Download PDF For Larger Type Size DOWNLOAD "the Scriptural Gospel - Part A" MP3 (or Right-Click link to "Save As") ...as a child The Kingdom Series the Scriptural Gospel - Part A by haRold Smith a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a jot, not a tittle, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven', but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven'." Matthew 5:17-19 "At that time the disciples came to Yeshua, saying, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven'." Matthew 18:1-4 What is interesting to note about these passages is that these words are not spoken to simple believers (click on highlighted words to view content), - the crowds, the multitude that followed Yeshua around for the signs and wonders. Context, context, context is the key to understanding scripture. Since words mean things, to properly understand thsee words, we must always consider the context they are presented in, the context of the Hebrew perspective they are presented from and - particularly in the passages above the audience they are presented to. In this case we have to ask the latter question first - just who is Yeshua talking to, who is He addressing? Preceding the first passage, Matthew 5:1 says, "Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him." and Matthew 18:1 says, "At that time the disciples came to Yeshua, saying..." As seen in a previous article, a disciple is one who differs from someone who simply believes. So, what is it about His disciples (not the world) becoming little children that Yeshua said of such was the Kingdom? Is it because little children have no reason or intelligence to question? Or, is it that they come to learn without preconceptions? Their learning comes from hearing the words being taught and of observing how those words take shape in the life of the one giving those words. We are told that faith comes by hearing and hearing by or through the Voice of the One Who IS the Word. All scripture is breathed out by YHVH and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness - but scripture is not "the Word". Scripture is given to validate that what we think we hear actually is the Spirit of Truth - or not. And so it must be with those who would embrace Him today to come to Him like a child with a clean slate for Him to write upon our hearts His directives - not our own presuppositions . What is the gospel message - scripturally? If, as stated earlier, words mean things and if the Life of Yeshua is the benchmark (the spoken oracles of YHVH) by which all things are measured, including other scripture - then what do the words on the pages of the Book reveal to us about the gospel? They say that Yeshua went about proclaiming the "gospel of the Kingdom". Not one time does scripture ever say that He preached the "gospel of salvation" as Christianity teaches - neither from Yeshua nor from the disciples. So, then, just what is this Kingdom that Yeshua spoke of? We must constantly remember that ALL the books of scripture were written by Hebrews out of a Hebrew mindset influenced by a Hebrew culture that produced a uniquely Hebraic perspective being conveyed primarily to a Hebrew audience which understood the nuances of the Hebrew language. There were no "Christians" around when these words were penned - that religion was yet to be formed until some 250 to 300 years later. To understand what these words mean necessitates viewing them from the Hebrew perspective they were written in - not attempting to view them from our current English culture. The term Gentile believer is oxymoronic. Those disciples who believed Yeshua to be the Messiah of Israel and, consequently, shaped their lives to be as He was participated in a sect of Judaism called haDerek Notzarim, "The Way of the Nazarene", gathering in synagogues as the only place to learn of the Holy One of Israel. The "good news" of this gospel to those Hebrews is that the Kingdom YHVH established with the first Hebrew son, Adam, which had been abrogated by his disobedience to the Father's Words, has now been restored by the obedience to the Father of the second son, Yeshua - Israel's Kinsman Redeemer (Numbers 27:11). There is not one place recorded in the Book where this gospel of the Kingdom Yeshua was proclaiming was questioned by the Hebrews He was speaking to. Why is that? Because His audience already understood they were a nation established under the umbrella of YaHoVeH, the Holy One of Israel, in whose Presence is Salvation. Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, was renamed Israel by YHVH to denote a new reality within His Family. Yeshua came as that Messiah for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (not "lost tribes" and not "the world") to "reign over the house of Jacob" in the restored Kingdom of YHVH - not to establish a new religion and not to replace Israel with another people as the proponents of a New Pauline Religion that Christianity promotes. While the term, Kingdom of YHVH, tells us whose it is; the Kingdom of heaven tells us where it resides - but there is only one Kingdom. The Hebrew word translated as the Engligh kingdom used in Exodus 19:6 is mamlakah and means dominion, reign, sovereignty over a realm. Yeshua says in Luke 17:20-21 that this Kingdom does not come by "observation" but that it is "within" or among those members of YHVH's Kingdom and again in John 18:36 that His Kingdom is "not of this world". The mistake made then and most who call themselves believers still make today is in looking for a physical setting for the Kingdom of heaven, not comprehending that the Kingdom is not a "place" but a state of being. The manifestation of YHVH's Kingdom here on the earth cannot be realized until the principles of His Kingdom are first established within the hearts of those that possess the Kingdom. (Daniel 7:22). Even though this Kingdom is not observable with the natural eye, scripture shows us that it has distinguishable features. Hebrews 1:8 (quoting from Psalm 45:6-7) states that Yeshua will reign as King over the Kingdom of YHVH with a Scepter of Righteousness. The Hebrew word for scepter is shebet meaning "the mark of authority of a tribe or clan" while the Greek word for sceptre is rhabdos and is what has come to be known as a shepherd's "crook". This is the same Greek word translated in Revelation 2:27 as a "rod of iron" meaning it to be a standard that does not bend or yield - not something to whack with. The Paleo-Hebrew character (the set of characters used before Hebrew became a language) for the letter lamed is a shepherd's crook and means "toward" - as moving something in a different direction. The Life of Yeshua is the standard by which those who follow Him adhere to or move toward (Luke 9:23). Yeshua said the standard by which He adhered to were the Words of His Father. Yeshua also said that His words were not His, but those of His Father's and those who would follow Him would move toward the Words of His Father just as He did. The Words of YHVH (with emphasis on verse one) are the Constitution of His Kingdom for the governance of His people - a redeemed people rescued from bondage by His Grace to be brought into the realm of the Peace of His Presence. The word picture for shalom in Paleo-Hebrew says that peace comes when we "destroy the authority that establishes the chaos." YHVH's Words must first destroy chaos in order to bring the peace of being whole and complete (Frank Seekins, Hebrew Word Pictures, p.95 - Seekins is the acknowledged founder of the modern study of Hebrew word pictures). Casting aside YHVH's Constitution is to allow chaos to reign in our lives (the realm of His Kingdom if we are given to Him) in the guise of enlightenment - our own set of rules and regulations cloaked as "morals". The Hebrew apostle Sha'ul (Paul) defined the Kingdom of God in Romans 14:17 as the peace and joy found in righteousness. Righteousness is a way, a manner of living life. We know this because the same Sha'ul also teaches us by listing what the "unrighteous" are in 1Corinthians 6:9-10 - and that list (as well as the one given in Galatians 5:19-21) is comprised completely of deeds of behavior. Righteousness is synonymous with behavior. And just where, pray tell, are each and every one of these behaviors listed defined as sin? From Exodus to Deuteronomy! The Torah! Sha'ul is teaching Torah! Yeshua said the judgment that has come into the world is because men refused to bring their deeds of behavior into the Light of YHVH's Presence for reproof to see if those deeds are wrought in YHVH - or not. The Greek word translated as the English "condemnation" in John 3:19 is krisis. The meaning of krisis is a separating, sundering, a separation. To hate evil is not some emotional reaction but a behavioral movement from darkness into the Kingdom of Light. To hate your brother is to despise, to disparage, to separate yourself from him and move into darkness. (Luke 6:22, see The Separation). "Now therefore, IF you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Speak these words to the people of Israel." Exodus 19:5-6 YHVH's purpose, from the beginning, was to have a Kingdom of Priests that would be a Light to the Nations so the rest of the world might see and desire to come into the Presence of the Goodness of this One True God of Israel. Throughout scripture He is defined and defines Himself as the Holy One of Israel - not some god of mankind. The purpose of the establishment of YHVH's Kingdom was to have a culture of righteousness that would be observably set apart from the rest of the world - the definition of holiness. We have traditionally been taught to think of justice as a court of law, but the justice of the Kingdom has more in common with the Father's Nature of selfLESSness (not self-denial), to look upon the things of others as more important than my own, than with rules and regulations. To live in, to abide in this Kingdom requires an adherence to His code of conduct - His Constitution. The guidelines He gives us for living found in the Ten Words (not "commandments") are the principles by which His Justice is established in our hearts - the realm of the Kingdom. (Micah 6:8). Yeshua said to some followers "do what they say (the words of Moshe/Torah, i.e., what is written) but not as they do (the Pharisees)." He called them "blind chairs". (mis-translated as "guides") because there was a seat of Moshe (Moses), which was the authority given to Moshe from YHVH, that the Pharisees claimed to occupy. But, they had their own doctrines (oral law) that they said superseded the written Torah - His Constitution. Hence, the conflict facing Nicodemus, a Pharisee - either abiding by the traditions handed down to him that he taught, or embracing the Living Torah, Yeshua, for Who He says He Is. This is the same conflict facing us today. There is only one thing scripture tells us Yeshua ever pointed to that could nullify the word of YHVH in our lives - that would be the traditions not found in scripture but handed down to us by men. Today, many have allowed the culture of the Christian tradition of men to supercede what is written on the pages of the Book and, by so doing, nullify the Word of YHVH in their lives without even realizing it. The good news of this gospel that Yeshua preached is that the Kingdom has now been restored to its rightful heirs and as a result, through the pure blood of Yeshua, the Spirit of YHVH has been shed abroad for all who adopt the culture of His Kingdom to come and partake of the Goodness of the Holy One of Israel. We, who were once afar off can now come and be adopted into this family, Israel, who is sanctified by the Father of Light; but first, we must become as a child and approach Him without preconceptions about Who He Is, accepting Him for Who HE SAYS He is - not who we want Him to be. a discussion of the Scriptural Gospel "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of YHVH for salvation to everyone who believes, TO THE HEBREW FIRST, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16 the Kingdom Series Part One: the Scriptural Gospel - Part A Part Two: the Scriptural Gospel - Part B Part three: A Nation of Priests Part Four: the Sheepfold Part Five: Gatekeepers ???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 Download the Scriptural Salvation ebook.pdf