The Kinsman Redeemer Series
The Need For Atonement
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My Covenant (commandments), then you shall be My
own possession,
among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5-6
"He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then
His own arm,
brought His Salvation, and His Righteousness upheld him." Isaiah 59:16
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for
it is the blood that makes atonement,
for the soul." Leviticus 17:11
Most have been taught to believe that it was in the suffering and death of "the Christ" on the cross that an atonement was made with the God of creation for the "sins of mankind" so that all would be forgiven to those who made some sort of a verbal acknowledgement to that end. But to truly understand what was actually released through the Resurrection (not the death) of the Messiah, the Kinsman Redeemer of the House of Israel, we must closely examine what the words of scripture actually say and mean about it - not simply what has been handed down to us through
the tradition of men (click on highlighted words to view content).
So, then, the first thing we need to investigate is - just what is an atonement, to whom is it extended and why is it needed? The first article of this series,
the Signet,
established the family of YaHoVeH to be Israel, i.e., those who keep the Words of the Father of the family through the embrace of the Life the Son exampled - not "mankind." The second article,
the Inheritance,
established the legality of the firstborn status of the family of Israel to co-ownership of the family, the Kingdom of YaHoVeH, the legal obligation of co-owners to abide by the actions of the other and the subsequent right of inheritance. This article will deal with the need for atonement in order to reclaim or redeem the inheritance forfeited by the first Son, Adam, to
restore
it to the rightful heirs - the family of Israel. Words mean things. Those who seek and desire
(hunger and thirst)
Truth more than life itself eventually realize that, in order to find Truth in the words of scripture, a disassociation from "tradition-think" is required - a separation from the traditions of men the world extends through religious theology
(Mark 7:13,
see Who's Your Daddy?).
To appreciate these words of scripture written by Hebrews, from a Hebrew mindset, out of a Hebrew culture and primarily addressed to a Hebrew audience requires us to look at them from that same Hebrew perspective - to do otherwise would be disingenuous. So, let us look at what the words of scripture say from this Hebrew perspective to get a clear understanding of what atonement really means. To that end, some brief foundational groundwork must first be laid.
"In YaHoVeH was Life; and
The Life was the Light
of men, And the Light shines in darkness;
and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:4
"And this is the condemnation,
that the Light has come into the world
and men loved darkness
rather than Light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:19
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The Greek word translated as "condemnation" is
krisis
and means separation - a separation from the Light. What is the Light?
John 1:4
and 1John 1:5
both tell us that YaHoVeH, the Source of Life, IS Light. So, how does separation from the Light occur? Yeshua tells us in John 3:19 above that abiding in darkness causes separation from the Light. He is speaking of a comprehensive law governing the universe - Light and darkness can not occupy the same space at the same time. In order to occupy or abide in Light one must first become Light
(1John 4:17). To find how all this applies to us will require us to go back to the beginning, over 6000 years ago to where it all began in gan edan (Hebrew for the "edan garden") where the first family of YaHoVeH enjoyed a unique, shared intimacy of relationship between Spirit
(John 4:24)
and flesh apart from the rest of mankind - they were echad (Hebrew for One). They became One in the shared image of Spirit because YaHoVeH, the Source of Life, breathed His Life into
the first son
of the family, Adam. That Life was the beginning of a family of Light through which the rest of
mankind would be attracted
to the Goodness found in YaHoVeH, thus fulfilling
the Declared Purpose of YaHoVeH.
This shared mystery of echad was what was to be
inherited
by the rightful heirs of the family. The Hebrew word for "inherit",
yarash,
means "to occupy, to take possession of". YaHoVeH's Purpose was to have a family who, like Himself and with Himself, would "occupy" a space of Light so brilliant that it would attract
the other nations
like a moth to a flame to want to come and be a part of His Family. Something happened, however, which abrogated the Plan of YaHoVeH and placed it into abeyance (a legal term meaning suspension of activity). What happened was the first son's forfeiture or relinquishment of birthright through his embrace of darkness which caused
a separation
from being echad in the shared image of Spirit Who is Light - because it is
impossible
for Light and darkness to occupy the same space at the same time. This separation happened as a direct result of
Adam's disobedience
to YaHoVeH's Words. Consequently, this forfeiture caused a disruption of the passage of inheritance to the beneficiaries of the family because, as co-owner of the Kingdom, the Father was legally obligated to honor the actions of the son. YaHoVeH's footprint in the earth is
deliberately limited
to the choices of those who embrace Him.
In spite of the ancient
Greek philosophy
that has become embedded in our current culture, scripturally, apart from the Spirit of YaHoVeH - man has no spirit intrinsic to himself. YaHoVeH told Adam that on the day he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil "he would die." But, he did not die physically. In fact, in
Genesis 5:5
we are told he lived for another 930 years. Consequently, if we are to pursue what scripture reveals about Truth - we have to rearrange our thinking about death to be in alignment with what the words tell us. The death YaHoVeH was speaking of was the death of Adam's shared image with the Father - YaHoVeH's Spirit. Since we are told in
Leviticus 17:11
that "the life is in the blood", when YaHoVeH breathed Life into Adam, it became his blood. In disobedience to YaHoVeH's Words, Adam brought darkness into the pure Light of that blood and it became corrupted necessitating
a separation
from the Spirit of Life, "lest he eat of the tree of Life" and remain in that condition forever
(Genesis 3:22).
Adam became as any other man of the world, thrust out of the Garden to make his own determination. He was now his own god. However, Adam and Chavah were still YaHoVeH's children, His Family. As their Father, He still loved them in immediately
fashioning clothing,
for them to cover their nakedness they were now aware of. The Hebrew word translated as the English "coats" in that verse is
kutonet
- the same Hebrew word used in
Exodus 28:4
to describe priestly garments. HE MADE THEM TO BE
PRIESTS UNTO HIM!!
YaHoVeH did not abandon His Family. He did not leave them destitute. He cared for them as any loving Father would - in spite of their careless recklessness. What Adam and Chavah had done could not be repaired or "fixed". Because they had now become their own god, they had no Spirit of LIFE in them to restore them to that place of intimacy with YaHoVeH. Part of the character of Spirit identified in
Exodus 34:5-7
is that the sins of the fathers are passed to subsequent generations until that sin is stopped. What the Family needed was a transfusion of blood that would return them to a pure state of being.
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...the Present Presence
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There is a difference between adhering to the protocol that allows us to come into
the Present Presence
of the Source of Life
(Matthew 19:16-22)
which has always been available even though externally
(Exodus 33:7)
and being echad, one with the shared image of the Father of Light. Immediately after the separation, we see where Adam, Eve, Cain and Able were still in His Presence and heard His Voice
(Genesis 4:1-7).
Being echad, however, is a very different state of being
(see the Inheritance).
It is the same state Yeshua prayed those who followed Him
would become
- just as, in like manner, in similar fashion as He is One with YaHoVeH.
Leviticus 17:11
tells us that the Life is in the Blood. When YaHoVeH breathed Life into Adam,
that Life created blood.
This was not some mystical allegory, but an actual occurrence. When Adam was formed in the Garden, he was not "created" as
the others of mankind.
Adam was formed in the shared image of YaHoVeH - meaning he shared the DNA of the Father. Adam's blood was as pure as the Father's. John 1:4 tells us that the LIFE IS the Light of men. YaHoVeH's LIFE, His Blood, is manifest as Light. Adam was Light since, as the son of the Father, he carried the pure Blood of the Father of Light. As the first son he was a co-owner of the Kingdom of Light with the Father and, being in agreement with the Father's Words, was responsible for maintaining the Light of the Kingdom
(Genesis 2:15).
In similar fashion, as co-owner, the Father was responsible for the Son's actions.
Yeshua is called
"Rabbi"
by those who drew near to him. As Rabbi, he taught Torah. The rabbinic idea of
"fulfilling" Torah
is simply teaching correct interpretation (Greek
pleroo
- to make completely full). Yeshua came to complete the understanding of Torah. The Greek word for
evil
spoken of by Yeshua in John 3:19 at the start of this article is
poneros
meaning "full of labours" and
phaulos
in v20, which means "ordinary" - much different than the dark moral vileness normally associated with evil. It is a mixture of the world with Spirit, the pure with the impure. Adam's act of disobedience allowed an impurity, a mixture of his own will, his
own determination
of what is Good (darkness), to mingle with the pure blood of agreement in the shared image of YaHoVeH - which is Light. The Greek word used for "pure" in
Matthew 5:8
is katharos,
meaning to "purify with fire", is the same Greek word used in
John 15:3
for "clean". The Hebrew word translated as "pure" in
Daniel 11:35
is barar
and carries the meaning "to purge, cleanse or make bright". To be impure does not necessarily imply "evil" but means to have a "mixture" - not separate from the ordinary. Purging is the process by which the pure (Word of Light) is separated from the impure (darkness of self-will). This being at "One" Adam experienced with the Father was corrupted because of disobedience. His blood became "impure" or
estranged,
- meaning he took on properties that were strange to the Essence of the One Who is Pure. He placed himself and the Kingdom he was made a part of into the bondage of corruption - that state of being considered "impure". He engaged in a transaction that corrupted his purity, placing himself (and the estate of which he was a co-owner as a son) into the bondage of his own futility, becoming a stranger to the agreement found in echad - just like the rest of mankind. What has been lost over time due to the breakdown of the family unit in society is the notion that the Father is bound by the acts of the son. But, from the beginning, this was so. Hence, the fifth instruction of
the Ten Words
is to honor your mother and father. The impurity of disobedience injected into the pure blood of echad was strange, like darkness; and, since Light and darkness cannot abide in the same space at the same time, a separation became necessary to keep the purity of the Source of Life intact - to keep the well of Life holy (set apart from what is common among men) and the Light brilliant, "Lest he partake of the tree of Life (the pure blood) and live forever
(Genesis 3:22-23).
The separation that occurred was from echad, the shared image of the Essence of Spirit. In order to recapture that brilliance of intimacy would require atonement through a re-injection of Life, a transfusion of pure blood into the bloodline - pure Light not mingled with impurity, not subjected to a mixture of the darkness of self will. Here enters the need for a
Kinsman Redeemer
- a member of the family afforded the status of the firstborn to reclaim the family of YaHoVeH out of the dominion of darkness it had been given over to and to restore the Kingdom of echad to its rightful beneficiaries, the rightful heirs - the family of Israel.
ATONEMENT (sometimes referred to as "expiation", although any form of the word "expiate" is not found in scripture) comes from the Hebrew root word
kaphar
which means to purge, the setting at one or reconciliation of two estranged parties. The Hebrew word translated as estranged is
zuwr
and means to become a stranger to
(Ezekiel 14:5,
Ephesians 2:12). It is out of this root, kaphar, that the Hebrew word
kippur
comes from to mean "to atone, or atonement". The Hebrew feast of
Yom Kippur
means "Day of Atonement". This verb form, however, seems to be a derivative from the noun
kofer
meaning ransom, or the price of a life to have originally meant "to atone." While common usage of the word ransom is linked to hostage taking, its Hebrew definition lends itself more to a simple method of retrieval - an act, or payment, needed to restore a relationship between two parties when that relationship has been severed through some transgression. Atonement is accomplished when the person who has caused a break, or separation in relationship with another fulfills the restoration obligations with some sort of payment. The kind of grievance determines the kind of payment. Atonement for something destroyed could be satisfied through a replacement with something of equal or greater value, for instance. But since Adam was not able to secure his own redemption (because once his blood was corrupted he was unable to restore it on his own) a "transfusion" was needed which required another to exchange uncorrupted blood for the corrupted. Adam's disobedience to the Words of YaHoVeH was what corrupted his blood, causing a separation from echad with his Father and placed him in the same category as that of the
rest of mankind.
This was the legacy subsequently passed to his descendants which required an exchange of obedient blood to restore the family to the intimacy of echad with its Father - thus the need for a kinsman-redeemer whose responsibilities can definitively be seen in
Leviticus 25:47-48
and in the Book of Ruth.
The Hebrew word for "Kinsman" and the Hebrew word for "Redeemer" are the same -
ga'al,
meaning to redeem, act as kinsman-redeemer, do the part of a kinsman, avenge, revenge, to regain possession of by payment, to reclaim. That these words are interchangeable places a double emphasis on the status of the redeemer (the status of irstborn receives a double portion of
the Inheritance).
A Kinsman Redeemer is defined as a blood relative charged with the duty of restoring the rights of another family member who is unable to avenge his own wrongs. Redemption means to buy back, to secure - payment secures redemption. Redemption of property or of individuals that have been given over to
bondage (slavery),
either forcefully or voluntarily, can only be accomplished by a family member who had the price of redemption and was prepared to pay it if the individual affected could not affect his own redemption. A person in need of redemption himself could not redeem somebody else in need of redemption because he would not have the price. If he did have the price, he would not be in slavery or destitution himself. This problem is alluded to in
Psalm 49
and what it means to be a "slave to sin":
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"None of them can by any means
redeem his brother,
nor give to YaHoVeH a ransom for him: for the redemption of their soul is costly, and must be let alone forever". Psalm 49:7-8
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Redemption from sin (darkness) can only be accomplished by someone who has never been in slavery or bondage to sin. Sinful men cannot redeem themselves or their friends. In spite of the popularity of the Christian doctrine,
Psalm 31:5
does not teach that Yeshua required redemption - "Into your hand I commend my spirit: You have redeemed me, O YaHoVeH of Truth." Yeshua quoted the first half of this passage, but not the second half, which did not apply to him. If the whole of Psalm 31 were to apply to Yeshua, then so must verse 10, which says "My strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones are wasted away." This cannot apply to Yeshua because He had no iniquity, and His bones did not waste away. Psalm 31 is a Psalm of David, who was a person in need of redemption. Yeshua only quoted the part of the verse that was appropriate to His circumstance at the time - functioning as the Kinsman Redeemer to the family of Israel. Truth says the sins of the fathers are passed on to subsequent generations unless they are stopped
(Exodus 34:6-7).
Forgiveness of sin does not mean alleviation from the consequence of sin
(Numbers 14:20-24,
James 1:14-15).
To become an inheritor means to take possession of (Hebrew,
yarash).
The manner in which transgressions are stopped is to own them - to purchase them and then repent of them by not doing them anymore. To ensure the corruption of pure blood would never happen again, Isaiah 59:16 at the opening of this article tells us that YaHoVeH cut off His Own Arm to be used as the price of redemption, for the payment of disobedience.
Acts 2:33
tells us that Yeshua now occupies that place to the right of the Father. So, when Yeshua hung on the stake out of obedience, all of the sins bred of a single act of disobedience that had tentacled their way down through the subsequent generations to Yeshua were literally heaped upon Him and He bore them all in that hour - they became His, He owned them. He absorbed them and
Romans 6:23
tells us that the consequence of sin is death. But, in absorbing those sins, Yeshua stopped the progression, the consequence of disobedience upon the family. Because His Body remained pure through obedience, He was able to exchange His Pure Blood of obedience for the impure mixture of disobedience as the price of redemption for
the people of the family of Israel.
It was in YaHoVeH's Resurrection of the obedient Yeshua where the exchange was made that allowed the Breath of Life to once again become active in those faithful to YaHoVeH's Words. That Yeshua is able to offer eternal life is because He is echad, One with the Source of Life - YaHoVeH. The ownership of the Kingdom of the family of YaHoVeH, Israel, thus redeemed was restored and established - once and for all time by the reclamation through the legal status of the firstborn Kinsman Redeemer of Israel.
Yeshua's blood became pure because in His suffering He chose obedience to His Father's Words in every regard. Being born in
a corrupted body
just like you and I did not deter Him, thus re-establishing echad with the Father. There are only two places where scripture tells us that the Life was breathed into men by Spirit. The first was in the Garden with Adam and the second was in
John 20:21-22
when the resurrected Yeshua breathed upon the eleven gathered there,
the precursor
to the outpouring of Spirit into all who would receive Him in the same manner of behavior as He exampled to become echad. This is what Yeshua prayed in
John 17:20-21
(see Just As - Even So).
This is the inheritance of the saints in Light, the re-establishment of echad to the rightful inheritors, the family of Israel; and the opportunity for the purity of Spirit to be manifest in those who choose to become members of the family of Israel by following the example of Life found in Yeshua - Sons of YaHoVeH
(John 1:12,
Romans 8:19).
This is the fulfillment, the
Elevation
of the Feast of
Pesach.
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the Need for Atonement - a discussion
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"Whom YaHoVeH has set forth to be an atonement
through faith in His blood,
to declare His Righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the Mercy of YaHoVeH; to declare, I say, at this time His Righteousness: that He might be Just, and the Justifier of him
who believes in Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel."
Romans 3:25-26
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The Kinsman Redeemer Series
Part One: Evidence of the 1st Hebrew
Part Two: Establishing the Signet
Part Three: the Inheritance
Part Four: the Need for Atonement
Part Five: theBlood
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???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com.
While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
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