Shabbat Shalom My Friends, This week, I take a look at the 144,000 members of the Children of Israel mentioned in Revelation. This will be a two part essay to be continued next week. Could it be that you or someone you know is destined to be one of the 144,000? Lets see as we begin: Looking for 144,000© By Rabbi Kittron ben-Calev Yahveh promised that He would make Abram a great nation and at that instant Abram was set aside as the father of a nation. Abram was the first man to be called a Hebrew in Genesis 14:13, “And there came one who escaped and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite...” With the promise of Yahveh and the Hebrew name in the above passage, the Hebrew Nation was born. The children of Abram, later to be renamed Abraham are all Hebrews including Ishmael although I dont believe that the Arab nation would agree. Isaac and Jacob/Israel are Hebrews as would be the members of the 12 tribes of Israel. This would make members of the kingdom of Judah, which were the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, Hebrews as well as the 10 tribes which comprised the kingdom of Israel. It is the Kingdom of Judah which gave its name to the Hebrews called Jews. We know that the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom were taken into captivity with the exception of those who would become the Samaritans and disappeared. This left the tribes of Benjamin and Judah to face the Babylonian Captivity. They returned to the land of Israel and in the march of history faced the fury of the Romans and were disbursed once again throughout the known world. Eventually this Diaspora would include the Americas. The disappearance of the 10 tribes into peoples of the world, the Babylonian Captivity and the Diaspora including America have one element in common. Assimilation into the host culture. Many Hebrews and Jews being free from no longer being bound into a community by birth gladly gave up that which set them apart. It would take less than a generation for that memory to be lost to their grandchildren. The knowledge yes, the bloodline of Abraham and the 12 tribes no. This means that anyone walking on the street next to you may be an unknown member of one of the disbursed tribes of Israel. This may mean that you are a member. Only Yahveh knows. This has deeper meanings for the end of the age as we will see. We have seen the opening of the end of the age. We have seen the establishment of Israel, the restoration of Jerusalem to Israel as prophesied by Moses, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others as end time events. We have seen the fulfillment of Joel 2:28“ And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. We are seeing the end of the age of the gentiles with 1000 pastors leaving the ministry every month and the failure of many churches, with the exceptions of those associated with specific personalities. We saw in 1968 the beginning of the movement of the Ruach HaKodesh on Jews with the rise of the Messianic Movement, the blossoming of the fig tree. Yehoshua says in Matthew 24:32 - 35 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Right now, Gentiles and Jews are pretty much separate groups. However Rabbi Shaul, (Paul) tells us that this seperation is not what Abba Father wants for his children through the sacrifice of His One of a Kind Son Yehoshua. In Ephesians 2: 11 - 22 Shaul tells us, “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands — that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Yehoshua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in dogma, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to Elohim in one body through the tree, thereby putting to death the enmity. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of Elohim, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yehoshua HaMessiah Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Master, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of Elohim in the Ruach”. Romans 11:11 - 35 reveals how and why Yahveh has made Jews and Gentiles both into his children and the greatness of His Mercy. “ I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if Elohim did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of Elohim: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for Elohim is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “ The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” Concerning the Besorah, (Gospel), they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of Elohim are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to Elohim, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For Elohim has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of Elohim! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! “ For who has known the mind of Yahveh? Or who has become His counselor?” “ Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” Read Romans 8 and 9. These chapters tell of the need spreading the Besorah, (Gospel) of Yehoshua so as to bring Israel back into the family of Abba Father. WHY? This is where we begin to see the deeper meaning of the effects of the diaspora of Israel over the last 2500 years. We read in Revelation that there are 144,000 sealed Hebrews who are to be the worlds evangelists after the end of the age of the gentiles Revelation 7:3 - 8 “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our Elohim on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. I believe that the number 144,000 is an allegorical number and may be a much larger number. In any case, there are members of all of the tribes with the exception of Ephraim and Dan sealed. You might be asking right about now, what does this have to do with my church? What does it have to do with me? I am going to stop here for this week. Next week I will show you how you have an important role to play in connection with the 144,000. As usual, your questions, comments and criticisms are welcome. Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Kitt
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 06:27:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015