1. Kislev Scripture Lesson #10: Messiah and the Father are One (Echad)
2. The Eternal Temple
3. The Narrative of Eternal light
4. The New Creation Order
5. The Shamash (Messiah) and the eight subordinate candles
6. The beginning of the New Creation
7. Eternal Joy is Rejoicing in God’s Torah
8. It will be as if sin never existed
9. He is making All things New!
10. Inside first, then outside
11. The Court of the Women
12. Messiah and the heavenly Father
13. God’s timing
14. Messiah overcomes all the powers of evil

Kislev Scripture Lesson #10: Messiah and the Father are One (Echad):

In the Testimony of Messiah that is found in the Jewish besorah (gospel) of Yochanan ben Zebedee we read (Yochanan 10:22-42):

{Classical & Mishnaic Hebrew}

וַיְהִי חֲנֻכָּה בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם וְהָעֵת סְתָיו׃ וְיֵשׁוּעַ מִתְהַלֵךְ בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ בְּאוּלָם שֶׁל־שְׁלֹמֹה׃ וַיָּסֹבּוּ אֹתוֹ הַיְּהוּדִים וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו עַד־אָנָה תַּתְלֶה אֶת־נַפְשֵׁנוּ אִם־הַמָּשִׁיחַ אַתָּה אֱמָר־נָא וְנִשְׁמְעָה בְאָזְנֵינוּ׃ וַיַּעַן אֹתָם יֵשׁוּעַ הֵן הִגַּדְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם וְלֹא הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי הַמַּעֲשִׂים אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה בְּשֵׁם אָבִי הֵם יָעִידוּ עָלָי׃ וְאַתֶּם לֹא תַאֲמִינוּ כִּי לֹא מִצֹּאנִי אַתֶּם כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמַרְתִּי לָכֶםצֹאנִי תִּשְׁמַעְנָה אֶת־קוֹלִי וַאֲנִי יְדַעְתִּין וְאַחֲרַי תֵּלַכְנָה׃ וַאֲנִי אֶתֵּן לָהֶן חַיֵּי עוֹלָם וְלֹא תֹאבַדְנָה לָנֶצַח וְאִישׁ לֹא־יַחֲטֹף אֶתְהֶן מִיָּדִי׃ הָאָב אֲשֶׁר נְתָנָן לִי גָּדוֹל הוּא עַל־כֹּל וְאִישׁ לֹא־יַחֲטֹף אֶתְהֶן מִיַּד הָאָב׃ אֲנִי וְאָבִי אֶחָד אֲנָחְנוּ׃ אָז יָרִימוּ הַיְּהוּדִים אֲבָנִים כְּפַעַם־בְּפַעַם לְסָקְלוֹ׃ וַיַּעַן אֹתָם יֵשׁוּעַ מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים רַבִּים הֶרְאֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֵת אָבִי מַה הַמַּעֲשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר עָלָיו תִּסְקְלֻנִי׃ וַיַּעֲנוּ הַיְּהוּדִים אֹתוֹ לֵאמֹר עַל־מַעֲשֶׂה טוֹב לֹא נִסְקֹל אֹתָךְ כִּי אִם־עַל־גַּדֶּפְךָ אֶת־אֱלֹהִים וְעַל־אֲשֶׁר אָדָם אַתָּה וַתַּעַשׂ עַצְמְךָ אֱלֹהִים׃ וַיַּעַן אֹתָם יֵשׁוּעַ הֲלֹא כָתוּב בְּתוֹרַתְכֶם אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם׃ הֵן יִקָּרֵא אֱלֹהִים לְמִי שֶׁהָיָה דְּבַר הָאֱלֹהִים אֲלֵיהֶם וְהַכָּתוּב לֹא־יוּפָר׃ וְאֵיךְ תֹּאמְרוּ לַאֲשֶׁר קִדְּשׁוֹ הָאָב וַיִּשְׁלָחֵהוּ לָעוֹלָם מְגַדֵּף אָתָּה יַעַן אָמַרְתִּי בֵּן־אֱלֹהִים אָנִי׃ אִם־לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת־מַעֲשֵׂי אָבִי אַל־תַּאֲמִינוּ לִי׃ וְאִם־עֹשֶׂה אֲנִי גַּם אִם לֹא־תַאֲמִינוּ לִי הַאֲמִינוּ לְמַעֲשָׂי לְמַעַן תֵּדְעוּ וְתַאֲמִינוּ כִּי־בִי הָאָב וַאֲנִי בּוֹ׃ אָז יָשׁוּבוּ וִיבַקְשׁוּ לְתָפְשׂוֹ וַיִּמָלֵט מִיָּדָם׃ וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיָּשָׁב אֶל־עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר הִטְבִּיל־שָׁם יוֹחָנָן בַּתְּחִלָּה וַיֵּשֶׁב שָׁם׃ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵלָיו רַבִּים וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִנֵּה יוֹחָנָן לֹא־עָשָׂה אוֹת אֲבָל כָּל־אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יוֹחָנָן עַל־הָאִישׁ הַזֶּה אֱמֶת הוּא׃ וַיַּאֲמִינוּ בוֹ רַבִּים בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא׃

{Modern Hebrew}

אותה עת חגגו בירושלים את חג החנכה. חרף היה. כאשר התהלך ישוע בבית המקדש באולם שלמה, הקיפוהו פרושים ואמרו לו: “עד מתי תחזיק את נפשנו במתח? אם אתה המשיח, אמר לנו בברור.” השיב להם ישוע: “אמרתי לכם ואינכם מאמינים. המעשים שאני עושה בשם אבי – אלה מעידים עלי, אך אתם אינכם מאמינים משום שאינכם מצאני. צאני שומעות את קולי ואני מכיר אותן; הן הולכות אחרי ואני נותן להן חיי עולם; ולא תאבדנה לעולם, אף לא יחטף אותן איש מידי. אבי שנתן אותן לי גדול מכל ואין איש יכול לחטף אותן מיד האב. אני והאב אחד אנחנו.” שוב הרימו אבנים כדי לרגם אותו. השיב להם ישוע: “מעשים טובים רבים הראיתי לכם מאת האב; על איזה מעשה מהם תרגמוני?” ענו לו: “לא על מעשה טוב נרגם אותך, אלא על חלול שם שמים ועל שבהיותך אדם אתה עושה את עצמך אלהים.” השיב להם ישוע: “כלום לא כתוב בתורתכם, ‘אני-אמרתי אלהים אתם’? אם הוא אמר ‘אלהים’ לאלה אשר דבר אלהים היה אליהם – ואת הכתוב אי אפשר להפר – האם תאמרו אתם לזה אשר האב קדשו ושלח אותו אל העולם, ‘מגדף אתה’, משום שאמרתי ‘בן-אלהים אני’? אם אינני עושה את מעשי אבי, אל תאמינו לי. אבל אם אני עושה, אף אם אינכם מאמינים לי, האמינו למעשים, למען תכירו ותדעו שהאב בי ואני באב.” אז נסו שוב לתפס אותו והוא חמק מידם. הוא הלך ושב אל עבר הירדן, אל המקום אשר שם הטביל יוחנן בראשונה, ונשאר שם. רבים באו אליו. “יוחנן לא עשה שום נס”, אמרו, “אך כל מה שאמר יוחנן על האיש הזה היה אמת.” ורבים האמינו בו שם.פ

It was Chanukkah (Kislev 25-Tevet 2) in Yerushalayim and it was winter time. The Salvation of Adonai, Yeshua, was walking in the Temple in the stoa (portico) of Shlomoh (Solomon). The Yehudim surrounded him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are Ha-Mashiach, say it now so we can hear with our own ears!” Yeshua answered them, “Yes, I have told you but you did not believe me. The works that I do in the name of my Father testify about me. But you will not believe because you are not from my flock, just as I have said to you. My flock hears my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I will give them eternal life, and they will not perish for eternity. No one will snatch them from my hand. The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone; therefore, no one will snatch them from the Hand of my Father. I and my Father are one (אֶחָד-echad), one essence, one unity.” Then the Yehudim picked up stones again as before to stone him. Yeshua responded to them, “I have shown you many good deeds from my Father. Which deed will you stone me for?” The Yehudim answered him, saying, “We will not stone you on account of a good deed, but on account of your blasphemy of Adonai, in that you are a human, but you make yourself Elohim [of one essence with God.] Yeshua answered them, “Is it not written in your Torah, ‘I have said, you (plural) are *elohim’? The scripture cannot be violated. How can you say to the one that the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are a blasphemer,’ because I said I am the ben-Elohim, son of God? If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me. If I am doing so, even if you do not believe me, believe my works, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I am in Him.” Again, they sought to capture him, but he escaped from their hand. He left and returned to the other side of the Yarden, Jordan to the place where Yochanan (ben Zecharyah) originally immersed him, and he stayed there. Many came to him and said, “Yochanan did not perform a sign, but all that Yochanan spoke about this man is true.” Many believed in him in that place.

The Messiah is referencing Psalm 82:6 where it reads:

א‍ני־אמרתי אלהים אתם ובני עליון כלכם׃

אֲֽנִי־אָמַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם וּבְנֵי עֶלְיֹון כֻּלְּכֶֽם׃

I said, “you are God, and all of you are sons of the Most High.”

This psalm refers to the judges in Israel (השופטים בישראל) acting as adjudicating proxies, proximate judges (elohim, lower case) acting in the place of Ha-Shofet (Ha-Elohim, upper case) who is El-Elyon, the God Most High. The Messiah Yeshua ben David is saying that in accord with the precedent setting words of Psalm 82:6 specifically, and other sections of Psalm 82 generally, his use of the titles Son of God and Son of the Most High are valid.

האמינו למעשים, למען תכירו ותדעו שהאב בי ואני באב.” פ“

“Trust in My deeds, know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Messiah our Tzadik (צדיק-Righteous One) rightfully asserts his references to himself as the Son of God, Son of the Most High, and Ha-Shofet (the Judge). These titles are all well attested to in the scriptures and are even further validated by the many signs and wonderful miracles he has performed. The Messiah is simply saying here: it is all right for his fellow Jews to put him to the test so that they/we may experience for ourselves individually and collectively that the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father; that the Father and the Messiah exist together as are a unity (echad).

Therefore, It is all right to put our Messiah to the test by asking the Father to further reveal to us who he really is and what our Divinely assigned relationship to him is. This request for discernment of God’s truth can include the performance of signs, miracles, and wonders. Trust this fact: God our Father who Indwells the Messiah is more than willing today to do signs, wonders, and anything else that is required to assist our people (Israel) in believing in His Messiah who He has sent to us.

Through His Messiah God has sent to us His gift of Living Torah; the true Oral Torah—-the indwelling Presence of the Spirit of the Holy One. The Messiah is the Memra, the Logos, the D’var Ha-Shem. He is the manifestation of the Holy One. He is God cloaked in the human form of His only begotten Son; The Word become flesh. God our Father does not change. God exists in a state of intact wholeness and perfection.

Change is in no way desired or necessary to God’s existence. He does, however, have a manifestation of Himself that has always been with Him. The ancient Jewish theologians call this manifestation of God the Memra. The philosopher Philo called this hypothetical manifestation of God the Logos.

King Solomon called the Memra-Wisdom; as a kind of theophany. The elder Yohanan ben Zebeyah, who knew the Messiah better than anyone including Shaul ben Benyamin, translated all of his theological and intellectual insight about the Messiah into a very simple and elegant one word revelation—HaDavar (The Word ). The mystery unfolds when we ask the question:

How can God create anything if He is unwilling to disturb His state of complete perfection?

The answer is quite simple with God there has always been a manifestation of God. You can see the pre-existence of the Word that is cloaked in the human form of our brother Rabbeinu Yeshua in his following communication to his Father and his God:

אני נתתי להם את הכבוד שנתת לי, למען יהיו אחד כמו שאנחנו אחד. אני בהם ואתה בי כדי שישלמו להיותם אחד, למען ידע העולם כי אתה שלחתני ואהבת אותם כמו שאהבת אותי. אבי, אלה שנתתם לי רצוני שיהיו גם הם אתי באשר אני, למען יחזו בכבודי אשר נתת לי, כי אהבת אותי מלפני הוסד תבל.פ

אֲנִי נָתַתִּי לָהֶם אֶת הַכָּבוֹד שֶׁנָּתַתָּ לִי, לְמַעַן יִהְיוּ אֶחָד כְּמוֹ שֶׁאֲנַחְנוּ אֶחָד. אֲנִי בָּהֶם וְאַתָּה בִּי כְּדֵי שֶׁיֻּשְׁלְמוּ לִהְיוֹתָם אֶחָד, לְמַעַן יֵדַע הָעוֹלָם כִּי אַתָּה שְׁלַחְתַּנִי וְאָהַבְתָּ אוֹתָם כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָהַבְתָּ אוֹתִי. אָבִי, אֵלֶּה שֶׁנְּתַתָּם לִי רְצוֹנִי שֶׁיִּהְיוּ גַּם הֵם אִתִּי בַּאֲשֶׁר אֲנִי, לְמַעַן יֶחֱזוּ בִּכְבוֹדִי אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּ לִי, כִּי אָהַבְתָּ אוֹתִי מִלִּפְנֵי הִוָּסֵד תֵּבֵל. פ

This insight into the revelation of the prior existence of The Word that created the form of Yeshua ben David our brother Who actually walked among (pre-existed) our ancestors can be seen before He cloaked Himself in the human form of Yeshua. He is seen prophetically through the eyes of King Solomon; so it is written (cf. Proverbs 8):

ה’ קנני ראשית דרכו קדם מפעליו מאז׃ מעולם נסכתי מראש מקדמי־ארץ׃ באין־תהמות חוללתי באין מעינות נכבדי־מים׃ בטרם הרים הטבעו לפני גבעות חוללתי׃ עד־לא עשה ארץ וחוצות וראש עפרות תבל׃ בהכינו מים שם אני בחוקו חוג על־פני תהום׃ באמצו שחקים ממעל בעזוז עינות תהום׃ בשומו לים חקו ומים לא יעברו־פיו בחוקו מוסדי ארץ׃ ואהיה אצלו אמון ואהיה עשעים יום יום משחקת לפניו בכל־עת׃ משחקת בתבל ארצו ושעשעי את־בני אדם׃

ה’ קָ֭נָנִי רֵאשִׁ֣ית דַּרְכֹּ֑ו קֶ֖דֶם מִפְעָלָ֣יו מֵאָֽז׃ מֵעֹולָם נִסַּכְתִּי מֵרֹאשׁ מִקַּדְמֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃ בְּאֵין־תְּהֹמֹות חֹולָלְתִּי בְּאֵין מַעְיָנֹות נִכְבַּדֵּי־מָֽיִם׃ בְּטֶרֶם הָרִים הָטְבָּעוּ לִפְנֵי גְבָעֹות חֹולָֽלְתִּי׃ עַד־לֹא עָשָׂה אֶרֶץ וְחוּצֹות וְרֹאשׁ עָפְרֹות תֵּבֵֽל׃ בַּהֲכִינֹו שָׁמַיִם שָׁם אָנִי בְּחוּקֹו חוּג עַל־פְּנֵי תְהֹֽום׃ בְּאַמְּצֹו שְׁחָקִים מִמָּעַל בַּעֲזֹוז עִינֹות תְּהֹום׃ בְּשׂוּמֹו לַיָּם חֻקֹּו וּמַיִם לֹא יַֽעַבְרוּ־פִיו בְּחוּקֹו מֹוסְדֵי אָֽרֶץ׃ וָֽאֶהְיֶה אֶצְלֹו אָמֹון וָֽאֶהְיֶה שַׁעֲשֻׁעִים יֹום יֹום מְשַׂחֶקֶת לְפָנָיו בְּכָל־עֵֽת׃ מְשַׂחֶקֶת בְּתֵבֵל אַרְצֹו וְשַׁעֲשֻׁעַי אֶת־בְּנֵי אָדָֽם׃

“Adonai possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields,  nor the first dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when He set for the sea its boundary so that the water would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth; then I was beside Him, like a little child existing at the side of Him in a state of abiding trust and confidence (אצלו אמון ואהיה); and I was daily His delight, playing, always before Him playing (משחקת, שחק) in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.”

Therefore, how God has been able to do everything He has done or ever will do without changing at all, in any way whatsoever, is His Memra, His Logos, His Word. He has a Divine Self that moves around and does things and this counterpart of God that is God does all of this without compromising in any way the perfect, complete, intact, unchanging, ineffable state of GOD. Everything that God our Father has made He has accomplished through His Memra, Logos, and Word. Nothing has been made without His Word.

When did God first manifest Himself through His Word in a visible form? 

Elohei Kedem, God of the Beginning, first manifested Himself in the Shekinah—-the Glory Cloud. When was the second time God manifested Himself in a visible form? When He had His Word take the form of a new sinless Adam—-our Messiah. Therefore, the Son of Man is the eternal power and the wisdom of God. The Word become flesh. And as the perfect manifestation of the one true God The Word came to earth and dwelt among us in human form. In Him we can see the visible Image of the invisible God.

The Word took our form to deliver us from our sins and our estrangement from God.

The Strong One stooped down to save the weak. He took the form of lowly man to sacrifice Himself for the sake of all of humankind. For we are too weak to save ourselves. And so after He had secured our redemption, He conquered death, and ascended into heaven. So now The Word who became cloaked in the form of a man is now in His new form as a glorified man, and he is seated at the right hand of the Father. Therefore we believe as long as you sincerely seek God’s help:

God will convince you that all of His Divinity dwells bodily in the Messiah Yeshua, son of David.

Now that the anger of the Holy One is finally subsiding. For we unknowingly rejected God our Father and His Holy Spirit when we rejected His Son. Now we may ask of our Father anything; even miracles. Yet we must ask without doubt. For if we do not even believe in God then how can we expect any response from Him at all? Even to attest whether or not Yeshua is the Messiah?

So first believe in GOD, then He will reveal to you that the Messiah is Yeshua ben David.

Believe in God first, then He will personally reveal to you that He Indwells the Messiah Yeshua just as He did His Glory Cloud. Ask first for the gift of faith so that you might receive insight from Ruach Ha-Chokmah, the Spirit of Wisdom, and then shed your ignorance and become rich in the knowledge of God.

The Eternal Temple:

The true Temple of the LORD our God is not an actual tent or a building. The true Temple of God our Father is His human family. God resides forever in the hearts of His children.

We are the Eternal Temple of God.

The Hebrew words son and daughter, ben (בֵּן) and bat (בַּת), along with the word for house, beit (בַּיִת) all come from the root word “benah” (בָּנָה). Benah means “to build” (לִבנוֹת) and this word applies to the making of children.

So the festivals of Light (Chanukkah and Sukkot) both illustrate what kind of temple our loving heavenly Father wants His children to be and the kind of kingdom on earth He wants us to establish. Therefore, by examining the meaning of Chanukkah we are able to see an important part of our heavenly Father’s blueprint for raising His children and how He plans to establish His kingdom here on earth. Chanukkah to Sukkot, conception to birth, depicts the eternal light within and witout the Temple.

The Narrative of Eternal light:

According to Jewish tradition when the Temple was rededicated and the sacred golden lampstand that was located in the Holy Place was relit there was enough specially prepared oil to fuel the sacred light for just one day. Then a miracle happened. God caused the one day supply of oil to last eight days. This gave the priests sufficient time to acquire more of the precious oil to keep golden lampstand continuously lit.

This precious holy oil is a symbol of the work of the Holy Spirit (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). The works of Ruach Ha-Kodesh fuels the light of the Messiah’s life. This glorious union of the Spirit of God to the perfectly obedient man Rabbeinu Yeshua gives forth the eternal fruit of light—Goodness, righteousness and truth.

The New Creation Order:

Jews everywhere observe Chanukkah each year with joyous meals, uplifting synagogue services, the ceremonial carrying of branches, and the illumination of our homes using candlestands each having eight symbolic candles. In the Torah eight is the number of new beginnings and of eternity. The children of Israel are honoring the remembrance of the inaugural day of relighting the Temple lampstand and the seven-day period (miracle week) of light that followed.

The additional seven days of light represent a new creation week.

This miracle of light speaks of a new creation order that is to be brought into existence by Or Ha’Olam, the Light of the World—the Messiah. A time is coming when the glorious light of God will be lengthening and growing until the day His Light will completely overcome the darkness. During this time the darkness will be diminishing until it becomes nothingness.

The Shamash (Messiah) and the eight subordinate candles:

In the Jewish observance of Chanukkah there is a ninth candle that rests in an exalted place above the other eight candles. This candle is used to ignite each of the eight other candles that produce enough light to cover all eight days.

The exalted candle is called the Shamash (Servant) candle.

The exalted Shamash (שַׁמָשׁ-servant) candle is the “Messiah” candle. This is so because the heavenly Father has made the Messiah His Light to all Israel and to the whole world. The arrival of the Messiah produces a new creation order that is dedicated to the rule of God. The Hebrew word Israel means Rule of God.

It is the people of Israel’s destiny to one day bring about God’s gracious rule over all the nations, peoples and families of the earth. Shalom on earth will result only when our people sincerely submit to the rule of God that is manifested through His Son, the Messiah Yeshua ben David.

The beginning of the New Creation:

In the Hebrew Scriptures the number eight is the number of new beginnings.

Our Jewish festivals teach us that the Messiah is the Light of the World. The beginning of the new creation starts with the Messiah’s conception (Chanukkah), birth (Sukkot), and earthly ministry. The earthly ministry of the Messiah our HaGo’el (הגואל), Redeemer, includes his atoning death (Pesach), life giving resurrection (Yom HaBikkurim), and victorious ascension into heaven—40th day of Counting the Omer.

In him was life and the life was the light of men.

The Salvation of God dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, “full of grace and truth.” This is true because the One who Indwells the Messiah, the Spirit of the Holy One, is the source and sustainer of all life. He is the Life and the Light of the World (אור העולם).

Chanukkah celebrates the Messiah’s inauguration of a new beginning. In Judaism the number eight speaks of the infinite. The number seven indicates completion and the number eight speaks of new beginnings and eternity. There are four messianic festivals that employ the use of an eighth day:

Festival #1.  Eight days of Chanukkah, where the eighth day completes the fullness of the festival (Kislev 25-Tevet 2).
Festival #2.  Eight days of Ezekiel’s Rosh Hashanah where the Messiah is installed on the eighth day as the eternal High Priest-King (Nisan 1-8).
Festival #3.  Eight days of Pesach that includes Chag HaMatzot and Yom HaBikkurim (Nisan 15-22).
Festival #4.  Eight days of Sukkot plus one day of Shemini Atzeret  and Simchat Torah (Tishri 15-22).

Eternal Joy is Rejoicing in God’s Torah:

It is on this (cf. above) fourth and final eight day observance of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret that more than any other holy day we celebrate a new age of eternal perfection. Shemini Atzeret is called the eighth day of extended assembly and on the eighth day in Israel we also celebrate Simchat Torah, the Joy of Torah.

Both Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah speak of a time beyond time.

This time beyond time is when Messiah our  eternal High Priest will orchestrate our perfection and make us to dwell in a new heaven and a new earth. This new creation will be untainted by sin of any kind. In this new age our people Israel and the Commonwealth of Israel will be made to forget that evil ever existed at all. Sin, evil and the suffering it brings will be completely erased from our memory!

It will be as if sin never existed:

Sin, evil, and the suffering it brings will be completely erased from our memory.

Our Father of Mercies will not even let the taint of remembering that sin ever existed at all enter into His new creation. It will be as if sin never existed. As my precious wife Connie has said:

Man has free will but our heavenly Father will get what He wants anyway!

in the eternal state we will be as our heavenly Father is, we will be innocent, harmless and playful. We will live in a state of pure shalom: a complete, perfect, uninterrupted state of continuous harmony with God our Father.

He is making All things New!

In regard to this remarkable remaking of all creation the Shaliach, Emmissary, Yochanan ben Zebedyah declares:

ראיתי שמים חדשים וארץ חדשה, כי השמים הראשונים והארץ הראשונה עברו והים איננו עוד. ראיתי את עיר הקדש, ירושלים החדשה, יורדת מן השמים מאת האלהים, מוכנה ככלה מקשטת לבעלה. ושמעתי קול גדול מן הכסא – אומר: “הנה משכן האלהים עם בני אדם וישכן עמהם; המה יהיו לו לעם והוא האלהים יהיה עמהם, וימחה כל דמעה מעיניהם והמות לא יהיה עוד; גם אבל וזעקה וכאב לא יהיו עוד, כי הראשונות עברו.”פ

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,’ and And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

“!הנני עושה הכל חדש”

“I am making all things new!”

The Spirit of Messiah reveals, therefore, through the Grace of God in this declaration, “Behold, I am making everything new.” In this new creation order God through His Servant the Messiah will manifest to us a:

All things new #1.  New song (Psalm 33:3; 144:9),
All things new #2.  New name (Isaiah 62:2),
All things new #3.  New earth and new heavens (Isaiah 66:22),
All things new #4.  New covenant (Jeremiah 31:31),
All things new #5.  New heart (Ezekiel 18:31; 36:26),
All things new #6.  New spirit (Ezekiel 18:31; 36:26),
All things new #7.  New strength (Isaiah 40:31; 41:1).

Inside first, then outside:

At the end of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, is the Festival Sukkot (Booths).

As stated previously, like the festival of Chanukkah the festival of Sukkot is also called a “Festival of Lights.” However Sukkot represents the visible completion of the Messiah’s work outside the temple. The light that is celebrated inside the temple on Chanukkah is  hidden from public view. Only the very small lights that peek out from the Holy Place (היכל-Hekhhal) could be seen from outside in the adjacent temple courtyards. Chanukkah represents the beginning of the work of the Messiah of God from inside the temple of Adam—Humankind.

The Court of the Women:

Nine months—exactly 285 days or forty weeks) later after Chanukkah—the light that is celebrated in Sukkot visibly appears outside the temple. The Light shines out from the Court of the Women in the form of four enormous golden outdoor lampstands. These four towering lampstands were so large that ladders had to be used to fuel and ignite their flames.

This period of slightly over forty weeks from Chanukkah to Sukkot represents the procreative work of Messiah’s life. It is a graphic picture of how the entire kingdom of God is being re-created by and through the life of the Messiah of God.

Messiah and our heavenly Father:

Without consciously knowing it we Jews have been celebrating the miraculous work of Messiah’s life. One time while our Rabbi Yeshua was observing Chanukkah he said:

אם אינני עושה את מעשי אבי, אל תאמינו לי. אבל אם אני עושה, אף אם אינכם מאמינים לי, האמינו למעשים, למען תכירו ותדעו שהאב בי ואני באב. פ

If I do not the works of my Father, don’t believe me. But if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may  know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”

God’s timing:

Another interesting thing about Chanukkah is its timing. Just as the winter nights get their longest the Shamash, Messiah candle, ignites and ushers in eight days of ever-increasing light inaugurating a new season of longer daylight and decreasing nights. Yochanan ben Zebedyah the Beloved disciple says of this Messianic new beginning:

.והאור מאיר בחשך והחשך לא השיגו

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Messiah overcomes all the powers of evil:

Darkness is not able to conquer the Messiah, Ne’eman V’Yashar (נאמן ואמיתי), the Faithful and True One. Evil can never overcome or conquer the light of the Servant of God, the Messiah.

The single Shamash (Servant-Messiah) candle has overcome all the powers of darkness.

Therefore, it is imperative that the Anointed One be placed in the exalted place of our lives. We are placed in the perfect care of the Messiah that our love for Abba Avinu and each other, like the Chanukkah candles, may burn brighter and brighter each and every day. This sanctifying process continues until all of the family of God becomes a glorious new creation, built up to be our Father’s eternal dwelling place; transformed from glory to glory until the day when we are fully made into the brilliant likeness of our Messiah—God’s perfect humanity. For the Messiah of God is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature.

Messiah in Chanukkah Chapter 11 >>