Eternal Life
from haRold Smith
based in Jerusalem, Israel
"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him'. Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus said to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.'
Nicodemus said to him, 'How can these things be?' Jesus answered him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life'." John 3:1-15
"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11
We are called to be like those early Believers in Berea, and verify that whatever is being preached is true - or not. The way they did that was to search the scriptures. The only scriptures they had access to that spoke of the Essence of Truth at the time was the Torah - the New Testament had not yet been written (see the Law of Grace for an explanation of what Torah is). It is, therefore, the duty of every Believer to open the whole of the scriptures, to call upon the Father (YHVH - Who is Truth) and to find out for themselves if what is being taught is true - or not (1John 2:27),
There are many voices calling for our attention in the spirit realm these days and the nearer this coming age approaches those voices will only multiply and intensify. Finding Life in Truth is what this quest is about. The Father has given us an instruction manual as a map to help us find our way through this maze to Him - the Source of Life. That Life is not found in the instruction manual itself. The manual only speaks of that Life (John 5:39), Life is found in a personal, intimate relationship with Him. It is imperative that we use that manual to dig for Truth ourselves and not settle for anything less than the excellence of Truth as exampled by the Son just because it might be easier to do so (Romans 3:4), The sole purpose of these articles is to encourage you to simply look at the words written on the pages of scripture for the meaning they contain in the light of the original language, the context they were assembled in, and with an appreciation of the Hebrew culture and mindset they were written from. The refusal to look at scripture just for what it says without overlaying a pre-conceived theological template upon it is the definition of tradition Yeshua gave in Mark 7:13. The embrace of tradition is the ONLY attribute Yeshua ever pointed to that He said would bring to "none effect" the Power of the Living Word in our lives. To Know Him is to Know Him in Truth (John 8:31-32),
The story of Moses and the fashioning of the bronze serpent Yeshua referred to in the passage above are found in Numbers 21:1-9. It says that when Moses finished making the fiery serpent, he set it on a pole and whoever beheld it - lived. The Hebrew word for beheld in this passage is nabat and means to regard, show regard to, pay attention to, consider, look upon. The Hebrew word for lived comes from the root word chayah and means have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health. This serpent was placed on a pole. The Hebrew word is nec and means something lifted up, a standard, ensign, banner, sign.
This story does not end here but finishes in
2Kings 18:1-7
telling us that when Hezekiah became the king of Israel, he
"broke in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan".
The Hebrew word for incense is katar and means to make or to offer sacrifices to. Nehushtan is Hebrew and means a thing of brass. The children of Israel had shifted their worship off of YHVH, the source of their healing, and made an idol out of the "the thing of brass" that had once been the conduit through which that healing had passed.
The Hebrew word for "pole" (nec) is the same word used for "ensign" in Isaiah 11:10 - "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious."
Many have mistakenly read the passage in John 3 to mean that Yeshua would be crucified and if we believe in that crucifixion we would find Life. But, words mean things, and if you just look at the construction of the words they lend themselves to a different thought. Yeshua said that JUST AS Moses lifted up the serpent to become the conduit through which healing would occur and they would live - IN THE SAME MANNER whoever beholds (or embraces) that ensign, Yeshua, would find healing and live, rest for his soul. That ensign is the conduit through which the Father provided healing by the high standard found in the Life Yeshua exampled before us. To believe used here in the Greek is pisteuo meaning to be persuaded of, to rely on, place confidence in, to entrust a thing to (see what it means To Believe). In like manner, Yeshua has become the conduit through which healing, the Source of Life, Salvation flows (Matthew 11:27-29). The word translated have comes from the Greek echo (now, that's interesting) meaning in the sense of wearing, to have (hold) possession of. Yeshua was not saying eternal life originated with Him, but that by taking possession of His Life, holding His Manner of Living as the standard for our own life, is the conduit that would result in living eternally in the Presence of the Source of Life - YHVH.
Isaiah 30:15
"Lead me in your Truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long." Psalm 25:5
It is in the Presence of YHVH that we find rest and are saved (Exodus 33:14). Understanding what constitutes His Presence and then remaining in, residing or living in the Presence of YHVH becomes our Salvation. We come into His Presence first in Spirit, then in Truth - not the other way around (1Samuel 15:22, John 10:27-29, John 4:24). Not forsaking one for the other, but as a manner of approach. Scripture is merely a validation that what we are hearing spoken by His Spirit is truly of Him. Scripture (the Torah) has been given as an instruction manual to teach us of the Essence of the Father that we might clearly understand who we are hearing and then conform ourselves in such a manner as to remain in His Presence and find rest unto our soul by what He speaks to us (Matthew 11:28).
Well, sort of - but not really. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves worshipping our own Nehushtan - the conduit of Life fashioned out of the tradition-think that has been handed down to us instead of Life Himself. Let us, instead, look simply at what words of scripture unfold before us. It is not the way in which Yeshua died that is important as is the Life He showed us how to live. A whole culture of religion has been fashioned around the worship of the cross thereby negating the Power of the Father Who Resurrected Him. Attempting to explain in purely "Christian" terms what these Jews, looking at their world from a Hebrew dynamic, were referring to separates us from the Jewish Root, causing us to lose our sense of bearing and end up as a Christian Reich; spouting a purely Pauline Religion that over the centuries has become distorted and distant from what the words on the page actually tell us about the Essence, the Nature and Character of this One True God. If the Life of Yeshua is the benchmark by which we measure everything - including other scripture (Revelation 19:10, see Arrows of Famine). - let us see what He says concerning these traditions we have been taught about - being saved, being born again, eternal life, and salvation.
To be 'saved' or 'to save' in the Greek is sozo and means 1) to save one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health. It is used in John 12:47 as "save" and Romans 10:9 as "saved".
As mentioned, the Hebrew word for 'lived' comes from the root word chayah and means 1) to live, have life, sustain life, live prosperously, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health. But as far back as Exodus 14:30 that same Hebrew word chayah is also translated as 'saved'. To be saved is to have life.
The Greek word for "Salvation" in John 4:22 is soteria and means 1) deliverance from molestation.
"Deliverance" also is used in the Hebrew primarily as teshuw'ah which means 1) salvation, deliverance. It is used in 1Chronicles11:14 as "deliverance", 2Chronicles 6:41 as "salvation", and in Psalm 37:39 as "salvation".
So, we see that the definitions for salvation and deliverance are interchangeable - in any language. To be delivered IS salvation. To "be saved" IS a real deliverance He extends to us that truly sets us free. When we are "saved" we can expect healing to be evident within our physical bodies and the demons of darkness that have "bitten" us will be dispelled because of the Power found in the Presence of His Spirit
(Romans 8:11).
This is the Life He spoke of. So, why is it that real healing and deliverance are not evidently seen among the Westernized Religions of Christianity when a person is "saved"? If this salvation were to be manifest in our bodies as true healing, why would we find it necessary to embrace the other pole of snakes instead of the one Moshe (Moses) lifted up and Yeshua likened Himself to? Could it be that we have somehow separated ourselves from the Source of that Life by not "knowing" Him for Who He says He Is and, thus, by the theological tradition men would have us adhere to, have negated, made void, brought to "none effect" the Power of the Holy One of Israel? This is not theology being spoken of here - this is LIFE. And the Source of that Life, scripture tells us, Yeshua tells us (in the passage in John 3 above), is only found in One Place - YHVH, with Yeshua as the conduit for that Life.
(Genesis 2:7-8,
1John 5:6-12).
There are only two places where the term "born again" is referenced in Brit haDashah (the New Testament), John 3 (above) and (1Peter 1:22-23). The phrase in 1Peter is a single Greek word, anagenna meaning to have one's mind changed so that he lives a new life conformed to the will of God, speaking of to how to conduct ourselves after having our souls purified by becoming obedient to the Truth found in this Life (hm-m-m - let's see now, just how is it this scripture says our souls are purified?). This usage is different from the "born again" Yeshua used in John 3. Here, in the only passage recorded where He expounded on being "born again", is a two-word phrase beginning with the Greek gennao (born) which means of men who fathered children. It is a variation of genos meaning born into a family and, in a Jewish sense, it means to bring one to a way of life. The Greek word anothen (again) means from a higher place, of God. Thus, to be "born again" is more appropriately translated to be brought into a family of God that maintains a higher standard of life (John 3:3-5).
The phrase, "born again", is not referenced in the Hebrew. Why is that? - because the Jews ARE the family. In fact, when answering Nicodemus in John 3 above, He chastened Him for being a Rabbi, a teacher of Israel, and NOT knowing what it means to be born of the Spirit - to be the embodiment of the Living Breath (Hebrew nephesh, Genesis 2:7, John 20:21-23. What Yeshua was saying to Nicodemus was that we (the Jews) KNOW the Source of Life because it is through the people of Israel that Breath of Life has been bequeathed. The Essence of the Breath of the Father has been revealed to His Family in Torah through the commandments (see the Righteousness of the Law); The traditions the Jews embraced separated them from the Source of the Spirit and thus necessitated a re-alignment (even for a Jew to be re-born, as it were) into the proper orientation and awareness of Who He is in Truth.
According to the words of Yeshua in John 17:3. to have eternal life IS to know, to be intimate in relationship with, the One Who is the Source of Life and lives, abides in eternity. When does eternity begin? Right NOW (2Corinthians 6:2). To be in the Presence of Life right now IS eternal life. It is interesting to note that when asked the question, "how do I obtain eternal life?" curiously, Yeshua referred people to the Ten Commandments contained in Torah. In the four places the gospels record His response to being asked directly how to obtain eternal life His response was the same - to keep the commandments given by Moses in the Torah (Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-21, Luke 10:25-28, Luke 18:18-22). How can that be if His purpose was to "do away" with the commandments of the law as has been drummed into us (see the Law of 100%)? Apparently, Yeshua thought there is something we must actually DO to conform ourselves to, in order to obtain, lay hold of this eternal life He spoke about. Could it be, could the correlation be made, that these things spoken of in the Ten Commandments are the things of Spirit - of Life? (see the Law of Grace).
Yeshua (which means salvation in Hebrew) made this distinction when He said that salvation is of the Jew in (John 4:22). The Greek text reads ek ton ‘Ioudaion, literally “out of the Judeans” (a common idiom for “Jews”). As referenced earlier, the Greek word for salvation is soteria and means deliverance from molestation. Yeshua is saying to the Gentile Samaritan woman at the well that deliverance (salvation) comes out of the Jews - that salvation has its source and its existence out of God’s relationship and involvement with the family of Jews. It is to His People, His family of Jews that YHVH has revealed His Essence, His Nature and Character. To no one else on the face of the planet, ever, has He said, "These are My People." This is why Yeshua, being a Jew and keenly understanding this dynamic, was constantly pointing people back to the Father of this family. Just as a child growing up in a family, we learn what the Father expects by being involved with the other members of the family. What He expects was handed to His Family in the form of the Ten Commandments contained in the Torah.
Our "salvation" comes from being in the Presence of YHVH. When "saved" from a Gentile background, we are brought into a family of Jews that maintains a higher standard of Life than the rest of the world with YHVH as the Father. We are presented with the opportunity to become as He is and to grow, like a child in a family, in the knowledge of Who the Father is by "putting on" (wearing) the higher standard of the Life the elder brother (the Jewish Messiah) presents to us
(Romans 13:14,
John 1:12-13).
The Essence of YHVH's Presence is revealed in the instructions He has given to His family. He has appointed His Son to show us how those instructions are to be lived out. Being brought up and fashioned into His Likeness is not an automatic consequence of some verbalization but, like a growing child, necessitates time in His Presence to clearly understand Who this Presence is. An impartation of His Life into ours is not an instant osmosis but is the result of a deliberate choice of action on our part to embrace Who He has revealed Himself to BE - not who we want Him to be.
Who is YHVH? Who does He proclaim Himself to BE? Throughout scripture, He is referred to and refers to Himself as the Eloheim (the God) of Israel. The tradition of men handed down to us understands this statement in John 4:22 to mean that Yeshua came from the Jews and, therefore, the salvation He brought to all men comes through Jewish descent. This typical Christian paradigm sees the Christ-event as the center of universal history. Since "Jesus" died for all men, this statement simply means that His Jewish ancestry is only the vehicle by which God brought that salvation to all men. This line of thought no longer contains any essential connection to Yeshua’s Jewish lineage. It is merely the means God used to accomplish a universal purpose. But, this interpretation is flawed as it ignores the vast majority of biblical emphasis on the fact that it is Israel’s God and God’s people Israel who are center-stage. Only by skipping over everything between Genesis 3 and Matthew 1 do we arrive at this universal God. And, of course, this line of thinking necessitates ignoring that Yeshua views everything about the Father and His relationship to the Father in Jewish terms as well. The old paradigm fails because it pretends that the exclusiveness of God’s election of Israel is ultimately of no consequence.
Does this mean we must convert to Judaism in order to receive salvation? No. Sha'ul (the apostle Paul) makes this point clear in Galatians - but he is only repeating what was written in the Tenach (the original Book) concerning any who would come to this God of Israel (Isaiah 56:6-8). Whoever comes to Him, however, must receive Him for Who He Is. He is the God of Israel - not the god of mankind. Yeshua was saying to the Gentile woman at the well that those seeking the Source of Salvation will find that it comes from a relationship, an intimacy and a connection with this particular Jewish God of Israel (Romans 8:14-17, Ephesians 2:18-22).
All through the Gospels, Yeshua was continually talking about and pointing people to "the Father". He does not say to worship Yeshua, to pray to Yeshua. Yeshua says to worship the Father, to pray to the Father, to ask the Father in Yeshua's Name (see what it means to be In His Name). Who was He speaking of? He was speaking of this Person He had come to intimately know that was spoken of in the Torah, the prophets and the psalms of the original Book. Likewise, those who embrace this God of Israel for Who He says He Is will find they have become adopted as a member of the Commonwealth of Israel - but, to become adopted into a family means we become joined to that family. We become "saved" from the molestation of the world through that relationship with the same God, the same Father of whom the Jewish Messiah spoke of and offers us eternal life through by coming to know Him in Truth (again, John 17:3). In other words, redemption means accepting the provision that the God of Israel offers and joining His Kingdom - not dictating to Him who we think He ought to be. Salvation isn’t going to be found anywhere else because salvation is out of the Jews. Salvation is being able to access His Presence through the manner given to the Jews. If I become a member of God’s chosen people by adoptive naturalization, then I join a community that has been dealing with this God for thousands of years. My orientation toward life shifts toward the instructions God gives for His family. My paradigm moves. I delight in the difference it affords me because it is the difference this God of Life directs. Now the whole God becomes my God, the whole Bible becomes my book because I am part of the family. My life is altered by my manner of behavior in embracing the manner of Life He has shown to me. The Torah becomes a "born again" way of life. I am “saved” into the family of Israel's God.
There has been nothing said in this article to diminish the work Yeshua accomplished by His death. If anything, it is to accentuate the Power that resides in us because of His Resurrection by the Father - Yeshua did not resurrect Himself. If we are not seeing the Power of being saved in our lives the Way that Power was manifest in His Life and in the lives of the first century believers
(Acts 5:16),
if signs of healing and deliverance are not following in our wake the way they did in theirs
(Mark 16:16-18),
then perhaps it is time we took another look at this God of Israel for Who He Says He Is - not for who we want Him to be
(see the Bride,
and Children of the Bridechamber).
| "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." 1John 5:3 |