Messiah in Shemini Atzeret Chapter 3
- Works (rain/reign) of the Spirit of Chesed (Loving-kindness) and Emet (Truth)
- Preservation now, abundance later
- A little rain now, a lot of rain soon
- The Supplanter of the Evil World System
- Imminent rule of Messiah and the global administration of the Ruach HaKodesh
- The evil one greatly desires to kill Israel but he will fail
- Messiah was circumcised on Shemini Atzeret
- The permanent putting away of sin in Man and in all of Creation
Works (rain/reign) of the Spirit of Chesed (Loving-kindness) and Emet (Truth):
The Musaf, the additional service on Shemini Atzeret, begins with a special prayer for rain (geshem). The winter months in Israel are the rainy season. The life of the country depends on rain. When the rains come down from heaven in a generous amount the rich soil produces abundant crops and fruits.
Preservation now, abundance later:
Previously during the summer months there is no rain. It is the dry season. During the rainless months, the soil of Israel would become completely parched if it were it not for the cool dew that settles on the soil during the night. With the cool dew of the night the top soil will not turn to dust and be blown away by the wind to become a barren desert. The summer light moisture of the night preserves the top soil and prepares it for its cultivation in the winter-spring.
A little rain now, a lot of rain soon:
In Hosea 6:3 and Joel 2:23 we are informed that the coming of the Messiah will be like the rain. In Israel there are the spring rains that are in the form of dew and showers. In ancient times, in the fall-winter there used to be great rains in Israel that were poured out from the heavens. These great rains were sufficient to cause floods. In His great wisdom Adonai Avinu gave the weather seasons in Israel to teach us about the coming of the Messiah. Just as there are spring (former) rains and fall-winter (latter) rains in Israel, the Holy One arranged for two comings of the Messiah. During the first coming of the Messiah, He fulfilled the role of Messiah ben Yosef, the Suffering Messiah-Prophet-Priest. During his second coming, the Messiah will fulfill the role of Messiah ben David, the Conquering Messiah-Rabbi-King.
Those who have received the Messiah in the season of his first coming are like the spring rains. They are the Jewish remnant who the Heavenly Father (Avinu Shebashamayim) poured out His Spirit (upon, in, and through). However, the time when the greatest number of Yehudim will become talmidin of the Messiah is yet to come. All Israel and a vast majority (over ninety per cent) of the future world gentile populace will become disciples of the Messiah, the Lion of Judah (Ha-Aryei Mishevet Yehudah). This will happen in the time of the fall rains in Israel. The time of the fall rains prophetically speak of the period of time that will follow the Messiah’s second coming.
Therefore, the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit (ever) will begin after the Messiah’s return to earth from heaven when he will establish his kingly reign over all the nations and peoples of the earth. At that time the knowledge of Adonai will reach its greatest heights ever. This future time of poured out blessings will occur during the messianic age and thereafter into the ages of ages (into eternity).
This is the mystery (the meaning) of the fall rains in Israel. We believe that this future great harvest of Yehudim (and gentile) souls will easily offset the world-wide spiritual barrenness of the past and present age. So that at the end of human history, from Adam’s fall to the end of the glorious reign (rain) of Messiah, when the time of the final sealing of the Books occur, the names of over two-thirds of the human population of all of the people who have ever lived on planet earth, will have been written and permanently Sealed in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
This is the spiritual reason why Abba Avinu instructed our people to pray for rain during the festival season of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. Therefore, Messiah is the Savior-Redeemer who brings to humankind both the Former and the Latter Rains. He is the eternal Rabbi of Heaven (who is forever Indwelt with the Spirit of Adonai, his Father and our Father). He is the one who forever provides us with the living waters of heaven, the waters of life without cost (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
The Royal Law of heaven is the Torah of the Spirit:
Now that the Living Torah of the Spirit is available to all who believe in the promise of Messiah it is incumbent that all who believe in the Law of Moses, who have humbled themselves and eaten of the poor man’s bread of repentance (teshuvah) and submission (i.e humility; the grain of barley), also receive the royal gift of righteousness from heaven. The gift of the Royal Law of heaven (the eternal rain from heaven) is the gift of the New Heart that is given to us as a guarantee (unbreakable seal) that we will one day be made perfect (i.e. glorification; the golden grain of wheat) as our heavenly Father is Perfect (Shalem; complete, intact). This being accomplished not by our own power but by the gracious power, grace, and virtue of the Spirit of the Holy One. The Gift of the Torah of the Spirit is the power to fulfill all of His Law by His Power. Not our own.
The Torah of the Spirit is the rain/reign from heaven that floods the earth with the knowledge of Avinu Shebashamayim.
The Torah of the Spirit, Living Torah (the real everlasting Oral Law), is our Personified Halakha (perfect means of fulfilling all of the written Law of Moses). The righteous works of the Ruach Elohim Chayim (Spirit of the Living One) is our “Reign from Heaven.” The rain-reign of Adonai has been supplanted by the traditions of men (false teachers). The Royal Law of the leadership and guidance of the Spirit of Holiness is irreplaceable. The traditions of men are all replaceable (and even now are being rejected and replaced). No one in the messianic kingdom will be called Rabbi. For only ha-Mashiach will be our (one) Rabbi. We will need no other. We will accept no other. And we will hear no other. Just as the Voice of Adonai (the LORD is the Messiah, so the voice of ha-Mashiach (man) is the Ruach Ha-Kodesh Himself. He alone is the One we will listen to, hear, and obey. Without the omnipresent, omnipotent Holy One and His saving-Indwelling Presence we could never be raised from death to the new life of perfect righteousness that we have for so long hoped for and longed for.
The Supplanter of the Evil World System:
HaShem (the NAME) designed Israel’s weather seasons in Israel to parallel the redemptive work of Messiah and the Holy Spirit. The weather seasons of the Holy Land are a prophetic illustration of El-Shaddai’s provision for and destiny for His People, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Father Jacob’s (Israel’s) name has a double meaning. Jacob’s name in ancient word picture (ideogram, pictographs) means someone or something that comes up from behind the head of a person (a tribal leader) to preserve and protect or to trip-up and supplant that person.
The dual meaning of Jacob’s name speaks of the All Sufficient One’s “Protection” and “Preservation” of Jacob and his descendants. The descendants of Jacob are being preserved and protected so that one day they will “Trip-up” and permanently “Supplant” the existing evil world system. This wicked system that is ruled over by the evil one, this administration of Haman, is destined to be replaced by the administration of Mordecai (i.e. the Administration of the Holy Spirit).
Jacob eventually received a name change from Jacob to Israel. Israel is a compound Hebrew word composed of the words “Mighty One” [El] and “Rule(r) [Sar].” Israel literally means, “One who struggles and overcomes.” The personal and place name of Israel speaks of both the royal rule of the Prince who has struggled and overcome. This refers both to the Nation Servant of Israel who is favored among the nations, and the Head of Israel the Messiah, the Individual Servant, who is favored among all humanity and who is the faithful Head-Ruler (Rosh l’khol-ha’edah) over all of HaShem’s Household.
This means the Messiah, who is rich in Adonai (the LORD), faithfully watches over and stewards everyone and everything that belongs to our Father in heaven, Who is “above all, through all, and in all” (study purpose and meaning of the Unity Prayer, the Shema). Therefore, the multiple spiritual meanings of the name of Israel, the Nation of Israel, and the Messiah of Israel speak of the “Rule of the Almighty.” The Rule of God is the purpose behind the Holy One’s preserving and protecting His elect people. The Rule of the Almighty (Israel) is destined to eventually Supplant the present evil world system (that is ruled over by the evil one) and replace it with the Rule of Elohim.
Imminent rule of Messiah and the Administration of the Holy Spirit:
The “geshem” (the acts-works) of the Holy Spirit previously poured out upon the parched lands and peoples of the earth through faith in the Torah, the prophets and Messiah has been sufficient thus far only to protect and preserve a small physical-spiritual remnant upon the earth (less than ten percent of the entire world populace are authentic followers of HaShem and His appointed Anointed One (M’shicho). Incredibly this means that only a very small percentage of the total world populace have actually “received” the gift of the Father; the permanent “Indwelling” Presence of the Holy Spirit. This is so because people use their love of the religious traditions of men as a substitute for a real saving relationship with the Spirit of Holiness.
This period of the present acts of the Holy Spirit (the Rain of Heaven) that began to occur immediately after the first appearance of the Messiah has yet to “Supplant” (Ya’akov) the rule of the evil one here on earth with the “Rule of Elohim” (Yisra’el).
However, Satan’s control over the entire world will be (I believe in this century) thoroughly overthrown and replaced when the Messiah returns to earth. He will not return this time as the Suffering Messiah ben Yosef but He will return as the Conquering Messiah ben David. Israel’s national existence at the present time (since the year of 1948) is an extreme threat to the evil one. The re-birth of our tiny nation is the first small step of the God of Peace (Shalom) toward a time when the entire world—now controlled by the evil one—will completely come under His control. For now there exists a small Jewish remnant in the world that the enemy hates and he will do all that he can to persecute and destroy the tiny nation of Israel and its people.
The evil one greatly desires to kill Israel but he will fail:
The evil one greatly desires to kill Israel because he knows that it is this tiny and insignificant nation and people that are destined by HaShem to Supplant (and destroy) his evil world system. In the future, under the Messiah’s rule, the Nation of Israel will become a global Commonwealth. Israel is destined, therefore, to become the Nation that benevolently and compassionately rules over all the nations and peoples of the world. Israel will not rule as the pagan nations have ruled. Israel is called to be a nation of Servant-Leaders.
The first among us will serve the least among us.
The leader who serves best is the leader who is rich in Adonai. Israel will be the Host nation who serves. International Israel in the future will be led by the Messiah ben David, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Messiah is the Holy Servant (Eved HaKadosh) who is humble. He is so rich in Adonai that He is the Heir of All Things (Nachalah Vakol). His rule is supported by the unlimited resources of His universal outpoured grace (the administration) of His Spirit.
This Latter Day Outpouring of the Rain from Heaven will not be a preserving-limited rain like the light summer moisture that has in the past only preserved the top soil of the Holy Land. The (I believe near) future downpour of the latter rain (work of the Holy Spirit) will be so great that the saving works-knowledge of the Spirit will flood the earth with the (knowledge) experience of Abba Avinu. The earth will be so blessed in the future age of the All-Sufficient One that the conditions of the environment of the earth will be like that of the Garden of Eden. At that time all the people of the earth will live in a state of grace much like that of the first Man and Woman (Adam, Ish v’Ishah) in the time of our innocence, before there was sin.
Messiah was circumcised on Shemini Atzeret:
The visible appearance of Adonai (the LORD) in human form occurred at the birth of His Son (the Last Adam, the New Adam) on “Sukkot” (Tishri 15), at Bethlehem, in the city of Joseph and Mary’s ancestor King David. As announced by the mighty angel Gabriel the Messiah arrived in Mary’s womb “inside the temple” on Chanukkah (Kislev 25) and thereafter was seen for the first time at his birth at the beginning of Sukkot. On the eighth day after the first day of Sukkot, on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, the Messiah Yeshua, (lit.) the Salvation of Adonai, was circumcised. Preceding the circumcision of the Messiah by six months the prophet of the Grace of Adonai, Yochanan ben Zechariah (who is a type of the Elijah to come that will precede Messiah at his second coming) was circumcised on Nisan 21, the eighth day of Unleavend Bread (Chag HaMatzot).
The permanent putting away of sin in Man and in all of Creation:
What is the mystery (sod) of these two historic circumcisions that occur on Shemini Atzeret and at the conclusion of Chag HaMatzot? One, the circumcision of the prophet of the Grace of Adonai on the eighth day (in the spring) speaks of the permanent (eternal) putting away of sin in the Household of Man that occurs after the holy sacrifice of the Messiah, who is our Korban Pesach. Two, the circumcision of Messiah, the Salvation of Adonai on the eighth day (in the fall) speaks of an eternal age where sin will be put away completely (and permanently). Therefore, Shemini Atzeret prophetically speaks of the chametz of evil and sin permanently (eternally) being removed from “all” creation. Not just the House of Man is destined to be thoroughly cleansed and become a new creation. The entire creation itself, the permanent dwelling place of the Holy One and redeemed humanity, must be completely cleansed. This requires that Adonai Eloheinu create a New Creation. The Creator will make “all things new:”
All things new #1. The knowledge of evil must be permanently put away (completely removed).
All things new #2. The evil-impulse (yetzer ha-ra) will be removed.
All things new #3. Only the good-impulse (yetzer ha-tov) will enter the New Creation.
All things new #4. There will be a new perfect humanity re-made out of the old imperfect humanity.
All things new #5. There will be a new heaven and a new earth.
All things new #6. The taint of the children of Abba Avinu even remembering that sin once existed will be completely removed (wiped away as if IT never existed’).
All things new #7. The God of the Beginning and all His Household, all His children and His righteous servants the holy angels, will completely put away all of the memory of sin and evil. Not a speck, a single grain of IT will ever, even for a moment, enter the New Righteous, Perfect, Undefiled House of the Holy One, our Righteous-Eternal Father.
All things new #8. We will “Forget” (lit. Manasseh) that sin and evil ever existed. The Eternal One will replace our memory of sin with His perfect Memory of Righteousness. And so it will be that the Eternal House of God’s Righteousness will forever be “Doubly Fruitful” (lit. Ephraim). Blessed be the Name of Adonai (the LORD) our Father who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith and the Beginning and the Completion of our Salvation forever and ever! Amen, Amen.