Latest Entries »

I was seen by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai) but by my name YHWH, I did not make Myself known to them.  Genesis 6:3

          We are indebted to Dr. Stephen Jones for what follows below.

          The Hebrew phrase, El Shaddai,  is almost universally translated “God Almighty”.  “El” is not in any dispute as meaning anything except “God”.  So far, so good.

          However, the origin of “Shaddai” is unclear, as is the translation to “Almighty”, for which no one can reasonably account.  However, it is generally recognized that the word “shaddai” may have some relation to “shad”, which in Hebrew means “breasts” and more specifically those belonging to a lactating mother.  Perhaps the reader can see why “almighty” was more or less invented, because we really couldn’t have a “Breast God”, now could we?

          The gender of the nouns is of no help, and is actually misleading.  “El” is masculine, and “Shaddai” is masculine, but so is “shad”.  Imagine a masculine noun meaning a woman’s breasts!  See Strong’s Conc. #H7699.

          God is neither male nor female, but His expression as YHWH is undeniably masculine.  So too, His expression as Shaddai is feminine.  Notice how the word is always used in relation to a sense of fertility in Genesis 28:3, 35:11 and 49:25.  And as God is one, these expressions will always be in agreement.

          God continues to express Himself today THROUGH those to whom He chooses to express Himself.  Sometimes the spokesperson is aware of it, sometimes not.  This is one of God’s methods of continuously revealing Himself to men.  (See, for example, Romans 1:18).  God chooses to express Himself through men and women.  Thus, through the man, YHWH wll express, while through the woman, El Shaddai will express.

          What is God’s purpose in this?  It is that when a husband and his wife both learn to hear God’s voice, and speak His words, they will be in agreement.  The expression will be different to account for the difference in the messenger, but not contradictory.  In this way, the husband and his wife, or the wife and her husband, fulfill the law of the double witness in a beautiful and harmonious way.

          We will not argue about who is supposed to be the leader of the family, since ultimately Christ is the leader of the family.  Instead, we choose to focus on the necessity of learning to hear God’s voice.  Then, whoever He chooses to speak to first can tell the other spouse of the Lord’s leading.  The other spouse then can seek the Lord for confirmation and to “establish” the matter.

          Insisting that one party lord it over the other, and that the other is to “submit”, results in the complete disregard of the law of the double witness.  It has been given to be a divine safety net, a protection against pride and mistake.  Moreover, the leader is not to be a dictator, but a servant, humbly believing that God can get the message through to the other spouse.  The wise husband will listen for the message El Shaddai is trying to get to him, the husband, through the wife.  Even though the spouses may agree on the subject matter, they may yet be apart on the timing.  Thus, the husband may be ready to go, but the wife may be hesitant, or perhaps vice versa.  By listening to the voice of YHWH and the voice of El Shaddai, the spouses can know that the decision is right AND the timing is right.  This is very important.  Here is the law of the Double Witness:

 15A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.  Deuteronomy 19:15

          This law is expressed in different ways a total of seven times in the Old and New Testaments, and spoken of by Jesus with approval.  See for example, Matthew 18:16.  As Dr. Jones has stated, it is one of the foundational laws of the universe.  Much more could be said about it.  But the point is, God is expressing Himself through women, so men should listen up!

          How fitting that the Song of Songs should confirm this understanding of the woman’s part in establishing God’s will by being a faithful witness.  Notice this:

I was like a wall, and my breasts (shaddai) like towers; then I became in his eyes as one who provides peace.  Song of Songs 8:10

          The woman is saying, “I was like a wall, but Shaddai is higher up (like towers  above the wall), and when I spoke Shaddai’s words, then I became in his (the man’s) eyes as one who provides peace.”  It can be easily seen that the confirming witness of the woman brings peace to the household and to the husband.  This is very beautiful and unknown to most of the church today.

          The next verse confirms the above construction with a simile about renting the vineyard.  The price of its fruit?  1000 pieces of silver.   The number 1000 signifies the glory of man, since woman is the glory of man.  See 1 Corinthians 11:7.

Blessed are you O Shaddai our God, blessed among women, for you have spoken peace and compassion and established the law of the Double Witness.

 

Notes on the House of God

And-he-will-be  in-last-of  the-days  he-will-be  mountain-of  temple-of YHWH  being-established  as-chief-of  the-mountains  and-he-will-be-raised  he  above-hills and-they-will-stream   to-him  peoples.  And-they-will-come  nations, many-ones,  and-they-will-say  “Come!  and-let-us-go to mountain-of YHWH and-to  house-of God-of  Jacob.  And-he-will-teach-us  of-ways-of-him  so-we-may-walk  in-paths-of-him.  Micah 4:1-2  Kohlenberger Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament

And-he-will-be  in-last-of  the-days  being-established  he-will-be mountain-of  temple-of  YHWW  as-chief-of  the-mountains  and-he-will-be-raised  above-hills  and-they-will-stream  to-him  all-of  the nations.  And-they-will-come,  peoples,  many,  and-they-will-say,  “Come!  and-let-us-go-up  to  mountains-of  YHWH,  to house-of  God-of  Jacob.  And-he-will-teach-us  of-ways-of-him so-we-may-walk  in-paths-of-him.  Isaiah 2:2 Kohlenberger Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament

          We have used the Hebrew interlinear above, which gives a word for word translation; the hyphenated English words are a single Hebrew word.  It shows two very important things about these two passages.  First, while similar in large degree, Micah’s prophecy is definitely different from Isaiah’s.  Micah, writing about twenty years after Isaiah, is quoting YHWH, not Isaiah.  (Micah 3:5)  He is in fact establishing the subject matter of the prophecy as a second witness to Isaiah, according to the law of the double witness.  (Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16)

          The second important thing: The subject of these prophecies is clearly NOT an “it”.  Rather, the subject is a “he”, and the “he” is none other than YHWH-Jesus.  The Hebrew word translated “and-he-will-be” is repeated twice by both writers for emphasis in the opening words of each passage.  The passages are emphatically personal throughout.

He will be being established, he will be…..

He will be raised up, he……

They will stream to him, all of the nations…..

They will come to him, many nations……

He will teach us his ways……

So we may walk in the paths of him……

          It is the emphatic repetition by which the Holy Spirit signifies that the subject is a masculine person, as opposed to a masculine, but inanimate, noun like “house.”

          The phrase, “the last of the days”, in Hebrew is “acharet hayamim.”  It has special prophetic significance, and is believed by many Jews to refer to the rule of Messiah.  We believe they are correct.  (See for example, Hosea 3:5, where the sons of Israel will come trembling to YHWH and to His goodness.)

          When will these “latter days” occur?  Many claim to know, and have said so.  However, we are content to wait until the time that is appointed has actually arrived.  From the texts we can see that the process of “being established” will be on-going. 

          “Established” is the Hebrew word “kun” (Strong’s Conc. #H3559). The breadth of its many applications illustrates its utility in meaning a process.  It can mean a) to be set up, fixed in a permanent sense, b) to be directed rightly, c) to prepare and to be prepared, and d) to be arranged and to be ready.

          We believe the first sense is intended, because the text complements this meaning by also saying “he is being raised up”, not just in a resurrection sense.  Rather, He will be given authority over the kings (mountains) of the earth, as well as other rulers (hills), probably referring to elected officials.  This of course could happen overnight, but we believe a longer period of time will be involved as the stone kingdom grows into a mountain.  (Daniel2:35, 44)

          The symbolism used in Daniel is the same as the texts here.  The symbol “mountain” is to be taken for the King inseparably united with His kingdom.  Daniel says the kingdom will fill the whole earth and will endure forever (Hebrew, “olam”, meaning an indefinite period).

          The passage in Daniel creates a large problem (no pun intended) for those who insist that Isaiah and Micah are talking about Jerusalem as it is located today and a “house of God” meaning a Third Temple.  No one has seriously contended the physical city, much less a physical building within that city, will expand to fill the whole earth.  If Daniel, Isaiah, and Micah are all talking about the same occurrence and even use the same symbolism, who decided Daniel was figurative but Isaiah and Micah were literal, or vice versa?

          If this is a physical house, having a physical location, then there is another problem lurking beneath the translation.  It is the small prepositon “to”.  As used in the above texts, it is only a single Hebrew word that can be used in different ways.  Does it mean “in the general direction of”?  Or does it mean “into”, denoting motion from the exterior towards the interior?  Clearly, the nations and the streaming people have a destination in mind.

          In the Greek language, the preposition “into” is the word “eis“.  It is used as a mathematical and geometric term.  Think about a straight line, one end of which dead-ends into the center of a circle, and you have the idea.  “Eis” means motion along the straight line into the interior of the circle as a destination.  (See The Companion Bible, Appendix 104, Bullinger, for an excellent discussion of prepositions used in scripture.)   In the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation by Hebrew scholars of the Old Testament, the word “eis” is used to translate the “to” used in each of our texts.  The result was translated this way:

Come! Let us go up INTO the mountain of YHWH, (and) INTO the house of God….

          Here is the point the Holy Spirit wants us to get:  YHWH-Jesus IS the mountain AND the house of God!  He is the desire of all nations–all will want to be IN Him.  All will want Him to teach them His ways.  All will want, from the bottom of their hearts, to walk as He Himself walks.  To know Him is to love Him.

          He has promised to write His laws, teachings, precepts, commandments, and instructions on the hearts of all men, from the greatest of them to the least.  Jeremiah said so; the writer to the Hebrews established it according to the law of the double witness.

“BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD,
         WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT
         WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; 
   
    10FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
         AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
         I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,
         AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS.
         AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,
         AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
    11AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN,
         AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’
         FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME,
         FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. Hebrews 8:8,10-11 New American Standard Bible

          When all men see that He is what they have desired all along, they will want to walk in His ways, as John said in his epistle.

6the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.  1 John 2:6

          The house of God is not now, and will not be, a church, a mosque, or a temple, or any other structure built by the hand of man, any more than the “house of Israel” is.  It will not be “located” here, or there, or in the wilderness–if you  hear of such, do not go.  Where the carcass is, there will the buzzards be gathered.  Meaning, if you are looking for a new and living way, an incorruptible way, it has been inaugurated through the veil of His flesh, which is never to die or become corruptible again.  Buzzards aren’t really interested in living things.  Look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

Blessed are you, O Lord.  Our wonderful God, you are the mountain that will fill the whole earth!

Notes on the Sacred Gift of Greeting

Now if a sacred gift of greeting is his near-offering; if it is from the herd that he brings-it-near, whether male or female, wholly-sound he is to bring-it-near, before the presence of YHWH.  He is to lean his hand on the head of his near-offering, and he is to slay it at the entrance of the Tent of Appointment, and the Sons of Aharon, the priests, are to dash the blood against the slaughter-site, all around.  Then he is to bring-near from the sacred gift of greeting, a fire-offering to YHWH:  the fat that covers the innards and all the fat that is about the innards, the two kidneys, and the fat that is about them, that is on the tendons, and the extension on the liver–along with the kidneys he is to remove it.  And the Sons of Aharon are to turn it (all) into smoke upon the slaughter-site, along with the offering-up that is upon the wood, that is upon the fire–a fire-offering of soothing savor for YHWH.  Leviticus 3:1-5, The Schocken Bible (sacred gift of greeting, marg. note for “slaughter-offering of shalom“)

          The sacred gift of greeting is the very first of the sacrifices for which Moses received specific instructions from YHWH.  As such, it is of primary importance, both to God and to man.

          Most bible translations poorly translate in “peace offering” the literal words used by the Schocken Bible, “slaughter-offering of shalom”.  The common rendering trivializes and minimizes the prophetic significance intended by YHWH.  Without a proper translation of the type, the comprehension of the fulfillment is all but impossible.  Conversely, when the translation reveals YHWH’s mind, His thinking, and His purpose, the Holy Spirit will open to the searching believer the fulfillment of the prophetic type in the believer’s life.

          The translation into the ubiquitous “peace offering” has resulted from a mis-translation of the Hebrew word “shalom”, which can alternately mean well-being or wholeness, peace, and also greeting–as in “hello”.

          Used here, it cannot mean “peace” because in no way have we or the Israelites of old offered YHWH peace–rather, He gives it to us.  Likewise, it cannot mean well-being or wholeness, because we cannot offer to Him what we don’t have and what He doesn’t need.  So the meaning of “greeting” or “salutation” is correct, and we see immediate confirmation in the correct (Hebrew) name of the book of Leviticus:  “Vayikra”, the first word of verse 1 of the book.  Translated into English, it means, “Now He called”.

          Yes, YHWH-Jesus has called (and continues to call), and if you can grasp that the first offering, the sacred gift of greeting, is intended to be every man’s response, the beautiful picture of fellowship with Him in the worshipping heart, where He has chosen to place His name, can joyfully begin to come into focus.

          Each part of the instruction given to Moses gives a clue to the fulfillment intended for mankind universally.  First, there is the emphasis on nearness.  “Come to Me,” Jesus said, “all ye.”  And again, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me.”  And again, “I will draw (lit., “drag”) all men to me.”

          Next, note that the offering can be either male OR female.  In every other instance except one (the red heifer), the animal sacrifice was to be male.  But here, the sacred gift of greeting is welcomed by YHWH-Jesus, from man or woman.  This is the offering Paul was referring to in Romans 12:1, when he said:

I exhort you therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves for a sacrifice, living and set apart for God.  This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you.  Complete Jewish Bible, David Stern

          Then, we may see from the organs chosen, and from the setting apart of the fat, that it is believers who are signified in the offering.  The giving of the fat, the liver and the kidneys are highly symbolic, which other verses (were they fairly translated would) make immediately obvious.

          Fat always denotes surplus, extra, extravagance.  It is the equivalent of the alabaster vial and the very costly perfume in Matthew 26.  When offered by the believer, it is an acknowledgment that “my cup overflows” because of You, Lord.  The believer’s extravagance here is almost always viewed critically by others:  “Why this waste?” 

          See and understand; it is a perpetual statute:  the fat belongs to YHWH-Jesus.  Do not eat it yourself, for you are not to be God.  Instead, give it to Him.  Be extravagant in praise; be extravagant in love.  Don’t be stingy in thanksgiving or worship.  “Waste” it on your Lord, if you can.  Let your words create a pleasing fragrance, an aroma of worship, to be savored by the One who called you.

          The text is clear:  God wants all of the fat (not just some of it) around the innards.  He is not referring to an acceptable amount of fat, from this or that area of our lives, in the way we would say, “I need to lose about 10 pounds.”  No, He wants it from every area of our lives, and He wants all of it.

          Keith Green put it this way, in his song “To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice”:

I want more than Sundays and Wednesday night.  But if you can’t come to Me every day, then don’t bother coming at all.

          We should note at this point, in conjunction with the instruction that He wants extravagant giving of each area of our lives, that He wants our very lives as well.  This is the point of slaying the animal and the instruction “to dash the blood against the slaughter-site, all around.”  We know He is not pleased with the blood of bulls and goats (Hebrews 10:4), and so there must be some point to the creation of such a big, bloody mess.  Here is that point:

This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.  Exodus 24:8, Hebrews 9:20

The life of the flesh is in the blood,…  Leviticuas 17:11

          The next symbol we note is the giving of the kidneys.  Here again, we are indebted to Dr. Stephen Jones, who noted that the Hebrew word for “kidneys” is also the word used for “reins”, as in the livery used to steer a horse.  The kidneys are representative of inward guidance, even as reins are used for external guidance.  Here are some of the mis-translated examples we referred to earlier:

Psalm 16:7  I will bless YHWH who has counseled me; indeed, my mind (lit., kidneys) instructs me in the night.

Psalm 26:2  Examine me, O YHWH, and try me; test my mind (lit., kidneys) and my heart.

Psalm 73:21-22  When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within (lit., in my kidneys), then I was senseless and ignorant; I was a beast before You.

Isaiah 11:5  And righteousness will be the belt about his loins, and faithfulness the belt about his waist (lit., kidneys).

          Isaiah’s inward/outward comparison to faithfulness (inward) and righteousness (outward) demonstrates most clearly the role of the kidneys as a conscience.  Much more could be said about the kidneys and the liver.

          The function of the liver is to cleanse the body of germs, toxins and foreign matters that cannot be removed from the body any other way, or when the other discharge systems of the body are not working or unavailable.  The liver takes in the sickness and removes it from the blood, or to say it another way, from the life.  This is its function.  When it is offered with the kidneys, the blood and the fat, the believer is saying, “I was a dirty rag of filthiness, but You took my sin upon Yourself, and cleansed me.”  In the liver is the reminder that though your sins were as scarlet, now they are white as snow.  The cleansing of the liver never stops.

          Thus the sacred gift of greeting Jesus is extravagance of love, freely poured out upon Him.  It is a cleansed life, now free to serve Him, and the submission of our inner man to agreement with His will, in essence handing Him the “reins” of our lives.  YHWH-Jesus promises, by covenant, that this male or female of His flock “shall have no defect.”  Praise You, Lord!

          The fire represents purification, not destruction.  It is a false witness of the most serious degree to equate God’s fire with punishment.  The purpose of fire is always commendable.

Blessed are You, O Lord our God.  Shalom! and welcome to Your resting place, Your throne, high and lifted up in our hearts!  Your throne, O God, will last forever!

Notes on John’s Prophecy of Jesus’ Harvest

And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire…, He will baptize you in the holy spirit and fire.  And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.  Matthew 3:10-12

          John the Baptist, sometimes called John the Immerser, spoke the above words in reference to the coming Messiah–Jesus.  He was referring to a process probably well known to his hearers.  That is, God’s law pertaining to the use of trees in warfare whereby fruit-bearing trees were not hewn down for purposes of war (burning), but non-fruit trees were.  This law is set down in Deuteronomy 20:19-20:

19When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege: 20Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat (food), thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.  King James Version

          Note Moses’ comment–“for the tree of the field is man’s life”,  meaning either a man produces the fruit of the spirit, or he does not.  The process of cutting down the trees that do not produce fruit is ongoing, John says, and has been.  “The axe is already laid at the root.”  His point:  Messiah has come to make all men into fruit trees, bearing fruit twelve months a year, even as He does.

2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  Revelation 22:2

          Not comprehending the latter part of John’s comments, John’s hearers definitely caught the part about being cut down and thrown into the fire.  So they asked:  What must we do (to be saved)?  And he would say:  Bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance.  Lose the notion that you are a “chosen” race.  Luke 3:7-14

          But what about the rest of what John prophesied?  He clearly shows Messiah Jesus will winnow first, for such a fork is only used for barley, which in season comes first.  In the winnowing process, the barley is tossed up into the air.  The wind blows away the chaff, and the grain (now minus the outer shell) falls back to the earth.  The barley chaff is not burned.

          Next in season, and in the order of John’s remarks comes the wheat.  Wheat is not winnowed–it is threshed upon the threshing floor with a threshing rod.  Wheat must be beaten to separate the wheat from the chaff, then the wheat chaff is burned. 

          What is with all this fire?  We were taught all our lives that it referred to hell.  Sorry, but the fire in each case is the same, and it is not punishment.  Rather, it is a cleansing and purifying fire.  Applied first to non-fruit trees, and also, to wheat chaff.  Think, purification by removal what is undesirable to Messiah and you are getting the idea.  The fire of God is for our good.  That is why it comes with the Holy Spirit.  There is no anger in John’s words unless you presume it is there; there is no condemnation; and there is no fear.  Only the certain promise from Messiah Jesus:  I will thoroughly clear, missing nothing, and will gather to myself all of the wheat.  I promise to remove the chaff in your life.

          Well, if it’s not hell, is it judgment?  And isn’t judgment bad?  Miles Monroe has famously said, “If you do not understand the purpose of a thing, abuse of that thing is inevitable”.  Therefore, the purpose of judgment must be understood so that the Judge and His judgment will not be abused.  So what is the purpose of judgment?

When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.  Isaiah 26: 9

          Putting it all together, here is what John the Baptist was saying:  From the beginning of time until now, there have been two kinds of men, just like there were two kinds of trees during warfare–those that bore fruit, and those that did not.  Up until this very moment in time, it was up to each individual to bring forth fruit or not.  Those who did not obey will be corrected and disciplined (cast into the fire).  But now, because Messiah has come, He will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire.  Now, those who obey and who do not have to be beaten in correction, but come into agreement from the heart, are like the barley.  They will be transformed in the air, and they will go first.  These are called the overcomers. Like the barley, they will fall back to earth to be gathered into Messiah’s barn to serve Him.  See our Notes on being a friend of Jesus.

          But those who bring forth fruit, but still must be disciplined because of lack of obedience, are like the wheat.  They will also be gathered into His barn, but after correction, and after the overcomers.  Please note that the wheat, too, loses its chaff, but in a different way.  All of this is made possible because Messiah Jesus will baptize with Holy Spirit and fire.  Some men learn righteousness without the fire of judgment; others need a little correction because they didn’t know better, and others need a lot because they did.

          Do you recall the Lord’s words, when He said, in Luke 12: 

47“And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few.

          The last harvest, not mentioned by the Baptist, is the grape harvest.  It is when all of God’s enemies are placed under the feet of Messiah Jesus.  When this occurs, He will turn them into wine, so that there will be barley bread, wheat bread and wine for His communion table.  The teaching by Dr. Stephen Jones on this subject is the best, bar none.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, because You have raised up Jesus and given Him unquenchable power and authority to remove the chaff from our lives when we could not do it ourselves!  Baruch ata, Adonai!

Notes on the Love of God and Divine Intimacy

First and foremost, the ultimate restoration and salvation of all men from their sin (not in their sin) is not a theological football, to be kicked back and forth in argument and debate.

Secondly, comprehension of God’s plan for mankind, and indeed for all of His creation, is impossible apart from the Holy Spirit’s illumination.  We maintain that the Lord Spirit has reserved to Himself exclusively the full embracing of this will of God by each believer.  The message should be announced by the messenger, then considered privately by the believer, in prayer and meditation.

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  John 16:13

Perhaps this process is true for all matters concerning the character and nature of God.  Neverthess, the question of the love of God is of the utmost importance, and should set the pattern for all other questions.

Without dispute, the intimacy and conversation between the groom and the bride when they come together is secret, sacred, private, and precious–and should be kept so.  It is most certainly not to be profaned or made common by coarse treatment of others.  It must always remain exclusively in the bridal chamber.

It is just the same with Christ Jesus and his bride/believer.  Their union is sacred and holy.  The Lord wants to be the one to illuminate and reveal this oneness with His creation, beginning with His believer-bride.  Just as the groom breaks through the physical barrier of his virgin bride, so Christ breaks through the spiritual barriers of religion and its mis-learned notions.

If the believer/bride has been convinced by one messenger, “she” can be un-convinced by another messenger with a contrary message.  But in her union with Christ, her barrier divinely removed can no more be “undone” than a woman’s virginity can be recovered.  All that now remains is the white-hot passion of the bride for her Lover–the fairest among ten thousand! 

Those who wish to argue with the messenger, it is hoped, will NOT hear, for their own sakes, so that they will not be “inoculated”.  No one ever gets “argued” into the relationship with Christ of which we have been speaking.  Not now, not ever.

The love of God finds its highest expression in the moment the bride-believer appehends that in the second Adam “all shall be made alive.”  I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine!  Ani L’dodi v’dodi li.  Song of Songs 6:3

Blessed are You, O Lord.  Our wonderful God, you are the King of forever, and are blessed forever because of Your great love with which You have first loved us.

Notes on The Temple of the Worshiping Heart

It shall be, in the place that YHWH your God chooses to have His name dwell, there you are to bring all that I command you:  your offerings-up and your sacrifices, your tithings and the contribution of your hands and all your choicest vow-offerings that you vow to YHWH.  Deuteronomy 12:11, The Schocken Bible

          This verse is one of 18 places in the book of Deuteronomy, beginning in Chapter 12, identifying for the first time the location of the place of worship to fulfill the many instructions given to Moses by YHWH about worship.  It is, simply, where He chooses to have His name dwell.

          Commencing at Sinai, and during the time of wilderness wandering, YHWH had never specifically identified where He would dwell among men.  In Chapter 12 He starts to emphasize (and prophesy) that He, and not men, will choose the location.

          That the sovereign Lord has the right to choose His own dwelling place and, having chosen, the right to change His choice, cannot be seriously disputed.  It also cannot be disputed that His early choices were not permanent and were made with a view to the unfolding of His plan for Israel and all mankind.

          Meanwhile, the mind of man devises his own plans and desperately wants God to approve of them (the man AND his plans).  So men everywhere have either planned, or planned and constructed, temples, mosques, churches and other edifices as an habitation for their particular version of God in cities all over the world, including Jerusalem.  But God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  Isaiah 55:9

          During the centuries which have come and gone since the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, great sums of money have been expended and sincere piety invoked in an effort to sanctify particular structures as the, or a, house of God.  The view that God has chosen to place His name somewhere geographically seems firmly entrenched.  Moreover, the fact that men have done the choosing, and not God, has not deterred construction in the least.

          Even among those who hold to the belief that God is not limited to a single dwelling place, there is yet the more or less explicit belief that one “goes to church” in the “house of God”, referring to a particular structure used as a meeting place.  It seems nearly universally accepted that one must go “somewhere” to worship, or serve, or otherwise commune directly with God or fellowship with others.   Much more could be said about the reasons that churchmen cling to locational worship, but the main point is:  there is another way to worship, and it has been called “the inward way.”

          Consider that God departed from Shiloh (1 Samuel 4:19-22) and from Solomon’s temple (Jeremiah 7:14 and Ezekiel 11:23).  He did not return to either place to dwell.  In fact, Jesus said God would send His armies and that there would not be one stone left upon another in Herod’s temple (Matthew 24:2).  For extra measure, the veil was torn in two.

          By the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the locational worship of Judaism had been emphatically extinguished by God.  Seeing into the realm where God the Father is sovereign over not some but all of the affairs of men, it is apparent that the destroying army belonged to God, not Caesar.  And the Lord Jesus said as much in Matthew 22:7:

But the king was enraged, and HE sent HIS armies, and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.  (Emphasis added)

           It was necessary that the temple be removed, to fulfill the parable referred to in the epistle to the Hebrews, so the way of the holy places could be revealed.

…by this the Holy Spirit making it evident that the way of the holy places is not as yet manifest while the front tabernacle still has a standing–which is a parable for the present period…   Hebrews 9:8-9

          In fact, so ingrained was the notion of “place” worship, that the epistle to the Hebrews was written to warn the Jewish believers their rituals put the son of God to open shame, and to re-iterate that the (temple) ground would end up being burned (Hebrews 6:6-8).  Jerusalem was warned three times:  by Father, by Son, and by Holy Spirit, a pattern which recurs often in scripture.

           All the types, all the patterns, all the prophesies point to this fulfillment:  Christ in you, the hope of glory.  In your heart, to be precise. There are too many scriptures that prove this to recite here.  A few will suffice:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own?  1 Corinthians 6:19

However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands,...  Acts 7:48

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!”  For behold, the kingdom of  God is inside of you.  Luke 17:21, Concordant New Testament

…Christ to dwell in your hearts through faith…     Ephesians 3:16

          The place where YHWH chooses to place His name, in specific, and the promised land, in general, refers ultimately to the hearts of all men and their resurrected bodies, respectively.  (We do not intend by this statement to raise the specter of universal salvation, the supposed uncertainty of which is apparently terrifying to some.)  As Dr. Stephen Jones has wonderfully noted, since Adam was made from the dirt, the Hebrew word “eretz” as in “promised land” or “promised eretz” can mean “promised body”, a resurrected one.  We believe this is the word of the Lord, and the fulfillment of His promises.  Much more could be said on this topic.

          Until then, however, the main point is the inward way, by the wicket gate as Bunyan put it, by the way of the heart.  It is neither a new revelation, nor one especially mysterious since so many scriptures point to it quite clearly.  What is perhaps most amazing is the seemingly small number of believers who embrace it, most prefering rather to follow the pattern of other religions in regard to a holy “place”–again, of man’s choosing, not God’s.

          We note, first, in recommending the recognition of the heart as the place of Jesus’ throne, that rather than precluding the assembling together of believers, it is a necessary and wonderful prerequisite for it.

What we have seen and heard (from Christ) we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.  1 John 1:3

          Without prior fellowship with the Father and the Lord Jesus, assembling together tends toward the empty and vain religion of exercising the traditions of men.  The reason some assemblies have moved to larger and larger spectacles and/or performances is to try to avoid what every child knows and will say with little provocation:  church is boring!

          Conversely, imagine a gathering of believers where everyone, or even a few, share with confidence and joy their fellowship with the Almighty God and the resurrected Savior in the preceding days of triumph and tragedy we call everyday life.

          Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of this in his book, “Life Together“.  As one brother or sister begins to relate to the assembly the outworking of his or her inward fellowship with God, he or she becomes the very voice of God by the Holy Spirit in confirmation of the same kind of outworking in another brother or sister.  All of this, however, begins in the heart, not the pew.

          One of the most wonderful discoveries a believer can find is the ease and freedom with which one can enter into this kind of worship.  It is truly free of time and space, or to say it another way, circumstances and location.  It requires no building, no clergy, no choir or too-loud music, and no pre-set times for beginning and ending.  It is most definitely not ego-centric.  Rather, it is Christ-centric.  Search for Him, as we wrote earlier; you will find Him in His garden.  And when you find Him, you will begin to see how shamefully paltry your “quiet time” has been.

          Moving on, you will put away such childish things and begin to desire, to hunger for, to need continuous fellowship as such worship brings.  When we say “continuous”, we mean in your first thoughts as you are awakening each morning, during the day as needs arise, in the evening as you retire, and even during the night.  (See Psalm 134.)

          We mean continuous in the way Moses did when he said, “when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.”  Deuteronomy 6:7b  God’s words shall be on your heart.  His love will fill your heart.  His commandments will not be burdensome.  As you learn to hear His voice, His words will become spirit and life to you, words to live by, from the mouth of God.

          If this notion is even remotely interesting to you, then obtain copies of two books:  “The Spiritual Guide”, by Michael Molinos, and “The Secret To The Christian Life”, by Gene Edwards.  Both are available from SeedSowers. Read these books carefully at least three times.

          Meanwhile, search for Him in order to worship Him.  Forget about His gifts; find Him to thank Him, to laud Him, which just means to brag on Him for everything you can think of, and to love Him.  Find Him because of who He is.  Pray or sing the Psalms to Him.

          Whether you are in a Volkswagen bug, or a 5 by 5 cell in Guantanamo Bay, or anywhere else on this earth, you can worship and fellowship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  No one and no thing else is required; no one and no thing can stop you or separate you from the love which is in Christ Jesus.  Don’t let another day go by.

Now, now is the time to worship.  Now, now is the time to give your heart.  Come, just as you are to worship.  Come, just as you are before your God.

One day every tongue will confess You are God; one day every knee will bow.  But the greatest treasure remains for those, who gladly choose You now.  (by Brian Doerksen, copyright Vineyard Songs)

Blessed are You, O Lord, our wonderful God.  Arise, O Lord, come into Your resting place; Your children sing and worship You, God, our King.

Notes on the Secret Garden of My Beloved

Q:  Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women?  Where has your beloved turned?  Let us seek Him with you.

A:  My Beloved has gone down–descended to His garden. Song of Songs 6:1-2

And you will be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring whose waters will never fail. Isaiah 58:11

          In these verses we see that a simile is intended, and the Bride of the Beloved Christ is taken as a garden.  The very next verse of the Song (v. 3) confirms this conclusion with the following:  “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine”, a well-known wedding vow.

          The Lord Jesus is now, has always been, and will always be the suitor, and everyone else the object of His affections AND advances.  “For God so loved the world…”  But Note:  one happy day in the future, the woman will become a suitor also.  Jeremiah 31:22  And, as prophesied in the Song, the woman searches everywhere for Him, not resting until she finds Him.

          That He has turned to a secret place is apparent from the questions, “Where has He gone?  (To) where has He turned?” What is not apparent is to whom is the location a secret?  To the Bride?  No, for she gives the answer in a mystery: He has descended.  Notice that she has not gone UP to Him, nor need anyone look for Him there.

          How many look for the garden on high, the heavenly garden, in heaven?  How many have set their hopes on going up, or crossing the “River Jordan” in a figure crossing from death into heavenly places?  Do you not know, have you not heard, has it not been explained to you from the beginning:  We have this treasure in earthen vessels?  Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is in your midst.”

          What occurs in the garden between the Beloved and His love is forever sacred, not to be discussed, nor made common.  It is intimacy of the first and highest order.

          If one is to become a garden and the Beloved has descended into His garden, it may easily be seen that the secret place of the heart has become His dwelling place.

The heavens are My throne; the earth is My footstool.  Where is the dwelling you could build for Me?

In My Father’s house are many habitations.  I go to prepare a place, that where I am you may be also.

          And so it may be seen that He no longer dwells in buildings made of stone, steel, bricks and mortar.  But He instead prepares the heart, as a “bed of sweet savor aromatics, to pasture his flock there and to gather anemones”, and then He descends to it.  You will find Him there, in your own heart, waiting for you.  Go to Him quickly!

Blessed are You, O Lord our Wonderful God, King of Forever, for You have given us the Treasure of Yourself in these earthen vessels, and You have turned our hearts into gardens of Your delight!

Greater love as no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (philos).  You are my friends if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you….   John 15:13-15 New American Standard Bible

And Jesus said to him (Judas), “Friend (hetairos), (do) what you have come for.” Matthew 26:50 New American Standard Bible

…and Zabud, the son of Nathan, a priest, (was) the king’s Friend,… 1 Kings 4:5

          The kingship of Solomon over all Israel is widely regarded as a type of the reign of Messiah Jesus over all the earth.  It is fitting to note, then, that Solomon instituted a new office in his administration called the King’s Friend.  It was based upon the role of Hushai in frustrating the counsel of Ahithophel during the revolt of Solomon’s half-brother, Absalom in 2 Samuel 15.  For his service in aiding David, Hushai is called the King’s Friend in 1 Chronicles 27:33-34.

          The title was bestowed upon Zabud by King Solomon.  The name “Zabud” according to Strong’s Concordance (H2071) means “he has bestowed upon”; it is the diminutive of Zebediah or Z’badyahu–Yahweh bestows.  Thus we see that prophetically there will be those upon whom Yahweh Jesus will bestow the title of “Friend”.

          Indeed, hundreds of years later, Lord Jesus made several references to friend, as the fulfillment of Solomon’s type, including one to–of all people–Judas.  The passage above in John quotes Jesus’ words to all his disciples, including Judas.  It is clear that Jesus’ words are no less an appointment than was Zabud’s appointment, because the Lord even said, “I…appointed you…” John 15:16

          Although it is seldom if ever taught, the appointment as Friend of the king could hardly be more important.  It essentially describes a relationship to the Savior as a fully-matured son of God, who knows the mind of Father and is entrusted to carry out the will of Father and King/Son.

          As is so often the case, Lord Jesus is NOT setting out a condition or an if/then scenario.  He is NOT saying, “IF you do what I command you, THEN you are my friends.”  (Admittedly, when these verses are discussed, the emphasis is usually on obedience.)  Nevertheless, Jesus is once again merely stating a fact, notwithstanding His use of the word “if”.  Here is how the friends of Jesus are identified:  they do what he says.  Someone will protest: “But surely that means obedience!” Yes and no; yes, it includes obedience, but no, it is more than obedience.  Think of it this way:  to obey is better than sacrifice; but to agree is better than to obey.

          The emphasis thus misplaced on obedience basically ignores what Jesus said:  No longer do I call you slaves, because as everyone knows, slaves HAVE to obey.  But if friends HAVE to obey how are they different than slaves?  Here the Lord Jesus clarifies the difference:  slaves don’t know, and obey.  His friends DO KNOW, and obey.  The former obey out of obligation, which is reminiscent of Hagar and the old covenant; the latter obey out of AGREEMENT, which speaks of Sarah of promise and the new covenant.  Galatians 4

          The concept of “friend of Jesus” is not mentioned again in Scripture.  Paul referred to himself as a bond-slave, noting his choice under the law of redemption to remain a servant in the house of his Lord, but again, eschewing friendship for servanthood.  This humility reminds us of the prodigal, who said, “I am no longer worthy to be called a son.”

          Nevertheless, “friend of Jesus” is prophetic of an office to come, one that is referred to by various names, but specifically by John in Revelation as “overcomer.”  Upon some will be bestowed by Jesus the right to be called “Friends of King Jesus.”  It will be they who do as He commands, who hear His voice and the voice of Father, who know His mind–how He thinks–and who are given authority to carry out His will in restoring all things.  Their lives are characterized by sonship as described in Galatians 4:1-7.  We are sorry to say that not all Christians will be overcomers, for precisely the same reason Judas declined to be a friend of Jesus.

          Was Judas chosen, as well?  Yes.  (See, Judas Iscariot:  Revisited and Restored by Ivan Rogers.) When Jesus included Judas in the reference of “friends” (philos), was He using the term ironically or sarcastically?  No; instead, factually:  I chose you, Judas, and I appointed you; but you do not know, and you do not agree.  Therefore, Judas, you are a “comrade”, (hetairos), and not a “friend” (philos).  Although Judas heard God’s voice speaking in and through Lord Jesus, he hardened his heart just as his fathers did in the wilderness.  By kissing Jesus fondly when he offered Him up, he fulfilled the words of Isaiah representatively:  “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” It is important to note that “Judas” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Judah.”

          After the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel divided into two kingdoms, each with its own monarchy.  The northern 10 tribes kept the name “Israel” as authorized by the blessing of Jacob, that his name would live on in the sons of Joseph (Genesis 48:16).  That authorization for the use of the name “Israel” has never been revoked.  The southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained in Jerusalem and the countryside of Judah.  After Solomon it is important to note that there is an House of Israel, with its prophecies, and an House of Judah with its prophecies.

          It was still known as Judah (or Judea) when Messiah came, and it should be still known as Judah to this present day.  That Judah would claim the land of Israel for itself was prophesied by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 11:15.  Tribally-speaking, only Judah and Benjamin were allowed to remain in the land  at the time of Messiah’s advent.

          In Psalm 41:9, David wrote of Ahithophel, but prophesied of Judas, in verse 9:

Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

          In this verse, the word “friend” is a combination of two Hebrew words, ish and shalom (Strong’s Concordance H376 + H7965).  The first word means “man” in a one-of-a-kind or unique sense.  The second word has several meanings, but here it means “greeting”.  Putting them together, we have “one-of-a-kind, or unique, man of greeting”.  So we see that the reference to Ahithophel was a prophecy regarding Judas who offered up Jesus by greeting Him with a kiss.

          Judas/Judah preferred a different kingdom than the one Jesus has inaugurated for God, in precisely the same way Ahithophel preferred the kingdom of Absalom to the kingdom of David.  (See, The Struggle for the Birthright, Chapter 6 by Dr. Stephen Jones, for an excellent teaching on this subject.)  Note:  Judas representatively fulfilled the second fulfillment/rejection by “seeing” Judah; the first had occurred earlier as recorded in Matthew 15:1-9.  The occasion of the third rejection is not clear to us; it is possibly either Acts 28:23-29 or Hebrews 6:1-8.  Judah as a whole rejected Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The rejection fulfilled Isaiah 29:13, which says:

Then Yahweh said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their worship of Me consists of tradition taught by men.

          But Note also, the “because” and “therefore” connection between verse 13 and verse 14.  Lord Jesus never, never writes off anyone:

Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous.”

          Judas/Judah will not be an overcomer, but he and they will be restored.  The Good Shepherd will not rest until He finds and retrieves every single one of His lost sheep. Luke 15:4-7   Even Judas must be restored, or else “all things” won’t be restored as prophesied in Acts 3:21 and other places.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, because You have raised up Friends of King Jesus.