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WORLD HISTORY

From Creation to the End of the Age

“In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth” – Genesis 1:1.
“GOD” is a common translation of Elohim – the Judge. Elohim is a name for our God representing Him as Judge of His creation. “Elohim (the Judge of His creation) looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt” – Genesis 6:12.

“I, Yahweh, do not change” – Malachi 3:6.
“LORD” (all caps) is a common substitution for Yahweh – the Eternal. Yahweh is the Holy Name of our God representing Him as the Eternal Gracious One. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh” – Genesis 6:8.

God does not change in his dealing with His people. “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun” – Ecclesiastes 1:9.

God created the earth, suitable for intended creatures. Then God created man, to walk with Him, led by His Spirit. God gave instruction – Torah – to Adam.

When man fell, rejecting the leading of God’s Spirit and disobeying God’s instruction, then God promised a redeemer. Those who trusted God’s provision were instructed to display their faith with prescribed actions (edot – ordinances) to display spiritual insights. These ordinances included animal offerings, such as Abel performed, showing his faith in the promised redeemer. Cain thought his own way was good enough, and was rejected.

After sixteen centuries, Elohim judged the world as corrupt and destroyed most of it with a flood. But Yahweh showed grace to Noah. Our God is eternally the God of grace and Judge of His creation.

Almost four centuries later, Noah’s descendants failed to spread out as instructed. Yahweh, in grace, dispersed them into seventy nations by giving them divergent languages (Genesis 11:9).

At the dawn of the third millennium, Yahweh made a covenant with Abraham – the father of many nations, to bring his descendants of faith back to a world renewed like Eden (Genesis 14). The Apostle Paul carefully explains how those who trust in Yeshua/Jesus are partakers in that Abrahamic Covenant (Ephesians 2).

After four centuries, God separated those who offered the Passover lamb, to be His qehal/church in the wilderness. These nominal followers of Abraham had strayed so far from walking with God by His Spirit, that God through Moses delivered commandments to show them their error (Romans 3:20). God carved two stones: one with five commandments showing how to love Yahweh, and one with five commandments showing how to love a neighbor. He also instructed men to “love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5), and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

These instructions were further detailed in three categories: mishpatim – judgmemts, commonly known as moral laws; edot – ordinances, performances to display spiritual insights (i.e. instructions concerning holy days and offerings); and huqqim – statutes, actions without obvious reason that bring us closer to God (i.e. instructions for kosher food). (Note: Common English Bible translations completely mix up these three terms from the Hebrew text.) 

Late in the next millennium, Yeshua/Jesus came as the promised redeemer. He said that the greatest commandments are to “love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”, and to ”love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39): no change!

Yeshua/Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one yod (the smallest letter) or one serif (stroke) shall pass from the Torah until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” – Matthew 5:17-19.

Yeshua/Jesus said that He did not come to abolish Torah, and those who taught against even the least of it would be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. One phrase is often extracted, “I came to fulfil,” and is misinterpreted to contradict the previous phrase, “I did not come to abolish.” If anyone would never steal, he would fulfil the law “Thou shalt not steal”: but that law would still apply to him and everyone else – it would not be abolished.

The Apostle Paul took a Nazarite Vow to certify that he kept the Torah (as given to Moses) and did not teach against it (Acts 21). He took an animal offering to the Holy Temple at the conclusion of his vow (as required by Numbers 6) – decades after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua/Jesus!

Abel made a proper offering; Abraham made proper offerings; the church in the wilderness (see Acts 7:38) made proper offerings. Since the Holy Temple was destroyed, animal offerings are forbidden anywhere else (Deuteronomy 12:26-27). Animal offerings will properly resume at the future Holy Temple (Ezekiel 43:18, 44:15). Animal offerings were never a basis for salvation, but were ordinances (performances to display spiritual insights) of God’s instruction, since Adam’s day, and will be until the earth is renewed.

God has given instruction for man – Torah (often called law), and He did not change it 2000 years ago. There are no different dispensations, such as of desolation, law, and grace. From creation, He was the God of judgment and the gracious God, and He is still God of judgment and the gracious God. He gives us instruction; we have no standing to even question what He may or may not do (Romans 9:20) or what is fair for Him (Romans 9:21). He holds all rights – we should acquiesce.    

God did not divide His Word into “Old Testament” and “New Testament”, terms commonly used to imply that one supersedes the other. The “renewed covenant” (Brit HaChadashah) of Jeremiah 31:31 concerns a future application of the Abrahamic Covenant, not a present “New Testament.”

Salvation has been by grace through a faith that produces works since the first man, and has not changed. Men looked forward to Yeshua/Jesus as savior from Adam’s time until 2000 years ago, and since then look back to Him as savior. Judgment comes for every man, from Adam to us; there is a judgment for rewards for the faithful – gain and loss per our deeds (1 Corinthians 3:12), and a judgment for punishment for the unfaithful.

God had His church 3½ millenniums ago in the wilderness (Exodus 12:6, Acts 7:38). Yeshua/Jesus came two millenniums ago to “build it up”, and He said then that it would never die out (Matthew 16:18). Yeshua did not come to start a new religion or a new church: He came to redeem and build up His congregation. (Qehal is translated into Greek then English as both sunagoge/synagogue and ekklasias/church; these terms are not biblically distinct, only distinct in modern usage.)

Men of faith have walked by the indwelling Holy Spirit for all time; there was no basic change 2000 years ago. There have been several occasions of special workings of the Holy Spirit in men to certify major workings of God, such as through Moses and Elijah and Yeshua and His apostles.

The Sabbath (seventh day) was sanctified (made holy) by God at creation (Genesis 2:3); it applies to man since Adam (Exodus 20:8, Isaiah 56:6, Matthew 2:27), and it will apply in the millennial reign of Messiah (Ezekiel 46:3) and in eternal glory (Isaiah 66:22-23); He has never changed it. Yeshua/Jesus did not ever break the Sabbath, as some would interpret; He came to keep Torah instructions (Matthew 5:17). We are instructed to keep the Sabbath holy – meaning to preserve it as a day dedicated to our Savior.

God also established seven annual Holy Days, related to three feasts. They portray, in order, aspects of the “Salvation of Yahweh” – from our redemption to our glorification. They are ordinances which God calls “eternal” (Leviticus 23:21).

Many things are commonly read into the Apostolic Writings, and even written into translations. God did not change “Yahweh’s Feast” (Exodus 10:9 – the Passover seder) to “the Lord’s supper”; the error is misinterpretation from poor translation. God did not eliminate washings in a mikvah and institute a new baptism. Paul did not teach against circumcision in Galatians 5; that is reading something into the text.

God’s inspired Psalms have been replaced with hymns to fit each denomination’s dogma. “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs” (Ephesians 5:19) are titles to the five books of Psalms which combined make our 150 Psalms. Singing Psalms can vastly affect most people’s understandings!

Yeshua/Jesus said: “I also say to you that you are Peter (Petros), and upon this rock (Petra) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” – Matthew 16:18-19. God established a priesthood of the firstborn from Adam, then a Levitical priesthood in Moses’ day (Numbers 8:18). From Moses, God established the Sanhedrin (Numbers 11:16) to make halachic judgments (how we should walk to fulfill Torah); then Yeshua/Jesus gave His apostles halachic authority (Matthew 16:19). “Bind” means require or forbid, “loose” means allow freedom; a woman is “bound” to her husband as long as he lives, but is “loosed” – free to marry if she wishes, after he dies (Romans 7:2). This halachic authority was given to the apostles, not only Peter: “You are Petros/Peter (rock); upon these Petra (rocks) . . .” refers to the twelve apostles (see Rev 21:14). “Bind” is from the Greek pluperfect tense of deo, and “loose” is from the pluperfect tense of luo: whatever the apostles would bind or loose must be that which was in the past, and to remain in the future, bound or loosed in heaven – that which was God’s Torah, never to have one letter changed (Matthew 5:18)!

Elohim (the Judge of His creation) destroyed/renewed the earth once by water (Genesis 6), and will in the future destroy/renew it by fire (Luke 17:29, 2 Peter 3:12). Yahweh (the Eternal gracious one) has saved people through faith, and led them by His Spirit (Ruakh haQodesh – the Spirit of the Holy One), since Adam’s time, and throughout our time. He has given us Torah/instruction that does not change! He does not change – in the basic ways He deals with us.

“I, Yahweh, do not change” – Malachi 3:6. “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun” – Ecclesiastes 1:9.

 

 

DDD 8-17-2019

© 2019  Beikvot HaMashiach
(Followers of the Messiah)