Messiah in Yom HaBikkurim Chapter 94 Part 8
- Part 8: Four names and their meanings
- Yeshua
- Shim’on Keifa bar Yona
- Andrai (Adam)
- Pillipos (meaning those who Love His Appearance)
Four names and their meanings:
Pillipos, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” Andrai, Shim’on Keifa’s brother, said to him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”
There are several wonderful layers of deep meaning to the Divine narrative of the Messiah.
There is the simple, straight forward meaning and there are subtle hidden meanings. It is not enough to just study the Word of God (D’var HaShem) like it is some kind of tech-manual; although, there does exists clear tasks to hear and do in the teachings of Messiah. There is also the issue of enjoying the study of the D’var HaShem. Boring study is not the highest compliment to Abba Avinu. “Play is!”
Do you have fun when you search out the Scriptures? We do. We look for the Presence of the Holy One mainly to have fun with Him. Yes, we also seek to serve the Holy One by doing His will in the world. And, yes at times that is very hard. But we long for the times when we can be in His Presence. He “is” our Greatest Joy!
Did you know that Abba Avinu is incredibly playful? The deep meanings in the Divinely artistic subtleties of His Word are no more than an expression of His form of instructional play. Do you like games? We do. We like cross-word puzzles and chess. Maybe you do not enjoy solving riddles and searching for treasure. We do. The search for meaning in the Tanakh (and Brit HaChadashah) is like the search for the coin in the Bread (the afikomen). It is important to the Holy One that “we” the children have fun in our learning to know Him.
Afikoman means “that which comes after” or “dessert.”
The afikoman is a half-piece of matzo which is broken in two during the early stages of the Passover Seder and set aside to be eaten as a dessert after the meal. The afikoman is a substitute for the Korban Pesach (sacrificed Lamb), which was the last thing eaten at the Passover Seder during the eras of the First and Second Temples and during the period of the Mishkan (lit. “dwelling place;” Tabernacle).
In many Jewish families the head of the household hides the afikoman for the children to find, and rewards them with a hidden silver coin (silver is the metal that symbolizes “redemption”). The afikoman is a device, therefore, for keeping children awake and alert during the Seder proceedings, until the time it is needed for dessert.
This is why we must daily search throughout the House of HaShem’s revelation—to search for and find the Simcha of Abba Avinu—to be playful and have fun! Such pure motivations are a reflection of the wonderful innocence, harmlessness, and playfulness of Abba Avinu.
Question: Why do we voluntarily subject ourselves to sacrifice and suffering?
Answer: We do it all so that we might experience the Simcha of Abba Avinu!
We who formerly as transgressors of the Law feared HaShem’s wrath now rejoice in the heavenly Father’s Presence. Why did the heavenly Father make all of these incredible sacrifices to redeem you and I from sin and reconcile us to Him as our Father and as our friend? Yes, for love but also for Joy! It is for the eternal Joy of returning things back to the way they were always intended to be that Abba Avinu went through all of this trouble. No doubt the prize of the eternal Joy that is ahead in the new heavens and the new earth is so great that HaShem (the NAME) considers all of this loss as nothing in comparison to the Great Joy that is in store for Him and His children. We will forget completely this time of sin, suffering, and death. We will remember it no more. The taint of it will be completely removed from our conscious being. Jeremiah informs us that the reasons why our heavenly Father has endured the insults and the shame, why He sacrificed so very much is for JOY!
It (this redeemed community; literally city) will be to Me a Name of Joy (Shem Sason-שֵׁם שָׂשֹׂון), praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.
We have learned that the Messiah for the Joy that was set before Him endured the suffering on the accursed tree, and despised the shame. The suffering of an atoning death was considered as nothing to the Father and the Messiah in comparison to the Great Immeasurable Joy of returning us to a righteous, joyous loving relationship with Him and each other. This is why the Messiah said just hours before His time of sacrifice: “Amen, amen, I say to you that you will weep and wail, and the world will rejoice. Yes, you will be grieved; but surely your grief will be turned to SASON-JOY (שָׁשׁוֹן).
The woman who is about to give birth has pain, but after she gives birth to the child she no longer remembers her pain.
She is SIMCHA-HAPPY (שְׂמֵחָה) because a person was born into the world. You too will now be grieving, but I will return and see you, and your heart will rejoice, and nothing will take your happiness away from you!”
The Spirit of the Holy One is how Abba Avinu empowers this endeavor.
The Spirit is the One who affects (administers) the rule of Messiah in the daily lives of His followers. Rabbi Yeshua, the Messiah, will return to earth a second time to usher in the rule of the Kingdom of God and the Golden Age of Israel. He will return in His glorified body exercising all His Divine authority. Immediately upon His return He will begin His deliverance of Israel through a series of judgments.
Thereafter, in the messianic age the final restoration of Israel will occur. The kingdoms of Judah and Israel will be reunited so that the two sticks “will once again flourish as one” (cf. Ezekiel 37:15-17). At this time, armed conflicts around the world will completely cease, because Israel and its neighbors will live in peace. People will come from around the world to worship HaShem in the land of Israel. Isaiah describes this time when he says (Isaiah 2:2-4):
“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mount of God’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the house of the Elohim of Jacob; He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’”
After the heavenly Father has stored up His treasure from this age and the messianic age to come, a new age will dawn.
This will follow the destruction of the old creation. This age will follow the Great White Throne Judgment and the wicked “going to their own place.” Glimpses of the new heaven and new earth have been provided us. At that future time there will be a spectacularly ornate new Jerusalem “coming down from heaven.” There will be no temple for El Shaddai and the Lamb will be our temple. The glory of God will illuminate the city, so there will be no need for a sun or moon.
Nothing that defiles will be allowed to enter the holy city.
The tragic narrative of sin will be remembered no more. There will be a continual Presence of the heavenly Father’s eternal life, readily accessible through the river of life and the Tree of Life located in the eternal Jerusalem. In addition to these easily accessible natural resources, the “leaves” of the Tree of Life will be available. They are described as possessing healing, therapeutic properties. Thus, the leaves sustain a continuous emotional life, sourced in the emotional life of Avinu Shebashamayim, that will assure us a state of immense, Unending Joy!
Shim’on Keifa bar Yona:
Simon Peter is the Son of Jona. In Aramaic Jona is the same as “Yochanan” In Hebrew.
This means he is the Son of the Grace of HaShem. The root meaning of Shimon’s name is “shama.” This supremely important word in Hebrew means to listen, understand and obey. In the Torah children are told to obey (shama) their parents. Grace is HaShem’s love language to man. Obedience through the Grace of HaShem is Man’s love language to God. In the Torah all Israel is instructed: Shema Israel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad! “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is One LORD!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The word Shema (hear) means more than just the English word to listen.
In the Shema we (Israel) promise to listen, understand and obey everything Adonai (the LORD) says.
Therefore the name Shimon (Simon) speaks of what Man is to do. For instance, each person reciting the Shema has committed (dedicated) his entire body, soul, and spirit to act as an ear that hears, a soul that sees and a spirit that obeys Adonai Eloheinu (the LORD our God) and therefore, each person who is reciting the prayer is praying-promising he or she will always do exactly what our heavenly Father says. In this sense the hearer becomes a physical extension of our Father in heaven. In this manner of life, the hearer becomes God’s permanent dwelling place. We are His Temple. For all, except the Only Begotten Beloved Son (ben Yachid, ben Yadid), keeping the prayer-promise of Shema to HaShem is impossible!
Shimon’s Greek name Peter (Petras) and Aramaic name Keifa means “Rock” or “Stone.”
Whereas the name Shimon bears witness to what HaShem wants Man (Adam) to do, Petros reveals what Elohim universally expects Man to be. Man must be remade out of incorruptible material. Man is to be made in the Image of HaShem. Man’s virtue is to harmonize perfectly with the perfect virtue of our heavenly Father. Abba Avinu’s goodness, righteousness and truth are unchanging. He is incorruptible. So must Man be.
Man (Adam) is meant to exist in a fortified state of perpetual compliance with God’s will.
Therefore, Man (Adam, the human race) is to live a life of unending conformity to the virtue of the Holy One… Although steel is a good metaphor for strength it carries with it the unfortunate possibility of rusting (corruption). Therefore, in antiquity the most ancient, durable and change resistant (incorruptible) substance known to Man was stone. Stone is the ultimate building material. Stone construction assures a builder that his building will be fortified to the highest possible degree. Abba our Father wills that His permanent dwelling place (Man) must compliment His own perpetual, unchanging strength and reliability. Redeemed Man is, therefore, destined to be the heavenly Father’s immortal, incorruptible, unassailable House of Stone. Peter’s name reveals that Man must become what Messiah already is, immortal, invincible and incorruptible.
Andrai (Adam):
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Andrew’s name in Greek is Andreas. The root meaning of his name is “Man” (in Hebrew Adam). Andrew is identified as being Simon Peter’s brother. Like his brother, Andrew-Adam is a Son of the Grace of HaShem. Therefore, although it may be obvious, it must be pointed out:
These two brothers, “Hearing ” (Shimon) and “Man” (Adam) come form the same womb.
So from what ‘same’ womb do these two men come from? They come from the womb of a woman and this woman comes from the womb of Sarah. Furthermore, there is more to this womb of Sarah than physical birth. According to the Messiah, to be born out of the womb of Sarah involves more than just physical birth. It involves spiritual birth.
First we are born physically (naturally) from this world. Then we are born spiritually (supernaturally) from heaven above. Thereafter, as the children of HaShem we are to be drawn out of this world to one day exodus out of this creation into eternity. Therefore, we are born initially into creation so that one day we might be re-born out of creation into eternity.
If you are of Jewish ancestry, as we are, then you are physically born of Sarah. She is the mother of us all. From (Abraham and) Sarah we are recipients of the earthly blessings. However, according to the Messiah whether you are Jew or Gentile we also must be born from above. It is our re-birth in the “womb of heaven,” the “Jerusalem above,” that affords us the privilege of the heavenly blessings.
The Jerusalem above is the Mother of us all.
Isaiah revealed this truth in his riddle of the barren woman whose supernatural children would ultimately be greater in number than the children born only in the natural way; i.e. born only in the physical way, without the re-birth of the Spirit (cf. Isaiah 54:1): “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; for the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman,” says HaShem.
For the will of God to be done here on earth, as it is in heaven, Hearing (Shimon) and Adam (Andrew) must be joined together (united).
The two must become as one. He [Andrew-Adam, Man] is symbolically re-united with His brother Shimon in the little phrase, “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.” This small unification of Hearing with Man reveals what is of first importance in the eternal will of our Father in heaven. Man must put Hearing the Voice of His Parent HaShem (the NAME) before everything else. The Hearing One must be as the firstborn and all of redeemed Humanity must be as His second born. Our humanity must above all be defined by our Hearing Adonai (the LORD). “Hear O Israel!” The word used for “first” in the Septuagint (and the Brit Chadashah) is proton. This term means first in succession, time, rank, influence, or honor. Above all else Man must Hear HaShem’s Voice. As students of the Father of Mercies we must come to be disciplined in His Word.
Man was created with an innate ability to hear, understand and obey Abba Avinu:
In the beginning, before sin had ever occurred in the race of Adam, Man was created with an innate ability to listen to, understand and obey his heavenly Father. The Living Torah of the Father of All (Avi-khol) requires perfect obedience from all of His intelligent creatures to His Word. When Man was first conceived in the womb of the Eternal One’s Mind (the Everlasting Father) it was determined that HaShem alone would be the race of Adam’s Teacher (Rabbi). The word “brother” (adelphos) used in the Brit Chadashah to describe the relationship between Shimon Peter his brother Andrew (Adam) originates from the word “womb” (delphos). The word brother used to describe the relationship between Hearing and Man literally means from the same womb. Hayotzer (the Creator) made Man to have Perfect Hearing. The Creator has always meant for (the two brothers) Hearing and Man to remain together (and never for the two to separate from one another). The Firstborn is called by the name of the “Hearing One.”
Did you know that before we are born we hear the voice of our mother in the womb?
The very first recognition a child has of his parent (his mother) is when he imprints on her “Voice.” This voice imprint occurs while the child is still living in his mother’s womb. Similarly we discover Messiah who pre-exists creation had heard HaShem’s Eternal Voice in the “Bosom of the Father” before anything ever existed and before He was physically born to be the Messiah. In the narrative of Shimon and Adam, the Hearing One and Man, it is the Firstborn who is named Hearing. It is the Hearing One who pre-exists first before anyone or anything else in the womb of the Holy One’s Eternal-being. Thereafter, the Eternal One chose to open-up the womb of eternity to enter Himself into the old failed-creation order as the HaMoshia l’chol Adam (Savior of All Men) to usher in the beginning of a New Creation Order that would never fail. The narrative of the Testimony of the Messiah teaches us that the only Person capable of hearing and obeying HaShem’s Eternal Voice perfectly is the Messiah Himself! It is the Salvation of Adoani (Yeshua) who rebirths and re-stories Man. Therefore, in Messiah, Abba our Father has given us the means to one day (on the day of resurrection) perfectly hear, understand, and obey His Voice; as does the Messiah who is the Habekhor (Firstborn) of all creation.
The Messiah is the Perfect Man. He is the Perfect Man whom God desires all men to be.
Messiah’s last Divine thoughts as He left heaven (the womb of eternity) and entered creation as an infant in the womb of the Jewess Mary are recorded in Psalm 40. In the text that follows below the word “body” is a Septuagint translation of the Hebrew word “ear” (ozen).
Therefore is is written: “Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; but a body you have prepared for Me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do your will O Elohim; Your Law is within My heart.'” “Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears (body) 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 Law is within My heart.’”
The Messiah made His whole body to function like an ear. His human body exists solely to hear ad do the will of Avinu Shebashamayim.
Therefore, from Psalm 40 we learn: The heavenly Father (Avinu Shebashamayim) does not want perpetual sacrifices for sin. He wants an “end to sin.” If man is made to be like Messiah there will no longer be a need for sacrifice. Why? Because the New Man (New Adam) who is destined to be transformed into Messiah’s likeness will always obey HaShem. Redeemed humanity’s destiny is to individually and corporately become a Perfect Man; a New Adam who does not cease to love (hear, understand, and obey) His heavenly Father. The Head of the Perfect Man is Messiah. The Head of the Messiah is God. We are the body of the Perfect Man. The final messianic remedy for sin is:
Where there is no sin there is no need for sacrifice.
The heavenly Father does not desire the old fallen humanity that is forever going to be sinning. He is not happy with us making continuous sacrifices to Him because we are perpetually sinning. Our Righteous Father who dwells in heaven is not happy with the imperfect son. He desires that we all be like His Perfect Son. The Tabernacle-Temple sacrifices were never meant to be permanent. The sacrifices were never meant to be an excuse for us to remain in a state of unending disobedience. So what does Abba our Father really want? He wants a perfect humanity. This is all that the Eternal One has ever wanted. So the heavenly Father has given us the Perfect Man, who is the body of His Strength, His Strong Right Arm that will deliver His people from a state of perpetual imperfection (bad hearing, bad eyesight, and a bad heart).
The work of the Messiah and the Spirit of Holiness is to one day remake us to be a perfect image of our Father in heaven.
Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. We will be made perfect on the day of resurrection. This is the ultimate promise to the Patriarchs. This is our blessed hope. Messiah is the first fruits (Divine proof) of this promise. One day we will finally not just mouth out the words of the Shemah, we will become the fulfillment of the Shemah. We will all change in the twinkling of an eye. The righteous dead who hoped in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be taken up to the Messiah (translated, taken up alive into heaven as were Enoch and Elijah). So we will become the sons of glory our Father in heaven has always desired us to be. We will be a new eternal Unity (echad).
Messiah did not come to earth just to atone for our sins.
Messiah did not come to earth just to atone for our sins. He came to earth to make a Way for His people to one day be perfect (shalom) as Abba Father is perfect (Shalom). Messiah came so that one day the children of the barren woman (Sarah) might be born from above, born by the power of the New Jerusalem above that is the mother of us all. Then the children of the barren woman will be more than the children of (Hagar) the slave woman. The children, therefore, who are twice-born by the Spirit in the supernatural way (at the conclusion of the messianic age) will be greater in number than the number of people (throughout all human history) who were only once-born in the natural way.
We all must be reborn from above.
We are all at the first born naturally (physically) in a state of slavery to sin. This is so whether we are a Jew or a Gentile. It does not matter what lineage you possess. We are all first born in Egypt as “slaves.” However, when we receive the spiritual re-birth of the Living Torah of the Perfect Man (the perfect Man that Moses promised us would be our “eternal” Deliverer) we receive not only forgiveness and the liberty it brings, we receive more than a new citizenship in heaven, we receive the blessed gift of a New Heart and a New Life. This New Heart changes us from the Inside-out. The New Heart is our guarantee that one day we will walk no more as slaves born by the Egyptian woman Hagar (Egypt represents this World). We will walk as heirs, free citizens of the kingdom of heaven who are the children of the heavenly Father and heirs of an immeasurably great destiny. What is the destiny of the New Man with a New Heart? After the day of resurrection we will become many sons of glory (we will be made like Him who is the perfect, flawless Image of the Father).
Pillipos (meaning those who Love His Appearance):
Philip’s name is a compound word that means, Lover (Philos) of Horses (Hippo).
This personal name does not make any didactic sense until one searches out what horses mean in prophetic reference to the Messiah in the Tanakh and the Brit Chadashah. When the word horse (or horses) is associated with the Messiah it is always used in reference to His Second Coming as the Jewish Conquering Messiah, Ha-Mashiach ben David: “And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True (נאמן ואמיתי); and in righteousness He judges and wages war.” “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.”
Philip is a type of the glorified believers who will accompany the Messiah at His future glorious return to earth.
The verb to follow is used “seventy-seven” times in the four Faces of Ezekiel, the Four Jewish Gospels that function as a centerpiece of the Testimony of Messiah. Scriptural use of the word horse (and horses) in association with the Messiah is a symbolic reference to HaShem’s Shekinah Glory Cloud (Exodus 13:21; 20:21; Psalm 104:3; Jeremiah 4:13).
HaShem’s Shekinah (Presence) will accompany the Messiah, the Salvation of HaShem (Yeshua), and His glorified saints when He and His resurrected-glorified-immortal saints return from heaven to establish His rule upon the earth:
“And then the {Hebrew] Sign of ben Ha-Adam will appear in the sky [the Sign of the Tav, meaning the Atonement is Finished, the Ransom-Redemption is complete] and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the BEN HA-ADAM COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY, WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. BEHOLD HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS. And every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.”
It bears remembering that the place where Andrew-Adam (Man) first asked the Messiah where “He was dwelling” was at “Beth Anani.”
Messiah answered Man, “Come and see!” This answer of Messiah is His veiled reference to the fact that His natural dwelling is the House of the Shekinah Glory Cloud of HaShem. Therefore, what we are allowed to “see here” is that the Voice of the Messiah came out of the very Presence of the Shekinah!
The meaning of Philip’s name reveals who will accompany the Messiah at His glorious return, those who (lit. “Love Horses”) Love His Glorious Appearance. These are the holy ones who love the physical appearance of the invisible Presence of the Holy One, who will appear in the visible form of the Glorified Messiah riding upon the miraculous workings of His Chariot Throne of Glory (Maaseh Merkabh). As for those of us who are blessed by His grace to accompany Him:
“In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Ha-Shofet (Judge), will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”