Read, Like and Comment: ...let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Garden of YHVH. Revelation 2:7 ...A Light to the NationsONE COVENANT Part One - A History by haRold Smith a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:12 ...By myself I have sworn, declares YHVH, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply yourseed as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in yourseed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.Genesis 22:15-18 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his seed It does not say, And to seeds.referring to many, but referring to one, And to your seed , who is the Messiah. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by YHVH, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but YHVH gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the Law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.Galatians 3:16-19 For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the Hebrew people (to the circumcised) in order to show YHVHs truthfulness by making good His promises to the Patriarchs (the Hebrew Fathers), and in order to show His mercy by causing the Gentiles to glorify YHVH - as it is written in the Tanakh (Original Writings), Because of this I will acknowledge you among the Gentiles and sing praise to your name . Romans 15:8-9 There is but One Covenant. Like a diamond and the Character of YHVH, we find there are several facets to this Covenant; but, there is only One Covenant and it has to do with YHVH Himself, His Plan and His Purpose toward mankind - to bring Life out of death and to make that Life accessible to every one who would come to Him with a humble and contrite spirit by accepting Him for who He says He Isclick on highlighted words to view content). So, then, the question arises, Just what is a covenant and what does scripture tell us itreally means to be in a covenant relationship? From the Beginning, the Fathers unchanging, underlying motivation has been to bring all of mankind to LIFE - not life to mankind (Hosea 1:10). YHVH is the source of LIFE and 1John 1:5. says that LIFE IS Light (see Who Is The Word scripturally). Thus we see YHVHs desire for a people to live in His Life and thereby become a testimony, a Light to the Nations - the rest of mankind. What rest of mankind? Words mean things. To properly understand scripture from YHVHs perspective, we must constantly be reminded that ALL the books of scripture were written by Hebrews out of a Hebrew mindset influenced by a Hebrew culture that produced a uniquely Hebrew perspective being conveyed primarily to a Hebrew audience which understood the nuances of the Hebrew language. To properly understand what these words mean necessitates viewing them from the Hebrew perspective they were written in - not our current English culture. In all of scripture there are only two demarcations of people - Hebrews and others. These others are calledGentiles - those who worship gods other than the Holy One of Israel. The term Gentile believer is oxymoronic and does not exist in a Hebrew world view (see how that Perspectiveis worked out among us). The apostle Shaul (Paul) spoke to how these demarcations have been resolved in the Body of Yeshua inGalatians 3:28 (explore the difference between the Body of the Groom and the Bride). The tradition of man would seek to re-write history in order to uphold and to fit into its own artificial paradigm what it wants us to believe. The human race is not one - as much as that humanistic approach would like you to think it is. YHVH is the Elohim of Israel - not of mankind (see the Whose Word Is It?), It was Adam, the first Hebrew (click to examine the scriptural evidence for that statement), that was created in the Image, the Essence of the Nature and Character of LIFE as a statement to the rest of mankind of what it means to live in and be One with the Presence of LIFE. Yeshua is called the last Adam because IN Yeshua was THE Life of YHVH and THE Life He exampled in the flesh in obedience to the Fathers Words was the Light of men (John 1:4 - see the Law of Gracefor an explanation of this Light), Yeshua exemplified with His life the choices required to continuously abide in the Presence of LIFE – whereby, the choices of Adam resulted in a separation from that LIFE. Separation from Life is called death. Bringing Life out of death is and always has been the Purpose of the Father (see what it is to have Salvation and Eternal Life). ...the garden of delightThe story of the creation of Adam is NOT the story of the general creation of mankind. That general creation took place in Genesis 1 where we are given an overview of the creation of the heavens and the earth where in the beginning YHVH created mankind - many and in general, male and female. Genesis 6:1-6 and the First Book of Enoch 7:1 speak of the evil of mankind that became prevalent in the world after creation, thus necessitating YHVHs desire to demonstrate in a select people a more excellent way of Life – a Light to the Nations. If there was no one else around except those coming out of the Garden - then why was it necessary to place a mark of protection on Cain that he not be killed byothers as recorded in Genesis 4? And how is it that he took a wife from the land of Nod, outside of the land of Eden, before Adam and Eve had given birth to other sons and daughters as recorded in Genesis 5 - eliminating the possibility of an incestual marriage to a sister? And, if Adam was the first of mankind, then why is the lineage in that chapter (and expanded on in Luke 3:23-38) descriptive only of Hebrews? You have to admit, at the very least, these questions place that Christian theology (for that is where is originates) in some real murky waters. Genesis 2 picks up the story but with the focus upon a particular place upon the already created earth - the Garden of Eden (v.8 - the Hebrew phrase gan aden meaning garden of delight). Here we are even given specific directions about where this Garden was located in the earth (v.10-14) and told of a particular man YHVH had formed and placed there - Adam (the first of the Hebrews). It was into this particular person He breathed the Breath of LIFE – Himself (v.7). Leviticus 17:11tells us the Life is in the Blood and it is the Blood that makes atonement (brings us intoat-one-ment with the Father) by the Life contained therein. The Life YHVH breathed into Adam was His very Essence - now contained in Adams Blood. In the same way as my son looks and acts just like me because of my DNA coursing in his blood (in spite of how much he would wish it otherwise), in like manner Adam was fashioned into the likeness and image of YHVH because He carried within Him the vital components of the Fathers DNA -the Essence of His Presence. From the passage of this DNA we can determine (then, just as we can now) that YHVH is not black, European or female. He is Hebrew and He is male. His male is Spirit - not as we consider ordinary man, but having to do with His Nature. There was a reason Adam was fashioned first and Yeshua was born a man, both in the likeness, the image of YHVH - both Hebrew. The female subsequently came from the male which carried the DNA of the Father. If you are a woman reading this, the immediate temptation is to interject Greek-think hierarchy (see my big, fat Greek Mindset part 1 and part 2 to find out what that is) into the equation of man and woman and interpret this statement as a subservient, discriminatory role assigned to women. That is not what is being said – not here nor in scripture, despite what men may want you to believe to the contrary to satisfy their own legalistic agenda. Each gender has a different function, but they are both equal in the eyes of the Father because, together, they comprise ONE flesh – an illustration in flesh of the relationship created in and with the Creator, YHVH. It is a mystery, but the union of husband and wife is the physical proclamation of how this same unity can exist between men and the One TrueElohim of Israel (Ephesians 5:25-33 - see who is the Bride). Genesis 5:1 begins with the generations of Adam and those generations are meticulously chronicled to Matthew 1:1 where they are picked up and continue in the generations leading up to the birth of Yeshua. They are chronicled again in their entirety in Luke 3:23-38, only this time from Yeshua back to Adam, the first son of YHVH - not the first of mankind. It is to the Hebrew people descended from Adam through Isaac that YHVH entrusted that Seed spoken of in the verses leading into this article that would manifest itself as the Light to the Nations. That Seed was proclaimed beginning with Adam (Genesis 3:15), established in the loins of Noah (Genesis 9:9), ratified before Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18), sealed in the Kingship of David (2Samuel 7:12-13, Psalm 89:3-4), and culminated in the Life of Yeshua (John 7:42), the second sonthrough whom, by way of, the Covenant was fulfilled (completed and made whole - not ended) and the doorway to Life was restored for any who would choose to enter into the Present Presence. ...nepheshThere are only two places where scripture records the Breath of Life being breathed into men. The first was with Adam in Genesis 2, and the second was when Yeshua breathed on the eleven in the room just after the Resurrection as the pre-cursor to the outpouring of ruach hakodesh (Hebrew for the spirit of holiness) at Shavuot (Pentecost) on as many as would call upon the Name (John 20:19-22, Acts 2 - read about the Testimony), When that breath of Life (the Hebrew wordnefesh) was breathed into Adam and is breathed into us by His ruach hakodeshthrough our embrace of the Life of Yeshua, we get His LIFE - His DNA. It is a mystery how it happens, but His Hebrew Blood begins to course through our veins and we become as He Is - part of His Hebrew Body (Ephesians 5:30, 1John 4:17). It is we who are grafted intoHis Jewish root, the root of Jesse - not the other way around. There was no death in the Garden. If there was no death – what necessitated the tree of Life? Once Life has been given, Life must be sustained. Eating, the partaking of something to sustain Life is a choice of our will. YHVH gave no command to eat of every tree – what He gave was the opportunity to eat (Genesis 2:16). What was the only thing that could result in death in the Garden? The conscious choice of partaking (eating) of the tree of theKNOWLEDGE between what was good and what was evil was the only thing that would bring death. Death separates us from the provision of His Life because the determination of what is good now rests with us. Before that knowledge was acquired – everything had been Good because everything came from YHVH, the Source of Provision. What caused a separation to occur was their self-determination – the determined choice to fill a perceived void. In other words, what the Father says is sufficient is seen as lacking in some regard and, therefore, needs to be filled – so, we become determined to fill it out of our own innovation. Now therefore, IF you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. Exodus 19:5-6a Adam and, subsequently, Eve began in perfect relationship with YHVH. His Glory was their LIFE (see the Glory) - they were ONE with Him. Death occurred from a deliberate separation from the Essence of His Spirit because theychose to decide for themselves what was good for them to do rather than to simply heed His Voice. To obey in this verse of Exodus comes from the Hebrew shama - but, in Exodus 15:26 this same Hebrew word is also found to be translated listen or hear. In Hebrew, to hear IS to obey, to obey IS to hear. Whether you hear what is spoken or not is measured by how you obey what you hear. Conversely, how you obey determines whether or not you heard what was said. Yeshua said of those who hear, who know Him in this fashion, no man is able to snatch them out of His Hand or out of the Hand of His Father (John 10:27-29). YHVHs Words are a revelation of the Essence of His Nature and Character entrusted to a particular, peculiar people – they are not just a set of morality guidelines. It is to the salvation of the Elohimof Israel that Yeshua calls us to come boldly into by embracing the Life He Lived - which is the Light of men, the Light to the Nations. But remaining in that Life is conditional, it must be accompanied by heeding and obeying His Voice and by keeping His Commandments – the fruit of the tree of Life which sustains Life. As Yeshua was hanging on the tree before His death, He told the thief hanging alongside Him.Today, you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43). This word paradise is translated from the Greek word paradeisos. It is a word whose origin is not to be sought for in either Greek or Hebrew but in the languages of eastern Asia. It is a word primarily used of the plantations, kept gardens and places for animals which surrounded the palaces of Persian kings. It is a word the translators inserted thinking it more appropriately described a Greek view of what heaven must be, but not comprehending that heaven is not a place but a state of beingThere is no word for paradise in the Hebrew – there is only gan aden, the state of being the Father cultivated with a particular man to be a delight to Him. It was here YHVH created Adam - to abide in His Presence. As a Hebrew understanding this perspective of the Father, Yeshua was telling the man on the cross next to him that with the offering, the sacrifice, of His obedient Blood the Garden, the place of delight to the Father where we choose to abide in the Present Presence of eternity, of Today, had been restored (Hebrews 3:12-15). How was that accomplished? Just by Him dying? Where is the Power in that? ...He bore the sinPart of the definition of the Essence of the Father given us in Exodus 34:1-7 is that of truth - where He says the sins of the fathers are passed on to subsequent generations. All of the generational sin that began with Adam was literally transferred upon Yeshua, tempting Him at every juncture. Do you wish to stop generational sin from progressing in your lineage? Then follow Yeshuas example – dont do it anymore. The way generational sin is broken is by not passing it down to the next generation by our behavior. Yeshua said the authority given to Him by the Father has been given to those who follow and adhere to His example of Life ((Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:17-23). The Greek word used for authority in these passages is exousia and means the power of choice The restoration of the Garden is the restoration of the power of choice to remain in the Present Presence. It is in His Presence we are given rest in the freedom from the power of sin and death (Exodus 33:14). With His sacrifice, Yeshua became theKinsman Redeemer to the family of YHVH -Israel. The tainted blood of separation from the Present Presence has now been replaced with His Own Blood of obedience, thus restoring the House of Israel to its original intention. When He said, It is finished, He was speaking of the fulfillment of the restoration of the Covenant, the Promise the Father had made with Himself to be extended through this Hebrew people to the rest of mankind – the Light to the Nations. The Blood which had been infected with self-determination has now been cleansed by the Blood of Self Denial - the very Blood of the Source of LIFE. In the Present Presence, we are freed from the law of sin and death that captivated us and made us slaves to its ultimate consequences. However, we are not free from the instructions about how that Life is sustained - that identify the differences between what constitutes death and what is LIFE. The Light of YHVHs Nature, exemplified by the Life of obedience Yeshua showed, IS the Light of Salvation (see what it means To Believe). What was it the Father used to resurrect Yeshua from death? It was the same unction that gave Life to Adam in the beginning –nefesh, the Breath of Life. The sacrifice of obedience cleared the enmity created by the sacrifice to self-determination and cleansed the way for the restoration of the DNA of the Blood to its original, pristine condition. That Blood transcended death and now possessesthe gates of that enemy. What we give ourselves to is what we worship – thus the necessity for the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden of Delight to sustain Life. This same Spirit of self-denial now dwells, abides in those who choose to give themselves to His Commandments (1John 3:23-24). By our embrace of the Life Yeshua exampled before us, those Commandments are now written on our hearts instead of tablets of stone – BUT THEY ARE THE SAME WORDS OF LIFE given to us by a Spirit Who loved us and gave Himself for us that, by embracing what He tells us is His Life, we might be free of the law of sin and death. The Covenant Series Introduction The Flaming Sword One Covenant Part One, A History One Covenant Part Two, Whats New? One Covenant Part Three, Fulfillment Blessed are they that do his commandments (who wash their robes in righteous behavior), that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14 Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear. While not claiming to have all the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what the Spirit is uncovering in these days.Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love you. (Psalm 122:6) (prosper - from the Hebrew, shalav, meaning to be at rest) Please visit the website hethathasanear for other articles and videos or for information if you feel led to contribute to this ministry. Click here to watch the short movie Maranatha! Shalom Alechem BShem Yeshua HaMashiach. (Peace be unto you in the Name of Yeshua the Messiah)haRold Smith hethathasanear
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 16:53:25 +0000
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