Shalom Shalom! The Word became flesh. The Torah became Flesh. We read in John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Yahveh, and the Word was God. From this understanding, Yahveh’s son Yeshua HaMashiach was in the garden with Adam and Eve to learn through Him the full truth about the Father. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Torah (Bible) is also called the Tree of Life, as it points us to Yahveh as He reveals Himself in the scriptures, and thus His salvation. Going back to the time of Moses, Yahveh Himself states that His Torah is the way of life. A seed must be planted in the ground or buried in death before it emerges in new life. When it appears, it is nothing like its former state. It gradually grows and becomes the plant Yahveh intended it to be. So is the person who is immersed in the Mikvah. (Water purification - Baptism) When the person emerges from the Mikvah waters of Yahveh’s creation, he is reborn, a new creation entering into an eminent state of life. The Deeper Meaning of Mikvah is Baptism by Water. For Israel to continue in intimacy with Yahveh they had to wash themselves, separate them and prepare for the Set Apart One. They had already been baptized in the Red Sea, yet, they had to experience tvilah again. This time, immersions purpose was to cleanse the nation to experience Yahveh. The earth was immersed in the beginning. As part of creation, the Almighty immersed the world in water. Yahveh said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And the waters under the heaven gathered to their gatherings and the dry land appeared. And Yahveh called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the water He called Seas: and Yahveh saw that it was good. And Yahveh said, Let the earth bring out grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought out grass and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind: and Yahveh saw that it was good. Genesis 1: 8-12 John the Baptist urged his listeners to stop their Torah breaking and return to Yahveh through repentance, coupled with immersion. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. Let us draw near with atrue heart, in full assurance of emunah (trusting faithfulness), having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 The Hebrew word for gathering the waters or gathered to their gatherings Genesis 1:9 is actually mikvah. The place where the waters gathered was a mikvah, or a gathering of moving waters that renders a ritually unclean person clean. New life sprung forth after the waters were gathered into a mikvah. The Torah (Scriptures) says that the Ruach (Spirit) of Yahveh moved upon the face of the waters. When a mother gives birth to a child water immerse from the womb before the newborn baby see the world for the first time. The mother looks down and have to use all her power (spirit) to enable the birth to take place. The Father present at the birth will experience this immerging of his child. This also indicates in the birth of Messiah Yeshua. The Spirit hovered over Mary; she received by spirit the seed, and brought forth a child. The Angel spoke to Mary, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of Yahveh. Luke 1:35 This pattern of hovering, immersion and impregnation, is one that Yahveh has set and continues to use to this day. The Torah says that the immense waters of the Red Sea parted and our ancestors walked across the deep on dry land. With the walls of water on either side of them, the Israelites experienced mikvah, Our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. I Corinthians 10: 1-2 The Scriptures shows us how immersion not only brings forth new life, but also washes away the old life. The purpose of baptism is to spiritually cleanse the sinner from all that is contrary to Torah. Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Yeshua HaMashiach for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 Before John the Baptist started preaching repent and be baptized the immersion or baptism was already an accepted practice in the life of the Hebrew people. John the Baptist stood in the Jordan River, he wasnt doing anything new. Baptism or Tvilah (immersion) was part of the Torah faith before the earthly birth of our Messiah. Baptism is not just as a sacrament ordained by word but an action commanded by the Scriptures. Yeshua was Yahvehs sacrificial lamb. As a lamb was slained to cover the sins of Adam and Eve. Yahveh also sent a great flood to wash the sins away. As John the Baptist said, takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29 This required the shedding of his blood, the taking of his life. Yeshua said, in instituting the Lords supper, For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew. 26:28 We are justified by His blood Romans. 5:9 and we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:7 When Yeshua died on the cross His blood was shed in that his life was taken. Literally, Yeshua had shed some blood prior to His death. There was the scourging he endured, the crown of thorns on his head, the nails driven through his hands yet, all of that being true,he had not yet shed his blood in the Bible sense of the giving up of life itself. When Yeshua uttered his last words on the cross and gave up the spirit his blood was then shed in Bible manner of speaking. In John 19:33-34, in speaking of what happened while Yeshua was on the cross but after his death said, But when they came to Yeshua and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. John 19:33-34 To me this event, the piercing of his side, had symbolic importance for the sacrifice of himself had already taken place, his life already given for ours. The life of the flesh is in the blood. Lev. 17:11 With his side being pierced the life of Yeshua was now gone for the whole world to see. His blood was shed in every sense of the word. We realise where Yeshua shed his blood by sacrificing his death, at the moment he died. This then tells us all that if we are to come into contact with that blood that we must get into his death. For me to come into contact with that saving blood, spiritually speaking, I must get into Christs death. Paul was very clear on where and how you and I do this. He says in Romans. 6:3, do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Yeshua HaMashiach, were baptized into His death. Then Paul says in Ephesians. 5:25-26, Husbands, love your wives, just as Yeshua also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. Does anyone believe the people Yeshua loved and gave himself for has not been cleansed by his blood? But, the text says he cleansed the church with the washing of water by the word. Thus the blood was in the waters of baptism. Baptism cleanses the spiritually unclean and brings about healing and restoration in our life. The main purpose of immersion into water is not physical cleanliness, though that does play a part in Scriptural tvilah. The most important reason we have been called to be Baptist is to reinforce the Torah message of separation. As believers, we have been called out of darkness into the Light of Yeshua. He called us as His own precious people. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to Yahveh, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful Light. 1 Peter 2:9 We are set apart to Yahveh as His children. He has called us to set ourselves apart in this world, through our actions. As we choose to obey His Torah and thus replicate His will, we set ourselves apart unto Him. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says Yahveh. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says Yahveh the Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Yeshua is the embodiment of the Torah. If sin is the transgression of the law, then the son of perdition or the lawless one, is one who is without law or Torah. The man of lawlessness will be the embodiment of separation from Torah. As a believer you will know the true Messiah by learning of Him... and He is the Torah made flesh! Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 Yeshua, is the Son of Yahveh, Prophet, Priest, King, Messiah, Saviour, Healer, Light, Truth, The Way of Salvation, The Word (Living Torah) As Yeshua Himself said: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoso eat my flesh, and drink my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh, and drink my blood, dwell in me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever When Yeshua speaks of eating His flesh and His blood, He is refering to the Torah, as He is the Torah in the flesh. The manna eaten by the Children of Israel was a physical representation of the Torah, which was what truly sustained them. The same can be said of the water from the mysterious rock/well that followed them, which Paul associated with Messiah in 1 Corinthians 10:4 The Word of Yahveh is written on parchment paper made of lambs skin. The 2 posts which the scroll is rolled onto are called The Tree of Life. The Lambs skin (flesh) is literally nailed to the Tree of life. After the Torah reading, the scroll which is still opened to the reading, is lifted up high before the congregation and the congregation declares this is the Word of Yahveh as given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Yeshua said if I be lifted, Ill draw all men to me. John 12:32-33. I believe that we should read our Torah scrolls as compassionate as we love Yeshua for what He had done for us, Yeshua the Torah, from beginning to end. The Torah is referred to as He. When removed from the ark, He is carried the way one carries a baby. The Torah is dressed in a royal robe; He wears the crown of a King and the breastplate of the High Priest. Yeshua is both our King and our High Priest Just as Yeshua was the sacrifice lamb. Nailed to a tree and en wrapped with His Tallit, This refers to the Word of Yahveh becomes flesh. The Ark is where the Torah scroll is kept. The meaning of the word ark is a place for that which is plucked and gathered. The Feast of Tabernacle is the time of Ingathering. Joyest feast. As this is His time of birth. The The meaning of the word manger is also a place to store that which is plucked and gathered. For Messiah is the goal of the Torah to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the Torah, The man who does those things shall live by them. And the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Messiah down from above) or, Who will descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Yeshua and believe in your heart that Yahweh has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. Romans 10:4-11 From him will come forth the cornerstone, from him the nail, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together. Zechariah 10:4 Isaiah mentioned a cornerstone laid in Zion. Isaiah 28:16. Yeshua identifies himself with this cornerstone in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17. Yeshua’s identification is reinforced by the disciples in the book of Acts 4:11, Ephesians2:20, 1 Peter 2:6-7. Yeshua was familiar with the book of Isaiah. As a teenager Yeshua learned the trade of carpentry, we are sure that He would have pondered on the priest who was like a nail driven into a sure place. And as Yeshua used a hammer with force He too tried to remove a nail and saw it lying cut-off on the ground, he must have realised what was meant by the priest being cut off. As every carpenter knows, it is the head of the nail that is damaged whenever it is forcibly removed. The head need not be damaged. And now for a little space grace has been shown from Yahveh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. Ezra 9:8 Ezra is directly referencing Isaiahs prophecy of the nail. He sees himself as a typical nail. This passage reinforces the idea that Yeshua was to come as a priest, for the fact that Ezra quotes Isaiah indicates that Ezra understands Isaiahs prophecy of a nail refers to a priest, who is also the ruler. This same message came to me as a warning that the Messianic movement needs to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees. The great concern for people in the messianic movement are those who are so only caught up in the length of their beards, the next Feast of Yahveh, being Torah observant but they forget the foundation of the Torah, Yeshua HaMassiah. Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken of to do any work? or will men take a pin (nail) of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it suitable for any work? Ezekiel 15:2-4 My anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for Yahveh of hosts has visited his flock the house of Judah, and has made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because Yahweh is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them...Zechariah 10:2‐6 It is a time when new life is given and actions reflect inward change. And now, why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the Name of Yeshua. Acts 22:16 Now Id like to lay some groundwork so that you too may see this great testimony of who Yeshua really was and is. And remember, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 There are 2 scriptures we need to keep in mind as I walk you through this illustration of the Torah scroll. Oh! Yahweh save us from becoming self righteous in our observance and teach us Your way, the truth, the light, and let us not forget the One who is at the center of our life. Yeshua HaMassiah our Saviour and Redeemer. Amein Be blessed and stay blessed!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 05:44:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015