Every Believer Manifesting His Kingdom
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing:
but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. (KJV)
Revelation 1:6 .....hath made us kings and (not or)
priests unto God and his Father....(KJV – emphasis added)
Proverbs may be the one book where Chapters and Verses help more than hinder, though I am not certain on this yet. It seems Solomon often mused aloud and men (presumably scribes) of Hezekiah's court would write them down. So Solomon was apparently the first Charismatic Preacher. We all like to come up with catchy one-liners like “This is your hour of power”, and I'm as guilty as the next fervent preacher. It is amazing how Abba does seem to be bringing fulfillment to this particular “Proverb” right now.
To quickly recap Part 3:
This is not secret knowledge but simply a revealing of better, deeper and more accurate understanding. The church has read scripture as separate books with separate authors without understanding the Hebraic references or Judaic teachings for too long. Holy Spirit is the author of it all. Men of old penned it, but they were inspired by an eternal Ruach Ha'Kodesh (Holy Spirit). It's a two part legal document with the same intended end results from cover to cover. It's not an Old and New Covenant. Those references are inaccurate. Though they may be a precise translation from the Greek, we overlook the Hebrew culture they were penned from. Hebrew is a picture language. Greek is a detailed descriptive language. Paul chose the closest Greek he could to accurately describe a picture of the covenant God made with mankind through Abraham. “New” meant that it changes the original. Not that it is separate from the Old or First half. The entirety of both becomes whole, in two parts.
NOTE: - don't forget that much of the English New Testament was translated using the Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament) as an aid. While many of the other writers of the B'rit Hadashah (NT) would probably never have used the Septuagint, Paul would have known it well and Greek speaking/reading (and there is evidence in his writings which indicate he referenced it) believers of the First Century Church would have as well. The Septuagint would not have been the first or best choice, not only because many were Hebrew speaking Israelites, but because it has many errors. This brings other things into question, which are topics for another discussion.
Let's do an exercise going back to Part 1 in this series. Let's run a thread through scripture on this topic. If we can run a thread which shows a definitive pattern that the “new” covenant will replace the “old” covenant, then we know for a fact that it will. But if any part of scripture would seem to indicate otherwise, then it CANNOT or it becomes a truth with a bit of deception which makes the whole thing a lie. Scripture must interpret and fully support scripture.
Hebrews 9:18 - Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. (ESV)
First covenant – a clue that there has to be a second, but nothing saying it would replace the first. I believe this to be an assumption the church has made from Greek methods of exegesis.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 - Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (KJV)
this is obviously about the work of the cross, or else it would be about a future forgiveness which washes the very memory of their sins away. ONLY the shed Blood of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus (the one and only 'eternal' lamb of the first year) could accomplish this.
Hebrews 8:13 - In that he saith, A new [covenant], he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old [is] ready to vanish away. (KJV)
So with the new He made the first old. In other words, the completion of this 2 part covenant renders the first part ineffective without the second or “new” covenant. But without the foundation laid by the first, there would be no covenant people. This is not old and new like I traded in my old car to buy a new one or else the covenant people would have no standing in the new because it would be GONE. But Yeshua/Jesus clearly stated He came to fulfill the covenant which was established under the Law which set down the parameters required by the covenant maker (God) and the covenant people (Israel). If we do away with this, then replacement theology (which was at least partly born out of the false teaching of dispensationalism) is truth and Israel no longer has a place with God; making God the breaker of His own covenant law, making Him a God who changes, and the whole of scripture a lie. Notice that the writer also states that the “old” is ready to vanish away, not that it has vanished away.
Hebrews 9:15 - And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (KJV)
an explanation of the NT renewal of the covenant with Israel and God's commitment to keep His end of the eternal agreement He cut with Abraham. This in itself was a miraculous revelation in Abraham's day. NO deity in ANY culture prior to the God of Abraham had committed itself under any covenant. Prior to YHVH all other gods demanded commitment to covenants but NONE reciprocated.
Hebrews 8:7-8 - For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. (KJV)
Once again we find “first” and “second” It does not say that second replaced first. While Hebrew was not as precise a language as Greek, the modern English translations of the book of Hebrews are transliterated from manuscripts written in Greek. Eastern cultures, especially ancient eastern cultures often assumed a thing is there until it is clearly said that it is not. Covenants did not just come and go. Especially not those made with a deity. In fact, as already mentioned, YHVH God bound Himself to this covenant – which is what made it so unusual for Abram's time and even in Moses' time (when and by whom the Torah was penned).
Genesis 17:7 - And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. (KJV – bold added)
an everlasting covenant cannot be done away with just because another is written. UNLESS there is a predetermined plan to make a 2 part covenant and when part 2 is completed, the two become one. There are exactly ZERO references to any such predetermination in Hebrew Scriptures.
Hebrews 8:6 - But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (KJV)
Yeshua is the WORD (John Chapter 1), so the WORD cannot be divided. Was He OT or NT? Of course, He is the totality of BOTH. So if He as our living Covenant with YHVH is “more” excellent in the NT, then He was still excellent in the OT. He is just able to be excellent in more ways which benefit the “beneficiaries” of the second half of the covenant which happened to begin with His physical birth and end with His physical resurrection and ascension.
Jeremiah 31:33 - But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. (KJV)
Jeremiah prophesied that the covenant would be moved from an outward experience to an inward experience therefore, it is the SAME covenant with better benefits. Because we need not do “works” to be Holy, but we are made Holy by an indwelling which was not possible without the eternal sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, to resurrect our dead spirits by the remission of our sins and thus making us fit for communion (common union) with a God who cannot dwell where sin rules. (See part 1 about why “works” oriented religion MUST be replaced with relationship based intimacy with the Trinity)
So then, the first part was to give His covenant people a way to push their sin forward to the time and place Messiah would remove them. In the meantime every aspect of their Spring worship "rituals" (commonly known as the Feasts of the LORD) symbolically pointed to some part of Messiah's life and/or ministry, so they'd recognize Him when He came. THAT is precisely why Yeshua had to destroy the takanot (see Parts 2 and 3). So that those who truly await and look for the Promise to come (when He returns – as symbolically seen in the Fall Feasts), will recognize Him because the takanot were put under His feet. (Those who follow modern taknot in the Church may not recognize as the day approaches, just as those who followed takanot before His incarnation did not recognize the day of His appearing the flesh) The takanot had so changed how scripture and the “Holy Convocations” (Feasts of YHVH – Leviticus 23:2,4, & 37) were interpreted or understood that the people did not recognize Yeshua as Messiah. The word “convocation” means “practice”. They were practicing recognizing the Messiah for centuries before He arrived and still managed to miss Him. How? It was due to the changes the takanot made to scripture and worship. In fact, even how the “Convocations” were interpreted. While there were also problems recognizing Him due to Hillel 2 changing Israel's reckoning of time (days, months, years, and seasons), if the interpretation of scripture had not been so radically changed by the takanot, Messiah Yeshua/Jesus would have been easily recognizable as the suffering servant who would later return as the conquering King. A fact easily recognized by the fact that the Feasts are separated in time each year because some are in Spring and some are in the Fall. He has fulfilled the foreshadowing of the Spring Feasts and will return to fulfill the Fall Feasts. Had the takanot not (and if they still did not) distort the pictorial image of Messiah, then Israel's religious leaders would not have argued (as is still done today) that perhaps there are 2 separate Messiahs promised in scripture. They could have easily seen One Messiah but two separate duties separated in time.
In Part 3 I gave an example of Yeshua/Jesus' tearing down the takanot. There are many more. So much, that I am afraid you'll just have to do some research or read our other articles and teachings in order to discover more about that. Perhaps someday I will do a series compiling and explaining each interaction He had with the religious leadership of His day. For now please feel free to browse our other Teachings and Blog posts; several have examples of this. http://Harvest-of-Hope.org
Part 4
What will it take for every believer to begin
Manifesting His Kingdom in their every day lives?
Sometimes the most difficult tasks to change in life are the simplest things too. In fact, it is the simplicity of those things which may cause the need for change to go unseen. We get comfortable, enjoy the predictability, become capable at navigating the unknown future of a thing because we have become familiar enough with what we do know that the unknown is simply a variable yet to be revealed which we will easily assimilate into our lives by use of what we know. I know this all sounds like useless rhetoric, but can we consider it for just a few moments? Let's say that someone brings a challenge to our beliefs; such as may have occurred with some of you have read Parts 1-3 and/or listened to our podcast from the Beijing Passover Conference. We can choose to dig out what they present and see if the information is correct or we can simply dismiss it without a second thought, in fact we could do a combination of the two and land anywhere in between the two extremes. What I am getting at, is that as a young man I KNEW what I believed without question. I had been well trained by many successful ministries and minsters. I had good role models who helped me to understand the precepts and principles within the Theology and Doctrine they helped me to understand. Let's not forget, from Parts 1 and 2, that Theology is what we think about God and Doctrine is what we do based on what we think about God. So they helped me to not only understand the Theology they taught me, but also how I should conduct myself based on that Theology. Further, they taught me how to quickly extrapolate answers to, as yet unseen, circumstances by using the principles and precepts they invested into me to come to the conclusions I did not yet know, again based completely on what they had taught me. I was pretty content and happy with my understanding of God and how I should interact with Him but also how I should conduct myself on His behalf as a representative called into ministry. Well, until I realized that I had been taught from a method of interpretation different than that which was used by the First Century Church. It's a long story, but the short version is that when I Pastored in Colorado Springs, there was much spiritual resistance to my presence there. Two reasons for that resistance have become clear over the years, I will discuss one of them here. It was during this time that I was introduced to Messianic Judaism by a co-worker at “Focus on the Family”. I'd already been questioning why if the church was grafted into the covenant with Israel and they were the Olive Tree and we, being just a wild thing tamed by this en-grafting; why does the church look so different from what I saw in scripture? Was it just the natural “evolution” of the Body of Christ to move so thoroughly in a different direction than what was apparent in scripture? This introduction started me down a path of understanding the Judaic Roots of the Gospel of Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus the Messiah). Modern Christendom uses a method of exegesis (Greek word for critical explanation or interpretation) of scripture which tends toward the analytical side without considering the topical context of what is being said. It was an inevitable trap to fall into, being that the majority of B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) manuscripts are in Greek, which creates the transliteration problems explained in Part 2. The farther in time we have gone from the First Century Church, the more influence a Greek mindset for exegesis has become pervasive in how we view the entirety of scripture. How did this happen?
When Constantine and the Council(s) at Nicea established “Christianity” as the state religion for the Roman Empire a very serious crime was perpetrated against humanity. Many parts of this crime were established with the intent of separating “The Gospel” from it's Judaic Roots. As an example, it was established that anyone who even referred to the Feasts as “the Feasts of the LORD” (remember from Part 2 this actually says God's Name in the Hebrew “YHVH”) as they are called in Leviticus 23:2, was a traitor to the state. Also, the Solar Calendar was adopted to further distance the “Church” from it's Hebraic/Judaic roots, since God created and gave Israel the Lunar Calendar – look at Genesis 1:5b “And the evening and the morning were the first day”. God not only created the Lunar Calendar, He followed it. Evening first then day; sunset to sunset is a day, first sliver a new moon to the sighting of the first sliver a new moon is a month known as rosh chodesh "New Moon" or more precisely "Renewed Moon" (roughly 29 days), etc. That was all abolished in the reformed “Roman Christian State”. Many other changes were made, but it's just too extensive a list to entirely cover it. However, there is a development, I would like to point out that to this day (as is the case with so many other things) still plagues the modern Church. The development of a hierarchical form of leadership which does not even reflect the shared authority we see in the Triune Godhead. Frankly, it's no wonder those of Judaic background find so much of Christendom unacceptable. We have adopted the traditions of men (takanot) without question due to an ignorance which we ourselves allowed and worse yet perpetuate in our own ignorance of truth. We really need to wake up, humble ourselves, and search this out.
Proverbs 25:2 - It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. (KJV)
Here is one more bit of scripture for you to ponder before we continue:
Jeremiah 16:19-21 - O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD. (KJV – bold added) (LORD is YHVH, the name of God, in the original manuscripts)
NOTE: In the above scripture reference the world "profit" does not refer only to financial profit. You see, in the culture of that day and time, it was acceptable to believe that if one is profiting in ANY way from "religious expression" then it was God who brought the increase. It could be having many children, making a profit in business, a farm producing an abundant crop, or even finding a relationship with God profitable because it enriches one's life.
I'll let you ponder the possibility of whether or not that has anything to do with the global questioning which is occurring among believers who have been exposed to understanding Messianic Judaism and have subsequently began to mold their exegesis to a First Century Church method.
Also, let's not forget Acts 3:21 - 23
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. (KJV – emphases mine)
NOTE: Please don't overlook the mention of Yeshua and Moses BOTH in this passage as if it's trivial. It is anything BUT trivial. Moses brought us Torah and Yeshua came to fulfill Torah and the prophets, thus the "like unto me". He has not yet fulfilled the prophets though He has fulfilled Torah. Many mistakenly say He has fulfilled all Messianic Prophecies, yet He did not even complete the Messianic portion of Isaiah 61 He was reading from in Luke 4:18 & 19. He purposely, left out everything passed "proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD (YHVH)" because it has not yet come time for them to be fulfilled.
Luke 4:18 & 19 - And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (KJV)
Isaiah 61 - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD (YHVH) hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD (YHVH), and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn......(KJV – YHVH added)
Are we or are we not “priests and kings”? We absolutely owe it to ourselves and the future generations to cleanse ourselves of the traditions of men, especially since they have caused far more separation than unity in the faith. Speaking of the traditions of men. Look at the chart below for a visual of how there have been many, during times of the restitution of lost understanding, who have encamped around a "revelation" restored to the Body of Messiah and created an entire organization founded upon the "tradition(s)" of said doctrine.
While this chart is quite thorough, it does not represent even
half of the many splits and breakaways which now exist.
Some reports estimate there are 30,000-40,000 Christian Denominations today.
NOTE: Before we press on, let me make a short concession. I do agree with the evidence that suggests since the Dark Ages we have been in restoration leading to the return of Yeshua/Jesus.
Again, Acts 3:20,21 - And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, (some translations say “restoration of all things”) which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (KJV) (bold insert mine)
I reiterate, the problem is, that as restoration has occurred and we have started to gain back the First Principles of the Doctrine of Christ (Hebrews Chapter 6), some have chosen to encamp around a specific doctrinal restoration. This shouldn't be. We have the example of the Children of Israel following a fire by night and cloud by day. Where and whenever God genuinely moves, we MUST follow. Which can be responsibly done by every believer, if we learn to rightly divide the Word of Truth so that we are not deceived by those who would create Takanot from the restorations we are being given!
John 16:13 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (KJV)
Prior to Constantine and the Councils at Nicea, the Church hadn't seen a local assembly with the corporate structure we see today. In fact, the best description I have heard of the First Century local church organizational structure is that of a room with many corners. But today, every local assembly uses a down-line structure which more closely resembles a corporate tree. Let's examine both, shall we?
The Jerusalem/Antioch Model
X = Congregant/Parishioner
E = Elder P = Prophet X = Pastor-Teacher
In the First Century Church (New Testament) we find a similar structure portrayed in both the Jerusalem Church and the Antioch Church. This “many cornered” room diagram illustrates the concept of how a church (local assembly of believers) should be organized by the leadership, based on the Antioch Model. We can see that the Elders and Prophets are in each corner. There could be many in each I suppose, so please do not take this too literally. The “flock” or “sheep”, as congregants/parishioners are often referred, are surrounded by or fenced/hemmed in by the elders and prophets to keep them safe from false teachers and the like. The lesser mature (or more recently born again) believers are in the center surrounded by the support of more mature believers. But, do you notice the fact that the Pastor-Teachers are right in there with them too? Of course they are, after all the word for pastor in Greek is poimen – it directly translates as “shepherd”. Where else would a shepherd be, except right in with the flock? For a complete description of this section, I really recommend listening to the audio recorded at our Passover 2017 Conference in Beijing.
Many ask, why we do not see the Apostle or the Evangelist represented in this model, and will subsequently reject it claiming the corporate tree organizational chart better represents the modern 5-Fold. We'll discuss that after you've had a chance to see two organizational charts which depict the corporate tree model below. We'll start with that of the Vatican. Then that of the “Modern 5-Fold” as depicted in a typically accepted corporate tree representation.
Notice the hierarchical structure based upon the
importance placed on the individual or department.
Notice a resemblance to the hierarchical structure of the Vatican.
To better understand Biblical shared authority of the Body of Messiah, see these free articles:
More articles on each of the "Offices" and their functions coming soon. Please check our Teaching page often to find them.
While I do believe each of the Gifts of Christ to the Church-Bride from Ephesians 4 have a specific authority in which they will operate at a higher level than the others will be able to, I believe if we create a hierarchic structure instead of seeing a shared authority based on preferring one another in love and a willingness to defer to the area(s) of authority each office holds, we will miss the point. Ephesians 4:11,12 tells us the gifts (and purpose for them) He gave to the Church:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (KJV)
But we have to back up to verse 7 to begin to understand this. “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” I believe the grace spoken of is the ability for those called to each of the “gifts” given to the church, to mature and walk in those gifts. This leads me to believe that TOGETHER the “gifts” to the church are the fullness of the ministry of Christ after His ascension. Which is why we need grace to walk it out. Yeshua Himself was fully submitted to Holy Spirit and only said or did what He heard the Father saying or saw Him doing (John 5:19, 8:28 and 12:49). This passage in Ephesians 4 is revealing a mystery for perfecting the Church-Bride for ministry. The level of grace which those called to an "office" walk in determines their usefulness to the kingdom, but paradoxically their usefulness is determined by the scale of ministry for which each is called. If we lack in any one "office", we are missing that entire portion of the character and ministry our Savior left behind to perfect every believer to walk into their destiny as a Royal Priest who engages in the ministry of reconciling mankind back to the Father by operating in the gifts as Holy Spirit provides and guides to the absolute fulfillment of Mark 16:17&18.
Now that you've been able to think about the two "organizational models" a bit, let's explain why the Apostle and Evangelist are not in the Antioch Model.
I won't spend a tremendous amount of time on the Apostolos as there is a plethora of good material available to anyone who searches it out with a pure heart looking for truth. I will simply point out that it was a title given to Greco-Roman leaders who were appointed by the emporer and given eveything they needed to accomplish the task of creating a settlement in new territory. They were in fact, political leaders given military authority and the means necessary to move Roman rule into a part of the known world in which Rome did not yet have a foothold. They commanded an army to protect and police the settlement, people and resources to build the settlement, and even skilled people to build society such as iron workers, financial advisors, etc. Leaders bearing this "title" or called to this "office" for Kingdom purposes would not be found inside the confines of the multi-cornered structure because they would always be sent by the King of Glory to establish what He is calling them to for the advancement of the Kingdom. If one were to superimpose the Antioch Model over an individual "church" service, one would likely find the Apostle in any capacity as they are empowered to walk in any office as needed by the local assembly. They however, should not do so long term, but rather filling in where there is a need. In this way Yeshua was the Apostle of our Faith (Hebrew 3:1) – except He being Messiah and God could (and currently does) operate in all 5 Offices simultaneously.
The Evangelist has a calling to gather. They are not inside the Antioch Model because they are in the hiways and biways compelling people into a relationship with the Trinity then sending them into the center of fellowship to be matured into their place in the Body of Messiah.
I hope this series has blessed, exhorted and perhaps even challenged you some. Yeshua is not coming back for a child Bride. We must mature as a Body so all things will be restored and heaven can release Him to return for His long awaited union to His Bride for Eternity.
In the 5th and final installment of this series, we will finally approach, discuss and tackle the most important parts of the topic:
How can EVERY believer finally step into and walk in Mark 16:17 & 18?
How can every local assembly (church) become a sending ministry and why they should
If you are already seeing an Acts Chapter 2 fulfillment (power) of Mark 16:17 & 18, how can you move into an Acts Chapter 4 fulfillment (great power)?
What is the actual purpose (and are there more than one) for every believer to live a Mark 16:17 & 18 life?