the Who Is Israel? series
the People of the Land
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"...I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojourning,
all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession,
and I will be their God." Genesis 17:7-8
"...I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate." Zechariah 7:14
"If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there YaHoVeH will gather you, and from there He will take you." Deuteronomy 30:4
Many are aware of the covenant YaHoVeH made with Himself before Abraham to "Look toward heaven, and number the stars... So shall your offspring be" in
Genesis 15:5 (click on highlighted words to view content).
However, most of those are not aware that the covenant YaHoVeH made with Himself that day was two-fold in its promise and as equally inclusive: "To your offspring I give this land..." which then continues on to describe the boundaries of the land of Caanan in verse 18. This parcel of land is given to Abraham's offspring as an "everlasting possession" we are told in
Genesis 17:8.
The English word translated "possession" in this verse comes from the Hebrew word
'achuzzah
meaning "possession by inheritance of property or land." We saw from an
earlier article
that inheritance to be a restoration of
echad
(Hebrew for one) with the Father of the family of Israel, YaHoVeH. Not mentioned specifically in that article but as equally included in that inheritance is a restoration of the possession of the land given to Abraham. We are now living in the time spoken of in the scriptures above that we are seeing unfold before our very eyes in which everything is being shaken to its foundational core. This is the time that all the ancient patriarchs and prophets of the ages have looked for and longed to see. This epochal era began with the emergence, the rebirth, of the Nation of Israel on
November 29, 1947
with the Partition Plan in which Israel was conceived and in the recognition of her statehood by the rest of the world (the newly formed United Nations)
six months later.
We have since been standing as witnesses to the fulfillment of scripture presaging the coming of the great and terrible Day of YaHoVeH. The nation-state of Israel has become the barometer by which we can gauge the imminent times we are in. Unfortunately, most of the world (even those professing belief) are not aware of what is happening - of the significance of the culmination of the promises made by YaHoVeH to His People.
In the previous article of this series, we saw what has come to be known as
the Church
was exposed as not being a scriptural entity but, rather, an artificial construct of human design to exercise control over masses of people. The establishment of the papacy (specially anointed "leaders"), the concept of "the Church" as a hierarchical organization, the issues of power and the abdication of a Hebraic heritage (all embraced in some form by every branch of the tree of Christianity) are implements Yeshua never advocated and, in spite of His Words of
Matthew 5:17-19,
people have still used the phrase "the church" to justify their injection into the promises made by YaHoVeH to the Hebrew Abraham and all of his
Hebrew descendants.
"The Church" has become the source of segregation from anything Hebrew and the foundation of a
"new" covenant
that replaced the Holy One of Israel along with His promise to Israel. However, once the term is translated back to its original Hebrew, the word in Greek
(translated as "the church"), becomes qehelah (from the Hebrew root
qahal,
meaning "to assemble") used in the Tanakh (OT) to describe the gathering or assembly of Israelites
(Numbers 8:9).
In classical Greek, however, ekklesia is never used to describe a religious assembly. It is certainly never used to describe a building, an organization with property ownership or a hierarchy of offices/positions. In classical Greek, ekklesia simply means a political or social gathering of people. The translators could have used
synagogue,
the correct Greek word for a religious assembly. But they did not. So, then, why did the translators choose ekklesia to stand for "the church"? Could it possibly be that those controlling the translations were following another agenda - one of their own making? An assembly of followers of YaHoVeH is correctly called a qehelah. A common response when reading this information is to ask, "...OK, then where is there a congregation (assembly) that meets in my area?" This question, however, is posed through a filter of conventional culture by simply replacing terminology to describe the same thing when a paradigm shift in approach to scripture is required. The gathering of YaHoVeH's people described in the Messianic Writings is no different from what is portrayed in the Tanakh. YaHoVeH's "qehelah" began among individual tents of families at the base of Mount Sinai and continues that way today.
Acts 2:46-47
says that after the Resurrection, believers in YaHoVeH who embraced Yeshua as Messiah met "from house to house and daily in the temple". Believers in YaHoVeH who embrace the Life exemplified by Yeshua in keeping the words of YaHoVeH
now are
the temple (1Corinthians 3:16))
and Yeshua says wherever "two or three are gathered (assembled) in My Name, there am I in the midst of you"
(Matthew 18:20,
see What's In A Name?).
Our thinking needs a change from terms which invoke images of brick and mortar structures where masses of people converge "to be taught" to, instead, engage ourselves in relationships with those the Father has placed before us - in the
same Way
Yeshua gave Himself to the twelve. The qehelah is not a place to go to - it is who you are. Yeshua's words in
Matthew 11:28
are: "Come to Me..." - not "Go to church". The purpose for being a member of the Body of Messiah is to work in tandem with the Head of the Body in the restoration of the Kingdom of YaHoVeH here on earth
(Luke 4:43,
Matthew 6:10).
The Kingdom of YaHoVeH is founded in individual relationships reflecting the image of YaHoVeH
(2Corinthians 6:16,
Ephesians 2:22).
The first of those relationships is with the Father - you can not give what you do not live. He will teach you all you need to know about His Truth IF (big little word) you diligently seek after Him and obey His Voice - which has been His message from the beginning
(1John 2:27,
Jeremiah 29:13,
John 14:17,
Jeremiah 7:22-23).
|
"Then YaHoVeH formed man of dust
from the ground
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Hebrew
nephesh)" Genesis 2:7
|
| |
...from the dust of the ground
|
It is interesting to note the first usage of
ha-'adamah
(the ground) occurs in this passage of the formation of Adam - not the first of mankind to be created but the
first Hebrew.
Since the Hebrew word
'erets
(earth) has been used since the opening verse of the book of Genesis - why would the focus now shift to 'adamah? The obvious answer is Adam coming from the 'adamah of the Eden garden causes him to be someone intimately connected to the dirt of that garden - which is "the Land" that became Caanan. But, the meaning of 'adamah is also embedded in productivity, as seen in
Genesis 2:5.
The meaning of the word translated as "till" in that verse comes from the Hebrew word
'avad
which is translated 227 times more often as "serve" than "till" (9 times) or "work" (5 times). Since the Torah establishes that what we serve is what we worship
(Matthew 4:10,
Deuteronomy 11:16,
see what it means to be In Agreement),
the productivity meant by 'adamah is the worship given to the Creator, YaHoVeH, by our deeds, our doing of His Righteousness in the keeping of His Words of
Exodus 20:1-17
- and the worship of YaHoVeH is also found in the service to the brethren of YaHoVeH's Kingdom as exampled by His Son, Yeshua
(1John 3:16).
The Tanakh, as a chronicle of the passage of the
status of the firstborn
from Adam to Yeshua through the lineage of the Hebrew people, shows that the
Yud
(Hebrews) are all connected to the Land of the Eden Garden and the Land is connected to the productivity shown in the righteousness of the people who occupy it. This is
the fulfillment,
the fullness of the restoration of the Kingdom of YaHoVeH here on earth.
All Yuds believe in YaHoVeH, even if they deny it. Why is that? Because it is in
their blood
- they can not help it. They can corrupt that blood and forfeit their birthright in serving other gods as did Esau, but like the prodigal son of
Luke 15:11-32
- they all know their way home when circumstance compels them. There is a clear distinction made in scripture between believing in the Only True Holy One of Israel and believing Yeshua to be the promised Messiah of the Holy One. However, it should be noted that those Yuds who believe in YaHoVeH are also looking for YaHoVeH's Messiah - they just do not know His Name as yet. Those Yuds who believe in YaHoVeH and have purified their heart according to YaHoVeH's words are under
His Canopy
- they are still His Family. However, that does not negate personal responsibility for believing in the Name of Yeshua as the promised Messiah to Israel when they are eventually confronted with that revelation - and
revelation
can not be forced upon anyone. Presently though, as Sha'ul, (the Hebrew apostle Paul) says in
Romans 11,
the Yuds have all been blinded by the Father for purpose; but, that all Israel WILL be saved when those blinders are removed. As noted in
the previous article,
most interpret those words to mean every single Yud on the planet who ever lived will be saved. However, in all of scripture, YaHoVeH has never concerned Himself with masses of numbers. As seen in Mark 13:27 at the start of this article, there has always been and He always keeps a remnant of those who are set aside and holy given to Him
(1Kings 19:14-18,
Revelation 7,
Luke 13:23-24).
In the article
the Bride,
special attention is drawn to the responsibilities given to a husband found in
Numbers 30:6-12.
One of those responsibilities says that if the wife shall make a vow that is detrimental to her soul, the husband has the authority to nullify that vow. As the Body of the Groom, in participation with the Head, we have been granted the authority to
nullify sin
(Matthew 18:18-19).
How is sin nullified? - the same way darkness is nullified by light. It is absorbed in love. The scriptural definition of love is found in
1John 3:16
- a voluntary obligation to another at cost to myself. This is the same way Yeshua forgave sin, by absorbing sin as though it were not there - never to be remembered anymore. The same way darkness is
absorbed in Light
(Micah 7:19,
Psalm 103:11-12).
As mentioned earlier, however, this forgiveness does not preclude personal responsibility nor is it indiscriminately applied - which is why Sha'ul says there are Hebrews by birth who are
not Hebrew
because they have given themselves to the gods of this world. They are not pure in heart. Those of the Bridegroom are responsible today for our brethren who are pure in heart but remain in darkness resulting from their vow of ignorance concerning Who Yeshua Is - because they are still part of YaHoVeH's family.
The "end of the world" is often associated with the coming appearance of the Messiah, the King of Israel. However, just as Yeshua showed us the fulfillment of Torah (not the destruction of it by abolishment), so YaHoVeH's purpose is not the destruction of His Creation but the restoration of His Kingdom here on earth and that restoration is an ongoing process that will be completely fulfilled with the gathering of His Remnant at the marriage supper of the Lamb
(see why the Atonement was necessary).
The restoration of the Kingdom of YaHoVeH will be made complete when the Land promised to Abraham is
fulfilled
- that is, made complete. The fullness of that mass of Land is pictured on the back of the smallest piece of Israeli currency, an agarot, and it is huge - from the Nile River in Egypt through a huge portion of Saudi Arabia, taking in Jordan, a huge swath of Iraq plus all of Lebanon and Syria. That the Yud look upon the appearance of the Messiah for different reasons (primarily prideful self-assertion) is irrelevant to the actual
Purpose of YaHoVeH
| |
the Land as depicted on Israeli currency
|
fulfilling His Promise to them. This is what makes the rebirth of the nation of Israel among us today such an epochal event among the annuals of mankind - fulfilling the prophecy of
Isaiah 66:7-8
that this nation would be brought back to life in a single day. On May 14, 1948, a United Nations mandate expired which ended British control of the Land and Israel was declared a united and sovereign nation acknowledged by other nations all within a single day. There is another prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes today - that spoken of in the verses opening this article -
Deuteronomy 30:4,
Jeremiah 49:36,
and by Yeshua in Mark 13:27.
The return of the Yud to the Land from the four corners of the earth will increase as pressure is intensified upon the Yud by people of other nations.
Ever since the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were taken to Assyria in captivity, there has been much speculation concerning their disposition. However, scripture clearly speaks of the coming together of all Twelve Israelite Tribes forming one Hebrew Nation after that captivity. The other two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were later taken captive to Babylon, but eventually they returned to rebuild Jerusalem and re-establish their nation in the Land of Promise - along with their brethren from the other tribes
(2Chronicles 15:9-12).
Even before the Assyrians, after Jeroboam led the ten tribes away from Rehoboam to establish his Northern Kingdom there were many YaHoVeH fearing Israelites within those ten tribes who decidedly chose to stay with Jerusalem
(2Chronicles 11:13-16).
Scripture records numerous accounts that most of the deported ten tribes, or their descendants, eventually came back to the Land of Promise and were all called Jews (taken from the name Judah) in the time of Yeshua haMaschiach. Such as the prophetess Anna (Hannah), Phanuel's daughter, of the tribe of Asher
(Luke 2:36).
Though most Hebrews cannot trace their lineage since the time the Temple was destroyed and all records burned, the Father still has a people who are called according to HIS purpose. HE knows those who are His and of what tribe they are from as recorded in the last book of scripture
(Revelation 7:4).
Although Dan and Ephraim are not shown in this numbering (deliberately for a specific reason), all the tribes are accounted for - the ten tribes were never "lost" at all. There will never be a complete recovering of every individual of every tribe - that is man's accounting. The Father has always kept a remnant set aside for Him containing representatives of each of the twelve tribes. Yeshua's reference to the
lost sheep of Israel
was not addressing any "lost tribes" but the separation of YaHoVeH's People from
the Kingdom of Echad
lost by the first Hebrew, Adam, in the Garden and is a direct quote from
Jeremiah 50:6.
The research for this statement is found in the article
Without to Within.
The Yud will see Yeshua as their legitimate Messiah when events force the Yud back to the Land of Israel promised to Abraham and the House of Israel to the marriage supper of the Lamb. As they see the Body of Yeshua standing alongside them, taking the same punishment voluntarily with them, if necessary to the death, and they see these people as those who keep the Words of YaHoVeH
(Exodus 20:1-17)
- then they will see Yeshua as Messiah in those believers and, individually,
| |
...not abandoned
|
acknowledge His Validity through the Spirit of Revelation that Yeshua said upon which He will
"re"build
the assembly of Israel. The consummation of the marriage depicted in the description of the New Jerusalem of
Revelation 21:9-14
is in the union of the Bridegroom and the Bride of Israel - no one else. Similarly, the only place scripture speaks of a massive outpouring of Spirit upon a people is in
Ezekiel 37
- on the people of Israel, not the world. (and scripture does not support
Christianity's view
of the marriage). This is the marriage that all of a pure heart are invited to - either as the Bridegroom or as
the Bride
(Psalm 73:1).
|
"If his children forsake My law and do not walk according to My rules, if they violate My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to My faithfulness.
I will not violate My covenant or alter the word that went forth from My lips.
Once for all I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies." Psalm 89:30-37
|
the People of the Land - a discussion
|
The Who Is Israel? Series
Part One - the Gentile
Part Two - the Church
Part Three - the Bride
Part Four - the Covering
Part Five - Children of the Bridechamber
Part Six - the People of the Land
|
???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.
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO HOME PAGE
|
