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Part One: Agreement
by haRold Smith
from Jerusalem, Israel
"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, , so that the world may believe that You have sent Me." John 17:20-21
“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jewish leaders, Yeshua came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Shalom be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Messiah. So Yeshua said to them again, “Shalom to you! Just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.. ” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive Ruach haKodesh (Spirit of the Holy). If YOU forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if YOU withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:19-23
"...I assign to you a Kingdom, just as my Father assigned to me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22:29-30
Many are asking today - is Yeshua Divine? The simple answer is "Yes" - but, with a caveat. Yeshua is One with the Father of Life. He is like the Father. His credentials for being Spirit (divine) are that, unlike no other - He rose from the dead to live eternally. The caveat is - so are any who embrace the manner, the example of Life Yeshua led while in the flesh among us, Yeshua became the "first among many brethren," leading the Way and opening the portal to become Spirit for all who would follow after His Way. In John 17:20-21 above, Yeshua prays that all of those who believe in Him as the Promised Messiah sent to restore the Kingdom of YHVH, be one in the Father "just as" (meaning in like fashion, in similar manner - just as) He, Yeshua, is one in YHVH. Now, instead of there being "one in three", as traditionally taught, we have "one in innumerable" (Romans 8:29, Acts 26:23, Colossians 1:18, see the To Be Made Manifest for more explanation - click on highlighted words to view scriptures).
Does this mean that, in being one with the Father, Yeshua replaces YaHoVeH as the Only One True God of Israel? The scripture says - no. Throughout scripture, Yeshua is referred to as the "Son of YHVH", formed in the image of YHVH but not YHVH Himself. He is the "right arm" of the Father, seated at the "right hand" with YHVH, enjoying all the preeminence of the firstborn Son; while, at the same time, being "echad" (Hebrew for "One") in the shared image of the Father - but not replacing the Father. This is the mystery of echad, the shared image (Isaiah 59:16, Acts 2:33, Revelation 19:10, see the Inheritance for more about the mystery of echad).
The Roman Catholic doctrine of the "Trinity" is non-existent in scripture. The word itself can not be found in the original scriptures or in any translations. The doctrine of Trinity was manufactured by men in the centuries after the Resurrection to promote a Greek/Latin ideology elevating "Jesus" as a god equal to or above YHVH and, thus, provide support for replacement theology - a political agenda of men deliberately designed to separate Gentiles from the Hebrew roots of faith in YaHoVeH, the Only One True God of Israel (Isaiah 45:21). If we are to be intellectually honest with the words of scripture, it must be understood that everything Yeshua said can be found in the Tenakh (the Original Books) containing the Words of the Father, YHVH. Yeshua agreed with those words. He did not bring forth a new set of commandments. Every statement Yeshua made in the Beatitudes can be found somewhere in the Tenakh. Yeshua never said or did anything that did not support and uphold this Hebrew perspective of there being only One God. Not once does Yeshua ever refer to Himself as being that One True God. He always refers to Himself and is referred to as the "Son" of YHVH - a distinction that carries preeminence without detracting from the Preeminent One (1Corinthians 15:27, see Who's Name Is It? and the Word).
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| "...the image of Spirit" |
De’mut, is the Hebrew word translated “likeness.” It is a feminine noun. Tselem, the Hebrew word for “image,” is a masculine noun. The Hebrew text makes it quite clear that both words apply, thus the need for the injection of the words "us" and "our" to join them so as to make some kind of sense of the sentence in English. A quick look through other places of this usage in the Hebrew text, however, supports this idea that YHVH combines both masculine (image) and feminine (likeness) characteristics. The Hebrew language is unlike most Western languages in that it is split into male and female genders. The choice of words used in a sentence depends upon which gender is doing the speaking and which gender the words are being spoken to. However, gender words don’t seem to be a problem here because these words are not speaking of two separate entities, they are speaking of one entity, YaHoVeH, Who captures the characteristics of both genders in a single entity. It is only because of the replacement doctrine of the "Christian" religion that a dual Greek god theology is overlaid onto these Hebrew words, thus, changing their meaning (see My Big Fat Greek Mindset, part one and part two).
But, hey - what difference does it make? Why not just say, "Man is created in God’s image" and leave it at that? The difference is in how Truth is perceived going forward, whether Purely or Perversely, and how the words contained in the rest of the Book are seen - through a filter of idolatrous preconception overlaid upon them by this misinterpretation of our own making, or truthfully. Most people thing of idols as having to do with some sort of statue of wood or stone, but idols are not just statuettes. Idols are also concepts we give ourselves to, those things that shape our lives. What we worship is what we live by. Let's travel a little further and uncover the meaning of some more words from the beginning (Proverbs 4:23, Ezekiel 14:1-5, see a Pre-Determined Destination).
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"...then YHVH formed Adam of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
the breath of life,
and Adam became a living creature." Genesis 2:7 (in most translations)
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The Hebrew phrase nshmth chiim (translated "breath of lives" from the literal Hebrew text) is curious. Nishmah (breath) is singular, giving an expectation of what is to follow as being complementary singular. But, what follows in this phrase, chayim (lives), is plural - containing both the feminine and masculine nouns. Here, again contained in the choice of the original words used, we see consistency in the evidence of the singular Essence of YHVH containing both male and female characteristics. What lies behind this phrase is the Hebrew perspective that YHVH’s “breath of lives” is both unity and diversity at the same time. This is also the definition of echad (the Hebrew "one"), meaning unity in multiplicity - a "shared image". This is the DNA, the Blood that was breathed into Adam. This unity is what was corrupted by Adam when he disagreed with YHVH's word - choosing his own way and falling out of unity (see the One Covenant series for more discussion).
When the serpent offered to Eve the fruit of the knowledge that there was a difference between what is good (the current provision of the Father) and what is evil (a perceived lack of good), he told them that in the day that they partook of that knowledge they would become "as gods". He was not lying - they would become "as gods" with the ability to determine for themselves what was good and what was not. Yeshua spoke to this state of being in His referral to its mention in the Psalms, "...you are gods"
(Genesis 3:5,
John 10:34,
referring to Psalm 82:6).
What was not given along side that statement by the serpent, however, was that in partaking of the fruit of self-determination, Adam's pure blood would become corrupted by his disagreement to the Goodness of the Word (John 1:1 and the Word). As a consequence of that disagreement, he fell out of unity with the Father of Light - darkness enveloped his being. It is called "disagreement" because their actions were what determined what they believed (Exodus 20:1-17, Luke 18:18-20). Of necessity, a separation had to be created to preserve the inherent integrity of the Pure Blood of the Father - to keep Adam from partaking of the Tree of Life in His current state "as a god" with corrupted blood and thereby polluting the Source of Life (Genesis 3:22-24). Yeshua was birthed by the Spirit to restore that Kingdom relationship through the preservation of His uncorrupted pure blood by His Obedience to the Father's Words. Because of His example of sacrifice, when we are born of that same Spirit, we have been given the same opportunity to enter into this Kingdom relationship - but, it still requires the same price. What is that price? It is the relinquishment of our will back into the Hands of the Father. How is that accomplished? It is accomplished in us the same Way it was accomplished in the Life Yeshua exampled before us (Luke 9:23, Hebrews 5:8, Romans 5:1-5, see the Need for Atonement).
Even in Greek, this concept that we are "gods" is continued. Set aside the theological overlay of capitalized words (i.e., "G"od - so as to have you think of them in a certain way) and look at the words just for what they mean. Philippians 2:5-8 tells us that Yeshua was "in the morphe (form) of theos (a god)." Morphe means "external appearance" but carries with it the association that accompanies "children reflecting their parents", i.e., a son. Theos is the general description the Greeks gave to all their deities (remember, the Greeks had many "gods").
In this passage from Philippians, we are told to have this same mind in us as Yeshua. What was that mind? - that even though as a human son He reflected the image of the Father, He did not consider that equality, that image as "a god" (again - theos) a thing to be grasped, seized and wielded (self determination); but took "upon Himself" (choosing) the form of a servant (one who gives himself up to another's will) and became obedient to the Will of the Father (again, a choice). The mind we are to have, if we are to follow Yeshua's example of Life, is to relinquish the same equality we have as our own god to determine our own way to become as a servant - becoming obedient to the Father of the family of Whom Yeshua was the firstborn Son. To become obedient to the Father means to choose to be in agreement with YHVH's Words (John 1:12, Exodus 20:1-17).
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",,,for YHVH had not sent rain upon the earth
(‘e-artz)
and there was not a human
(u-adam)
to serve
(l‘obd)
the ground
(‘e-adme)
.”
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There is much in this verse that is obscured in translation. To begin with, the verse is speaking of a singular person, not people. Secondly, notice there are two separate words used to describe earth ('e-artz or the English counterpart 'erets) and ground (‘e-adme or 'adamah); and the word used for "cultivate" (or "till", depending on your translation) is l‘obd or 'avad which literally means "to serve". We are taught from YHVH in the Torah that what we serve is what we worship (Deuteronomy 11:16 and upheld by Yeshua in Luke 4:8). So, from a Hebrew perspective, this verse is referring to the point that, since YHVH could not find a human to serve Him by serving His creation from the rest of mankind already in existence, He made one like Himself that would serve (or worship) his source of being - the Father Who had formed him from the dust. The reason Adam was formed apart from the rest of mankind was to have someone that would worship YHVH by doing His Will - to fulfill the Plan and Purpose of YHVH from the beginning of having a family that would be a Light to the Nations (see One Covenant).
| "How can two walk together unless they be agreed ?" Amos 3:3 |
The Hebrew word for "agreed" is
ya`ad
and means "to meet at a fixed or appointed destination". What happened in Gan Edan that caused a separation from the Tree of Life was because of the first son's disagreement with the Words of the Father of Light - to determine for himself his own destination. That Kingdom was restored by the agreement of the first born Son with the Words of His Father to become a servant to those words. In like manner, when we keep the Words of the Father, all of His Words (not picking and choosing which ones of them that only line up with the preconceived theology we agree with), we come into agreement with those Words - we become One with YHVH
(Exodus 20:1-17).
We are then given the authority to move in
His Name,
We become a
Witness
to His Name. The Kingdom restored among us today is the opportunity to enter into and partake of that same Kingdom through Ruach haKodesh (Spirit of the Holy). What had previously been reserved for the Jews has now become available through the infilling of Ruach haKodesh to all who would become part of His Family, Israel, through agreement with His Words
(see What's New?).
There are only two places where scripture tells us that Spirit breathed on men - in Genesis 2:7 (explored earlier) and in John 20:19-23 quoted at the beginning of this article. If what has now been restored to the rightful heirs, the family of Israel, by the sacrifice of the Kinsman Redeemer is the Kingdom of YHVH (as seen in the previous articles of the series linked to below), then why are we not able to see it? Could it be, perhaps, that those who are waiting for its appearing are unaware of its existence already among us today? Could it be they are looking for, as were those before the Resurrection, a physical Kingdom while the one Yeshua spoke of took on another form? (Luke 17:20-21). Could it be that the Kingdom established within is the same restored Kingdom we are commissioned to bring into this earthly realm (Matthew 6:10). The Kingdom that has been restored is the same one enjoyed in Gan Edan (the Garden of Eden) by the first son, Adam - the intimacy of the shared image, of being echad (Hebrew for "one") with the Father of Life; the opportunity to partake of the Tree of Life.
Part One: Establishing the Signet,
Part Two: the Inheritance
Part Three: the Need for Atonement
Part Four: Inhabiting Inheritance
Next - Forgiveness
| "Blessed are those who DO His commandments that they may have the right (Greek eksousia meaning "power of choice") to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates (twelve tribes of the family of Israel described in Revelation 21:12 into the city." Revelation 22:14 |
???Questions???
Please feel free to email them to me at harold@hethathasanear.com. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I would be honored to share with you what the Father is uncovering in these days.