up the sacrifices.

Why were they so obsessed with Messiah?

They were the priests and He was the lamb.The sacrifice.

So, (by the Law), they where the ones to initiate His death.

That was their ministry and calling.

Only they could deliver the Lamb of God to His death.

That’s why they conspired and arrested Him and handed Him over to the Romans to be crucified. It was their ministry to offer up the sacrifice. So they killed Him because they were the priests and He was the sacrifice. Although they did not know it! However they were the ones ordained by the Lord to fulfill His Plan. 

The  Cohanim’s Confession

When the priest performed the Semikah, which was the placing of the sins of the people on to the sacrifice, they also had to confess their own sins over it. Leviticus 16:21.

They had to do both, for if they did not, the sacrifice could not die for those sins. When Messiah was taken by the priests from the garden of Gethsemane the night before His death, the priests laid hands on Him and there is a record of them striking Him and hitting Him on the face and head, (Matt 26:67; Mk. 10:34; Lk. 22:63 Jn. 18:22), however there was no confession of sin. Mark 14:63–64 ‘at that Caiaphas tore his clothes and said, ‘he has spoken blasphemy,’ to which those in the council agreed that he was guilty and deserving of death.’

They condemned Him to death on FALSE charges.

The priest confessed the sins upon the sacrifice in the Semikah but the fact is that the sacrifice was not guilty of those sins.

This sacrifice could only die for those sins if it wasn’t guilty of them.

It had to be innocent and sinless without blemish spot or wrinkle. For the Semikah to be performed on the sacrifice of Messiah, the High Priest had to speak over Him sins that He was not guilty of.

Caiphas had accused Him of the sin of blasphemy speaking it over Him.

However the sin that is spoken upon the sacrifice is not the actual sin of the sacrifice but it is the sin of those who speak it.

The blasphemy He was accused of was not Messiah’s sin, it was the sin of the high priest and the priesthood.

They had in fact judged God of blasphemy against himself, God; and to judge God of blasphemy, is itself a blasphemy!

So in fact the priests were confessing their own sin! However, it wasn’t just their sin, because the priest represented Israel; and Israel in turn represented the rest of the world.

In the Semikah of the sacrifice for humanity going back to the very first sin; and the genesis of all sins, were the words that came straight from the devils mouth, ‘you shall be as God!’ which was blasphemy. Genesis 3:5

To follow the logical progression, the sin was confessed over the sacrifice by the High Priest, and the priests touched His head with their hands and by this the Semikah for the sins of man was performed.

Furthermore they confessed our sins upon Him also, for the Scriptures tell us 2 Corinthians 5:21, ‘He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us.. That we might become the righteousness of God.

Beyond the Sanhedrin it was the high priest who alone was ordained to offer up the most holy sacrifice, the atonement by which the nation sins were forgiven. The one who that presided over the Sanhedrin and was more than anyone else responsible for delivering Messiah to His death, was none other than the high priest. 

His intention was murder yet he was the one appointed in the Law to offer up the sacrifice. Messiah was the sacrifice, so it was the high priest who had to offer Him up. Even though their actions and motives were corrupt, God used it to fulfill His purposes through it came salvation for every man who will accept Jesus’s sacrifice.

As He died He found life.

As He surrendered all, He has prevailed over all and overcome the world, so too if we walk in the footsteps of the Lamb we will prevail and overcome the world.

But now we have a renewed covenant, which obviously means there is a new priesthood. So as the covenant changes the priesthood has changed. Was there any passing of the torch so to speak between the old and the new? Was there a recognition or transference; was there a blessing from the priesthood of Aaron to the priesthood of Messiah?

And if so how could it have happened?

Caiaphas The high priest at the time and most of the priesthood was corrupt and plotting Messiahs death. There were some exceptions for example Nicodemus.However what if there was someone more of a high priest than Caiaphas? What if there was someone who represented the priesthood more than any other individual at the time?

Yeshua as the perfect sacrifice, is also from Aaron from the virgin Mary/Miriam. Miriam carried genetically the perfect fulfillment of two family lines, Aaron and David, which God had chosen, specifically stated in Jeremiah 33:24.

But we also find other prophesies revealing that the Messiah would be coming from the high priest family of Yeshua of the family of Zadok.

For the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah indicated that He, the Branch, would not only come from the family of Aaron (Jeremiah 33: 18, 21, 24), but even more precisely from the high priest family of Yeshua of the seed of Zadok of Aaron. Zech 3:8 and 6:11-13.

 Yeshua is also from Aaron: for the virgin Miriam and Elisheva/Elizabeth of Aaron family; of king David family; of high priest Zechariah and same family as Elisheva of high priest Zadok’s family; and from high priest Zadok, family of high priest Aaron.

The relationship between Miriam (Mary), Yeshua’s mother, and her close relative (karov, in Hebrew), Elisheva (Elizabeth) of Aaron, as described in Luke 1:5, 36-56 shows how these two women were related.

God created our Messiah Yeshua, with absolute perfection, from Heaven from His Father, Almighty God. Also Yeshua is the perfect fulfillment of the two family lines which God had chosen (Jeremiah 33:24); both coming together in a virgin, Yeshua’s mother Miriam. This was prophesied in a few places in the Old Covenant Scriptures. We know that the Messiah was to come from the family of king David, of the tribe of Judah. But what was also prophesied in the Old Covenant Scriptures was that the Messiah would also be coming from the family of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. Jeremiah 33:17, 18. Isaiah 7:14 However, God had also announced to His Zadok high priest Joshua (Yeshua, in Hebrew) something even more specific about the coming Messiah, through His prophet in the book of Zechariah.

That the Messiah (the Branch) would be coming from this Zadok high priest family of Joshua (Yeshua), of high priest Aaron of the Aaronic priesthood.  Messiah Yeshua is the perfect fulfillment of these two families, the high priest family of Yeshua of Zadok, of high priest Aaron, of the Aaronic priesthood, and also the family of king David; all from the Seed of Genesis 3:15, the Seed of Eve. God, the Holy Spirit overshadowed this Seed at the time of the conception of Yeshua in Miriam’s womb. Also, according to the Word of God in Ezekiel 43:18 & Ezekiel 44:15, 16 (& 40:46), God had said that He would only honor the blood sacrifice coming from a priest who was a son of Zadok.

Yeshua is a Son of Zadok through His mother Miriam. However, Yeshua was never, and could never have been an Aaronic priest, simple because Yeshua had no earthly father. For the Aaronic priesthood was only passed from earthly father to son. Yeshua’s Blood Sacrifice would never have been accepted by God, except for the fact that Yeshua is also a Son of Zadok through His mother Miriam.

And Yeshua is also a Priest from His Father, Almighty God. He is Priest of God Most High! Yeshua is KING and Great High Priest of Heaven! He also fulfilled the earthly line of both Aaronic high priests of Aaron and the line of kings from king David! This great Mystery is now revealed and is part of the precious and sinless Blood of our Lord Yeshua! Lord Yeshua is Heaven’s Priest coming from high priest Zadok of Aaron! Melchi Zedek: Genesis 14:18; Psalm 110:1, 4; Hebrews 7:11.

Yeshua’s cousin Yochanan (John) was also the last mystery Zadok high priest of Aaron, as was his father Zechariah (Zacharias). Luke 1:1-80 God used the Opening Scene of the New Covenant to reveal to us this Zadok high priesthood secret mystery.

The highest Ministry of the high priest was to cleanse people of their sins by performing the sacrifices on their behalf. Especially on Yom Kippur each year the day of atonement.

And this is exactly what John was doing in the Jordan River.   

He was cleansing them of their sins by encouraging them to immerse themselves in the waters as symbolic of the cleansing of their sins following true repentance.

So in reality it was John who was the highest priest of Israel, the true representative of the Aaronic priesthood.

Here we see that Messiahs ministry, His priesthood must begin with John. The two priests were standing in the waters of the Jordan River, the place of endings and beginnings, the two priesthoods. John/ Yochanan representing the priesthood of the old covenant and Messiah representing the priesthood of the renewed covenant.

There is where the transference of the priesthood was completed in plain and public view.

As the two high priests stood face-to-face, (Hebrew: al pene); the old priesthood bore witness of the new.

That all righteousness be fulfilled!!

It was here in the Jordan River that John/ Yochanan bore witness of Messiahs ministry and declared it to be greater than his own. Saying ‘I must decrease He must increase’. Here the blessing was spoken and the authority and Ministry was transferred and with the audible and visible affirmation by Adonai as Holy Spirit descended upon Him.

We better understand what He meant by His words, ‘this is My beloved Son in Him I am well pleased,’ because it was heavens confirmation that the old has gone and the new has come. That the priesthood had been given to Messiah and it was all part of God’s will and plan and purpose; and to those who are His, we are called to be priests. ‘Royal priesthood, a holy nation’, as all Israelites were called to be in the first place at Sinai. Then in fear, they changed their minds asking Moses to communicate to the Lord God for them. It is our calling today to be His priest and minister to His will and purposes on the earth.

When Jesus/Yeshua came to John/Yahuwchanon to be baptized: think of the scene, and their knowledge and understanding of the events unfolding before them in real time. It was the custom then that immersion of an individual, required that person to put themselves under the water, completely submerging their whole body.

These two cousins were 6 months apart.

At 30 years old, (legal age for a priest), Yochanan began his ministry by the Jordan river,
 around Passover time, in fulfillment of the prophesies related to Eliyahu in Mal. 4.

His cousin Yeshua began His ministry 6 months later, which would have been during the fall feasts. Now look at the words of Yochanan, but from a whole new angle; that of priest, understanding what he spoke to his disciples when he saw Yeshua walking …”Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the whole world.”

When did he say this? During the fall feasts!

As the (mystery Zadok high priest and) prophet, what would have been on Yochanan’s mind? Was he thinking of what he would have been doing during this special high holiday season? That he would have been serving in his rightful position as high priest in the Temple, if the priesthood had not been corrupted?

[Herod’s had two imposter high priests in the Jerusalem Temple]. 

He would have been doing the Yom Kippur atonement offering in 
the Temple, which would have been done for himself, for all the other priests, and for the people of Israel.

Now look again at the words he speaks and just see what God had done through him…”Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world.

As the true Zadok high priest of Israel, God was now using him to make a brand new declaration about the Atonement of this Yom Kippur Lamb, that this was not just for himself, and for the other priests, and for the people of Israel, but now that this Atonement of the Lamb of God would be for all peoples of the world.

John was the true High Priest (a Levite) that was to offer the “sacrificial goat” that year while Caiaphas, the High Priest was an impostor who was an Edomite appointed by Rome. 

John immediately recognized that Adonai had selected the sacrificial goat that year for Yom (pronounced Yowm) Kippur:

Yahuwchanon (John) knew that Jesus/Yeshua was about to become the “sacrificial goat” and that he would be “sent” into the wilderness also as the “scapegoat” to “take away” the sins of the world into the wilderness!

John probably placed his hand on Jesus/Yeshua’s head just as the High Priest did to the scapegoat.

The scriptures tell us that the second goat is to be offered to “Azazel,” which is a Hebrew word that literally means the following in the Hebrew Strong’s Concordance: #5799 ‘aza’zel az-aw-zale from 5795 and 235; goat of departure; the scapegoat:–scapegoat.

In Ezekiel 43:19, 20 and 44:15, 16, we are told that God will only accept the Blood offering coming from a priest who is a son of Zadok!

Yeshua’s Blood Sacrifice had to meet these specific requirements from the Word of God, or His Blood offering for sin would not qualify!

Exactly how did this divine Son of Judah qualify?

  Because … (final recap)…

Yeshua is a Priest through His Father,
 but He is also a Son of Zadok through His mother Miriam!

God spoke to Miriam through His angel Gabriel in Luke 1:32, telling Miriam that she would give birth to a Son who would be called the Son of the Highest, and who would Reign over the throne of His earthly father (and ancestor) king David. Since there was no human male involved in this conception process of Yeshua (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18,20),

God was also recognizing that this Seed of Genesis 3:15, this Seed of woman that was carried by Miriam would be the Seed that God would use to produce this divine Child who would Reign on the throne of His father David as our King, forever.

The writer of Hebrews 7, verses 11-18, clearly states that the Priesthood of Yeshua is from His Father’s side, for the writer specifically refers to the Melchi- Zedek Priesthood of Heaven; and he also says that this divine Son is from the tribe of Judah (but only through Miriam [not through Joseph]), of which tribe Moses spoke nothing of priesthood. However, what was not mentioned, perhaps not even known at the time, was that Miriam was also
 of this same high priest family of Aaron as her close relative, Elisheva.

Miriam carried genetically the perfect fulfillment of two family lines, Aaron and David, which God had chosen, specifically stated in Jeremiah 33:24. But we also find other prophesies revealing that the Messiah would be coming from the high priest family of Yeshua of the family of Zadok.

For the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah indicated that He, the Branch, would not only come from the family of Aaron (Jeremiah 33: 18, 21, 24), but even more precisely from the high priest family of Yeshua of the seed of Zadok of Aaron. Zechariah 3:8 and Zechariah 6:11-13.

John the Baptist standing on the bank or in the waters of the river Jordan was the true High Priest.

Caiaphas was the imposter.

John recognized and witnessed the Messiah being immersed and prepared to become the scapegoat for all mankind. The Lamb of God, knowing the history and discerning the future! John by his declaration knew Jesus was the Messiah and would become the King of Kings and the eternal great High Priest after the order of Melchizadek.Gods promise fulfilled.

Jeremiah 31:31 – 33; Matthew 3:13 – 16; Hebrews 7:11 – 17

What tribe were the four sons of Aaron from?” Most people would answer, Levi! But when we look deeper into this question, and ask, “Whom did Aaron (the brother of Moses, and sister of Miriam) take for his wife?” We discover his wife is Elisheva.

But who was Elisheva, and what tribe was she from?

Elisheva was the sister of Nahshon, the daughter of Ammnadab.

And who were they?

They were the leaders of the tribe of Judah. (Exodus 6:23, Numbers 1:7 and Matthew 1:4)

What does all that mean?

It means that all the four sons of Aaron and his wife Elisheva were really from two tribes, Levi and Judah. However, history records the Aaronic Priesthood as being just from the tribe of Levi. Why? Because the Aaronic Priesthood was named only after the father’s lineage. [Notice the names Miriam and Elisheva appear twice, the first time in the formation of both the Aaronic priesthood, and then in the divine mystery concerning Yeshua and His Aaronic priest family of the New Covenant!]

Perhaps in a similar way, Yeshua’s Priesthood is through His Father (the Melchi Zedek Priesthood). But God relates Yeshua’s earthly Kingship and His Throne from His father king David through His mother Miriam.

So this most important revelation that Yeshua is also from the high priest family of Aaron, of Zadok, through His mother Miriam was perhaps never revealed, since priesthood was named from father’s side. However, even more importantly, this mystery was not to be revealed and could not be revealed especially in those days, and was deliberately kept top secret.

Why?

Because Herod, if he had known the real identities of the Zadok priests and high priest family, would have killed this whole family.

There would have been no Miriam and no Yeshua!

For Herod had already killed many people, and he had placed his two phony high priests in the Temple.

Yeshua, in the flesh, is the physical fulfillment of both the family line of king David and also high priest Yeshua of Zadok
of high priest Aaron, through the Seed carried by His mother Miriam.

For Yeshua’s Blood Sacrifice on the Cross provided a Perfect Atonement of both the line of kings and also of the line of Aaronic Zadok high priests. Completing the mystery connection of the threads: why the Priest (John) was in the water, to Abraham meeting a King, (Melchi-zedek), to Messiah and God fulfilling His Promises!

Shalom!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT LIES BENEATH … Ancient Urusalima?

Ever wondered what exactly is under that golden Dome on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel?

MMM takes A DEEPER DIG Under The Dome of the Rock; (“Kippat ha-Sela” in Hebrew; (“Qubbat al-Sakhrah” in Arabic).It is front and center almost every time we look at a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Often dismissed as something, not of much importance to believers in Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, yet there remains a measure of curiosity and there is great significance to the location we may have overlooked or forgotten…..

…And what is the mysterious “Well of Souls”?

The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine and the Temple Mount is referred to as Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary).

Situated in the Old City of Jerusalem, it was built by the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān.

The construction was initially completed in the late 7th-century, approx. 691 CE; (only 1300 years ago). According to the Islamic tradition, here Prophet Muhammad flew with the archangel Jabrail and met prophets Ibrahim, Musa and Isa (Abraham, Moses and Jesus respectively).

A rock rises towards the roof of the Dome. From this rock, according to legend, Muhammad ascended to Allah. Today, the Temple Mount is a home for the Al-Aqsa Mosque with the Dome of the Rock architectural complex. The mountain is open to tourists at certain times which are not related to the time of Muslim worship.

So why is it of any importance to us?

This mystery connects to events that have taken place over the last 5,000 years, thousands of years prior to the construction of the ‘Dome’.Then it was called Mount Moriah, on which was also located the mysterious city Urusalima, the forerunner of Jerusalem, (Salem).

For more on the picture above click links https://www.minimannamoments.com/more-than-one-palm/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/i-will-put-my-name-part-2/

Salim/Salem/Jerusalem is inscribed in the Tell el-Amarna Letters, an archaeological find dated to the 1400s BC.

The original name of Jerusalem was Babylonian, Uru-Salim, “the city of Salim,”or the city of Salem.

” Jebus” makes its appearance for the first time in the Old Testament (Judges 19: 10,11).In Hebrew, Yerushalayim

Mount Moriah is the name of the elongated north-south ridge of rock that rises from the junction point of the Hinnom (Hagai) and Kidron valleys between Mount Zion to the west and the Mount of Olives to the east.It rises through the City of Davidand reaches its highest elevation just northeast of the Damascus Gatein the Old City.

The Temple Mount today covers about 45 acres and is built around the outcropping of the bedrock under the Dome of the Rock.

It is about 118 feet lower than the highest point of Mount Moriah.

Hinnom valleyKidron Valley

Jewish tradition holds that it is the very same site where God gathered the dust to create Adam before placing him in the garden.and in Genesis 22. where the Binding of Isaac for sacrifice by Abraham took place believed by many biblical scholars to be the same mountain in the region of Moriah mentioned in the Book of Genesis.There is a grotto inside the Dome of the Rock where limestone forms into a cave.In 1 Chronicles 21 it is identified as The Jebusite “Zion” was situated on the southern slope of Mount Moriah, above the Gihon Spring.

After King David captured the city he made it his capital and named it for himself: the ‘City of David’. The northern area of the mountain’s summit lay desolate for long after Zion’s capture by David. It was in fact still the private property of Araunah, the city’s former Jebusite king.For various reasons David did not confiscate the site of the Jebusite threshing floor but preferred to buy it from Auranah for full value: “So David paid Ornan ) the Jebusite [Auranah] for the site 600 shekels’ worth of gold.And David built there an altar to the Lord and sacrificed burn offerings and offerings of well-being” 1 Chron. 21:25, and a slightly different version at 2 Sam. 24:18-25.

The very same threshing floor where Ruth and Boaz were.

This purchase is an important fact since it demonstrates that the Jews received this area through a legal transaction. They have never sold the rights to Mount Moriah.King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David paid Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site; and David built there an altar to the Lord and presented burnt offerings. – 1 Chronicles 21:24, 25 

The Old Testament describes how an army led by David, the second king of ancient Israel, breached the walls of Jebus around 1000 B.C. David then built a palace nearby and created his capital, Jerusalem. At the site of a threshing floor atop the mountain, where farmers had separated grains from chaff, David constructed a sacrificial altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt and peace offerings.It was here that King David brought the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets with the Ten Commandments.

In the course of time the mountain had acquired an aura of sanctity and was the subject of many traditions. Indeed, its sacred status may date back to the early Canaanite period, when it perhaps was the cultic center of “El Elyon,” god of Melchizedek, king of Salem:‘And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High [=El Elyon].’ Hebrew 7:1-3(Salem ancient name of Jerusalem). Gen.14:18.He blessed him, saying, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, creator of heaven and earth” Gen 14:18.

The Bible calls Yeshua, Jesus, the Great High Priest.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

 Hebrews 7:17

For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Isaiah 9:6

The tradition of “Jacob’s Dream” is also identified with Mount Moriah: “He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And the Lord was standing beside him… Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, … “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God and that is the gateway to heaven” Gen 28:10-18.

This is perhaps the most colorful representation of the essential nature of the site which some would later claim was the “navel of the world”.At the summit of Mount Moriah, traditionally, is the “Foundation Stone,” the symbolic fundament of the world’s creation, and reputedly the site of the Temple’s Holy of Holies, the supreme embodiment of the relationship between God and the people of Israel.According to the Second Book of Kings and the First Book of Chronicles, David’s son, Solomon, built the First Temple (later known as the Beit Hamikdash) on that site.Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. – 2 Chronicles 3:1Solomon dedicates the Temple.

Upon the completion of King Solomon’s Temple, famed for its sumptuous splendor, the Ark of the Covenant was placed within its confines.

The sanctity of the site is reflected in the graphic description provided by the Book of Kings: “the priests came out of the sanctuary for the cloud had filled the House of the Lord and the priests were not able to remain and perform the service because of the cloud, for the Presence of the Lord filled the House of the Lord…” 1 Kings 8:11.Solomon built his palace in the “miloh” (infill), area which separated the summit of the mountain and the Temple from the city below. This was also a concrete expression of the divine inspiration that was attributed to his kingship. Other palaces were also built nearby, such as the “House of the Forest of Lebanon” and the House of Pharaoh’s Daughter. 

Solomon used dirt to fill in this east-west lateral rift, hence the area’s name: “miloh” (infill), or Ophel , from a Hebrew word referring to the road that ascended to the Temple from the city which at that time was topographically lower and seen as a name on some maps.

King Solomon, according to the Bible, built the First Temple of the Jews on this mountaintop circa 1000 B.C., only to have it torn down 400 years later by troops commanded by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, who sent many Jews into exile. In the first century B.C., the Babylonian Army destroyed the First Temple in 586 B.C. The ark of the covenant disappeared, possibly hidden from the conquerors. Following the conquest of Jerusalem by the Persians in 539 B.C., the Jews returned from exile and, according to the Book of Ezra, constructed a Second Temple on the site.

At the summit of Mount Moriah, the supreme embodiment of the relationship between God and the people of Israel was realized. Upon the completion of King Solomons Temple, the Ark of the Covenant was placed inside, it contained the tablets with the Ten Commandments, the Jar of Manna and Aarons Rod that budded.

In the first century B.C., King Herod undertook a massive reshaping of the Temple Mount. Herod expanded and refurbished a Second Temple built by Jews who had returned after their banishment. He filled up the slopes surrounding the mount’s summit and expanded it to its present size. He enclosed the holy site within a 100-foot-high retaining wall constructed of limestone blocks quarried from the Jerusalem Hills and constructed a far more expansive version of the Second Temple.

It is here that, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ lashed out against the money changers (and was later crucified a few hundred yards away). The Roman general Titus exacted revenge against Jewish rebels, sacking and burning the Temple in A.D. 70.

We are familiar with the much photographed Western Wall, it’s one that’s easily recognizable together with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.The Western Wall is the holiest site for Jews. Thousands of people — Jews and non-Jews alike — come to this wall every day to pray.

But the commonly known religious site and tourist destination represents only the tip of the Western Wall complex. Its main treasures are found inside a tunnel excavated by Charles Warren from 1864 to 1870.

The tunnel follows the street level of the first century, which lies about 30 feet (9 meters) below the current level of the Western Wall plaza where the tourists and worshipers usually gather. It exposes magnificent stones measuring 45 by 9.8 by 11 feet (13.7 by 3 by 3.3 meters) and weighing 520 metric tons. The stones comprised the foundation of a retaining wall that King Herod ordered so he could create a level platform for the temple complex. 

A significant site is found 150 feet (46 meters) inside the tunnel. Above picture is the sealed-off gate, close to the place where the temple’s most Holy place, KOTEL – the Holy of Holies, is believed to have been located. The site of the Western Wall and its tunnel are managed by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.

The upper part of the Temple Mount where both temples once stood is controlled by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf foundation, financed by the Kingdom of Jordan. Arabs refer to the place as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary. The complex includes the golden Dome of the Rock, which stands on the supposed spot on Mount Moriah where Abraham prepared to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.

The area controlled by the foundation also includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site for Muslims who believe it was here that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to the “Divine Presence” on the back of a winged horse—the Miraculous Night Journey, commemorated by one of Islam’s architectural triumphs, the Dome of the Rock shrine. A territorial prize occupied or conquered by a long succession of peoples—including Jebusites, Israelites, Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, early Muslims, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans and the British—the Temple Mount has seen more momentous historical events than perhaps any other 35 acres in the world.

The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls are classified as a World Heritage Site.

 During the time of Solomon and of Nehemiah, the walls also encompassed the City of David, an area south of theTemple Mount.

So what exactly is under the golden dome?

The bedrock, or the actual stone, of the top of Mount Moriah. known as the Foundation Stone where all the aforementioned events took place.

(According to a medieval Islamic tradition, the Stone tried to follow Muhammad as he ascended, leaving his footprint here while pulling up and hollowing out the cave below. The impression of the hand of the Archangel Gabriel made as he restrained the Stone from rising, is nearby.) The Stone — known as Even haShetiya in Hebrew and es-Sakhrah in Arabic — is considered the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.)It can be seen covered by the Muslim’s Dome of the Spirits.

This is about 285 feet north of where the Ark of the Covenant would have sat on similar bedrock in the Jewish Temple. Today the Muslim’s Dome of the Rock covers that location.

The Well of Souls, also known in Christianity and Judaism as the Holy of Holies, is a partly natural, partly man-made cave located inside the Foundation Stone under the Dome of the Rock.

Below The Sakhra (rock) in the Dome and shows the possible location of the ark lower left part of exposed rock surface.

This is a closer view of the actual bedrock, or the original rock, from the top of Mount Moriah. It is located under the Muslim’s Dome of the Spirits and is located just outside the Dome of the Rock. Abraham would have walked across parts of this rock when he came up here to sacrifice Isaac.

This would be close to where the Jebusite threshing floor would have actually been located when David purchased Mount Moriah.

Looking across the pavement that has been built over Mount Moriah to create a level surface. This is the site of the ancient Jewish Temple Mount. The golden Dome of the Rock stands where the Jewish Temple formerly stood.Notice the location of Mount Moriah on this map showing Jerusalem’ topography.

In a cave under the sacred rock, there supposedly is a mysterious Well of Souls from which the spirits of the dead can be heard.

Whether it is true or not, the Temple Mount is a place of veneration of believers of the three world religions and has a unique energy that can be really perceived.  The Well of Souls is a supernatural dimension that is guarded by the Archangel Azrael. It is said to hold power over life and death, and it acts as a receptacle for the souls of the departed. From a purely biblical standpoint, the Well of Souls is referenced as Sheol, the pit where un-regenerated souls are held until judgment.

The Foundation Stone in the floor of the 

Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem. 

Photo above showing:

1 The cage-like structure just beyond the hole covers the stairway entrance to the cave beneath the rock

The round hole at upper left penetrates to a small cave, known as the ‘Well of Souls’, below.

3 Rock (Al Sakhra) where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to the heavens.

The Well of Souls (Arabic: بئر الأرواح ‎ Bir al-Arwah; sometimes translated Pit of Souls, Cave of Spirits, or Well of Spirits in Islam), also known in Christianity and Judaism as the Holy of Holies, is a partly natural, partly man-made cave located inside the Foundation Stone under the Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem.

The name Well of Souls derives from a medieval Islamic legend that at this place the spirits of the dead can be heard awaiting Judgment Day.  The name “Well of Souls” has also been applied more narrowly to a depression in the floor of this cave and to a hypothetical chamber that may exist beneath the floor. The famed 19th-century British explorer Sir Charles Warren could neither prove nor disprove the existence of a hollow chamber below the cave. They believed the sound reportedly heard by visitors was simply an echo in a small fissure beneath the floor.For Believers, the site is known as the Holy of Holies (alluding to the former inner sanctuary within the Temple in Jerusalem) .

Both Jewish and Muslim traditions relate to what may lie beneath the Foundation Stone, the earliest of them found in the Talmud in the former and understood to date to the 12th and 13th centuries in the latter.

The Talmud indicates that the Stone marks the center of the world and serves as a cover for the Abyss (Abzu) containing the raging waters of the Flood.Muslim tradition likewise places it at the center of the world and over a bottomless pit with the flowing waters of Paradise underneath. A palm tree is said to grow out of the River of Paradise here to support the Stone.Noah is said to have landed here after the Flood. The Mosaic floor covers the opening to the well of souls.

The souls of the dead are said to be audible here as they await the Last Judgment, although this is not a mainstream view in Sunni Islam.

The Foundation Stone and its cave entered fully into the European Christian tradition after the Crusaders recaptured Jerusalem in 1099 and converted the Dome of the Rock into a church, calling it the Templum Domini, (Latin for the Temple of the Lord).They made many radical physical changes to the site at this time, including cutting away much of the rock to make staircases with 16 marble steps and paving the Stone over with marble slabs.

They certainly enlarged the main entrance of the cave and probably are also responsible for creating the shaft ascending from the center of the chamber. The Crusaders called the cave the “Holy of Holies” and venerated it as the possible site of the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth, since Luke says it happened in the Temple.

  (Modern scholarship indicates that the Temple Holy of Holies was probably on top of the Foundation Stone, not inside it.)Here the original granary, (similar to picture above), where the corn was threshed or rather trodden out, upon the plain on either side, and winnowed from the Rock.The entrance to the cave is at the southeast angle of the Foundation Stone, beside the southeast pier of the Dome of the Rock (Sakhrah) shrine. On the way down, bedrock masses project in towards the stair; the one to the right is called “the tongue”. (because, according to legend, when Caliph Umar thought he had discovered the stone which was Jacob’s Pillar in his vision at Bethel, he exclaimed, “Es Salámo Alaykúm” (“Peace be unto thee”), and the stone answered Caliph Umar, “Alaykúm us Salám, wa Rahmat-Ullahi” (“Peace be to thee, and the mercy of God”).To the left (south) as one descends is a prayer niche where David prayed. 

To the right is a shallower, but ornately decorated, prayer niche dedicated to where Solomon traditionally prayed; and where Abraham and Elijah and Mohammed met on the occasion of his night flight upon El Borak.

This mihrab is certainly one of the oldest in the world, considered to date at least back to the late 9th century. (Some even suggest that it dates back to the 7th century and to the time of Abd al-Malik, builder of the Dome of the Rock — making it the oldest in the world — but this is disputed.

The cave chamber is roughly square, about 6 meters on a side, and ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 meters (about 4.9 to ~8.2 feet) high.

At the center of the ceiling is a shaft, 0.46 meter in diameter, which penetrates 1.7 meters up to the surface of the Stone above. It has been proposed that this is the 4,000-year-old remnant of a shaft tomb. Another theory is that it represents a Crusader “chimney” cut for ventilation to accommodate lighted shrine candles.Still others have tried to make a case that it was part of a drainage system for the Temple altar of Sacrifice; that the cave was the cistern for the blood, which ran off by the Bir el Arwáh, (Well of Souls) into the Valley of Hinnom.

There are no rope marks within the shaft, so it has been concluded that it was never used as a well, with the cave as cistern. The ceiling of the cave appears natural, while the floor has been long ago paved with marble and carpeted over.So now we know what is under that golden dome and next time we see a photograph it will serve as a reminder of its place in our history and that it reveals another of the reasons for its ownership and possession being such hotly disputed territory. 

Shalom..

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You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

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Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!