The Two-Hundred-Ninety-Seventh (More Connections)

The studies of the past few weeks have been quite interesting, haven’t they?!  The topics are certainly not commonly taught, and I agree that two or three ten-minute reads are not sufficient to present them fully.  I hope you’re getting a chance to study them for yourself, but while you do that, we’re also going to continue with a few more connections and explanations.  

When you start to understand these things more, you begin to look at the things you read in scripture quite differently.  You gain more clarity in what’s written and start to see the deeper meanings and connections between commandments, events, and prophecies over the course of the thousands of years during which scripture was written.  For instance, you read about YHWH’s throne in Revelation and can connect that to the Most Holy Place in the earthly tabernacle/temple (Revelation 4), and you can connect the events involving heavenly altar to its earthly purpose in the tabernacle/temple (Revelation 6:9-11, 9:13-14).

Something else you can connect is Yeshua’s last meal with His disciples to the sacrificial system.  If you recall, the daily offerings required two lambs be sacrificed, one in the morning and the other “between the two evenings” (Exodus 29:38-41).  However, along with those sacrifices they were required to also provide flour with olive oil, and wine.  Obviously, Yeshua is the lamb, but flour and olive oil are two of the key ingredients used to make bread, and wine is the other part of the meal He used to signify His covenant (Matthew 26:20-30, Mark 14:17-26, Luke 22:14-23, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34).

What’s typically called the grain offering, the flour, if you recall, is actually a tribute, or gift offering according to the Hebrew word.  Not only was Yeshua telling His disciples at that meal, and us through scripture, that He was giving His body voluntarily as a gift rather than being forced to give it, He was also making it a part of fellowship and connection with His disciples, like the food offerings given to YHWH.  While the wine certainly represented His blood poured out, as He stated when presented it to His disciples, it was also representative of the drink offerings given to YHWH.  This was another type of fellowship offering since both bread and wine were the staples of meals at that time.

We talked a few weeks ago about how Yeshua and the sacrifice He made was a combination of multiple parts of the sacrificial system, and that fact can’t be emphasized enough.  You can’t just say He was the Passover Lamb, because that doesn’t include the Yom Kippur bull sacrifice, that the book of Hebrews clearly tells us He was, in the heavenly temple (Hebrews 9:24-26).  You can’t just say that He was the Yom Kippur bull because that doesn’t include the daily lamb sacrifices.  You can’t just say He was the daily lamb sacrifices because He also connected Himself to the gift and drink offerings during His last supper with His disciples.

In the same respect, as we also saw a few weeks ago, you can’t just say He is a High Priest like Hebrews shows He is, because we know He was also heralded in as King before His death and His Kingship is repeated over and over in the New Testament.  The bottom line is that He is everything in one Man.  Not only was He a sin sacrifice, He was a guilt sacrifice, a burnt sacrifice, a gift sacrifice, a drink sacrifice, a daily sacrifice, all the sacrifices for the feasts, and He is our King, and our High Priest.

Without understanding all that, you start to get into beliefs that there will be a YHWH-ordained, holy temple system established again in the future that will subsequently be defiled by “The Antichrist.”  Not only does this scenario not make any sense according to Yeshua’s own words, where He connected the abomination of desolation to the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple that occurred in 70AD, it doesn’t make sense given the fact that He was the fulfillment for the whole sacrificial system.  We must be careful with this line of thought though, because it’s easy to go down the path of fulfillment meaning abolishment.  

Yes, Yeshua fulfilled the sacrificial system, but the only way for it to be abolished is via commandment given by YHWH.  He was the one who established it, so He is the only one that can abolish it, and as far as I am aware, we have not received new commandments from Him to abolish that system.  He can, however, make it so we cannot execute the system as commanded, and that’s exactly where we are today.  There is no tabernacle, temple, or altars for us to perform the requirements laid out in the sacrificial system, therefore we cannot execute the system as directed.  

The book of Hebrews tells us that through Yeshua’s sacrifice, specifically through His blood, we are able to enter the Most Holy Place, the place where YHWH’s throne is (Hebrews 10:19-22).  Since that is the case, why would YHWH or Yeshua ever establish a new tabernacle, temple, or altars?  There is no need for them any longer.  To re-establish them and the sacrificial system would cause confusion about Yeshua’s sacrifice, because if we still need the blood of animals in order for us to approach YHWH then why did Yeshua use His blood?

Then you ask yourself, what about the other, non-sin/guilt offerings?  Would He establish the temple and altar for those?  My question would be, why would He need to?  They were there to represent a fellowship with Him, having a meal.  Why wouldn’t we just go and actually have a meal with Him instead?

When people start talking about a third temple, complete with the reinstitution of the sacrificial system, that is required in order for prophecy of its defilement to be fulfilled, it seems they also forget the fact that prophecy tells us there will be no temple.  John’s prophecy tells us YHWH and Yeshua are the temple in the end (Revelation 21:22), which makes perfect sense because the whole purpose of the temple in the first place was to be able to be in the presence of YHWH.  I submit for your consideration that if there is, in fact, a third temple and a reconstitution of the sacrificial system, it will not be a holy one to begin with.    

“They” may make it seem like it’s holy, and then make it seem like it gets defiled, but it will all be a show, in my opinion.  We’re getting into the realm of conjecture here, but if that was to happen I would more likely believe that Satan set up the third temple and sacrificial system, making it look holy, and when Yeshua returns and destroys it because it’s actually unholy, now He looks like “The Antichrist,” doesn’t He?  And what evangelical Christian, or any believer who has bought into the dispensational theology created or at least promoted by the Scofield bible, would believe otherwise?  Need I remind you that despite all the imagery of what people think Yeshua looked like, no one alive has seen what He looks like, and we know that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and his servants as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).  Therefore, unless someone has really studied scripture in detail, he or she will be easily deceived if something like this does come to pass.

The other thing that people seem to forget is that despite Yeshua not being a descendant of the line of priests, He is still our High Priest according to the book of Hebrews.  The priesthood is another aspect of a third temple restoration that people like to bring up.  Somehow, despite a complete lack of actual lineage information today, due to it being destroyed in 70AD and any possible remnants lost over the last almost 2000 years, they believe that a Levitical priesthood will be properly established according to Torah in order to re-establish the sacrificial system.  And by the way, Aaron and his descendants were called out specifically by name to establish the priesthood, so you can’t just use the same process YHWH commanded to establish Aaron in order to restart a new priesthood without Aaron’s lineage.

We have to be conscious of the fact that certain aspects of what YHWH established were made that way based on the limitations of the physical side of creation, and those limitations do not necessarily exist on the spiritual side.  Yeshua, spiritually, can be both the Yom Kippur goat that carries the people’s sins into the wilderness and the goat that was sacrificed, its blood used for spiritual covering of sins.  However, physically, you can’t slaughter a goat to use its blood as a covering for sins and also send it out to wander in the wilderness and take away the people’s sins.  Similarly, as the writer of Hebrews points out, while the High Priest had to enter the Most Holy Place every year with the blood of a bull, Yeshua only had to enter once into the heavenly temple’s Most Holy Place in order to cover our sins (Hebrews 9:25-26).

At the same time, because of Yeshua’s lack of sin, He could use His own blood for that one-time covering of sins and still be both our King and our High Priest in one Man.  That process did not require a “God-Man” to perform it.  There are examples all throughout scripture that we’ve studied in the past which show a pattern of the first born not fulfilling the aspects of generational continuance provided for in the commandments and the second born instead fulfilling those, and Yeshua is who all those examples are pointing to.  To say that He had to be 100% God in addition to being 100% Man would go against not only all those examples but also Paul’s statement that He is the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45).

Adam, although being directly formed by YHWH, was 100% man.  He was YHWH’s firstborn, individual man.  In order for Yeshua to be another Adam, in Paul’s words the last Adam, He had to fit the same pattern of Adam, which means He was formed by YHWH and He is 100% Man.  In order for Him to be a “last” Adam, He also had to be formed after Adam, both spiritually and physically just like Adam was formed both spiritually and physically.  Now, the process was slightly different, because at the time of Adam’s formation there was no womb in which for him to grow, but nonetheless, YHWH supernaturally formed Yeshua using the established process He had created by which mankind is now brought into the world.  

By understanding this pattern, we also see that the body of faithful and obedient believers today is a type of second-born people group to YHWH.  The Israel of Egypt, YHWH called His firstborn (Exodus 4:22).  Again, this is yet another example of Yeshua being multiple things in one Man.

Yeshua was YHWH’s second born Son after Adam with respect to the fact that both He and Adam were supernaturally formed directly by YHWH.  While YHWH desired that Adam remain sinless, His second born, Yeshua, was the only One who actually did.  He also became the King of YHWH’s firstborn people group, Israel.  So, while He was being the sinless second born, He was also representing the sinful, firstborn Israel.  

Once Yeshua died, He became not only King of YHWH’s second born people group, He also became our High Priest.  Physically, before His death, He was not allowed to become a priest according to YHWH’s commandments.  He was not of the proper lineage.  However, in the heavenly temple, there are no lineage requirements.  In fact, the lineage requirements for priesthood according to the commandments only came about because of the people’s sin.

Originally, YHWH intended for all His people to be priests.  If Israel had obeyed His voice and kept His covenant, they would have been a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:5-6).  However, they failed to obey His voice and keep His covenant, and as a result, He instead had to establish a line of priestly authority to be mediators between Him and His people.  For YHWH’s second born people group, through Yeshua as our High Priest, YHWH has gone back to His original intention and made us a kingdom of priests.  We can see that in Peter’s and John’s words (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6) as well as prophecy showing saints directly serving YHWH in His heavenly temple (Revelation 7:13-17).  

Yeshua died physically as the embodiment of the firstborn people group Israel, given He was physically born into Israel and King from the line of David, anointed by YHWH, and proclaimed by His people.  Upon physical death, His spiritual second born status enabled Him to receive the inheritance that Adam would have received had he remained sinless.  Just as Isaac received Abraham’s firstborn inheritance despite being born after Ishmael, and Jacob received Isaac’s firstborn inheritance despite being born after Esau, Yeshua received YHWH’s firstborn inheritance meant for Adam and this is the inheritance Paul talks about in his letters that we, as obedient believers, receive as fellow-heirs with Yeshua (Roman 8:15-17, Galatians 3:26, 4:4-7, Ephesians 1:5).

We, as believers, are the renewed Israel, YHWH’s second born people that are allowed, through adoption, to receive YHWH’s inheritance because of what Yeshua did.  The man, Yeshua (1 Timothy 2:5), remained sinless, enabling His blood to cover our sins once and for all, died in order to release the firstborn people Israel from the Law and enable them to enter into Yeshua’s renewed covenant, rose from the dead to cover our sins in the heavenly temple and receive all power and authority from the only God, YHWH (1 Timothy 2:5), which is His inheritance, thereby becoming the King of YHWH’s second born people and becoming the mechanism by which we can share in YHWH’s inheritance.

The fact that Yeshua is not God gives us confidence in the fact that we will be raised and transformed just as He was.  Otherwise, we’d have to question our resurrection because it would be possible that the only reason Yeshua was raised was because of His “100% God” part rather than His “100% Man” part.  This view is the only way that Paul’s argument about resurrection makes sense, as a matter of fact (1 Corinthians 15).  Yeshua’s resurrection is the only way we can have faith in our own resurrection, because we are only 100% mankind and the only way we could be raised is through a process that does not require a person be more than that.

Another thing to note, going back to the tabernacle and temple, is the symbolism provided in the ark of the covenant regarding the relationship between YHWH and Yeshua.  We learn from the writer of Hebrews that there were at least three things in the ark: the stone tablets with the commandments on them, Aaron’s staff that budded, and a jar of manna from Israel’s time in the wilderness (Hebrews 9:4).  Old Testament scripture talks about these items, other than the tablets, being “before YHWH,” which is slightly different, but either of these locations is symbolic of being below YHWH.  

YHWH’s presence was above the “mercy seat,” which is what the lid of the ark is typically called (Exodus 25:22).  Being inside the ark would mean these things are “below” YHWH in authority, but being in front of the ark would also represent that because those things, the manna and Aaron’s staff, would be in a similar position of someone being before a king to receive commandments or direction from him.  The reason this is important is because Yeshua told the people He is the manna from heaven (John 6:31-44), and a staff is a representation of leadership (Numbers 17:2-3).  

We see, once again, that Yeshua is symbolically represented by multiple things.  The manna combined with the staff represent Him as the bread of life and as the leader of YHWH’s people.  Not only that, the fact that the budded staff was actually Aaron’s, who was the head of the priesthood, points to Yeshua’s role as High Priest after His death.  In fact, the whole reason Aaron’s staff was kept with the ark was for it to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, to stop their grumbling against YHWH for fear that they should die (Numbers 17:10).  Aaron and his descendants were the only ones allowed to approach YHWH without fear of death, as long as they performed their duties according to His commandments (Numbers 18:1-7), and Yeshua’s sacrifice and actions in the heavenly temple subsequently enabled His believers to approach YHWH without fear of death.

Isn’t it amazing all the connections we find once we start really understanding things in scripture that are typically ignored by mainstream Christianity?  I thank YHWH that He has led us down that path, and I hope this has been as much a blessing for you as it has been for me!  Keep studying this out, and see what else He shows you!  

We hope you have a great week!  Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!  

-Rob and Sara Gene

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The Gospel

We are born sinful as a result of Adam and Eve's sin (Genesis 2:17, 3:6, 1 John 1:8)

The consequence of sin, which is unavoidable through our own works, is death (Romans 6:23)

Yeshua, the Son of YHWH, lived sinless and was put to death (Hebrews 4:15)

His death, therefore, cleanses us of sin that would have required our death

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

He rose on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)

Because of His resurrection, we are confident in our future resurrection and eternal life

(1 Corinthians 15:17-18, John 3:16)