1. “After these things”
2. The literal and spiritual meaning of the term Rosh HaShanah
3. At the Feast of Rosh HaShanah
4. The term Rosh HaShanah is used only once in the Tanakh
5. The Seven objectives of the prophet Daniel
6. Shiloh is the promised Rod of Levi, the Resurrected High Priest
7. Messiah the King
8. Messiah the Great High Priest
9. Fulfillment of Messiah’s Kingdom Prayer
10. The prayer of David the Prophet-King
11. Messiah’s Installation Ceremony
12. Ezekiel’s Mark of Redemption
13. The Bramble Bush deception
14. The deceit of the bloodless Sign of Redemption

“After these things:”

Yochanan 5:2-9

{Classical & Mishnaic Hebrew}

וּבִירוּשָׁלַיִם בְּרֵכָה עַל־יַד שַׁעַר הַצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר יִקְרְאוּ לָהּ בְּלָשׁוֹן עִבְרִית בֵּית־חַסְדָּא וְלָהּ חֲמִשָּׁה אֻלַמִּים׃ שָׁמָּה שָׁכְבוּ חוֹלִים וְעִוְרִים וּפִסְחִים וִיבֵשֵׁי־כֹחַ לָרֹב (וְהֵמָּה מְיַחֲלִים לִתְנוּעַת הַמָּיִם׃ כִּי מַלְאָךְ יָרַד בְּמוֹעֲדוֹ אֶל־הַבְּרֵכָה וַיַּרְעֵשׁ אֶת־מֵימֶיהָ וְהָיָה הַיֹּרֵד רִאשׁוֹן אֶל־תּוֹכָהּ אַחֲרֵי הִתְגֹּעֲשׁוּ הַמַּיִם הוּא נִרְפָּא מִכָּל־מַחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר דָּבְקָה בּוֹ)׃ וְשָׁם אִישׁ אֶחָד וְהוּא בְחָלְיוֹ שְׁלשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה׃ וַיַּרְא אֹתוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ שֹׁכֵב וַיֵּדַע כִּי אָרְכוּ־לוֹ יְמֵי חָלְיוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הֲתַחְפֹּץ לְהֵרָפֵא׃ וַיַּעַן הַחוֹלֶה אֲדֹנִי אֵין־אִישׁ אִתִּי לְהַשְׁלִיכֵנִי אֶל־הַבְּרֵכָה בְּהֵרָעֵשׁ הַמַּיִם וּבְטֶרֶם אָבֹא וְיָרַד אַחֵר לְפָנָי׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו יֵשׁוּעַ קוּם שָׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ׃ וּכְרֶגַע שָׁב הָאִישׁ לְאֵיתָנוֹ וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וַיִּתְהַלָּךְ וְהַיּוֹם הַהוּא יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת׃

{Modern Hebrew}

בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם, עַל־יַד שַׁעַר הַצֹּאן הָיְתָה בְּרֵכָה, שֶׁנִּקְרְאָה בֵּית חַסְדָּא, וּסְבִיבָהּ חָמֵשׁ אַכְסַדְרָאוֹת בַּעֲלוֹת עַמּוּדִים. בָּאַכְסַדְרָאוֹת הָאֵלֶּה שָׁכְבוּ הַרְבֵּה חוֹלִים וְעִוְרִים וּפִסְחִים וִיבֵשֵׁי אֵבָרִים. הָיָה שָׁם אִישׁ אֶחָד וְהוּא בְּחָלְיוֹ שְׁלוֹשִׁים וּשְׁמוֹנֶה שָׁנִים. יֵשׁוּעַ רָאָה אוֹתוֹ שׁוֹכֵב וְיָדַע כִּי זְמַן רַב הוּא חוֹלֶה. שָׁאַל אוֹתוֹ: “אַתָּה רוֹצֶה לִהְיוֹת בָּרִיא? הֵשִׁיב לוֹ הַחוֹלֶה: אֲדוֹנִי, אֵין אִתִּי אִישׁ שֶׁיָּטִיל אוֹתִי לַבְּרֵכָה בְּעֵת תְּנוּעַת הַמַּיִם. עַד שֶׁאֲנִי בָּא, אַחֵר יוֹרֵד לְפָנַי. אָמַר לוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ: קוּם, קַח אֶת מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ. מִיָּד נִרְפָּא, לָקַח אֶת מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ. אוֹתוֹ יוֹם הָיָה יוֹם שַׁבָּת. פ

בירושלים, על-יד שער הצאן היתה ברכה, שנקראה בית חסדא, וסביבה חמש אכסדראות בעלות עמודים. באכסדראות האלה שכבו הרבה חולים ועורים ופסחים ויבשי אברים. היה שם איש אחד והוא בחליו שלושים ושמונה שנים. ישוע ראה אותו שוכב וידע כי זמן רב הוא חולה. שאל אותו: אתה רוצה להיות בריא? השיב לו החולה: אדוני, אין אתי איש שיטיל אותי לברכה בעת תנועת המים. עד שאני בא, אחר יורד לפני. אמר לו ישוע: “קום, קח את משכבך והתהלך. מיד נרפא, לקח את משכבו והתהלך. אותו יום היה יום שבת. פ

After these things, there was a festival [ראש השנה-Rosh HaShanah] for the Yehudim, and Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim. In Yerushalayim there was a pool near Sha’ar HaTzon which is called in the Hebrew language Beit-Chasda. It had five stoas (ulamim, five porticoes). There lay many sick, blind, lame, and weak people who were waiting for the water to move. (For an angel descended at its appointed time to the pool and agitated the water in it.) The first one to go down into it after the water churned would be healed from every ailment that clung to him. There was a certain man with a disease for thirty-eight years. Yeshua saw him lying there and knew that the days of his disease were very long. He said to him, “Do you desire to be healed?” The sick man answered, “My master, there is no one with me to cast me into the pool when the water is agitated, and before I come, someone else goes down before me.” Yeshua said to him, “Arise, carry your bed, and walk.” Instantly, the man regained his strength, picked up his bed, and walked. That day was the day of Shabbat.

“After these things…” Four months after the spring month of Iyyar—just referenced in the narrative testimony of the Samaritan Woman who interviewed the Messiah at the Well of Jacob—is the fall festival month of Tishri. The four Hebrew calendar months that are just before Tishri are (in chronological order): Sivan, Tammuz, Av and Elul. Elul is the month of (lit.) “searching” when we are looking up to the heavens in an attitude of repentance (Teshuvah) so that in drawing near to the Holy One He might manifest to us His Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness (Redemption) and Love on the 10^th day of Tishri, on the day of Yom Kippurim.

The forty days of Elul 1- Tishri 10 are a time for us to “look up to the heavens.” It is a time of our directing our attention above to the throne of HaShem (the NAME) and His benevolent Lordship over us; for He is the King of the Universe) as the time of our “redemption” of (the nation of Israel and) the people of Israel “draws near.”

Therefore, the forty days of Elul 1-Tishri 10 is not just a time of national preparation for the fall harvest of the physical crops after the land has been fallow during the sabbatical year. More importantly this is a time of national preparation for the fall harvest of the souls of men that is intended to occur after a sabbatical year. This necessarily should occur after a significant amount of time of prayer and refection (on the Word of HaShem) where the people have sincerely sought out the Presence of the Spirit of Holiness (a year of the people of the Lord sowing the D’var HaShem (Word of God) in their hearts and minds; i.e. ‘these things’). Then should there result a great spiritual harvest in the life of the (individual and) collective consciousness and behavioral life of Israel (and all of the nations and peoples who will be privileged to become citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel). As was so richly illustrated in the lives of the mixed-race Samaritans; i.e. ‘those’ who most sincerely honored (observed) the Torah requirement of the sabbatical year in the right way both physically and spiritually; these people who were just the kind of people the ‘Father was seeking;’ who with the little light they had, were found worshiping HaShem (by the Well of Jacob) in “spirit and truth,” and so were they greatly blessed!

The literal and spiritual meaning of the term Rosh Hashanah:

The actual use of the term Rosh HaShanah occurs only once in the Tanakh (and not in reference to the traditional fall feast observance but to a future feast, where, in the messianic kingdom to come, Rosh HaShanah refers to the beginning of a (new) Feast of Dedication—an annual cleansing of the Temple. This new feast will be observed in the spring month of Nisan, on the annual day that is set aside to celebrate the coronation of the king of Israel (Rosh Chodesh, Nisan 1). Therefore, the calendar date of the regal birthday (coronation day) of the kings of Israel is the sole date that the Hebrew scriptures refer to as being Rosh HaShanah. 

So, among all the writings in the Tanakh only the Rosh Chodesh (the new moon) of Nisan 1 is allowed to be called Rosh HaShanah.

However, although there is only one Rosh HaShanah that is supremely royal (יוֹם הֻלַּדְתּוֹ-the day of his holiness) that is explicitly acknowledged in the Hebrew Bible there is in Jewish tradition three other annual new year observances that are a compliment to it. All four of the new year observances that are found in the Jewish calendar are as follows:

New Year #1.  The new year for counting the months on the calendar and the reigning years of kings; also referred to as the beginning of the ecclesiastical-sacred year (Nisan 1).

New Year #2.  The new year at which offerings are made based on the value of animals (Elul 1).

New Year #3.  The new year for trees and for offerings based on fruit yields (Shevat 15);

New Year #4.  The new year for years when the annual number of each year is increased; also referred to as the beginning of the civil year (Tishri 1).

At the Feast of Rosh HaShanah:

Presently, Rosh HaShanah (the civil new year) is observed during the first two days of Tishri (in the fall). This undesignated day or more technically this day of potentially “delayed” designation is also called “the day and the hour no man knows,” the Hidden Day Day of the Covering, and the Day of Concealment (יום הכסה-Yom HaKeceh).

Therefore, the civil (fall) Rosh HaShanah is given the mysterious designation of Yom HaKeceh because the Hebrew Calendar is set by physical observation of the moon. It is a lunar calendar. Not a solar calendar. Therefore, the beginning of each Hebrew Calendar (civil) New Year must be inaugurated by an accurate sighting of the New Moon of the sabbatical month (Tishri 1). Tishri is the seventh month of the ecclesiastical or sacred year which begins on Nisan 1.

In the fall Rosh HaShanah (Tishri 1) two days are allotted for the ruling council of the Sanhedrin to designate—by discerning the sign of the new Moon—when this first day of the sacred month of Tishri is to begin. Therefore, two days are needed because overcast skies, a storm, and cloud cover (כיסוי עננים) could delay the official designation of the first day of the civil new year.

The term Rosh HaShanah is used only once in the Tanakh:

In Ezekiel 40:1 we read a very special end-time vision was received by the prophet on Nisan 10:

בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה לְגָלוּתֵנוּ בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה בֶּעָשֹׂור לַחֹדֶשׁ בְּאַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה אַחַר אֲשֶׁר הֻכְּתָה הָעִיר בְּעֶצֶם הַיֹּום הַזֶּה הָיְתָה עָלַי יַד־ה’ וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי שָֽׁמָּה׃

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at Rosh HaShanah (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה-the head/beginning of the year), on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was taken, on that same day the hand of HaShem was upon me and He brought me there.”

This vision was received by Ezekiel on Nisan 10. This is the exact same day Joshua and the people of Israel crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land. This is the day that the Passover Lamb (Korban Pesach) was selected by the head of each Jewish household and was preserved alive until the Pesach Lamb was sacrificed at twilight on Nisan 14.

This prophetic vision of Ezekiel, occurring ten days after the special designated future Rosh Hashanah (Nisan 1) that is to be observed in the messianic kingdom to come, is a clear prophetic witness to the reality of Messiah’s future rule over all the earth. As we have learned thus far from the Proceedings of the Heavenly Court the heavenly Father selected the Messiah to be His Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world before the foundations of the earth (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8); and and it is this suffering Seh HaElohim, who is lifted up and crowned as Melekh HaiYehudim and Melekh HaGoyim. Therefore, in the Hebrew scriptures we are:

Point #1.  Introduced to the Spirit of Messiah who is Indwelt with the pre-existent Eternal One (Elohei Kedem).

Point #2.  Informed of the forensic need for the Elohei haruchot l’chol-basar to create another Adam (ben HaElohim, ben HaAdam).

Point #3.  Persuaded by Messiah’s teaching and personal conduct that He is the Perfect-Sinless Man (unlike the first Adam) who alone is morally sufficient for the Holy One to dwell in (forever).

Point #4.  Convinced that Messiah is the physical tent that Avinu Shebashamayim has chosen to eternally dwell in.

Point #5.  Taught that the Messiah has fulfilled all of the sacrificial requirements of the Torah of Moses and thereby has made obsolete the need for the animal sacrifices of bulls, goats, sheep (and birds, etc.).

Point #6.  Informed that there are to be two visitations of Messiah: one as the Suffering Messiah ben Yosef (already completed) and one as the Conquering Messiah ben David (yet to come).

Point #7.  Provided with ample proof that Messiah is God our Father cloaked in human form who came “out of eternity” into creation to save sinful man (humankind) and restore redeemed humanity to a state of harmonious relationship with Him. As such the Messiah is the Lord of all the elements, therefore, He is the Lord of all Creation (האדון  של כל הבריאה) and He is the Lord of all Time and Space (האדון  של כל הזמן והמרחב).

Point #8.  Conveyed to us the promise of the Spirit of the Holy One that if we believe in the Person and teaching of Messiah ben Ha-Elohim we will know the truth about the Holy One and we will most certainly receive redemption for our souls and the gift of the Indwelling Presence of the Holy One; which is the gift of eternal life.

In the Testimony of Ezekiel and the sent one Yochanan ben Zevedi (יוחנן בן זבדי) we can clearly see that the Father has selected His resurrected Glorified Son to be the King of all the earth. Ezekiel 40:1 is the only passage in the Tanakh where the Hebrew term Rosh Hashanah is actually used. Incredibly this sole use of the Hebrew term (head of the months and years) “marks” at the very beginning of Ezekiel’s vision the most important single day in the millennial age (or for that matter of all human history). What is this designated day that is more celebrative than all the other days, weeks, and years of human history? The prophet Daniel refers to this future day in his report of the Divine message he received from the angel Gabriel (Daniel 9:24):

שָׁבֻעִ֨ים אשִׁבְעִ֜ים נֶחְתַּ֥ךְ עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֣ וְעַל־עִ֣יר קָדְשֶׁ֗ךָ לְכַלֵּ֨א הַפֶּ֜שַׁע (ולחתם) וּלְהָתֵ֤ם (חטאות) חַטָּאת֙ דוּלְכַפֵּ֣ר עָוֺ֔ן וּלְהָבִ֖יא הצֶ֣דֶק עֹֽלָמִ֑ים וְלַחְתֹּם֙ חָז֣וֹן וְנָבִ֔יא וְלִמְשֹׁ֖חַ וקֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִֽׁים׃

“Seventy weeks (שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעִים) have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression (לְכַלֵּא הַפֶּשַׁע), to make an end of sin (לחתם חטאות), to make atonement for iniquity (לְכַפֵּר עָוֹן), to bring in everlasting righteousness (לְהָבִיא צֶדֶק עֹֽלָמִים), to seal up vision and prophecy (לַחְתֹּם חָזֹון וְנָבִיא) and to anoint the most holy (לִמְשֹׁחַ קֹדֶשׁ קָֽדָשִֽׁים).”

The seven objectives of the prophet Daniel:

This passage in Daniel presents “seven” of the LORD God’s terminal (end time) objectives, these are:

Objective #1.  “To finish the transgression” (לחתם חטאות). This refers to the removal of Israel’s tendency to apostasy. This removal of Israel’s reproach occurs at the return of Shiloh (the Messiah) to Israel when all of HaShem’s promises are fulfilled (the restitution of all things):

לכן התחרטו ושובו בתשובה כדי שימחו חטאיכם, למען יבואו ימי רוחה מלפני אדני והוא ישלח את אשר יעד לכם מקדם, את המשיח ישוע, אשר צריך שיקבלו אותו השמים עד עת השבת הכל לתקונו, דבר שאלהים דבר מעולם בפי נביאיו הקדושים.   פ

Therefore repent of your sins  and return, in order that times of blessing shall come from the Spirit; and He shall send the Messiah Yeshua, who shall (remain) received by the heavens until the time when everything is restored (עד עת השבת הכל לתקונו), which the Al-Mighty has spoken [promised] by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time.

Objective #2.  The making “an end of sin” (לחתם חטאות). At the Messiah’s return He will remove Israel’s sins.

Objective #3.  To “make atonement for iniquity” (לְכַפֵּר עָוֹן). This specifically applies to HaShem’s final atonement of Israel’s sin (as a nation and as a people) for initially not accepting M’shico (His Messiah; lit. “anointed one”) at his first coming. Although the Messiah atoned for Israel’s sin almost two millennia ago his sacrifice on our people’s behalf has yet to be acknowledged. Israel’s sin of unbelief will be covered (removed completely) when our people recognize Yeshua ben David as our Messiah.

Objective #4.  The bringing in of “everlasting righteousness” (לְהָבִיא צֶדֶק עֹֽלָמִים). This indicates that HaShem will establish a special age uniquely characterized by “righteousness.” This is a direct reference to the Golden Age of Israel and the Commonwealth of Israel when Messiah ben David rules over all the earth.

Objective #5.  When we read “to seal up vision and prophecy” (לַחְתֹּם חָזֹון וְנָבִיא) it is to be clearly understood that whatever HaShem has promised to us through our (Israel’s) patriarchs and  prophets He will do. Everything that El Shaddai (the All-Sufficient God) has promised us will come to pass in the golden age of Israel and the Commonwealth of Israel when our Messiah ben David returns (from heaven) and rules over all the earth.

Objectives #6 & #7.  “Anoint the Most Holy” (לִמְשֹׁחַ קֹדֶשׁ קָֽדָשִֽׁים). This refers to *both the “dedication” of the most Holy Place in the Fourth Temple located in Shiloh; and it refers to the anointing of the most Holy Person, Shiloh, the Messiah Yeshua.

*These two objectives refer to the (yet future) actual enthronement of Shiloh the Messiah that will occur at the newly dedicated Fourth Temple located at Shiloh when the glorified (immortal) Messiah Yeshua will be installed as the High Priest and King of all the nations, peoples, and families of the earth.

These seven Divine accomplishments anticipate the establishment of Israel’s covenanted one thousand year (millennial) kingdom that will be established under the authority of our returning Messiah King. The dedication of the Temple in Shiloh and the consecration of the Messiah our Great High Priest (HaKohen HaGadol) and King of Kings (Melekh HaMelakhim) will all occur in the first eight days of Nisan (March/April) in the “first year” of the messianic age. The first seven days are set aside for cleansing the Temple and the eighth day, Nisan 8, is the day of the Messiah’s actual installation as the Great High Priest and King of Israel and of all the world (cf. Exodus 40:1–17 and Leviticus 9:1). In the case of both Aaron and the Messiah the ordination ceremony begins on “the first day of the month.” Therefore, the eight day ceremony lasts from Nisan 1-8.

Shiloh is the promised Rod of Levi, the Resurrected High Priest:

Through our faith in M’shicho (His Messiah) we are now able to be reconciled with our estranged heavenly Father.

Through faith in Messiah’s priestly ministry we receive redemption, *removal of punishment for our transgressions, restored peace with the Almighty, and a new nature that is sinless and devoted to the Father. This is all possible through the Messiah’s one time sacrifice on the accursed tree that is configured according to the Hebrew Sign of the Tav; which has cleansed us of our sins and made it possible for us to receive  from our (Israel’s) Father the gift of the Indwelling Presence of His Holy Spirit.

*The removal of punishment does not negate the need for our being disciplined by God our Father. God disciplines His children. His discipline is painful for a season but its purpose is in no way to punish us but only by His chesed (חֶסֶד-loving-kindness, grace) to produce in us His fruit (פרי) of shalom (שלום-peace) and tzedakah (צדקה-righteousness). Therefore He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.

When there was dissension among the tribes of Israel about who was the legitimate High Priest, the LORD put the leaders to a test. Each tribe put their tribal rod before the Presence of HaShem (the NAME) in the Tabernacle (Numbers 17):

Over-night only the rod of Levi, made out of a dead almond branch, came to life (resurrected from the dead).

The once dead rod of Levi blossomed, budded and gave forth fruit. Levi in Hebrew means joined or united. When Messiah is made the High Priest of all the nations, tribes and families of the world HaShem’s life will fill the earth with His knowledge and grace.

Great High Priest Forever #1.  Like Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק), Messiah will be the High Priest of all the families, nations and people of the world.

Great High Priest Forever #2.  Like Malki-Tzedek, Messiah is senior in rank to fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs of Israel.

Great High Priest Forever #3.  Like Malki-Tzedek, therefore, Messiah’s priestly office is senior to that of the tribe of Levi.

Great High Priest Forever #4.  He is the Resurrected One (Psalm 2:7); the Firstborn of the Dead (Habekhor hakam min-hametim).

Great High Priest Forever #5.  Like Malki-Tzedek the Messiah is our High Priest forever (Psalm 110:4)).

Great High Priest Forever #6.  He is the Lord of Eternity (Isaiah 9).

Great High Priest Forever #7.  He is the Heir of all things and the Head of all things .

Messiah the King:

In the Tanakh we discover the Messiah is HaShem’s King-Son and Priest-Son. Referring to the Messiah the King we read:

Psalm 2:7-8: “I will surely tell of the decree of HaShem: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.’”

2 Samuel 7:14: “I will be a Father to Him and He will be a Son to Me…”

1 Chronicles 17:13: “I will be His Father and He shall be My Son; and I will not take My loving-kindness away from Him, as I took it from him who was before you.”

Psalm 45:1-2, 6-7: “My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the Sons of Men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore Elohim has blessed You forever…Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore Elohim, Your Elohim, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.”

Psalm 102:25-27: “Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.”

Psalm 95:7, 8: “For He is Eloheinu, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His Voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness.”

Psalm 2:1-3, 12: “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against HaShem and against M’shico (מְשִׁיחֽוֹ-His Messiah, His anointed one), saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them…Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

Messiah the Great High Priest:

Referring to Messiah as HaShem’s Great High Priest-Son who is the High Priest of all the nations and peoples of the world we read:

Psalm 110: “HaShem says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ HaShem will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’ Your people will volunteer freely in the day of your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, your youth are to you as the dew. HaShem has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק),.’ The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; therefore He will lift up His head.”

Psalm 22:1-2: “Eli, Eli, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O Eli, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest.”

Psalm 22:24: “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard.”

Psalm 22:22-31: “I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. You who fear HaShem, praise Him; all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard. From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him. The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise HaShem. Let your heart live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to HaShem, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is HaShem’s and He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, all those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive. Posterity will serve Him; it will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They will come and will declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has performed it.”

Psalm 22:18: “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

Jeremiah 31:31-34: “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares HaShem, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares HaShem. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares HaShem, ‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know HaShem,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares HaShem, ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’”

Psalm 40:6-8: “Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my Elohim; Your Torah is within My heart.’”

Fulfillment of Messiah’s Kingdom Prayer:

“When you pray, refrain from glowing words like non-Jews, who think that they will be heard for their many words.”

כאשר אתם מתפללים המנעו מלגבב מלים כגויים, החושבים שברב דבורם ישמעו. אל תהיו דומים להם, כי יודע אביכם את צרכיכם בטרם תבקשו ממנו. לכן כך התפללו אתם: “אבינו שבשמים, יתקדש שמך, תבוא מלכותך, יעשה רצונך כבשמים כן בארץ. את לחם חקנו תן לנו היום, וסלח לנו על חטאינו וסלח לנו על חטאינו כפי שסולחים גם אנחנו לחוטאים לנו. ואל תביאנו לידי נסיון, כי אם חלצנו מן הרע. כי לך הממלכה והגבורה והתפארת לעולמי עולמים.” אמן. כי אם תסלחו לבני אדם על חטאתיהם, גם אביכם שבשמים יסלח לכם. ואם לא תסלחו לבני אדם, גם אביכם לא יסלח לכם על חטאתיכם. פ

When you pray, refrain from glowing words like non-Jews, who think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, because your Father knows your needs before you ask him. That is why you pray: “Avinu Shebashamayim (our heavenly Father), Your name will be sanctified, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the bread of this day, and forgive us our sins as we too forgive the sins of others. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever.” Amen. For if you forgive people for their sins, Avikem (your Father) will also forgive you. And if you do not forgive people, Avikem will not forgive you for your sins.

This messianic Kingdom Prayer pertains not only to the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but also it pertains to all humankind (gentile as well as Jew). This prayer, taught by Messiah Yeshua is remarkably like the prayer offered by his royal ancestor, the prophet-king, King David. There can be no doubt that in the future messianic Golden Age of Israel and the Commonwealth of Israel believing Jews and gentiles (both glorified and mortal) will stand together in the newly dedicated Temple courts praying this model kingdom prayer on the Coronation Day of the Messiah; when he is proclaimed internationally to be the Great High Priest, Prophet and King of all the nations, peoples and families of the world.

The prayer of David the Prophet-King:

וַיְבָרֶךְ דָּוִיד אֶת־ה’ לְעֵינֵי כָּל־הַקָּהָל וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִינוּ מֵעֹולָם וְעַד־עֹולָֽם׃ לְךָ ה’ הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהֹוד כִּי־כֹל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ לְךָ ה’ הַמַּמְלָכָה וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא לְכֹל לְרֹֽאשׁ׃ וְ הָעֹשֶׁר וְהַכָּבֹוד מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וְאַתָּה מֹושֵׁל בַּכֹּל וּבְיָדְךָ כֹּחַ וּגְבוּרָה וּבְיָדְךָ לְגַדֵּל וּלְחַזֵּק לַכֹּֽל׃ וְעַתָּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֹודִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ וּֽמְהַֽלְלִים לְשֵׁם תִּפְאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃

So David blessed HaShem in the sight of all the assembly (כָּל־הַקָּהָל); and David said:

“Blessed are You, HaShem God of Yisrael, Avinu (our Father), forever and ever (אָבִינוּ מֵעֹולָם וְעַד־עֹולָֽם). Yours, HaShem (ה’), is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, HaShem (ה’), and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, Eloheinu (אֱלֹהֵינוּ), we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.”

When David was at the close of his reign and Solomon was on the threshold of being crowned King of Israel for a “second time” (emphasis mine) King David prayed as follows (excerpts; full text above):

“Blessed are You, HaShem God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, HaShem, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; all that is in the heavens and the earth is Yours; Yours is the *Kingdom, HaShem, and You are exalted as Head over all…You reign over all…”

*Kingdom – all dominion, rule, power, and might (cf. 1 Chronicles 29). Note HaShem Elohei Yisrael is Avinu (our Father) “forever and ever.” Consequently it must be asserted that the Kingdom prayer of Ha-Mashiach, like the Kingdom prayer of his ancestor King David, is a prayer that is at the first “binding” upon all Israel (Jews); and thereafter, is also binding upon all of the Commonwealth of Israel (Gentiles).

Messiah’s Installation Ceremony:

Aaron the High Priest was consecrated on Nisan 8. Aaron’s temporary assignment as high priest was a Divine promise that one day a permanent high priest would come that would make a once-in-eternity sacrifice for sin. The meaning of Aaron’s name, “Light-bringer,” testifies to the Messiah who is the Or Ha’Olam, the Light of the World.

As the prophet-king David points out, the permanent Great High Priest according to the order of the King of Righteousness (Malki-Tzedek) is his descendant, the Messiah. According to the prophet Ezekiel the Messiah ben David will one day be installed on earth as the Great High Priest, Prophet, and King of all of the nations, peoples, and families of the world.

The installation ceremony of the Messiah, like the high priest Aaron, will occur on the Hebrew calendar date of Nisan 8.

This incredible event will occur at the newly dedicated Fourth Temple in Shiloh that will be located at the center of a 50 mile X 50 mile Sacred District of Jerusalem; which the city of Jerusalem will be part of. The northern border will be at Shechem (modern Nablus), at the site of the ancient City of Shalem. The southern border will be the City of Jerusalem itself.

This means our Father in heaven has ordained, according to His calendar, that Rosh Chodesh, Nisan 1 (March/April) is to be crowned the Year of the King. Therefore, Nisan 1 of the first year of the messianic age shall be crowned the head (rosh ha-shanah) calendar date of all the years.

It is the reigning years of the King of kings and Lord of lords that is exalted above all the other years of human history.

On the (yet future) Nisan 1-8 Hebrew calendar dates at Shiloh (in the Sacred District of Jerusalem) it will finally come to pass that the will of the Father will truly be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. This is the reason why the Hebrew Scriptures and the prophet Ezekiel bestow upon the lunar month of Nisan the highest honor of being designated as the royal Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of The Year of the King (שנת המלך).

Ezekiel’s Mark of Redemption:

In Ezekiel Chapter 9 the Hebrew Sign of the TAV is applied by HaShem to “mark” out certain people for salvation from His impending “judgment” which is man’s final destination:

“And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark [blood-TAV] upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (Ezekiel 9:4).

The Holy One tells His destroying angels to place a TAV (marked in blood from the sacrifice) on the foreheads of all those Jews who sigh and cry because of the abominations that have taken place in Jerusalem. Those Jews marked with a TAV (sanctified by the life of the sacrifice) on their foreheads are to be spared in the coming judgment. At the time of these events the Hebrew script was Ktav Ivri, and not Ktav Ashuri. In the Ktav Ivri script, the TAV (twenty-second and final letter of the Hebrew alphabet) was configured in the shape of a crude cross and not an integrated dalet and a nun (as it is currently constructed in the modern Hebrew script).

The Prophet Ezekiel’s Mark of Redemption created a very big problem for the post-first century (CE) Jewish exegetes since they were understandably uncomfortable with the prophetic picture of a blood-TAV configured as a crude cross being placed on the head of every Hebrew person being saved from judgment. So these Bramble Bush exegetes came up with an interesting, very creative extra-biblical interpretation that not only ‘fixed’ the problem of our people being saved by the blood-TAV mark (configured as a cross) but actually ‘demonized’ those of us who might make such a claim. How did the rabbinical exegetes alter the Ktav Ivri text to actually demonize the blood-TAV (cross) configuration and its redemptive meaning?

The Bramble Bush deception:

The Bramble Bush invented a post-scripture tradition that replaced the redemptive Tav of blood with their non-redemptive Tav of ink.

In this shameless deceit a non-bloody TAV marked in ‘ink’ symbolized the righteous ones, while the TAV marked in blood symbolized those who were subject to judgment (the wicked). In the first three centuries after the Messiah’s (26-30 CE) appearance this revisionist lie was powerfully embedded in the Jewish mind because the new false narrative was absolutely necessary to demonize the Messianic Jews who (like the gentile Christians) prominently displayed the Hebrew Sign of the TAV in their synagogues, in their homes, and who even wore them upon their bodies as a celebrated reminder of their redemption; therefore, as a profession of their faith in the redemptive sacrifice of our Messiah.

These exegetical deceits were very effective in keeping the Bramble Bush rabbinate in absolute power over all of the religious consciousness of the Yehudim until the twentieth century where Hebrew freedom of speech and thought has severely broken down their monopoly.

The Bramble Bush scholars re-branded the blood Tav as a symbol of annihilation; rather than as a symbol of redemption.

These false teachers blasphemously re-invented the sacred Levitical mark of sacrificial blood as a symbol of destruction (Abaddon), a symbolic curse of annihilation; rather than respecting the Divine symbol as a sacred symbol of deliverance (Yeshuah) and of the mercy, grace, and sacrificial love of HaShem.

The deceit of the bloodless Sign of Redemption:

Absolutely nowhere in the Torah are we told that we are redeemed by ink!

In the temple blood is always used to sanctify all facets of the temple rituals. Blood from the brazen altar is sprinkled on the threshold of the temple. Blood is placed on the high priest to sanctify him; otherwise, he would die when he entered the Presence of HaShem. Here too in Ezekiel 9, the angel in linen stands at the brazen altar filling up his writer’s case with the blood of the sacrifice. It is the blood of the Korban Pesach that marks the redeemed with the TAV. This is similar to the idea of Moses’ sign of the blood that was placed on all of the doorposts of our ancestors when they were slaves in Egypt. Therefore, it has always been the Sign of the blood-TAV that has symbolically protects our people from judgment.

וָאֶעֱבֹר עָלַיִךְ וָֽאֶרְאֵךְ מִתְבֹּוסֶסֶת בְּדָמָיִךְ וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִֽי׃

In Ezekiel 16:6 the blood is a symbol of salvation:

“And I passed by you downtrodden with your blood, and I said to you, `With your blood live!'”

[Therefore, we are redeemed with the blood of the Korban Pesach.]

Ezekiel reports that all of our ancestors who were not marked with the Sign of the blood Tav were put to death.

This biblical fact is undeniable. Those of our ancestors who were not marked with the Sign of the blood Tav were put to death. [Not the other way around.] In every case, all those persons who were marked on their forehead with the mark of the blood-Tav lived!

It is the blood of the Korban Pesach (Passover Lamb) which conveys the saving properties of salvation for the Assembly of Israel. Therefore, in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel the angel in white linen stands by the brazen altar with his assigned writer’s case at the altar of sacrifice. Then the angel is directed to fill his writer’s case with the same blood (of the sacrifice) that the Torah says was placed on the doorposts at Pesach.

This clearly means the angelic servant must appropriate the blood of the sacrifice just before he passes in judgment through Israel, just as he did before when he passed through Egypt to judge as dead anyone whose doorpost (of their house- hearts) did not profess the witness of the mark of the TAV of blood.

וְהִנֵּה שִׁשָּׁה אֲנָשִׁים בָּאִים מִדֶּרֶךְ־שַׁעַר הָעֶלְיֹון אֲשֶׁר מָפְנֶה צָפֹונָה וְאִישׁ כְּלִי מַפָּצֹו בְּיָדֹו וְאִישׁ־אֶחָד בְּתֹוכָם לָבֻשׁ בַּדִּים וְקֶסֶת הַסֹּפֵר בְּמָתְנָיו וַיָּבֹאוּ וַיַּעַמְדוּ אֵצֶל מִזְבַּח הַנְּחֹֽשֶׁת׃

“And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his loins (motan) and they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar” (Ezekiel 9:2).

A significant theological difference between Bramble Bush Judaism and Messianic Judaism revolves around the signs and symbols used in the narratives of the Tanakh. Messianic Judaism reads Ezekiel 9 literally to reveal that the destroying angel places the sanctifying blood-TAV on the foreheads of those to be spared destruction; as the Ktav Ivri clearly indicates the TAV placed on the forehead of the zaddikim (righteous ones) was in the shape of a crude cross.

In stark contrast the Bramble Bush alters the text claiming that the TAV of blood was placed on the heads of those to be destroyed.

This the Bramble bush has done even though no such thing is stated anywhere in the text of the Scriptures. The Bramble Bush, therefore, has invented an ink “bloodless” TAV that in their contrived oral tradition claims salvation for all Jews who place it on their person (foreheads); when in fact this false teaching has been a horrible insult to the Spirit of the Holy One.

Therefore, it is these relationships between “blood” (Scriptural ancient priestly-prophetic tradition) and “ink” (rabbinical modern oral tradition) which go to the very heart of the distinction between modern rabbinism and ancient priestly-prophetic Judaism.

The controversial matter at hand is which group is right about the sacrifice that redeems and saves Israel?

Is Moses, Aaron and the Prophets right that it is the sign of the blood-TAV of the ancient holy Scriptures that saves us? Or, is it the Bramble Bush rabbinate’s sign of the (ever-growing) oral tradition of (their) “ink” that saves us? You decide.

Messiah in Rosh Hashanah & Yom Teruah Chapter 37 >>