Messiah in Rosh HaShanah & Yom Teruah Chapter 29

  1. Discourse of the Rabbi from Heaven with the Rabbi of Israel
  2. Testimony of the age of the Spirit
  3. The Man from Heaven
  4. Rabbinical ignorance
  5. The Basic Plan of the Rabbi from Heaven
  6. The adverse consequences of Unbelief
  7. Abraham testifies that the love of Adonai reaches out to the whole World:
  8. Father Abraham’s prophecy about the Sacrifice of Messiah
  9. The Gift of the Suffering Messiah
  10. The Eternal One sent His Son to save us
  11. A Messianic Theology of Light
  12. Why those who Love the Darkness Hate the Light
  13. The Mystery of Darkness and its Solution
  14. The need for Humility and Gratitude

Discourse of the Rabbi from Heaven with the Rabbi of Israel:

וַיַּעַן נַקְדִּימוֹן וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֵיכָה תִהְיֶה כָּזֹאת׃ וַיַּעַן יֵשׁוּעַ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו רַב בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אַתָּה וְזֹאת לֹא יָדָעְתָּ׃

Nakdimon said to Him (the Messiah), “How could it be like this?” Yeshua (lit. the Salvation of Adonai) answered and said to him, “You are a  Rav in Israel (רַב בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל- a member of the ruling Sanhedrin) and you do not know this?”

אָמֵן אָמֵן אֲנִי אֹמֵר לָךְ כִּי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־יָדַעְנוּ נְדַבֵּר וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר־רָאִינוּ נָעִיד וְאַתֶּם לֹא תְקַבְּלוּ עֵדוּתֵנוּ׃ אִם הִגַּדְתִּי לָכֶם עִנְיְנֵי הָאָרֶץ וְאֵינְכֶם מַאֲמִינִים אֵיךְ תַּאֲמִינוּ בְּהַגִּידִי לָכֶם עִנְיְנֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם׃ וְאִישׁ לֹא־עָלָה הַשָּׁמַיְמָה בִּלְתִּי אִם־אֲשֶׁר יָרַד מִן־הַשָּׁמָיִם בֶּן־הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר הוּא בַּשָּׁמָיִם׃ וְכַאֲשֶׁר הִגְבִּיהַּ משֶׁה אֶת־הַנָּחָשׁ בַּמִּדְבָּר כֵּן צָרִיךְ בֶּן־הָאָדָם לְהִנָּשֵׂא׃ לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֹאבַד כָּל־הַמַּאֲמִין בּוֹ כִּי אִם־יִחְיֶה חַיֵּי עוֹלָם׃ כִּי־אַהֲבָה רַבָּה אָהַב הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָעוֹלָם עַד־אֲשֶׁר נָתַן אֶת־בְּנוֹ אֶת־יְחִידוֹ לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יֹאבַד כָּל־הַמַּאֲמִין בּוֹ כִּי אִם־יִחְיֶה חַיֵּי עוֹלָם׃ כִּי הָאֱלֹהִים לֹא־שָׁלַח אֶת־בְּנוֹ בָּעוֹלָם לָדִין אֶת־הָעוֹלָם כִּי אִם־לְמַעַן יִוָּשַׁע בּוֹ הָעוֹלָם׃ הַמַּאֲמִין בּוֹ לֹא יִדּוֹן וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא־יַאֲמִין בּוֹ כְּבָר נָדוֹן כִּי לֹא־הֶאֱמִין בְּשֵׁם בֶּן־הָאֱלֹהִים הַיָּחִיד׃

“Amen, amen (אָמֵן אָמֵן), I say to you that we will speak what we know and we will testify about what we have seen. But you will not accept our testimony. If I told you about earthly matters and you do not believe, how will you believe when I tell you matters of heaven? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven: the Son of Man who is in heaven. And just as Mosheh elevated the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that none who believe will perish, but rather they will live eternal life. For Adonai (lit. הָאֱלֹהִים) loved the world with an abundant love, to the extent that He gave His only Son so that all who believe in Him will not perish, but will rather live eternal life. For Adonai did not send His Son into the world to sentence the world, but rather so that the world may be saved in Him. One who believes in Him will not be sentenced (judged), but whoever will not believe in Him is already sentenced (judged) for He has not believed in the name of the only Son of Adonai (בֶּן־הָאֱלֹהִים).

Rabbi Nicodemus said to Messiah, “How can and does the transformation of the Spirit take place?” Messiah answered the esteemed Rabbi in Israel (רַב בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל) that he should have already known what He was speaking about because the prophets had already clearly spoken of a new Age of the Spirit in the Tanakh: “Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony” (cf. Isaiah 32:15; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Joel 2:28-29):

עַד־יֵעָרֶה עָלֵינוּ רוּחַ מִמָּרֹום וְהָיָה מִדְבָּר לַכַּרְמֶל וכרמל לַיַּעַר יֵחָשֵֽׁב׃

Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.

וְזָרַקְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַיִם טְהֹורִים וּטְהַרְתֶּם מִכֹּל טֻמְאֹותֵיכֶם וּמִכָּל־גִּלּוּלֵיכֶם אֲטַהֵר אֶתְכֶֽם׃ וְנָתַתִּי לָכֶם לֵב חָדָשׁ וְרוּחַ חֲדָשָׁה אֶתֵּן בְּקִרְבְּכֶם וַהֲסִרֹתִי אֶת־לֵב הָאֶבֶן מִבְּשַׂרְכֶם וְנָתַתִּי לָכֶם לֵב בָּשָֽׂר׃ וְאֶת־רוּחִי אֶתֵּן בְּקִרְבְּכֶם וְעָשִׂיתִי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־בְּחֻקַּי תֵּלֵכוּ וּמִשְׁפָּטַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶֽם׃

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

וְהָיָה אַֽחֲרֵי־כֵן אֶשְׁפֹּוךְ אֶת־רוּחִי עַל־כָּל־בָּשָׂר וְנִבְּאוּ בְּנֵיכֶם וּבְנֹֽותֵיכֶם זִקְנֵיכֶם חֲלֹמֹות יַחֲלֹמוּן בַּחוּרֵיכֶם חֶזְיֹנֹות יִרְאֽוּ׃ וְגַם עַל־הָֽעֲבָדִים וְעַל־הַשְּׁפָחֹות בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה אֶשְׁפֹּוךְ אֶת־רוּחִֽי׃

“It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

Testimony of the age of the Spirit:

“We know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” Here Ha-Mashiach, the Salvation of Adonai (Yeshua) is asking Rabbi Nicodemus if he was aware of the meaning of the Age of the Spirit foretold by the prophets. The Rabbi of Israel was asking questions that he should have already had the answers to. Messiah was pointing out to Nicodemus that the sayings and meanings He was teaching about were really not ‘new.’ These teachings were already well attested to in the writings of the prophets. Therefore, Rabbi Yeshua’s teaching was not a new teaching. His teaching was the ‘fulfillment’ of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings (Tanakh): “We know and testify of what we have seen.” This speaks of Messiah’s close association with the previous oracles of the Spirit of Holiness and His servants the prophets. All the Scriptures bear witness to the Messiah’s teaching.

The Man from Heaven:

“You do not accept our testimony.” The “our” here includes the great testimony of the prophets, as spoken by their Spokesperson (their corporate representative) Yochanan Ben Zechariah (the first “Elijah to come;” there is a second Elijah to come who will precede the the second coming of the Messiah):

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

If Nicodemus had not discerned the meaning of the Tanakh and the testimony of the prophet Yochanan-John (revelation imparted by the prophets; by mortal men from earth) how could he ever comprehend the meaning of Rabbi Yeshua’s teaching, the Man from Heaven, who as the Eternal One came out of eternity into creation as the promised Savior. How could one of the nation of Israel’s most outstanding Rabbis not understand how it was Abba Father’s plan to rebirth His people through first cleansing them of their sins and then giving them a new heart when the prophets had together spoken so clearly and forcibly about these matters? (cf. 1 Samuel 10:6; Jeremiah 31:33).

וְצָלְחָה עָלֶיךָ רוּחַ ה’ וְהִתְנַבִּיתָ עִמָּם וְנֶהְפַּכְתָּ לְאִישׁ אַחֵֽר׃

Then the Ruach Adonai will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.

כִּי זֹאת הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר אֶכְרֹת אֶת־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרֵי הַיָּמִים הָהֵם נְאֻם־ה’ נָתַתִּי אֶת־תֹּֽורָתִי בְּקִרְבָּם וְעַל־לִבָּם אֶכְתֲּבֶנָּה וְהָיִיתִי לָהֶם לֵֽאלֹהִים וְהֵמָּה יִֽהְיוּ־לִי לְעָֽם׃

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Adonai, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their Mighty One, and they shall be My people.”

Rabbinical ignorance:

If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

The rabbis of Messiah’s day were ignorant of the prophetic realm that he built His teaching upon. Nicodemus’ ignorance was a product of the nation’s preoccupation with human traditions that had inexcusably become a “substitute” for the Divine revelation of the prophets (beta search on this site our remarks about the meaning of the Parable of the Bramble Bush (ha’atad-האטד) found in the Tanakh. Sadly, this is why Rabbi Nicodemus could not understand the Messiah’s basic teaching of regeneration. He did comprehend the most basic spiritual meaning of what Israel’s prophets had spoken of and testified to.

Before the appearance of the Prophet Yochanan it had been over four hundred years since a prophet had last spoken in Israel. During this span of time the religious leaders had usurped Adonai’s spiritual teaching by replacing it with their own useless rituals, traditions and vain rationalizations. Now the promised Messiah had come. He used earthly analogies for an earthly audience. If even the most prominent of rabbis could not understand the most basic spiritual teaching, put in the simplest of terms, how could the people who followed them ever hope to understand the mature matters of heaven, the eternal plan and mysteries of the Eternal Father in the ages to come?

The Basic Plan of the Rabbi from Heaven:

No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

With the prophets man was able to learn about the Eternal One. With the Messiah Ben Ha-Elohim present on earth man was able to actually behold the Face of the Father! Among humanity only the Messiah had already been a resident of heaven. Messiah lived in heaven “prior” to His coming to earth at Chanukkah (at conception to the Jewess Mary; cf. article, “Messiah in Hanukkah”). Only Messiah, the Word become flesh, could give forth teaching from the Divine perspective. In contrast the prophets, although Divinely inspired, were born of the earth. The Messiah actually pre-existed creation. The prophets did not. Messiah is the Lord of all eternity. Messiah is the only One among all creation who was born out of eternity into creation. Therefore, He came from eternity into creation and was in no way a finite, created being. The natural order of learning for humanity was for Adonai’s people (Israel) to first learn the basic meaning of Adonai’s plan. This was to be accomplished by the people first studying the testimony of the prophets. Then (once enlightened) Abba Father’s elect nation could be prepared for the mature teaching of the Messiah. Unfortunately at the time of the Messiah’s first appearance on earth even the elite Jewish religious teachers had lapsed into unbelief and ignorance regarding the testimony of the prophets.

The adverse consequences of Unbelief:

In spite of the great efforts and urgency of the Prophet Yochanan’s contemporary ministry and message the nation of Israel, its leaders, and people were not spiritually prepared for the arrival of Messiah. They had ceased to study the Word of Adonai. The people of Israel were living in spiritual darkness because their leaders had replaced the revelation of Adonai with a exploitative man-made religious system that was obsessed with money, greed, power, pride, nationalistic sentiment and social position. Without giving regular attention to the study of Adonai’s Word, His Torah, the nation had lapsed into idolatry. Sincere matters of the heart were entirely ignored, while attention was thoroughly diverted to supporting the corrupt state religion and the self-serving, idolatrous, religious leaders who ruled over the people of Israel. Just as the prophets had testified hundreds of years before the Son of the Almighty had appeared and in mass the people and their esteemed leaders were not prepared.

The Rabbi from Heaven (the heavenly Messiah) had arrived and Israel was not ready!

The Ancient of Days came in human form to reveal the Divine mysteries (cf. Daniel 7:13). The Son of Man came to bridge the gap between man and the Creator and to act as a “Ladder” between the matters of earth and the matters of heaven. The Rabbi from Heaven “descended” in His miraculous birth, then He ascended far above the highest heaven after His death and resurrection. Soon (just as the Prophets also predicted) I believe He will return to earth again a ‘second time’ when His people will finally be prepared to receive Him, at His triumphant and glorious Second Coming (cf. “Messiah in Yom Kippur”). We learn of this from the Prophet Moshe:

As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

The thought of the Messiah ascending into heaven leads us to the matter of His being “lifted up” on the accursed tree for the people’s sins (the tree was configured in the form of the ancient Hebrew letter Tav that is shaped like a crude cross). Prophetically Moses reenacted this redemptive event when he lifted up a bronze serpent and placed it on a wooden pole as a cure for Israel’s disobedience while they were in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9).

וַיִּסְעוּ מֵהֹר הָהָר דֶּרֶךְ יַם־סוּף לִסְבֹב אֶת־אֶרֶץ אֱדֹום וַתִּקְצַר נֶֽפֶשׁ־הָעָם בַּדָּֽרֶךְ׃ וַיְדַבֵּר הָעָם בֵּֽאלֹהִים וּבְמֹשֶׁה לָמָה הֶֽעֱלִיתֻנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לָמוּת בַּמִּדְבָּר כִּי אֵין לֶחֶם וְאֵין מַיִם וְנַפְשֵׁנוּ קָצָה בַּלֶּחֶם הַקְּלֹקֵֽל׃ וַיְשַׁלַּח ה’ בָּעָם אֵת הַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים וַֽיְנַשְּׁכוּ אֶת־הָעָם וַיָּמָת עַם־רָב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ וַיָּבֹא הָעָם אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמְרוּ חָטָאנוּ כִּֽי־דִבַּרְנוּ בַֽ ה’ וָבָךְ הִתְפַּלֵּל אֶל־ה’ וְיָסֵר מֵעָלֵינוּ אֶת־הַנָּחָשׁ וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל מֹשֶׁה בְּעַד הָעָֽם׃

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against the Almighty One and Mosheh, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”  Adonai sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Mosheh and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Adonai and you; intercede with Adonai, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Mosheh interceded for the people.

וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתֹו עַל־נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל־הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתֹו וָחָֽי׃ וַיַּעַשׂ מֹשֶׁה נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת וַיְשִׂמֵהוּ עַל־הַנֵּס וְהָיָה אִם־נָשַׁךְ הַנָּחָשׁ אֶת־אִישׁ וְהִבִּיט אֶל־נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת וָחָֽי׃

Then Adonai said to Mosheh, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard (נֵס-on a wooden pole); and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Mosheh made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard (הַנֵּס-the wooden pole); and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. Just as the people were healed of poisonous snake bites as they looked in faith at the bronze serpent hanging on the wooden pole, so the Son of Man died for our sin so that all of us who look upon Him in faith will not only be healed of our sins but we will also inherit the promised gift of eternal life the Indwelling Presence of the Spirit of Adonai (the LORD). Another witness who testifies to Messiah Yeshua is father Abraham. We need to listen, understand, and learn from the prophetic witness of Father Abraham: “For Adonai so Loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,but have Eternal Life.”

Abraham testifies that the love of Adonai reaches out to the whole World:

The heavenly Father’s motive for sending a manifestation of Himself in human form to earth was, is, and always will be His Love. His love is not limited to Abraham, Isaac and Israel but His love reaches out from Israel’s Messiah to the whole world. In Genesis 22:1-14 we learn of the sacrifice of the Beloved Son in the prophetic role-play of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Isaac:

וַיְהִי אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְהָאֱלֹהִים נִסָּה אֶת־אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ וַיֹּאמֶר קַח־נָא אֶת־בִּנְךָ אֶת־יְחִֽידְךָ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַבְתָּ אֶת־יִצְחָק וְלֶךְ־לְךָ אֶל־אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה וְהַעֲלֵהוּ שָׁם לְעֹלָה עַל אַחַד הֶֽהָרִים אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר וַֽיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת־חֲמֹרֹו וַיִּקַּח אֶת־שְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו אִתֹּו וְאֵת יִצְחָק בְּנֹו וַיְבַקַּע עֲצֵי עֹלָה וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל־הַמָּקֹום אֲשֶׁר־אָֽמַר־לֹו הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ בַּיֹּום הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וַיִּשָּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת־עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת־הַמָּקֹום מֵרָחֹֽק׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֶל־נְעָרָיו שְׁבוּ־לָכֶם פֹּה עִֽם־הַחֲמֹור וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד־כֹּה וְנִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

Now it came about after these things, that Adonai tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac (a prophetic type of the crucified Messiah Yeshua) and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood (a symbol of the accursed tree) for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which Adonai had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance (the place on Mount Moriah where Messiah was crucified, adjacent to the area where the Temple would be built). Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there (the exact area the Holy One had designated), and we will worship and return to you.”

וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָהָם אֶת־עֲצֵי הָעֹלָה וַיָּשֶׂם עַל־יִצְחָק בְּנֹו וַיִּקַּח בְּיָדֹו אֶת־הָאֵשׁ וְאֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶלֶת וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּֽו׃ וַיֹּאמֶר יִצְחָק אֶל־אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו וַיֹּאמֶר אָבִי וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֶּנִּֽי בְנִי וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה הָאֵשׁ וְהָעֵצִים וְאַיֵּה הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָֽה׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה־לֹּו הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה בְּנִי וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּֽו׃

Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son (symbolic of the wooden beam Messiah carried through the streets of Israel out to the ‘place’ where He was crucified), and he took in his hand the fire and the knife (symbols of judgment). So the two of them walked on together (the Spirit of the heavenly Father led Messiah His Korban Pesach to the appointed place), Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the Lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “Adonai will provide for Himself the Lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶֽל־הַמָּקֹום אֲשֶׁר אָֽמַר־לֹו הָאֱלֹהִים וַיִּבֶן שָׁם אַבְרָהָם אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וַֽיַּעֲרֹךְ אֶת־הָעֵצִים וַֽיַּעֲקֹד אֶת־יִצְחָק בְּנֹו וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתֹו עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מִמַּעַל לָעֵצִֽים׃ וַיִּשְׁלַח אַבְרָהָם אֶת־יָדֹו וַיִּקַּח אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶלֶת לִשְׁחֹט אֶת־בְּנֹֽו׃ וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו מַלְאַךְ ה’ מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אַל־תִּשְׁלַח יָֽדְךָ אֶל־הַנַּעַר וְאַל־תַּעַשׂ לֹו מְאוּמָּה כִּי עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּֽי־יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי ׃וַיִּשָּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת־עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה־אַיִל אַחַר נֶאֱחַז בַּסְּבַךְ בְּקַרְנָיו וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח אֶת־הָאַיִל וַיַּעֲלֵהוּ לְעֹלָה תַּחַת בְּנֹֽו׃ וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵֽׁם־הַמָּקֹום הַהוּא ה’ יִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר הַיֹּום בְּהַר ה’ יֵרָאֶֽה׃

Then they came to the place (outside the walls of Jerusalem) of which Adonai had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood (in vertical and horizontal intersections configured like the Hebrew Letter Tav) and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood (symbolic of Messiah’s being bound to the accursed tree). Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of Adonai called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the youth (Isaac was about thirty years old at the time of this prophetic event) and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear Adonai since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son (in the same manner, Messiah was sacrificed in ‘our’ place). Abraham called the name of that place Adonai Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of Adonai it will be provided!”

וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ ה’ אֶל־אַבְרָהָם שֵׁנִית מִן־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃וַיֹּאמֶר בִּי נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי נְאֻם־ה’ כִּי יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ אֶת־יְחִידֶֽךָ׃ כִּֽי־בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ כְּכֹוכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכַחֹול אֲשֶׁר עַל־שְׂפַת הַיָּם וְיִרַשׁ זַרְעֲךָ אֵת שַׁעַר אֹיְבָֽיו׃ וְהִתְבָּרֲכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ כֹּל גֹּויֵי הָאָרֶץ עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקֹלִֽי׃

Then the angel of Adonai called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares Adonai, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My Voice.”

Father Abraham’s prophetic enactment of the Sacrifice of Messiah:

Like father Abraham’s prophetic sacrifice of his beloved son Isaac at Mt. Moriah, two thousand years before Messiah’s first visit to earth, the heavenly Father sacrificed His Beloved Son, the Messiah Yeshua. Abraham’s sacrificial heart is a witness to the love of the Eternal Father. His doctrine is about our heavenly Father giving His Beloved One (Yadid) as a sacrifice for our salvation (Genesis 22). A great deal of Abraham’s Torah is devoted to teaching us that we are justified by faith in Adonai and not by our own works. In other words we are saved by trusting in the works of the Holy One and not our own works.

Four thousand years ago Abraham’s son Isaac was born into this world as a result of a miraculous conception (Genesis 21:2). His sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah was a foreshadowing of Messiah’s birth, death and resurrection almost two thousand years later. Messiah’s crucifixion took place at the exact same location where Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac, on Mount Moriah; just outside the city gates of Jerusalem (Genesis 22). Father Abraham teaches us that we are delivered from our sins when we receive the Love of Adonai, the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah (Avi Yeshua Hamashiach Adoneinu), through believing in the atoning sacrifice of His Beloved Son. This is the Heart of father Abraham: that we “see”on Mount Moriah that the heavenly Father has “provided” us the gracious means for our salvation (the sacrifice of His Beloved Son, Messiah).

The Gift of the Suffering Messiah:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

The term “only begotten” refers to the giving of Adonai’s unique Son. This word means “only born one” (as in one and only) or “only begotten.” The Savior was given by the heavenly Father to humanity as a gift given by grace alone. No one has earned their salvation. From the Father’s perspective no one is deserving of salvation, however, “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” In mercy Adonai, the Father of Mercies, seeks out the whosoever, the spiritually unlovely and the infirmed (weak, frail, and disabled). Abba Father’s love is not selective. It is universal. Adonai comes to the whole world in love through His Beloved Son. A person is saved only by believing in the Son. The believer will not “perish.” The word translated perish means not annihilation but a “ruin” in hell. It indicates a state of being separated from the heavenly Father and His life forever. Eternal life is that new quality of life that every believer possesses now and will continue to possess forever:

הַמַּאֲמִין בּוֹ לֹא יִדּוֹן וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא־יַאֲמִין בּוֹ כְּבָר נָדוֹן כִּי לֹא־הֶאֱמִין בְּשֵׁם בֶּן־הָאֱלֹהִים הַיָּחִיד׃ וְזֶה הוּא הַדִּין כִּי הָאוֹר בָּא אֶל־הָעוֹלָם וּבְנֵי הָאָדָם אָהֲבוּ הַחשֶׁךְ יוֹתֵר מִן־הָאוֹר כִּי רָעִים מַעֲשֵׁיהֶם׃

He who believes in Him is not judged; He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of Adonai. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

The Eternal One sent His Son to save us; not to condemn us:

Adonai sent His Son to save and not to condemn. He desires to save everyone. The believer is under “no condemnation.” He will never be condemned. Nevertheless, those people who reject the Light remain in darkness. They are under Adonai’s judgment. They are like those sinful and terminally ill Israelites who having deliberately wandered off the Holy One’s path in the wilderness were bitten and injected with the deadly venom of the fiery serpents. All those unbelieving people who did not look up to “see” the fiery serpent hanging on the pole failed to receive the Divine cure for their sin, and they perished (Numbers 21:4-9). Those who do not look upon the Savior in belief that He died for their sins will fulfill the destiny of a ruined life. Those who refuse to accept the gift of the Father must go on existing without the gift of eternal life. They will live in separation from Adonai’s joyous Presence forever.

A Messianic Theology of Light:

In the Tanakh light is more than a moral force that discloses evil. Light in the Hebrew Scriptures is a symbol of the Eternal One’s Divine Presence. Encountering light is encountering the Divine personality. Hiding from the light, therefore, is more than moral failure it is a “rejection” of our Creator. A preference for the darkness is a preference to live one’s life under the crown (the sovereignty) of one’s own Self-life; unhindered and unobstructed by Adonai’s own “sovereign” preferences (living under the rule, safety, and security of His Divine Crown). It is important to remember that the name “Israel” means “Rule of Elohim.”

Therefore, if we love the Light the rule of HaShem becomes our crown. The Name, therefore, that we choose to live under the authority of indicates our very being. If we obey (shama) the Lord then we live under His rule and possess His kingly reign over us as a Prince or Princess does their Father-King. This living under the King of the Universe’s Crown (His Name) affords us the privilege of our one day co-reigning over His creation as His royal representatives. If we love our King we obey Him. If we obey Him His rule is being manifested “above us, through us, and in us.” However, no one has ever lived up to the meaning of Israel’s name, the Rule of Elohim. Only the Messiah has been perfectly submitted to our Abba Father! Without Messiah’s help and the help of the Spirit of Grace we will never be able to fulfill the meaning of the Unity Prayer (Shema) as a corporate nation and as individuals.

Why those who Love Darkness Hate the Light:

Love of darkness is a deceit. It is a futile effort to escape from the Righteous Father’s intervention in Man’s affairs (His judgment of humankind choosing its own rule over the Rule of Elohim). The works of humankind are wholly insufficient, they are not up to par with the Creator’s perfect standard. This Divine standard of “perfection” has only been attained by one man, the Perfect Man, the Messiah. Encountering Elohim (the Creator) is more than a mere encounter with our significant personal deficiencies. In truth, more terrifying and hateful is the dreaded fact that when we are physically confronted by the actual Presence of the Holy, Righteous Father we are completely undone by His judgment.

For the unbelieving person the Divine encounter brings judgment and not vindication.

It is this uncompromising, unalterable, final judgment of Adonai that the unsaved and unregenerate dread and hate! The unregenerate love the Darkness not so much for what it is but what it does. The darkness “hides” them from the Presence of the Creator. The Darkness provides a false shelter and a false hope. The Darkness attempts to prove that the judgment of the Almighty One is an over-rated deceit that presents no real threat to anyone except those who would foolishly believe in such a thing:

“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having wrought in the Creator (Elohim).”

In the shadowy kingdom of Darkness, with all its false religious beliefs, values, and lifestyles, is “recast” as a kingdom of liberated righteousness; and the kingdom of light is “reframed” to be a kingdom of unrighteous oppression. In the shadowy kingdom of Darkness good is evil and evil is good. Since the Presence of the Holy One is a threat, the Presence of His Light that exposes the lies of humanity is a threat. Hence, those living in darkness “hate” the light. For to the lost people and religions of the world the Light is not a herald of liberation. For the unbelieving the Light is a messenger of unwelcome judgment and certain condemnation.

The Mystery of Darkness and its Solution:

What is the Mystery of Darkness, the evil of the night that keeps people from accepting Adonai’s gift of salvation?

It is human pride. It was our own personal vanity and obstinacy that previously blocked us from being immersed in the waters of repentance and freely receiving the Spirit of Life. It is our love of Self-rule and our hatred of “Adonai Elohim’s Rule” that keeps us lost and on a path that inevitably will lead us toward certain judgment. Our precious Lord, who is the Salvation of Adonai (Yeshua), immersed us in His truth when He revealed to us that the Light was hated by many because people do not want their deeds “exposed” as being evil. This hatred continues unabated today even though the Eternal One has explicitly promised that if the lost will voluntarily come to His Light that they will not be condemned but He will give them cleansing for sin and eternal life (life of a ‘new quality’).

The need for Humility and Gratitude:

כִּי כָל־פֹּעֵל עַוְלָה שֹׂנֵא אֶת־הָאוֹר וְלֹא יָבֹא לָאוֹר פֶּן־יִוָּכַח עַל־מַעֲשָׂיו׃ אֲבָל עֹשֵׂה הָאֱמֶת יָבֹא לָאוֹר לְמַעַן יִגָּלוּ מַעֲשָׂיו כִּי נַעֲשׂוֹּ בֵּאלֹהִים׃

“For everyone who does evil hates the Light (the or-הָאוֹר), and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth (the emet-הָאֱמֶת) comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in Elohim.”

What is the good attitude that enables people to accept Adonai’s Gift of Life?

It is humility. And it is gratitude. We believers, unlike our lost counterparts, readily accept the truth of the Spirit of Holiness because we unreservedly believe the Spirit of the Holy One is “Love.” We believe the truth was given to us about our moral and spiritual shortfalls to help us, not to harm us. We agree with Adonai about our sins and our unregenerate, proud hearts. Our agreeing with the Holy One about our shortfalls does not lead us into condemnation; rather our truthfulness about our not living up to Abba Father’s standard of perfection provokes us to change. Our confessions and repentance allow us to exchange our old dead-heart for Messiah’s New Heart that is filled with the eternal life of His Spirit; the Spirit of Grace and the Spirit of Truth. This means we believe that the only painful impact that Elohim has truly brought upon us is the difficult but necessary destruction of our our old Self-life; which is a parasitical entity. Otherwise, if we allow this entity to remain within us we will have led ourselves to “eternal” ruin.

Our encouragement to all is don’t be afraid. Let the Spirit open up the dark, hidden places in your life.

Be honest with the Spirit of Grace and Truth about what your sins and transgressions are. Confess the truth within the Tent of Adonai’s Grace and Love. Confess that you are incapable of conforming to the Holy One’s rightful demand for your perfect obedience. Believe truth. Believe that the Holy One is the Almighty, Merciful, and Compassionate One who loves you because He ‘is’ Personified Love (Personified Chesed and Ahavah). Ask for the heavenly Father’s mercy and help. We have. The moment you cry out to Abba Avinu, like David and I you will begin to experience the refreshing, liberating, cleansing help of the Spirit of the Holy One and begin a life of a wonderful “new quality,” the eternal life of the Indwelling Presence of the Spirit of Adonai (the LORD). Shalom, Shalom (שָׁלוֹם שָׁלוֹם).

Messiah in Rosh Hashanah & Yom Teruah Chapter 30 >>