Role of Messiah (No. 226)

We are followers of God’s way of life. This we exhibit by our participation in all of the Feasts of God.

We have been focusing on:

· Who we worship; as it relates to the One True God, His commandments and promises.

· How we worship; as it relates to government and law.

· When we worship; as it relates to the calendar.

The role of Messiah

The promise of eternal life requires us to know the One True God (Jn. 17:3) and have faith in the one who was sent (Jn. 6:40) to whom has been given all judgment (Jn. 5:22).

There are several distinct arenas of activity that need to be understood in the life of Messiah. There are:

1. The activities before the foundations of the physical world were laid;

2. The activities before the incarnation;

3. The laying aside of the former glory and becoming like us; and

4. The activities of the return and on into the new heavens and new earth.

The lack of understanding of these periods of activities cause most of the confusion when people discuss the nature of the One True God – He who is Singular and Sovereign as well as the Saviour and Redeemer.

Isaiah 43:10-11"You are my witnesses," says the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. ¹¹I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. (RSV)

Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. (RSV)

The confusion occurs in the understanding of this one true God who is the Saviour and His (i.e. God’s) right hand who is the sacrifice.

Isaiah 41:20 that men may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. (RSV)

Hebrews 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, (RSV)

God sent His Anointed and thereby designated Saviour and also Redeemer into the world by His power alone. The terms Saviour and Redeemer are Messiah’s from his fulfilment of his role in the first advent because the God also saved him by His power as evidenced in the resurrection.

1Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (RSV)

The Lord of Hosts, the One True God is Messiah’s Saviour and Redeemer.

Hosea 13:4 I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. (RSV)

Isaiah 54:5For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. (RSV)

We worship the One True God alone and know that He brought Israel out of Egypt by means of the Messenger of Yahovih who is our Lord. He was the face of God in the wilderness and who was the voice or word of the Lord (Acts 7:30-31) (see the paper The Angel of YHVH (No. 24)).

Yahoshua Messiah’s role of Saviour is by the designation of the One True God and he is able to keep those given to him.

Jude 24-25Now to him who is able to keep you from falling [away] and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, ²⁵to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen. (RSV)

Spirit life: the first creation

Most people understand that there is a spiritual existence as well as the physical. When the spiritual sons interacted with the human creation they became messengers. The Old Testament uses the Hebrew term mal’ak (SHD 4397) and the English New Testament uses angels, which is from the equivalent Greek term aggelos (SGD 32).

These spiritual sons were also given governing responsibilities.

Deuteronomy 32:8When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he fixed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. (RSV)

Boundaries for the nations or peoples have been set by the Most High. The Bible talks about tribes and nations, meaning family groups, and not the evolutionary term “races”. These families have overseers from the sons of God set over them. One, of the rank of Morning Star, also a son, is presently the god of this world.

2Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. (RSV)

This “god” did not stay in the likeness of The God but iniquity was found in him. He will shortly be replaced by another light bringer or lucifer who qualified to replace him.

All of the beings of the spiritual realm, the first creation, are sons of God being in His Spirit. Lucifer was “blameless from the day he was created (his beginning) until ...”

Ezekiel 28:14-15With an anointed guardian cherub I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. ¹⁵You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. (RSV)

He was also declared to be a murderer, a liar and to have sinned from the beginning.

1John 3:8 He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (RSV)

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (RSV)

There must have been two beginnings; first the spiritual and then the physical in which the Sons participated. With the first creation there was no need for messengers but this developed with the physical and, from there, the Lucifer of the man-headed system rebelled and became HaSatan, “The Adversary”.

Mark 10:6But from the beginning of creation, `God made them male and female.' (RSV)

This second beginning, the physical, had male and female which the spirit creation does not.

Matthew 22:30For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (RSV)

Mark 12:25For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (RSV)

Job 38:4-7"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined its measurements -- surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? ⁶On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (RSV)

From Job we can see that at the laying down of the foundations of the earth that all the sons of God were joyful and that there were at least two morning stars or holders of the rank of Lucifer.

The spirits are incorruptible (apthartos SGD 862) and have eternal life. This does not mean that they possess eternal life inherently and, hence, are immortal of their own essence. The physical creation, being corruptible (phthartos SGD 5349), does not have such eternal life. Having a form of life that allows the spirits to live without needing food and drink does not mean that they cannot die or have their life removed by the one who gave it to them.

Acts 13:30But God raised him from the dead; (RSV)

Acts 13:37 but he whom God raised up saw no corruption.

When this good news of what God promised to the fathers was preached, Messiah was no longer a spirit angel/messenger. He had divested himself of the former glory (Jn. 17:5), having become a human through Mariam, made like us. He now is above all by appointment.

Hebrews 1:4 tells us that when those words in Acts were spoken he had already become superior to the angels.

Hebrews 1:4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs. (RSV)

Christ (SGD 5547) was born as a human, a son of man, then he died and was resurrected. Do we believe he did die and that the Holy One of God could have become dust and been no more? It was because he died that we have a sacrifice. Also, Christ was seen by men and so cannot be The One True God.

1Timothy 6:16 who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (RSV)

The ongoing attempt is to make something or someone physical take the glory that belongs to the immortal God, Eloah, only.

Romans 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. (RSV)

This animistic belief system is at the heart of the Babylonian mystery religion and is re-surfacing today in the New Age movement.

The requirement is that God with us can only be achieved if the El sent was formerly an elohim and indeed the elohim of Israel who was anointed as elohim by his elohim as noted from Psalm 45:6-7. He received his humanity entirely from his mother and gave up his former glory (Jn. 17:5,24). The virgin birth is developed first and then the genealogy is mentioned in Luke. He establishes the first requirement for kingship, that is, in the Davidic lineage apart from Jeconiah. He establishes the second requirement to be of the line of Nathan and of the family also of Levi through Shimei by his outline of the family relationship of Mariam to Elizabeth, wife of Zacharias the high priest, of the division of Abijah. This was the eighth division of the Temple priesthood (see 1Chr. 24:10; Neh. 12:17).

The genealogy of Messiah (SHD 4899) in the New Testament is of two different lineages. They are in Matthew 1:1-7 and Luke 3:23-38, and the lineage in Matthew differs from that in Chronicles. Modern Christianity chooses to ignore the problem ending with the extreme that we see in the Reader’s Digest Bible (where the genealogies are removed).

The lineage of Messiah is further narrowed and John 7:42 refers to a number of prophecies in a single text.

John 7:42 Has not the scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" (RSV)

The Scriptures that are covered by this text are found in Psalm 110:1-7 where he is both David’s Lord and priest of Melchisedek. This text refers to the priest Messiah.

Psalm 132:11 shows that it is one out of David and Ephrathah that will sit upon the throne.

Psalm 132:11The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: "One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. (RSV)

Messiah shall be of the root of Jesse and would be salvation to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. (RSV)

Isaiah 11:10 In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious. (RSV)

Messiah had to be the seed of the root of Jesse, the father of David. Messiah is of David’s line from Jeremiah 23:5-8.

Jeremiah 23:5-8"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: `The LORD is our righteousness.' ⁷"Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when men shall no longer say, `As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' ⁸but `As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' Then they shall dwell in their own land." (RSV)

This text confounds modern Christianity because it shows absolutely that Messiah shall rule on earth and that there will be a second exodus, which establishes Israel. Many accept that the modern founding of the State of Israel by Jews (who include converts to Judaism from the Khazars) out of the lands of the north is this fulfilment. We wait for its fulfilment in the upcoming dispersal of Israel, the so-called lost ten tribes who are the nations presently located in North-West Europe. They, the holders of the birthright promises, will re-join Judah (Ezek. 37:15-22). They had been separated (1Kgs. 11:11-13) because of the breach in the Covenant (vv. 30-34) This re-union is in fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham (Ex. 32:13).

Micah 5:2 shows that Messiah was to have been born from Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Eph'rathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. (RSV)

The Kingdom of God, which is offered to the sons of men, is everlasting.

Psalm 145:11-13 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power, ¹²to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom. ¹³Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. (RSV)

So is the covenant (Ps. 105:7-10).

In both cases this begins with the relationship to The God who makes it everlasting; not that the sons or the covenant have an independent inherent life. There is an ongoing relationship with activities between these worlds or sequences or aspects of creation. The spirits that are called demons know that there is one true God, but don’t believe or support His plan.

James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder. (RSV)

They long to look into this plan where we understand and take it on faith and do believe, given our limited understanding.

1Peter 1:12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (RSV)

All of the Host sang and shouted for joy at the creation or foundation of the world (Job 38:4-7).

Everyone generally supports the position that the spirit creation preceded the physical and that Satan (SHD 7854, meaning adversary) would not subjugate himself. God chose Christ and made him the only-born son and elohim. He then became the firstborn from the dead. He achieved his position as a son of God in power and by designation from his resurrection from the dead.

Romans 1:4and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, (RSV)

He was not in this position before the resurrection. He was anointed with the oil of gladness above his partners (Heb. 1:8-9) making Psalm 45:6-7 a prophecy.

Psalm 45:7you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows; (RSV)

This was all done by the command of God, from the resurrection, and through no other power. It was done because he loved righteousness and hated wickedness, not because of who he was pre-incarnate.

Physical life: the first advent

Yahoshua was sent by his Father (Jn. 16:27) to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat. 15:24) in His name (Jn. 5:34) to do his Father’s will (Jn. 5:35; Heb. 10:9) and he did not come of his own accord (Jn. 5:19).

He came to be a witness to the light (Jn. 1:8) and as a light (Jn. 12:46) as a witness to the truth (Jn. 18:37) and to fulfil the requirements of the law (Mat. 5:17).

There are many seemingly distinct reasons given for the first advent. Among them are that the Messiah was sent to be an example (Jn. 13:17) and to build a church (Mat. 16:18). These reasons are hailed far and wide by what we would term traditional Christianity, except where he kept the law literally as did the faithful church. The allegorising away of much of the good news of the message causes tremendous confusion.

There are other reasons given which do not get much exposure. He came also to bring division (Lk. 12:51) and to set a mother against her daughter (Mat. 10:35).

So, do we have here the Prince of Peace causing family discord? This is in the same frame of reference we are also given for Messiah coming to give life (Jn. 10:10), to call sinners (Mat. 9:13; Mk. 2:17), to save (1Tim. 1:15) that we might live through him (1Jn. 4:9).

It is God the Father who is life and gives life.

1Timothy 6:13 In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, (RSV)

The Scriptures often tell a story that we really do not like to hear as it affects us individually and often intimately. It is really dealing with the way we think, or should think. The first advent was as the Lamb of God, a lamb whose presence and what he said and stood for brought division.

It’s not that he caused the division but that human nature resists the things of God and this generates the hostility, which for us, will become more pronounced in the future.

Romans 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; (RSV)

It may be that our present or past brethren will become our worst enemies.

Jeremiah 9:3-6 They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, says the LORD. ⁴Let every one beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother; for every brother is a supplanter, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. ⁵Every one deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent. ⁶Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, says the LORD. (RSV)

Let not one of us be guilty of slander. The damage from libellous gossip, especially if done with malicious intent, is often impossible to recover from. This is not how the mind of God works. We need to have friends and confidants but we should be cautious in exposing ourselves to needless harassment.

The time will come when our affiliation will bring a real persecution and we will stand to a public hatred of The God that will be reflected in hatred against those who keep God’s laws. This mindset of hostility and general wrong way of thinking is what is presently being dealt with through baptism.

The Lamb’s sacrifice was for all of creation. He was sent initially to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Mat. 15:24), then the Gentiles and eventually even the fallen Host – for the sacrifice was “once for all”.

Hebrews 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (RSV)

From his sacrifice he put away all sin, of both the spiritual and physical creation – that is, our past sin at baptism and future sin upon repentance. This sacrifice was complete. It covers all our sins and includes former divorces.

It should be clear from Hebrews, speaking about the Ark of the Covenant, that there were two cherubim that were to reflect the glory of God.

Hebrews 9:5 above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (RSV)

From Philippians, we see that Christ did not count equality with The God as something to be grasped (SGD 725 harpagmos) but gave up his former incorruptible state and took on a human form.

Philippians 2:6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, (RSV)

He was in the form of God and God is Spirit. The fallen Host wanted to grasp equality with The God Most High.

Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.' (RSV)

Christ did not do so but became obedient unto death. He has replaced the adversary and accuser and is now our mediator. Christ had a former incorruptible state or form, which he gave up and, in that state he was not equal to The God who is his Father. He was given that glorified state by his God before the foundation of the world (Jn. 17:24).

He came to save the creation from sin. He was glorified as a son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4).

The first advent was as the priest Messiah to establish the order of Melchisedek to create a priesthood without genealogy so that it might be opened to the Gentiles as a gift of God (Heb. 6:20)

The seed is of Adam through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through Judah to David and from the town of Bethlehem. This is the traditional narrowing of the lineage. The lineage can and should be narrowed further than this. There are two aspects of the Messianic advent, which show that Messiah is of two advents for two purposes.

The Messianic lineage included not only a Davidic lineage but also an Aaronic lineage.

The prophecy shows that the lineages were of David through Nathan and Levi through Shimei. This prophecy, also in Zechariah 12:10-14, shows that Messiah was to be killed.

Zechariah 12:10-14 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born. ¹¹On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadadrim'mon in the plain of Megid'do. ¹²The land shall mourn, each family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹³the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shim'e-ites by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹⁴and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. (RSV)

(The KJV reads me whom they have pierced based on western codices, the eastern codices show that the correct word is him).

The text shows two lineages. The first is David through Nathan; the second is Levi through Shimei. This act was to cause destruction and mourning in Jerusalem and the nation (vv. 11-14). The prophecy thus linked the destruction of Jerusalem to the death of Messiah. The time span of forty years from 30 CE to 70 CE is thus of significance. The Jerusalem temple was destroyed in 70 CE from Atonement. However, the Egyptian Temple was closed in 71 CE from the order of Vespasian following the Jewish war. The destruction continued in the countryside after the destruction of the Temple.

This sequence shows a physical and a spiritual level. Firstly, the feeble of Jerusalem will be strengthened to be as David. Secondly, the household at this time will be as Elohim or God as the Angel of Jehovah was before them. The Angel of Jehovah was the Angel of Great Counsel of the LXX (Isa. 9:6), Israel’s second God who was the Angel of Jehovah (Zech. 12:8).

This Angel was an elohim and was the face of God, the Peniel of the Patriarchs, the El Bethel or God of the House of God of Abraham (Gen. 31:11-13; 32:24-30).

This Angel was the God who was anointed as God by his God with the oil of gladness above his partners from Psalm 45:6-7 which Hebrews 1:8-9 shows us refers to Messiah. He qualified to become the Morning Star and he will share that rule with his household (Rev. 2:28; 22:16) as they share the divine nature of God as he does (2Pet. 1:4).

The New Testament is built on the understanding that God the Father was the God of Israel and Jesus came as His Messiah and Servant as was prophesied. The identity and role of Yahoshua Messiah caused turmoil among the Jews and this needs to be understood. Jesus was the Son of God, meaning the Son of the God of the Old Testament (Lk. 1:30-35). He was the Chosen of God (Lk. 9:35; 23:35) and the Servant of God (Mat. 12:18).

Hebrews 1:1-2 In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (RSV)

The return: the second advent

Both priesthood and kingship had been established but judged wanting by Messiah. Messiah was thus the Messiah of Aaron and Israel; he was both priest-Messiah and king-Messiah.

The one Messiah of two advents was expected by Israel (see G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, re Damascus Rule VII and the fragment from cave IV).

Vermes, among others, holds that these texts show that the Messiah of Aaron and the Messiah of Israel were understood by first century Judaism to be the same entity of different advents.

The second advent (or second coming) will bring Messiah as ruler who will put down ALL rebellion and eventually hand the Kingdom over to his Father and our Father.

1Corinthians 15:24-25 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (RSV)

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (RSV)

He returns not to deal with sin. Why, then, does he return?

The general understanding is that the sacrifice is complete, the saved will go to heaven and the unsaved are eternally lost. This is a false teaching that respects persons and makes our God Almighty unable to carry out His plan of salvation. All who repent are forgiven of every sin. This must include the fallen Host who repent and does cover or atone for every human who ever lived.

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. (RSV)

Christ is our mediator.

1Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (RSV)

Hebrews 9:15Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant. (RSV)

His sacrificial death redeems us but The One True God, The Father, the YHVH of Hosts is the Redeemer having sent the Atonement.

Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. (RSV)

The descriptive terms of Yahoshua Messiah’s activities include “Saviour” and “Redeemer”, although he needed to be saved and redeemed by his God and Father (see the paper God Our Saviour (No. 198)).

These relate to the successful completion of his role and are his only by designation of his Father, beside whom there is no God!

Isaiah 63:16For thou art our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us; thou, O LORD, art our Father, our Redeemer from of old is thy name. (RSV)

The Scriptures tell of a return that will bring those who wait for him to eternal life in the first resurrection to help establish the Kingdom on earth.

When all enemies are put down, Messiah will hand the Kingdom over to the Father, God Most High.

1Corinthians 15:24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (RSV)

The system of law that will be enforced on his return is what should concern all of us at this time as we prepare for the reading of the law as instructed, in the upcoming Sabbath year. This next Roman year of 1998/99 is the 21st year of the 40th Jubilee from the birth of Messiah (see the paper The Meaning of Ezekiel's Vision (No. 108)). It completes the initial period of almost six thousand years allotted to Satan from the creation of Adam.

This relates to the second coming and is the beginning of the restitution of all things and we should prepare to play whatever part is being assigned. It’s not a game we are playing but we should find it exciting as more and more is revealed to us in the next year – that is, following the times of the Gentiles (525 BCE - 1997 CE) that were fulfilled as of 1 Nisan, 8 March 1997 (see the paper The Fall of Egypt (No. 36) : the Prophecy of Pharaoh’s Broken Arms)).

It does not seem clear to most people that the law isn’t a burden but is an actual reflection of The God being Holy (Rom. 7:12; Ps. 145:17), Good (Rom. 7:14; Ps. 25:8) and Just (Rom. 7:12; Deut. 32:4).

We aren’t doing God a favour by keeping His law. It’s in place for our benefit. It doesn’t seem much of a benefit at this time because of the hostility of the carnal mind to the things of God and the more closely we are in line with the law, and thereby the mind of God, the more we are exposed and hated.

Both The God and His law are: Spiritual (Jn. 4:24; Rom 7:14), Love (1Jn. 4:8; Rom. 13:10), Everlasting (Gen. 21:33; Ps. 111:7). They are Righteous (Ps. 145:17; Ps. 119:172), Perfect (Mat. 5:48; Ps. 19:7), and Truth (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 119:142).

Every group of believers is concerned with serving God in truth. With His blessing we can soon develop a program for explaining the system of law that is coming with the Messiah’s return. It will be work on our part. We all need to study this so that we better understand the function of the different components and divisions of the law and so be able to explain it. We must also understand that components of the law, which were related to the ordinances of the sacrifices and offerings were added because of Israel’s failures.

Jeremiah 7:21-24Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. ²²For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. ²³But this command I gave them, `Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.' ²⁴But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. (RSV)

Presently, the orthodoxy in the State of Israel is preparing the Levitical and Aaronic priesthood to take their place. They had contact with a farmer in Nebraska who has a herd of red cattle. A red heifer, which has not been yoked and is without spot, is required for a burnt offering; the ashes of which are mixed with water. This is the water of purification or separation that will be used for the physical purification of the priests, who are presently unclean (see Num. 19:1-22).

We all know how this relates to the spiritual Temple.

Hebrews 9:12-14 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (RSV)

A red heifer was born on a religious kibbutz in Israel last year, to a black and white cow and a dun [brown] coloured bull. This is being hailed as a miracle amongst the right wing in the State of Israel and plans for the Temple sacrifices are now being finalised. News of the red heifer’s appearance, however, will not be well received by Muslims. The site of the second Temple (the Herodian) in Jerusalem is now occupied by one of Islam’s holiest shrines, the Dome of the Rock. Jewish extremists want to destroy the Dome and the adjoining Al-Aqsa mosque to make way for a new third physical temple.

The elect are the spiritual Temple that has been built upon for these almost two thousand years – that is, close to 40 Jubilees. In 1985, a group of Jewish terrorists were jailed in Israel for planning to destroy the Dome with high explosives.

Jewish activists say they regard it as their divine mission to build a new Temple. "We have been waiting 2,000 years for a sign from God, and now he has provided us with a red heifer," said Yehudah Etzion, the ringleader of the Eighties' plot to blow up the Dome, who was present at last week's inspection of the red heifer at Kfar Hassidim. "There were a couple of little white hairs which worried us, but the rabbis are satisfied that it is the red heifer referred to in the Bible," said Mr Etzion (London Sunday Telegraph, 16 March 1997).

As the Jews think physically, we should think spiritually. We concluded the 7th of Nisan fast for the sins of error and ignorance in our preparation for the Passover.

Ezekiel 45:20 You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for any one who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple. (RSV)

We are the “Temple of God”. The word Temple here is actually the Naos or Holy of Holies which Temple we are (1Cor. 3:17). Both of the days of Passover (14 and 15 Nisan) have their function with the days of Unleavened Bread. We hold our Passover, God’s Anointed, the Messiah/Christ, in the greatest honour due as we celebrate the New Covenant Feast.

1Corinthians 5:7-8Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed for us. ⁸Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (RSV)

The period of the Passover covers the Lord’s Supper, the Night to be Much Observed, and the period until the Wave-sheaf offering, which can be on the last day of Unleavened Bread. That is why the terms are used interchangeably and correctly so.

The Passover symbolises:

1. Our unity with him from the Lord’s Supper;

2. Our dependence on him from the Passover meal of 15 Nisan; and

3. Our unity with God that followed on from the sacrifice and his ascension into heaven as the Wave-sheaf offering on the Sunday morning.

We have wandered in the wilderness now for over 39 Jubilees and we eagerly await his return at the order of God our Father and the God and Father of Messiah (Jn. 20:17). As required, we observe God’s Feast Days, the purpose of which is to hear and learn;

Deuteronomy 31:12Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God [YHVH your Elohim], and be careful to do all the words of this law, (RSV)

This we do in honour to our God and Father and with the greatest respect to His son. As we study the plan of salvation shown by all of the Holy Days, we are also preparing for our obligations in the upcoming 7th year of the Jubilee system. We are doing this because we are led by the Spirit, and we wish to participate.

Therefore, we pray to our Father, who is the Father of Yahoshua Messiah, Iesous Christos, our one Lord Jesus Christ for his return and for the restitution of all things.

1Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (RSV)

The name of Messiah

We have been using the names and titles of Yahoshua Messiah and the Anglicised Jesus Christ, transliterated from the Greek Iesous Christos. Does a problem with identification develop from this different usage?

The name of the Messiah was Yahoshua. The Hebrew variations of this are Hosea, Hoshea, Jehoshua, Jeshua, Jeshuah, Jesus, Osea, Oshea and Joshua.

Messiah is named by divine direction. His name is given in Matthew 1:21 and Luke 1:31. The name is derived from the name Hoshea (as in Num. 13:16) with the prefix Jah or Yah. This means effectively God is our Salvation. Jehoshua is then rendered as Yeshua or Joshua in usage. Jesus is a Greek version of Joshua and is derived from non-Hebrew sources. The Greek ’Iesous is a transliteration of the name Yahoshua. A variation of the name also appears among the Hyperborean Celts.

Esus is one of a trinity of Esus, Taranis and Teutates. Esus may well be of the trinity system of the Hyperborean Celts but it is also the Greek rendering of the Aramaic version of Yahoshua as perhaps Yashua or Yeshua.

In the English language, we call the sixth book of the Old Testament Joshua. The title of the book is named after its central figure, Joshua. His original name is Hoshea, "Salvation" (Num. 13:8); but Moses evidently changes it to Yehoshua, "Yahweh (Jehovah) is Salvation" (Num. 13:16). He is also called Yeshua, a shortened form of Yehoshua.

This is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name Iesous (Jesus) (NKJV, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1980, p. 190). In the Greek translation of the Scriptures in the third century BCE, called the Septuagint (LXX), the name Hoshea/Joshua is rendered Iesous (SGD 2424).

In the New Testament, Joshua is mentioned twice (Acts 7:45; Heb. 4:8) and in both places the Greek New Testament spells the name Iesous. The Greek Iesous, with the context defining who is meant, is seen to be the equivalent of the Hebrew Yahoshua.

Everyone generally understands that the one spoken of by these names is the one who came to be the saviour of mankind.

Matthew 1:1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (RSV)

In Swahili, this is:

Mathayo 1:1 Yesu Kristo alikuwa mzao wa Daudi, mzao wa Abrahamu. Hii ndiyo orodha ya ukoo wake.

The Swahili pronunciation for the name is almost the same as the Greek, which the Anglicised Jesus Christ is not. However, this itself is prophetic.

God declared that He would speak to the Covenant people in a foreign language.

Isaiah 28:11 Nay, but by men of strange lips and with an alien tongue the LORD will speak to this people, (RSV)

1Corinthians 14:21 In the law it is written, "By men of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord." (RSV)

His people who understood the language of Scriptures would not obey. He speaks through the word and from the declaration above there cannot be a problem with translating, providing there is no adding or taking away of His word.

Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. (RSV)

To this caution is added:

Deuteronomy 12:32 "Everything that I command you you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to it or take from it. (RSV)

The seriousness of tampering with the word ends with a threat.

Revelation 22:18-19 I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (RSV)

We know there has been adding to and taking away from the word of God and have lists of where alterations have taken place.

This really exposes areas we need to give attention to. The name of God (YHVH) is one area that has been altered and this will be dealt with in future papers.

Regarding the names Yeshua and Yehoshua, Dr James Price, Professor of Hebrew and PhD Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, notes that:

As far as the Hebrew Bible is concerned, it is important to note that in the early books, the name Joshua is spelled as (yod-hey-waw-shin-ayin) or on rare occasions as (yod-hey-waw-shin-waw-ayin).

However, in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the high priest is named Jeshua the son of Jozadak (yod-shin-waw-ayin); whereas in the contemporary books of Haggai and Zechariah, the same high priest is named Joshua the son of Jehozadak (yod-hey-waw-shin-ayin beth-nun).

Thus, it can be concluded that in post-exilic times of the biblical era, the names Yeshua and Yehoshua were regarded as equivalent.

Various “sacred names” assemblies believe that only the Hebrew names are to be used.

In the 1993 booklet Our Saviour Spoke the Sacred Name by Yahwey’s New Covenant Assembly on page 15, a prayer is given. “May Yahwey open the eyes of people everywhere to the life-saving truth of His Name!”

Salvation is from the One True God available to us from the sacrifice of His Son and not in the use of one of the Hebrew names that describe God’s activities.

The name YHVH is derived from the form of the name revealed in the text in Exodus 3:14 which is ’ehyeh ’asher ’ehyeh. This form means; I will be what I will become (see the paper The Etymology of the Name of God (No. 220)). The name YHVH refers to multiple beings. The name is a title, which refers to the servants of the One True God who is referred to as Yahovih (SHD 3069, spoken as Elohim). Yahovah (SHD 3068, spoken as Adonai) is the generic term, which refers to the One True God only as Yahovah of Hosts. It is specifically used for the beings He sends as Yahovah (cf. Zech. 12:8 and see the paper The Angel of YHVH (No. 24)). Yahovah or the Angel of Yahovah is the name used for the messengers of God – especially Messiah in his pre-incarnate form.

The Messiah has a new name as befits his new role.

Revelation 3:12 He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. (RSV)

He is presently called Faithful and True (Rev 19:11) and the word or spokesman of God (Rev 19:13).

He has obtained a new name that only he knows.

Revelation 19:12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. (RSV)

Hebrews 1:4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs. (RSV)

Overcomers will also receive new names,

Revelation 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it.' (RSV)

and learn a new song – that of the lamb.

Revelation 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages! (RSV)

Malachi 1:6"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. You say, `How have we despised thy name?' (RSV)

The priests are told that they despised the name YHVH by their polluted offerings (Mal. 1:6-14). At this time Jews were forbidden, on penalty of death, from speaking the name YHVH. It is our conduct that defames God even or especially amongst those that purport to be His people. Using God’s name in vain relates as much to how we conduct our business relationships as to how we speak to and about Him.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, on page 96 (OT section), says of the word God ‘El’, SHD 410.

In the ancient world, knowledge of a person’s name was believed to give one power over that person. A knowledge of the character and attributes of pagan “gods” was thought to enable the worshippers to manipulate or influence the deities in a more effective way than they could if the deity’s name remained unknown.

On page 158 (OT section) it says of the word Name ‘Sem’ SHD 8034.

Sem can be a synonym for reputation or fame (Gen. 11:4; 2 Sam. 7:23; 2Sam. 23:18).

The name of God, which was unknown to the Patriarchs, had a specific meaning and also a purpose.

Isaiah 63:16 For thou art our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us; thou, O LORD, art our Father, our Redeemer from of old is thy name. (RSV)

In Exodus, we read that the names of other gods are not to be used.

Exodus 23:13 Take heed to all that I have said to you; and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let such be heard out of your mouth. (RSV)

In our modern languages, names of false gods are used for our weeks and months and Yaho[vah] can be found as an Internet search engine! The term Yahoo is familiar to most, as a cry of exhortation used by buckaroos when training horses and as a derogatory designation by city folk when commenting upon rowdy rednecks i.e. “those bunch of Yahoos!”

There was a temple named the Temple of Yaho, described in the Aramaic letters, which spoke of the Temple at Elephantine (see Pritchard, The Ancient Near East etc., Vol. 1, pp. 278-280). God was referred to as Yaho from at least before 407 BCE. This word Ya-hoo was also used as a battle cry.

Is our using the names of “other gods” that are used without reference to them in modern speech a sin? Or is this taking Scripture out of context? The book of Daniel shows that Daniel’s three friends were given Babylonian names that were derived from pagan deities. They are known as such in Scripture.

Daniel 1:6-7 Among these were Daniel, Hanani'ah, Mish'a-el, and Azari'ah of the tribe of Judah. ⁷And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshaz'zar, Hanani'ah he called Shadrach, Mish'a-el he called Meshach, and Azari'ah he called Abed'nego. (RSV)

Daniel 2:49 Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed'nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel remained at the king's court. (RSV)

Daniel’s three friends were known by these foreign names but their God was still The God Most High, El Elyon – Chaldean: ‘Elaha’.

Daniel 3:29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed'nego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." (RSV)

Are we required to use the Hebrew name YHVH that referred to both The One True God and by designation, His Herald or Angel?

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (RSV)

John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did; (RSV)

The usage of “sacred names” for personal benefit/salvation is from an ancient practice. In some cases there was a guarding against the use of the name of the patron deity so that the sorcerers or magicians of other nations did not get hold of the name and, thus, by its correct usage bring the overthrow of the nation concerned.

The Sacred Names theology has its origins in pagan practice (see the The Etymology of the Name of God (No. 220) and Abracadabra: The Meaning of Names (No. 240)).

The name Yahoshua was a common Hebrew name. It was Messiah’s obedient sacrifice that saves us, and not use of the Hebrew name.

God has given us the New Testament in Aramaic and Greek with no originals extant and God keeps His word! He did not keep it in Hebrew. Also, there are no originals of the Old Testament extant.

Psalm 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; and every one of thy righteous ordinances endures for ever. (RSV)

Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD [Yahovah], thy word is firmly fixed in the heavens. (RSV)

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever. (RSV)

We are obligated to know The God and His Christ.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. (RSV)

We are to worship and pray to God, the Father, and Him alone, through the authority that has come from His Son’s sacrifice regardless of in what language we speak his name.

The important thing is that we understand who we speak to and about, so that we do not misuse His Name and, therefore, take it in vain. This misuse may come even when using the correct ancient Hebrew pronunciation.

Malachi 1:6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. You say, `How have we despised thy name?' (RSV)

Those in Jerusalem knew Messiah’s name Yahoshua. They were declared “not to have believed in his name”, meaning they did not believe in what he stood for, his role.

John 3:18 He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only [born] Son of God. (RSV)

We should see that The God, Eloah, is the Father and progenitor of all of the spiritual creation.

Hebrews 12:9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? (RSV)

He is the God and Father of Messiah (Jn. 20:17) making Jesus the Christ a product of his Father and, so, a created being. This was by an act of His will, through His Spirit (Zech. 4:6).

It may be that these sons participated in the creation of the whole physical universe. We do know that they played a part in the creation of the Adamic family (Gen. 1:2).

Our salvation is from the sacrifice of the only born Son of God who now has been given a place above all the rest of the physical and spiritual creation.

Ephesians 1:21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; (RSV)

Philippians 2:9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, (RSV)

Matthew 7:22 On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' (RSV)

Matthew 7:23And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (RSV)

We can see that even by doing “mighty works” using His name we can end up being told that He never knew us.

Our salvation is dependent on our understanding of who is the only God Most High, and who is the Messiah whom He sent.

John 17:3And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. (RSV)

Salvation is not dependent on the usage of disputed pronunciations of the Hebrew names of either of these beings. This requires faith and our continual obedience to His covenant will maintain this relationship.

John 20:31but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. (RSV)

The roles of Messiah show that he has been:

1^st – a spiritual Son amongst the other sons.

2^nd – as the Elohim who dealt with the Adamic creation.

3^rd – as the priest Messiah of Aaron who has redeemed all from sin.

4^th – as the king Messiah of Israel who returns to save those who wait for him.

The story the Bible tells shows that there is One True God who presides over a council of gods or lords (Rev. 4 & 5) – that His Anointed or Messiah has been exalted to a position of authority over all of these gods and lords (Mat. 28:18).

There are many differing beliefs on the Nature of God – that is, beliefs of the makeup of the Godhead.

Monotheists: believe that there is only one almighty, all knowing, eternal God. They do not accept the role played by the Messiah.

(Judah, and Islam)

Ditheists: believe there are to two co-equal and co-eternal God beings. They are thought of as originally being fraternal or brothers with one being greater than the other; and also as a father and a son as a result of one being born a human, a sacrifice for sins. The Holy Spirit is held to be the power of God.

(Various 20^th century Churches of God)

Trinitarians: believe that God is one but is made up of three distinct but not separate beings; Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

(Most of mainstream Christianity)

Binitarians: believe that God is one but is made up of two distinct but not separate beings; Father and Son. They hold the Spirit to be the power of God.

(Including a variety of new covenant sects)

Unitarians: believe that God is singular and sovereign. He is the almighty, all knowing, eternal being and that there is no other – that He has placed His only born Son, as Messiah.

We must read our various translations of Scriptures with an ever-improving understanding of the Hebrew/Aramaic writers’ ways of thinking. Our generic English words God and worship especially need reflection and we should all study to show ourselves approved and to be sure that we know:

HOW and WHEN we are to worship

The “ONE TRUE GOD”

Related Study Papers

The Elect as Elohim (No. 1)

The Angel of YHVH (No. 24)

Eternal Life (No. 133)

The Names of God (No. 116)

Genealogy of the Messiah (No. 119)

The Deity of Christ (No. 147)

On Immortality (No. 165)

The Government of God (No. 174)

Introduction to the Godhead (No. 193)

The Etymology of the Name of God (No. 220)

Abracadabra: The Meaning of Names (No. 240)

Except where noted all Scriptures quoted are from the Revised Standard Version, 1947.

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