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Revelations 14:4
These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb. In the beginning of the Book of Numbers we learn about the redemption of firstborns (Numbers 3:45-51). Yoseph and Miriam brought Yeshua, their firstborn to the Temple to be redeemed. The functioning priest who did the redemption that day was Simeon (Luke 2:22-26). Since there is no Temple today there cannot be a functioning priest so the redemption ceremony that Jews currently practice is only ceremonial waiting for the days of the third Temple. Though non-applicable at this time, the principle is rich with teachings. I am a firstborn of my father and never was redeemed. Technically then, I belong to the descendants of Aaron. As an adult, I could redeem myself but I never did. In religious villages of Russia, firstborns of animals couldn’t be used for farm work. As a result, they were left roaming by themselves. They were dirty; they got into the garbage, messed up things and caused overall trouble. Maybe that’s my excuse for causing ‘trouble’ sometimes! Israel, as the biological descent of Jacob is called God’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22). Biblically speaking firstborns have a special status in the family. They receive a double inheritance and carry the role of patriarchs of the family, clan or tribe. The role of firstborn is not necessarily according to chronological birth. God often by passed it because of the unrighteousness of the actual firstborn. We see this principle at work in the cases of Isaac against Ishmael, Jacob against Esau and Joseph against Reuben. The idea of firstborn is linked to the idea of firstfruit. A harvest is dedicated to God by the waving of the firstfruit, of the first harvested omer. In the very same manner, a family of sheep or goats is consecrated to God by the giving up and consecration of the one who opens the matrix. The Book of Revelations tells us about the consecrated firstborns of the harvest of the earth. They come from the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob’s descendants). They have been chosen and sealed by God with His Name and that of the Lamb. In essence, they are Messiah believers from the twelve tribes of Israel and they represent the harvest of believers from the whole world before the Father (Revelations 7; 14:1-4). Yeshua Himself is their Firstborn who represents them before the Father (1 Corinthians 15:20). We are approaching the end of the Omer counting season. On the first day of the Omer the first sheave of barley is brought to the temple for the dedication of the Harvest. This is the day Messiah rose. Later during the counting of Omer He appointed His intimate disciples, His firstborns harvest from the Land of Israel as His representatives to the rest of the tribes in Diaspora, and to the world (Matthew 28). On the fiftieth day of the Omer which is Pentecost, is the time for the firstfruit of Israel’s wheat to be brought to the Temple. On that day also Israelites and God-fearers from the whole world brought their firstfruit to Jerusalem. These became the firstfruit of Diaspora Israelites (Acts 2). Through them the Words 0of the Master were carried to the rest of the world until today. Hallelu-Yah!
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Luke 2:49
I must be about my Father's business? The U.S. has become the icon of Western civilization, and as a teacher in the U.S., I notice that its people have become very casual. I was raised in France, and in my school days, I would have never dreamed of calling my teachers or any other adult in any other way than Mr. or Mrs. so and so (last name). I would have gotten slapped for calling my parents or any relative in any other way than ‘Papa’, ‘Maman’, or by their title as a relative. I am of the belief that our style of rapport in human relationship reveals the way we are with God. We serve God the way we serve humankind made in the image of God. You cannot say that you have a good relationship with God while you have trouble living and working with others, or that your behavior is so obnoxious that others have a hard time getting along with you. You cannot tell me that you hear the Voice of God when you have difficulty hearing those around you whom God has placed to advise you. You cannot tell me that you have respect for God and His will when you are not reverent of His Word and of the people around you whom He has called ‘kedoshim’, or ‘saints’. Because of a society that has rejected the ideas of protocol and respect of individuals placed in position of authority, it seems we also want to have a very casual and familiar attitude with God, but do we have that option? During the time of His manifestation on earth (2 Timothy 1:9-10), the Master compared Himself with the Temple. An understanding therefore of Temple and Tabernacle protocol as we have it in the Book of Exodus helps us understand what kind of relationship we are to have with Him. God was not content to merely peer down at us from Heaven. He desired to engage in a relationship with us, but because of His status of holiness and ours of non-holiness, there are protocols to be respected and accommodations to be organized for the relatyionship to work, The Tabernacle/Temple system became this protocol and accommodation, and the Master compared Himself to it (John 2:21). That should tell us that our relationship with the Master is anything but casual. Look at what happened when people of a much greater spiritual caliber than you and I like the prophet Daniel, and John, the disciple, encountered the Master (Daniel 7:13-28; Revelations 1:10-17). After Yeshua’s death and resurrection, the disciples basically became a Temple sect, hanging out there all the time (Acts 2:46; 3:1-3; 5:42). They were in what the Master coined as the ‘House of Prayer’ (Matthew 21:13), doing His ‘Father’s business’ (Luke 2:49). Their base of operation was Solomon’s porch (Acts 3:11;5:12). While creation is described in one chapter in the Book of Genesis, the description of and measurement of the Tabernacle takes a large chunk of the book of Exodus. May we learn from the study of the Temple; there is a blessing in it. 2 Corinthians 6:16
For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. In ancient Israel when a man desired a woman in marriage, he would close the deal with her father around a covenantal glass of wine. This way of ‘closing a deal’ has travelled far and wide. In France, when people agree together towards a certain action, they serve everybody involved a glass of wine that each person with the other’s at the top before drinking. The future husband then would go and ‘prepare a place’ for him and his bride (John 14:3). He would usually do so as an addition to the house of his own father, where he lived. He may engage the help of friends and experts, especially if he were not necessarily gifted in carpentry skills. This is exactly what is happening in the twenty-fifth chapter of the Book of Exodus. God who betrothed Israel is now engaging ‘friends’ to build a tabernacle that as He says, “I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). The Hebrew of that text is very interesting. It says, :oosh’chenti betocham”, which carries the more literal translation of, ‘that I may dwell within them’. God doesn’t want to live in a little ‘box’ somewhere in a building where we come and pay Him a friendly visit once or twice a week. As any husband would, He wants to live within the close intimacy of our hearts. There are two words in Hebrew for knowing someone., ‘Makir’, and yode’ah’. ‘Makir’ is a word that relates to a casual acquaintance, but ‘yoda’ah’ is the word used in ‘And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived (Genesis 4:1). From these verses, Jewish scholars developed the notion that each Jewish home is actually a small Temple, and each individual is also a miniature Temple. The apostolic writers were familiar with that notion. We read it in the apostolic Scriptures …For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16 quoting Leviticus 26:12)). This idea is erroneously interpreted as the body of believers replacing the Temple, but its concepts were actually an endorsement of the role of the temple in our lives: the sign of the Presence of God among us. The same applies to the Tabernacle which was the mobile Temple in the desert. God had His people built the Tabernacle which later became the Temple which Yeshua claimed was a ‘house of prayer’ (John 2:16). We also know that the Master was disgusted at the lack of reverence people had for the Temple. The same ungodly hands that killed Messiah also destroyed the Temple. We are told that one Day Messiah returns to take vengeance on a world who tried to up-throne Him. On that Day He will rebuild the Temple. On that Day, the Light of the world will have returned. All nations will flock once a year for the feast of Tabernacle to offer their gifts at the Temple (Zechariah 14:16). May it be soon, Abba, even in our days! John 17:17
“Your word (Torah) is truth.” Due to the present inexistence of the Temple Biblical texts on offerings may today seem irrelevant. They may feel like text pertaining to a distant people and past having very little to offer us today. The Law of God is perfect, pure and eternal (Psalms 19), so I would be careful about that train of thought. Some may say that Yeshua initiated a new Temple-less era, but the Bible and other documents pertaining to His times tell us that for forty years after the resurrection of the Master, that is until the roman invasion of Jerusalem, for the most part the Jewish disciples of Messiah continued Temple attendance as a sect of Judaism. Can we learn something from these long descriptions in Leviticus? When compared with our social, moral and legal systems today, much indeed should be learned gleaning and learning from Temple and offering protocols. Here are some examples. That a court of judges makes a mistake in judgment is understandable, so the Torah acknowledges that appointed judges can sometimes err and therefore cause the people to sin; for these a public admission through an offering is required (Leviticus 4:13). I am thinking of the court convened to condemn Yeshua. God provides for these judges to eventually confess and publicly acknowledge their error which will atone for the Jewish people of the day. We learn that God is also understanding of our financial pressures and makes provisions for cheaper offerings to be made (Leviticus 5:1-11); that thought God understands involuntary mistakes, they still require acknowledgment and retribution. A thief also is required to restore that which he had gotten deceitfully plus a fifth to the person he stole from. He is also supposed to make amends with God fro breaking His commands. The process by which these things are done is also quite interesting. The person comes to the altar and confesses their sins to God, (not to the priest). He basically transfers his sins on the poor animal to be executed. Then, except for the bird offering, the offerer is the one who has to kill the animal, hear it die, get splattered with its fluids, and feel its life’s warm blood run through his hands. Along with having to pay for a good quality animal, one of the best of the flock, this represents a very good illustration of the horribleness and cost of disobedience and sin according to God which should provoke in us a healthy fear of the Lord. This makes me wonder though: Christianity at large claims a theology that affirms they are no more sinners. As a result they invalidate the Torah proclaiming it obsolete. Then, as reality dawns of their sinful state, they realize that they are still in need of social structure, moral guidance, and a penal system, so they institute their own sense of law and righteousness. The question is: Why didn’t they keep God’s Laws in the first place? Revelation 3:12
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. While the children of Judah were exiled in Babylon, they witnessed the capture of their king, the devastation of their beloved Jerusalem, and the destruction of God’s Temple. Ezekiel the prophet was among the captives who, after all hopes were gone for the deported nation, was given the ministry of encouragement. God used Ezekiel to encourage the people of the Babylonian dispersion by telling them of the wonderful future of a rebuilt Jerusalem hosting a magnificent glorious temple where the Messiah Himself served (Ezekiel 40: and forward). Oddly enough, as picky as God can seem on these things, the architectural plans and service details of the Messianic era Temple are different than those of the first Temple. When the captives returned and started rebuilding, it would have seemed natural that they follow the blue print of Ezekiel’s prophetic temple but they did not. The prophets of the day believed that the temple they were to build right after their return from Babylon would not last forever. So whereas they decided to incorporate some of Ezekiel’s plan, they stuck close to the layout of the first temple. They understood that the Temple of Ezekiel’s vision belonged to another time, to the time pertaining Messiah’s actual reign on earth. Since Ezekiel’s Temple prophecies have therefore not been fulfilled, they now serve as an encouragement for us who are still in dispersion, for all believers are strangers and exiles on this earth (Hebrews 11:13) waiting to return to where we belong in the Kingdom of God. So whatever upheaval we see in the Middle-East, we must fix our eyes on these prophecies which tell us of the glorious future of the Messianic age when Messiah Himself who has the true roadmap for peace in the area will reign from His Temple in Jerusalem. The Torah will be the Law of the Land flowing out of Zion to fill the nations of the world who will bring their glory to Jerusalem. It will be a time of great restoration when Messiah Himself will wipe our tears away while bringing true justice to the world. May it come soon Abba, even in our days! John 9:5
“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Adonai said to Moses, "You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel (Exodus 27:20-21). This lamp was a seven branch candelabrum to be perpetually lit in first chamber of the Tabernacle usually called the holy place. It was called: the Menorah. This chamber was also called the ‘first’ in the letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 9:1; the word ‘covenant’ was added in the text by King James’ editors, that is why it is italicized in KJV Bibles) in front of the ‘second’, the Ark’s chamber (Hebrews 9:7) which represented the very presence of God. When the Temple was built, this lamp was again placed in the ‘first’, right in front of the ‘second’. The Aaronic priesthood alone had the charge to care for it, to make sure it was perpetually lit, but all of the people had the charge to provide the oil; in this way, all of Israel was represented before God and had a part in being the light of the world in Jerusalem. Now, without a temple the command cannot be performed, but in the days of the third Temple the practice will again resume since it is a ‘forever’ commandment for Israel (Exodus 27:21). In the mean time, this lamp is charged with messianic symbolism. Several prophets and servants of God were privy to enter the Father’s throne room. The first one we know of is Moses who was asked to reproduce what he saw and therefore to put this seven-branch candelabrum in the room in front of the Ark (Exodus 25:40). The last one we know of is John who wrote what he saw in the following words, And between the throne and the four living creatures … I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God … (Revelations 5:6). Yeshua well proclaimed ‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:5) Yeshua is now with the Father, and He also told to His disciples, "You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). We are on a mission. We who proclaim the Name of the Messiah, the Almighty’s Agent of redemption, have a role to perform, a duty to be the ‘Light of the world’. When He was on earth, the Light of Messiah shone for all to see. He did not hold back no matter how dangerous it was. Now the staff (the baton) is passed on to us and we must also perpetually let our light (the Light of Messiah in us) shine before others, so that they may see our good works (our obedience to God’s commands) and give glory to our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). As the light of Messiah, we stand as His representative to the world. When the day of reckoning comes, may we not be found to have hid our light under a bushel (to have been a believer in secret for fear of man), but to have set it on a candlestick for all to see (Matthew 5:15). Mark 15:38
The veil of the temple was torn in two Let’s go on a little study this morning. Over the centuries many misconceptions have been published about the relationship between the Hebrew and the Apostolic Scriptures. From dispensationalism to replacement theology man has done all he could to explain the Bible away from its simple terms. With the help of a ‘couple’ of Scriptures’, I will attempt this morning to put it all back in its proper perspective (as if it were so easy)! When the Children of Israel constructed the Tabernacle, God commanded that a veil (a thick curtain) should be made to separate the Holy of Holies from the holy place (Exodus 26:33). This veil later found its place in the Temple and we remember that at the time that Yeshua died this veil was torn in two, from top to bottom (Mark 15:38). In the Talmud the Temple veil is spoken of as the ‘tunic of God’. Its ripping at the time of the death of Messiah speaks of the tradition of tearing one’s clothes as a sign of mourning. God tore His ‘tunic’ when Yeshua died. For no apparent valid reason, this event is usually interpreted as a sign that the Temple system was now defunct and obsolete, but there is a deeper and far more authentic meaning to this symbolism, one that can actually be proof-texted with Scripture. In the letter written to the Messianic Jews (Hebrews) we are told that this veil represents the body of Messiah (Hebrews 10:19-20) and looking at the plan of the Tabernacle/Temple, we see the whole perspective. The road to the Holy of Holies which represent the Presence of God still goes through the altar of offering, the holy place, and then through ripped curtain which as we have now learned is Yeshua’s torn body. This concept works in total synchronicity with this following conversation between Yeshua and a rich young man, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Yeshua said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Yeshua said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me" (Recipe for eternal life from the mouth of the Master Himself: Commandments + follow Him) (Matthew 19:16-21). Just preceding the triumphant victorious return of Yeshua as the legitimate King of the world (Revelations 19), the devil will try in a last ditch desperate attempt to go against those whom he fears the most. Here is what we are told: Then the dragon became furious with the woman (according to the context the woman is Israel who had given birth to Yeshua) and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua (Revelation 12:17). Whereas I am not looking forward to sufferings and persecutions, I do hope to be a part of the crowd whom the devil fears with the courage of those who were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life (Hebrews 11:35). John 2:21
But he was speaking about the temple of his body. As we study the different elements of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25) we learn so much about the role of Yeshua in our lives. The Tabernacle was nothing less than a portable Temple, a temporary dwelling place for the Shekinah until such a time when King David would plan the first Jerusalem temple to be built by his son, Solomon. Reminding us of the words spoken by Isaiah the prophet, Yeshua Himself called the Temple ‘a House of Prayer’ (Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13). By definition God is thrice Holy meaning He is set-apart and cannot be approached by a human which is by definition sinful and common. God wants to live among us but as the Holy King that He is, there is a protocol to be respected. There is death penalty for breaking it (Leviticus 10:1-2). The Tabernacle and its protocol was the means by which God was to be approached. This is reflected in the way we have learned to approach the Almighty God through the Agency of Yeshua. The Tabernacle therefore was kept holy in order to house the Shekinah, just as Yeshua kept Himself holy and without sin so He could house the Spirit of God in Him (Hebrews 4:15). As Yeshua debated Temple use (or misuse) with Judean leaders, He compared it with His own body or His own self (John 2:13-21). Learning therefore about Tabernacle/Temple protocol is learning about our own relationship with God through Messiah and as we do so, we realize in this that there is nothing casual about our relationship with God. We may call Him ‘Father’ but the term is not used in the casual manner that certain fathers play their role today. It is used with a sense of awe and respect. The relationship is not as one between peers. The role of Messiah is to clean (sanctify) us with His Words so that through His agency we can approach the Holy Father (John 15:3). We are cleaned not only by listening and reading His Words but also as we set ourselves apart to obey God in the manner which Messiah shows us. May we therefore learn to serve an obey; to let our lives be transformed by Yeshua that He may testify of us to the Father as those who have cleaned themselves, washed their robes and set themselves apart from the impurities of the world to be presented unto Him (Revelations 7:14). |
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