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1 Corinthians 3:13
But each one's work will be shown for what it is; the Day will disclose it. The knowledge that every act whether good or bad carries its own reward or punishment should create in us a certain fear of Hashem. When I say 'fear of Hashem' I do not mean just respect, but the actual fear of the consequences of breaking His rule. This system of 'measure for measure' is actually meant to be a form of soul-policing imposed on us by the Holy Spirit. There are many who claim that since the time they have applied the blood of Yeshua upon their souls they are regenerated into sinless being and therefore are impervious to sin. They claim that through this process the Torah of God is written in their heart as it is said in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 33:31-33). I have no problem with that except that if it were true, with the amount of people in this nation, and in the world, who claim to have been regenerated, we should see a substantial decline in crime and immorality, which is not the case. Instead, man seems to be receiving upon its own head the fruit of his own rebellious nature and unchecked actions. Only one hope remains. In the End, at the time when judgment calls and the books are opened, we will each stand before God. In the presence of the Ancient of Days who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in it, we will stand on the scales of judgment and our lives will be measured and weighed for virtue (1 Corinthians 3:13). As the scales drastically tip to a negative balance, the accuser and prosecutor of our souls will shout, 'middah k'neged middah' or, 'measure for measure', this is the law of all the Heavens. In the deep silence and awe of the courtroom, the Defender and Redeemer of our soul will then approach to step on the other side of the scales adding to the balance the righteousness earned by virtue of His stripes and innocent suffering. As the scales now tip to the other side, He will also claim, 'middah k'neged middah', 'measure for measure'. With a knock of His gavel, the Judge of the earth will then proclaim the final sentence: "the measure has been met". I get saddened when I hear people talking flippantly about sin. Just because they don't pay for it they think that their redemption is so-called free. It is only free for them because someone else pays for it. In this case, Yeshua paid the price in the measure of His dedicated life and cruel suffering on the cross.
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Revelations 20:4-6
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Yeshua and for the word of Hashem, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Mashiach for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of Hashem and of Mashiach, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. About this time of future restoration and reorganization of the world, Paul, our Master’s apostle also specified, Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life (1 Corinthians 6:3)! We are not given too many details about this judging of angels (and the secret things belong to God (Deuteronomy 29:29)); we are simply told in that and other passages that at the time when Messiah will physically reign on earth the faithful will share in His exaltation and judging of the universe which therefore implies judging angels. This idea of mankind judging angels birthed from the Book of Enoch, as Enoch, the first scribe was established over the judgment of the disobedient fallen angels (Genesis 6:1-5). The narrative of Enoch was a widespread Jewish writing from the 1st century C.E. the early believers seem to have been familiar with (Jude 1.14). What is revealed to us though, (and the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever Moses also said (Deuteronomy 29:29)), is that if we are to judge angels in the future, we should also today be able to righteously judge in earthly disputes between ourselves (Isaiah 11:3-5 on how to judge righteously). In essence, our training for judging angels tomorrow starts today with learning to maturely take care of our own issues between ourselves. The problem is that today, as with many other things, we are not encouraged to manage our own issues and disagreements. We are told to go to the police, to get a lawyer, or worst: a psychologist! As far as I can understand from his epistles, to Paul the fact that those who called themselves by the name of Yeshua could not manage their own problems by themselves was a disgrace and a bad representation of Messiah’s congregation in front of the non-believers. He said that it would be more valuable to be defrauded by others than to allow such a poor testimony in front of others (1 Corinthians 6:7). It is high time that we take control of our lives; that we take responsibility of our affairs. We, as Messianic congregations, must organize ourselves into a coherent movement that is self sufficient in every way, self-legislated just as the Hebrew nation was taught to be by Moses in ancient times. Then and only then, we will ever be able to fulfill our destiny of entering the Promised Land of His divine will, and be an example to all nations of life under the rulership of Mashiach. John 5:22
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, The Children of Israel couldn’t bear to hear the Holy Voice (Exodus 20:18-21). Who can blame them? Could you? (If you answered yes to this question you may need to go back to the ‘drawing board’ in order to understand who God is and your relationship with Him). As the people stood at distance, Moses received rulings just as valid and pertinent as those he received from the time God started speaking (Exodus 21-23). These rulings took on the judicial tone of civil cases. We must here come to a certain realization. In order to justify their theology, modern-day believers have divided God’s rulings into three categories: civil, moral, and ceremonial. We must realize that this categorization does not appear anywhere in the Biblical text. In the eyes of God, everything is religious; everything is His Torah, period! In fact, the division of God’s rulings into these categories seems to be a reflection of our modern society where some things are civil (secular) and others religious. In the days of the giving of this Torah, everything was religious. In fact, for most of History, atheism was unheard of, and at certain times and places was even a crime. The Hebrew text tells us that God was the One giving before Whom the Children were to appear for any and all cases (Exodus 21:6; 22:7-8). We do not realize this because the English text uses the word: ‘Judges’ when the Hebrew says, ‘Ha’elohim’ meaning ‘God’. We then see that all cases are of a religious nature. The reason the translators used the word ‘Judges’, is because as the people appeared before the Sanhedrin court established through Jethro’s council (Exodus 18), it is as if they appeared before God. Later, we are told that disobedience to this court is liable to a death penalty. This puts a heavy responsibility on these men. No wonder Sanhedrins shied away from the death penalty. It is told that a Sanhedrin who would rule in favor of a death penalty even once in seven years would be considered murderous. Because of this heavy responsibility, Jewish law-makers only accepted eyewitness testimony. They refused circumstantial evidence. The Sanhedrin that convicted the master was a ‘Kangaroo-court’ held in contempt of all the safeguards applied in Jewish courts. The Sadducees wanted Yeshua dead; they did not even allow the Pharisees in the court as they would have stopped the process. Human courts are bound to make mistakes. This is the nature of humanity. One day, our Messiah will return and it to Him judgment has been given (John 5:22). He will judge righteously (Isaiah 11:1-5). Let there be no mistakes though. We cannot say, ‘I will obey God only’ and with that attitude defy every human authority. We learn to obey God by learning to submit to men appointed by God. That is why the Exodus text speaks of appearing before ‘Ha’elohim’ when appearing before the judges appointed by God. Matthew 5:45
That you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven. As Eliezer arrived in Padam-Aram, he asked the God of Abraham to help him identify she who would be the next matriarch of Israel. He stopped by the municipal well expecting the chosen maiden to remove a very heavy stone from the mouth of the well, and then water his ten camels loaded with the bride price with hundred fifty gallons of water. This was a very unlikely sign but the calling was high. The chosen one needed to have the right heart, the heart of a servant. Many years later Jacob, Rebeccah’s son would stand by that same well and return the favor to the House of Laban. This time he would roll the stone from the well and water Rachel’s flocks Genesis 24:12-20; 29:1-11). The Torah teaches us the notion of measure for measure. It says, But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe (Exodus 21:23). We may tend to think that to be God’s ‘Old Testament’ modus operandi, but our Master Yeshua expected us to also live within the notion of measure for measure; He said, For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you (Matthew 6:14). You see His idea was not for us to exact our measure like saying, ‘you did this so I’ll do that; you didn’t do this so I won’t do it either’, but rather in the sense that there is a god in heaven who on that Great Day will balance the scales. In His teaching about ‘Measure for Measure’, Yeshua affirms the teaching of some of the great luminaries of Israel who said, “Whoever refrains from exacting his measure, the heavenly courts forgives its sins (b.Rosh Hashana 17a)”. Another one also teaches that “Regarding those who are insulted but do not return an insult, those who are rebuked without replying, they are the ones who do good out of love for Gof and rejoice in their suffering …He who passes over an opportunity to retaliate has all his transgressions passed over (b.Yoma 23a)”. May we also like these great sages learn to live by our Master’s idea of measure for measure, by the Sage of all sages who said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Judge not, that you be not judged, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Here is how the Master taught us to apply measure for measure; He said, “You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you … that you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 7:1; 6:12; 5:38-45).” |
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