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The Ten Words of LIFE
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the In His Image series
In Perpetuity
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"I have called the heavens and the earth as witnesses today against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore you shall
choose LIFE
so that you live, both you and your seed, to love YaHoVeH your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him…" Deuteronomy 30:19-20
"Speak to all the assembly of the people of Israel and say to them; you shall
BE HOLY,
for I, YaHoVeH, your Elohim am holy." Leviticus 19:2
The previous article,
the Father's Will (click on highlighted words to view content),
observed that being faithful to the Life of Yeshua by our actions today means we HAVE, right now, perpetuity of Life - not as a possession, but as a result of clinging to the Image of Life found in the Words of YaHoVeH that Yeshua exampled
(John 14:23-24,
Exodus 20:1-17).
As evidenced in the article,
Where Is Heaven?,
it was found the Kingdom of Heaven to not be an idyllic "place" located somewhere in the future but a state of being an individual "puts on" TO BECOME ETERNAL IN THIS LIFETIME. Yeshua says in
John 6:54
that the one who eats of His flesh and drinks of His blood
IS HAVING
eternal life (not "will have") - right now, in this present life. The Greek word translated as the English "eternal" in this verse is
aionios
which means "without beginning and without end". This is the same definition that is found in
Isaiah 41:4
and Isaiah 44:6
that is given to YaHoVeH - the Name which means
the Present Presence.
So, from this Hebrew perspective, what do these words from the Hebrew Yeshua reveal about the nature of eternal life? If heaven
is not a "place"
but an elevated state of being, produced through manifesting the image of Spirit, then His statement of "down-stepping
OUT
of heaven" begins to make sense as a movement from an elevated state of being, Spirit, into another of flesh - thus, bringing the perpetuity of Spirit into the flesh. In so doing, Yeshua fulfilled the purpose of the Father to restore
the inheritance
of YaHoVeH's Kingdom to His Family of Israel as it was in the beginning by preserving the echad (Hebrew for "one or unity") of Spirit within flesh through obedience to the Words of His Father. The members of YaHoVeH's family are anyone who
chooses
to do the same as Yeshua - to love YaHoVeH, the Source of Life, by obeying His Voice and clinging to Him
(Matthew 22:37-38
- quoting Deuteronomy 6:5).
By conforming our lives to the character of the Nature of Spirit found in His Words, we become transparently holy - even as He, YaHoVeH, is Holy (which means to be set apart from the rest of this world as Yeshua reinforced in
Matthew 5:48
- quoting Leviticus 19:2).
This Hebrew word,
kodesh,
(translated "holy"), comes from the same root word as
kadoshe,
which is translated "saint". To become one with Spirit means to abide with Spirit in perpetuity where He resides
(see what it means to Abide In His Name).
As explained in the article
The Immortal Soul,
our comprehension of time as we know it today is a man-made phenomenon that did not exist prior to 1847 and only then with the advent of "railroad time". The definition of time is a system of measurement from one cyclical event to another. If there is no beginning and there is no ending, there can be no cyclical event from which to take neither a measurement from nor an ending to calculate the measurement between the two events. Thus, since YaHoVeH inhabits eternity and with Him there is no beginning and no end, there is no time in eternity - only perpetuity
(Isaiah 57:15).
Living in perpetuity with the Creator means creation exists right now.
Recent discoveries
in science are revealing that the universe is constantly expanding, not deteriorating - evidence that the creation process is still occurring, right now. While Yeshua's obedience as
the Kinsman Redeemer
fulfilled the purpose of the Father to restore
echad
to His family, it did not change the plan for that family by the Father from the beginning. That plan was for His Family to have an ongoing
participatory
role in creation which manifests His image of
Light to the world
(Isaiah 42:6,
Isaiah 60:1-6,
1John 1:5).
This participatory idea stands in complete opposition to the usual Christian concept of a static creation within which mankind only alters, produces, manipulates, or is manipulated by what already exists. While the subject of the physical creation described in Genesis is true from its surface presentation, creation seen from this view alone is limiting. The Hebraic perspective is much more encompassing - not everything is to be found in physical reality. The creation of
righteousness,
for instance, requires an active participation in the Words of Life. To bring about the fullness found in YaHoVeH's plan of creation, His family must be participating in acts of righteousness which affect outward reality as a result of inward construction. Our choices alter the face of the cosmos, bringing into being or excluding from being physical entities. In the murder at the hand of Cain, for instance, YaHoVeH notes that the generations that should have been born to Abel are now forever removed from reality - an act of darkness that wipes away physical beings from ever being exposed to Light
(Genesis 4:6-11,
Hebrews 12:24,
John 3:19-21,
see To Know Him to find out what it means, scripturally, to murder).
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a participatory involvement
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In Genesis 2:1-2,
the two English words translated "finished" and "end" is the same Hebrew word,
kalah,
which means "to accomplish, to cease". In other words, when YaHoVeH came to the end of what He set out to do, that task was finished in the same way a carpenter finishes a cabinet - he simply moves on to the next task. Nothing in that definition says anything about never creating anything again. Only when we grasp the possibility that we are actively involved in creation can we begin to understand the Hebraic focus on this present world - where creation is occurring daily, where YaHoVeH's purposes are being executed with the cooperation of those who have
become as He Is.
From the Christian-Platonic dualistic view, this world is already fully formed with no eternal value. It is not in the process of becoming
(as Exodus 3:14
has Him declaring that to be His Name), but is in the process of decaying. Therefore, the Christian looks toward a "place" called heaven as the hope of a new world. His focus is not on the restoration of this earth to its original state but rather on escaping what is an inevitably doomed earth. In the Christian dualism view, there is no reason to worry about what is happening here because it is all going away. But, when the
Genesis 2:3
account says YaHoVeH "ceased from all the work of Creation that He had made", the Hebrew word,
l'oshuth,
translated as the English "that He had made" is actually the infinitive form, "to do". The world is created open-ended, open to the doing and the making by men. To "make" the world is the participatory charge that YaHoVeH left with men at the end of the original creation process. However, that process went awry when men became focused on themselves, separating themselves from the selfLESSness of the Nature of Spirit which necessitated the formation of
a unique family
set apart from the rest of the world to show forth the manifestation of His Image by doing His Will. To manifest the image of YaHoVeH means to bring the Nature of Spirit into the reality of this world - establishing His Kingdom in the earth today
(Matthew 6:10).
"For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Thus it is written,
'The first Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit'
…as He is, so are we in this world."
Romans 5:19, 1Corinthians 15:45, 1John 4:17
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The world suggests that the essence of being human is a fact of existence as
homo-sapien.
But scripture, when seen from the Hebraic perspective it was written in, reveals a different point of view. Adam,
the first of YaHoVeH's Hebrew family,
was formed human because he was invited to participate in the Divine Image - an image that is the dynamic interplay of actions reflecting the Nature of Spirit.
Sin,
which is disobedience to YaHoVeH's Nature contained in His Words, does not reflect that Spirit; rather, it reflects a
determination
apart from - not in union with Spirit. Therefore, sin is the antithesis of being human. Sin makes us less than human. And in Hebrew thought all biological entities called homo sapiens have sinned. With one exception, all are in some state of less-than-human
(Romans 3:23).
Doing what I want instead of doing what YaHoVeH wants reduces the image of His Spirit in me, and consequently, reduces my humanity
(Luke 9:23).
Adam's disobedience was what passed to the rest of YaHoVeH's Family, placing them into bondage alongside the rest of the world separated from Spirit
(Exodus 34:7).
"Yeshua is the image of the invisible YaHoVeH -
the firstborn of all creation,"
Colossians 1:15
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While the Hebrew word
goy
means "nation" from a general perspective, there is only one nation (goy) that worships the One True Elohim of Israel. However, in the plural, goyim, it is especially used of "other nations beside Israel" to describe the profane practices of those who are strangers to Elohim. In
Isaiah 42:6,
YaHoVeH says He will make His Family, Israel, a "light (i.e., a teacher) to the other nations (KJV translated "Gentiles"). One cannot be a practitioner of the ways of other nations and, at the same time, expect to be incorporated into the nation of YaHoVeH's family of Israel as seen in
Leviticus 19:2
and Acts 15:19-21.
These four instructions in Acts are taken directly from the portions known as the "Heart of the Torah" in the Original Writings. They are found in the book of Leviticus from chapters 11 through 20. These chapters give YaHoVeH's definition of what is holy - and what is not. Notice that
Acts 15:19
declares these instructions are to be given to "those of the Gentiles (other nations) who turn to YaHoVeH" -
not to Yeshua.
Turning to YaHoVeH means abandoning the pagan practices of other nations and choosing to align oneself with the ways of the nation of YaHoVeH to initially be able to engage in fellowship with the Family of Israel - one cannot do both at the same time. To be holy
(Hebrew kodesh)
means to be set apart from the rest of the world
(see the article Legalism for a deeper examination of Acts 15).
From Noah, all of mankind has sported a spark of the Father's Light; but because of Adam's disobedience, that blood was corrupt, containing darkness which requires a
separation
- even in Noah. Noah was chosen to carry the
status of firstborn
into subsequent Hebrew generations because he kept the Father's Words
(Genesis 6:9,
Genesis 6:22,
Hebrews 11:7).
The reason for the separation of Adam's corrupt blood from
the Tree of Life
was to keep the Source of Life pristine and pure. Without YaHoVeH's Glory resting
within the liver
to continually cleanse the blood, that blood remains corrupted - even for the Hebrew
(Leviticus 17:11).
Exodus 34:1-7
answers the request of Moses to "show me Your Glory" in the last few verses of
Exodus 33
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...the Glory of YaHoVeH
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and defines YaHoVeH's Glory beginning with the re-giving of His Ten Words. Keeping His Words allows us to remain in His Presence without being
consumed by His Brilliance
and why His Family of Israel, which contained the seed of the firstborn status, was given those Words and none other. But being in His Presence continued to be an external experience apart from being echad with Him. What Yeshua's
blood
did was to pay the price of exchange needed to redeem the RESTORATION OF YaHoVeH's KINGDOM WITHIN TO HIS FAMILY as it was in the beginning with the first son, Adam; thus, Yeshua becomes the firstborn among many brethren (not nations
- Romans 8:29).
Although Christianity has high-jacked the term to mean people of a similar "like-mindedness", the actual definition of "brethren" in both
Hebrew
and Greek
is "familial relations, of similar ancestry". Because of Yeshua's willingness to be obedient to YaHoVeH even to death, that restoration became open to any who would join YaHoVeH's Family through the same embrace of the Nature of the Father by the reception of His Spirit and by following Yeshua's example of obedience to YaHoVeH's Words
(John 1:12,
Luke 17:20-21,
see Who is the Word).
Yeshua's willingness to take on the mantle of
the Kinsman Redeemer
to YaHoVeH's Family of Israel was what paved the way for that to happen. Because of Yeshua's willingness to step up, you and I have access to something those Hebrews that came before did not have (including Noah, Abraham, Moses and David) which is the opportunity to experience the
INDWELLING
of YaHoVeH's Spirit. Those who receive that Spirit become the expression of His Image - they become human. For that, Yeshua is due all the accolades, acknowledgement and praise given Him that can never be diminished or taken away.
The creation of the world as we know it is in the process of being created by the participation of those who are actively engaged with Spirit, today. The purpose for the creation of Adam was as the firstborn of
a Hebrew family
that would be the expression of the Father's image, becoming participants in the creating process. That purpose was fulfilled in the atonement of
the Kinsman Redeemer
To enter into a creative partnership with YaHoVeH as His children in the formation of the world as YaHoVeH originally intended means we bear responsibility for what we do here on earth. We affect the creation, not simply by altering what is already there but by actually bringing into existence the fuller purposes of YaHoVeH. When just one person becomes actived by that spark of Life within them through revelation of seeing
the Kingdom among us
- we become active, essential participants in an ongoing creation. To keep the Words of the Father in the same manner as Yeshua exampled means that we display YaHoVeH's character in our actions without any other purpose or intention than to honor Him. To keep the Words of the Father in the same manner as Yeshua exampled means that we are nothing more than the transparent vehicle of YaHoVeH. To be in perpetuity with YaHoVeH means that, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father" - words that should resonate in how others view our Life.
"We know that when the tent which houses us here on earth is torn down, we have a permanent building from YaHoVeH, a building not made by human hands, eternal in heaven."
2Corinthians 5:1
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To read this verse from 2Corinthians in the original
Greek,
without doctrinal overlays, we again find the Greek word
aionios
which appears translated as the English word "eternal" - meaning "without beginning and without end". What do you do with a house? You abide, dwell, live in - inhabit a house with your being. The "house" YaHoVeH is building is AMONG those who choose to actively participate with Him in constructing a permanent place of dwelling in perpetuity where Spirit abides by obedience to His Words. Again, words mean things, and the tense that is being used in this verse is "have" - meaning that house is available to us right now. When you die and this "tent on earth" is torn down, the house of Spirit you have constructed is part of the
New Jerusalem
that is not made by human hands but is comprised of Spirit - of which all those who are now a part form the brilliance of it. This scripture speaks of the result of our participation in the Spirit of perpetuity today - the "Keys to the Kingdom" Yeshua speaks of in
Matthew 16:19,
Matthew 18:15-20,
and John 20:21-23
(see Just As-Even So).
The Hebrew word for "repent",
teshuvah,
means a return to the image of Spirit. It is to re-capture humanity because without an open, cooperative, obedient relationship with YaHoVeh through the embrace of the Life of Yeshua, there is no sharing in His image. The core Nature of Spirit that runs like a thread throughout His Words is selfLESSness. Disobedience to YaHoVeH's Words removes us from the full image of His Nature
(Luke 9:23).
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a discussion of In Perpetuity
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"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and
greater works than these will he do
because I am going to the Father." John 14:12
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the IN HIS IMAGE series
Part One: the Present Presence
Part Two: The Father's Will
Part three: In Perpetuity
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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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