Category:

THE 'RENEWED' COVENANT

2/26/2013

John 14:8
"Adoni, show us the Father,”

The Children of Israel blew it. Impatient for the return of Moses they make themselves a god of gold. They did not transfer their loyalty to an idol of gold. Unfamiliar with the idea of an unseen god with no image or temple, they concretized the unseen One who had qualified Himself by taking them out of Egypt into the similitude of a calf. Hashem seems to have an issue with identity theft.

Israel played the harlot during her betrothal so God calls off the wedding. The first covenant made at Sinai is already broken. Israel, the bride is technically allegeable to the death penalty. Justice is an invariable concept. When justice is not paid, we give way to injustice and God cannot be found to be unjust. Justice has to be given its due but here where Moses found a legal loophole: it doesn’t matter by whom it is paid. In this case, Moses negotiates with Hashem. Moses drives a hard bargain. Knowing that the Father wants to destroy Israel but that he also himself found favor in the sight of God, Moses places himself on the side of Israel. He stops talking in 'I', ‘You’, and ‘them’ terms, but uses ‘we’, and ‘You”. Therefore if God kills Israel, He has to also kill Moses. Moses saves the day by identifying himself with Israel, by putting his own life on the line alongside Israel. As a result, by the righteousness of one, the whole nation is saved. This is a very important concept foreshadowing Messiah’s mission.

Having heard Moses’ pleas, Hashem rewards his sacrificial stand and shows His True compassionate nature by renewing the broken covenant. It will be the same covenant but renewed, not a new covenants such, this 'renewed covenant' (brit Chadasha) carries the same terms as the first one.

Hashem does so because of His own character and desire. In the third chapter of the Book of Exodus, as the Almighty Creator of the Universe reveals His identity to Moses,. He uses the words “HEHIYEH ASHER HEHIYEH”, or “I Will Be That I Will Be” (Exodus 3), which means something to the essence of “I Am the Eternal Existential Being and I keep Covenant Forever’. In Exodus thirty-four, Hashem continues revealing His identity. He does so using a list of thirteen attributes. These attributes represent the Father’s compassionate nature and are a central motif in Jewish liturgies. Because Hashem is forgiving and compassionate, there will be a wedding in Horeb after all.

It is so funny that so many people think that divine grace and forgiveness is something our Master Yeshua brought, and that it didn’t exist before. Yeshua’s grace was only a reflection of the Father’s never-changing willingness to atone and forgive. Yeshua came to show and represent the Father's eternal comapssion to us. Do we forget that it is actually God who so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)?

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THE HEART OF HASHEM

2/8/2013

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Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven”.

The rulings contained in Exodus 21-24 provide us with a big window into the heart of the Father. How more sensible our world would be if it acknowledged Hashem’s wisdom in His approach to government. This is the problem today with the Bible: so few ever tried it! Maybe they will one day, probably out of desperation when the best of man’s efforts will have only led to catastrophe, as they seem to presently do.

For millennia the world has not been able to care for its poor. Even today, with all our sophistication, at its best, all the world has to offer is a ‘slave-master’ economy based on cruel usury (Proverbs 22:7) which is forbidden in God’s eyes (Exodus 22:25-27). In the Torah, lending to the poor in need is not an option, it is a commandment witch Yeshua reiterated in, Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you (Matthew 5:42). An idea for the Messianic communities would be to emulate Jewish communities and create interest-free lending funds. As times worsen, we certainly need to pool our resources. Hashem is the Generous One; He cares for the downtrodden; He has compassion on the poor and gives freely. As disciples, we should emulate Him and be the same.

Another ruling that we should be careful to observe is "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people (Exodus 22:28). Miriam was afflicted with Biblical leprosy as a result of disobeying this commandment (Numbers 12). If the English wording in this verse seems strange, it is because the original Hebrew in the text of this whole chapter merges the identities of God and of ‘Judges of the people’ into one. In essence, in cursing or blessing the spiritual authority Hashem sets upon us, we curse or bless Him.

This commandment is still relevant and here is an important precedent for it. After Paul publicly reviled a corrupt Sadducee High-Priest who was trying to unjustly condemn him and had even smitten his face, the apostle apologized saying, "I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest”. Paul then justified his apology quoting from Exodus, “for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people (Acts 23:5).'" This is a condition-less commandment.

Even if the ruler seems to you curse-worthy, you are not to curse him with gossip, criticism, or open challenge. Let’s say you don’t like the way things are in your congregation, after humbly presenting your point to the persons involved, if things don’t change, just leave and go where you can feel happy. It is certainly a sin to openly challenge leaders and create a mutiny. If you do it, it will surely happen to you in return, either in your congregation or in your family. Hashem will see to it. May we learn to live by His rulings; Yeshua did!

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THE BALANCE OF A MAN

1/30/2013

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1Timothy 3:2-6 (CJB)
A congregation leader must be above reproach, he must be faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, orderly, hospitable and able to teach. He must not … get into fights; …, he must be kind and gentle. He must not be a lover of money … if a man can't manage his own household, how will he be able to care for God's Messianic Community? He must not be a new believer, because he might become puffed up with pride and thus fall under the same judgment as did the Adversary.

In Genesis 2:18, Hashem intentions towards Adam in creating Eve are either lost in translation, or in the personal bias of the translator. A more literal reading would say, "I will create someone to be 'against' him". It seems that the help man most often needs is in the form of someone who is ‘against’ him; not someone who necessarily fights him, but someone who challenges him and is a balance to him. Because of this, Judaism even advises to not trust the teaching of a Rabbi who is not married.

A wise man will invite the counsel of his wife; she really is the one who knows him best. If he willingly listens to her, not only his life will be more harmonious, but he will make wiser decisions. But a wise woman needs to learn how to ‘fitly’ advise her husband. If she nags him or makes him feel inferior, he’ll turn off and she won’t be able to fulfill her God-given duty. She also needs not to do it as an attempt to control him. If because of control issues, passiveness, or a lack of wisdom a wife is not able to advise her husband, she fails in her main reason for being. The same goes for a wife who fans her husband, which a woman usually does that because she wants to bask in his glory. Such a woman will be responsible for her man's downfall. A beautiful example of a married relationship in American History is that of the second president of the United States John Adams, and his wife Abigail Adams. It is even said that one time Georges Washington asked Abigail Adams' help to try to convince her husband of an important piece of diplomatic strategy.

When Roman Emperor Tiberius started commandeering the Senate, one senator protested and compared his governing body to an unheard and ignored wife. If a man, if a leader does not have a wife, he should at least be able to listen to the counsel of those wise people God put around him. It is a wise man who surrounds himself with people who are wiser than him. Paul was not married, but he worked within counsel. Though he took some liberties, he went to Jerusalem to make sure that his race was not in vain. He sought the approval of his own apostolic leaders (Galatians 2:2).

Sad to say though, many leaders in their pride, fear, and insecurity surround themselves with passive people who adulate them, or with those who find an interest in the relationship, so they will not balance a leader or a teacher. Even if they try, they eventually will give in. The leader knows it and it will be his downfall in the sight of God if not in the sight of men.

May God give us leaders men who have a right spirit before Him; leaders whom the position of office does not corrupt with pride; true humble ministers of Hashem’s flock who only wish to serve.

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THE PRIDE OF PHARAOH

1/9/2013

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1Timothy 3:2-6
Therefore an overseer must be above reproach,. … He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil

Pharaoh and the Exodus is a test-tube to show the world not only what happens in the days preceding the return of Messiah, but also the results of hardening our heart. Whereas while the plagues unfold, the narrative tells us that God Himself hardens Pharaoh’s heart, it is his own idea to challenge Moses and his God ((Exodus 7). It’s like the little boy who receives a scolding from his Mom, “Johnny, why did you punch your brother in the face and kick him in the shin? Don’t you know the devil made you do that?” “Oh no Mom," Johnny answered, "The devil may have made me punch him in the face, but kicking him in the shin was my very own idea!”

In a sense, Hashem is like a parent who after giving us a stern warning, let's us learn by allowing us out own choices, and even setting before us the fruits of our own thinking. He then allows us to go the full length that we may learn by experience that He was right in the first place. It’s a scary thought but there was no other choice for Pharaoh. One may say that he was victim of his own environment and ignorant of the facts, but the remembrance of Joseph and of the famine was not so far in the annals of Egypt. This Pharaoh though belonged to another dynasty, a dynasty who did not recognize the works of Joseph in saving Egypt (Exodus 1:8).

Rashi notes that for the first five plagues God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart; the biblical text tells us that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. What Pharaoh was, is a victim of his pride; he thought he was God. Spiritual pride, the notion that we are something special is the worst of all prides. It causes us to have a narrow worldview where the world revolves solely around what’s happening in our realm. As a result we step on everybody else's toes and then wonder why in the world they should be hurting. Pride makes a person very vulnerable to the devil’s devices. There is a saying in whaling, “Don’t harpoon until she blows!”

Sad to say, spiritual pride is a very rampant and contagious disease in the body of Messiah. Even though Peter, the close disciple of Rabbi Yeshua, strongly advised against autocratic oppressive leadership in the congregations in favor of team-works of co-workers (1 Peter 5:3; Acts 6:2-3), people naturally fall back on their past habits and training. In his pride, man is naturally wickedly ambitious, always desiring to establish himself in a position of power and authority over others, which is forbidden. It is even sicklier when spirituality is used as a vehicle to establish oneself above others.

Soon Messiah will return and help us establish leaders who are meek, not victims of the devil’s pride in being desirous of authority and power in leadership. He Himself chose meek man from Israel’s working class instead of the pompous religious circles, and told them that they will sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. May we take notice and live by their example.

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'TOMORROW' STARTS TODAY

9/28/2012

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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.

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PROPHET AND KING!

8/21/2012

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John 1:21
"Are you the Prophet?"

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 the congregation in the desert is taught to discern a false prophet in that he encourages the people to worship or serve other gods. The Torah is our Instruction on how to serve God but the false prophet tells people, in the Name of God, to do thing contrary to Torah, which is equal to serving other gods (Romans 6:16).

Later, Moses instructs the children of the Children of Israel to not seek the will of God through diviners, fortune tellers, witches, or astrologers (Deuteronomy 18:9-14), but for matters too difficult for them, to establish judges and a Sanhedrin, and that they are supposed to listen to them (Deuteronomy 17:8-12). These are commandments.

Later Moses gives people instructions on how to choose a king, even instructions for the king himself to obey. The king of Israel is to be subject to the Torah; when he is not, he makes Israel sin and serve other gods (Deuteronomy 17:14-17).

In His Instruction through Moses, He Who makes Israel a nation tells us who is the prophet we should listen to once we are in the land. The main attributes given are "… a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers--it is to him you shall listen". Moses also informs the people that their ancestors who came out of Egypt had wisely that they could not hear God on their own; they elected wanted Moses as a mediator. God agreed and said, they are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18). It is important to notice here that any would be king of Israel also had to be "from among them" but in the days of the Master, there a non-Jewish king on the throne of Israel.

Because Joshua opened the Jordan River as Moses opened the Red Sea, some conclude that this 'prophet' was Joshua, but when Sadducees came to see John by the Jordan River, they asked him, "Are you the Prophet (John 1:21)?". John later pointed to another one called Joshua, pronounced in Aramaic: Yeshua (John 1:29).

In this Yeshua, Israel has found its prophet and king 'like Moses'. He is the true prophet who teaches us how to properly obey the Torah, and the true king who is Himself the copy of the Torah. Even though He had to temporarily return to the Father, He has not left us alone, but has established in His disciples a Sanhedrin we can, and should listen to (Matthew 16:16; Matthew 19:28).

Living in an age of literacy, may we continually study and learn to obey the Instructions the Master and His disciples left behind that at His return, he might present the congregation to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

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PICK OUT FROM AMONG YOU ...

8/20/2012

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Acts 6:3
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

After the destruction of Jerusalem, two academies were formed in Israel; in Jerusalem that of the followers of the Rabi from Nazareth, and in Yavneh the school of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zacchai. These two academies lived in mutual respect and acceptance. They had learned from the sectarian wars that became the downfall of Jerusalem.

The first thing these two academies did was to establish leadership for their respective communities of disciples. They followed the instruction of Moses found in Deuteronomy 16:28 to appoint judges in all cities to be final authorities over disputes and matters of religious observance. This decision was essential to the preservation of their respective remnants. The chosen judges would be required to be honest and upright people from among the congregants. We can see from this that no-one ever believed that the Body of Messiah should be a disjointed federation of independent individuals but rather a synchronized cohesive group working under authority. Clerical leadership was actually the Father's idea because fathers know that kids don't do well without leadership. He also knows it is better for them to have bad leadership than no leadership at all! I consider one of the most pathetic verses in the whole Bible, In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6).

Yeshua appointed His disciples as judges over Israel. They were to become the new Sanhedrin (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). This is why Peter felt he did not have to answer to the old Sanhedrin: he was himself part of the Master's appointed Sanhedrin. It was not because he thought that human leadership was now obsolete (Acts 5:29)! That is also why Paul, who was very high in the old Sanhedrin, came to the disciples to check that he was on the right track in his mission (Galatians 2:2). Both Peter and Paul give us instructions on how to choose congregational leaders (Acts 6:3; 1 Timothy 3:1-13). The matter of clergy is very touchy for Americans. Other cultures are more willing to submit themselves to the Torah command to establish leadership.

In the absence of appointed leaders though, we should be able to submit ourselves to the authority of the ones we know: Peter, James, and John who were apostles to the Jewish community of believers; and Paul, the apostle for the Gentile believers (2 Timothy 1:11). Their writings contain much relevant instructions concerning judicial and religious observance. One day the Master will return and He will help us to again observe this commandment to establish judges in all our cities.

Many only want to listen to God, but how will one submit to God when he can't even submit to one made in the image of God? Even so, the Master came to us in the appearance of a man. He knows that just like sheep who cannot follow a man because he is not one of their own, we cannot follow God who is spirit. But like sheep who can follow the bell-weather (the big sheep with the bell who follows the shepherd everywhere he goes) we can follow Yeshua, our 'Bell-Weather'. The Son of man follows God, and we follow the Son of Man, who teaches us to appoint judges over ourselves.

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REDEMPTION BY REPRESENTATION

7/10/2012

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Revelations 7:4
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
14:1, 4: Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb.

After the Ba'al Pe'or incident, five sisters come to Moses with an inheritance question Numbers 25-27). These events required the presence of hands-on leadership, so when God informs Moses that he will soon be gathered with his people, he anticipates the need for a new leader over Israel (Numbers 27:16-17).

God's people are often compared to sheep or children. Sheep do not survive very well without the help of a shepherd. They do not know where the green pastures and the still waters are (Psalms 23). Also, not being equipped with a defense system, they need protection from predators. Children also are vulnerable and easily led astray, sometimes by others, but most often by their own inclinations. Time and again Moses saw that just having the commandments was not enough. A strong and faithful leader was always needed to embody these commandments and lead the people to them, without it, they are scattered each one towards their own ways (Judges 17:6). Our present leader-less day marked with divided theologies and many raising themselves as a self-appointed prophets or leaders, very much proves the point.

From the times the original disciples of the Master died, the Congregation of Messiah has been plagued with teachers of all kinds teaching all sorts of things mostly through ignorance, but also through anti-Semitic rejection of the original teachings of the sages of classic Judaism, which following the sample of the Master, the disciples often referred to. We today are also in dire need of the 'appointed' leader over God's people. As we pray with Moses for the appointed leader over the congregation (Numbers 27:16-17), we pray for the return of Messiah. It is interesting that Joshua and Yeshua are the same name, the Master's name simply being a shorter Aramaic version.

With the appointment of Joshua a military census was taken, and the children of Israel were reminded of their responsibilities towards the appointed festivals (Numbers 28-29). This census counts the fighting force of the congregation of Joshua.

In the same manner, we see today a worldwide phenomenon of the followers of Yeshua being reminded of their responsibilities towards the Biblical festivals, and as the Master returns, a census of the tribes is also taken (Revelations 7:4-8). This census is of the Israelites believers who, as the ancient tribes followed Joshua over the Jordan on to the Promised Land, will follow Yeshua into the World to Come of the Kingdom of God on earth. These are the firstfruit, the 'omer' dedicated to God and representing the rest of the harvest of the world (Leviticus 23:10; Revelations 14:4). It is redemption by representation. It is no wonder that throughout generations the devil has tried to get rid of the Israelites: believers from the tribes are the 'omer' representation to be brought before Yeshua the High-Priest to represent the harvest of the world!

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THE APPOINTMENT OF ELDERS

8/29/2011

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1Timothy 3:1-9
If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, … must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

As Israel was organizing itself as an independent nation, it developed the need for a legislative body. It started with Jethro who first advised Moses to appoint seventy elders from among the people. Later, as the second generation prepared to enter the Land, Moses continues the practice and tells the congregation that they should appoint judges over the people to rule over them. This became a commandment. Moses instructs the people that these leaders were to judge using righteous judgment, not pervert justice nor show partiality, and that they were to certainly not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous, the Text tells us. They were to follow justice and only justice, that they may live and inherit the land that the LORD their God is giving them (Deuteronomy 16:18-20). Of course, righteous judgments and justice were to be defined by the principles and morals established in the Torah Itself, so by inference, these people were to also be experts in the knowledge, handling and application of the Torah Texts.

After Yeshua’s departure to His and our Father, the Jerusalem congregation finds itself flooded with Pentecost pilgrims (Acts 2), Diaspora Jews and God-fearing Gentiles who after the particular Pentecost events of that year decided to stick around Jerusalem to learn more from the disciples. In order to support these people, the Jerusalem believers established a kibbutz-like system of communal wealth (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32). As the disciples found themselves in the same predicament as Moses by Mt Sinai, they decide that a body of elders should be elected to care for the logistical affairs of the new fledgling congregation (Acts 6). As he went and started congregations in other areas of Asia, Paul also continued the practice. We can read in the apostolic Scriptures some of the advice he gave about the appointment of elders (1 Timothy 3:1-9; Titus 1:5-9).

Problems in a congregation seem to stem from mainly two things,: a lack of decisive and wise team-working leadership, or if there is one, the people don’t like it so they don’t respect its advice. The latter can stem for another two reasons: the people are rebellious, or the Spirit of Hashem did not confirm the leadership team in their heart. Corinth is a good show-case of a congregation running amok, where everybody interpreted the Word according to his own mind, and as a result promoted heresies that are still present in today’s believers. They could not even produce a good leader among themselves (1 Corinthians 6:1-6).

Today, as many feel disenchanted with corporate congregations, they start forming home-groups. Many of us in the Western world are plagued with an inordinate sense of independence. The problem is that Torah can only be properly practiced in community, not in individuality. As these home-groups grow, Corinth stands a good example of what happens unless Moses’ and the disciples’ advice are followed (Deuteronomy 16:18-20; Acts 6:1-3).

Soon, Yeshua will return and Himself rule over His people with a legislative body from among the congregations (Matthew 19:28;Revelation 12:6). May it be soon, Abba, even in our days!

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THE 'RENEWED' COVENANT

THE HEART OF HASHEM

THE BALANCE OF A MAN

THE PRIDE OF PHARAOH

'TOMORROW' STARTS TODAY

PROPHET AND KING!

PICK OUT FROM AMONG YOU ...

REDEMPTION BY REPRESENTATION

THE APPOINTMENT OF ELDERS

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