Go to Part One Go to Part Two Go To Part Four
A Special series:
Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 25
…A Study in Revelation… Part 3
A Search for the Truth at the end of the Age
αποκαλυψις ιησου χριστου
(The Revelation of Jesus Christ)
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
In our last post, I talked about how family could be the worst enemy. Let us explore this a bit more, for it is germane to our study on Revelation. The family is Mishpacha. What is “Mishpacha” you ask? “Mishpacha” is the Hebrew word for family. Here in the west we have almost forgotten what it means to be a family; we are the mobile generations, spread out across the great expanse of America, separated by time, distance and circumstances. We are all related to those in our family, sons, daughters, in-laws, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers; aunts, uncles, grandparents; cousins, nephews, and nieces…. What do we really know of one another? Those three factors- time, distance, and circumstances- have truly robbed us of the experience of family, the closeness that should have been, till we find ourselves reduced to a social media post or two. From these indifferent, impersonal posts we gain that which sums up what we know of each other, outside of our memories. I speak only for myself, not putting anything upon anyone else… But this is what my family relationships have been reduced too, to my shame and sorrow.
To the Jew, what is “Mishpacha”? Primarily, it is “kavod”, it is “kavanah”. The two words mean respectfully “honor” and “intent”. If we are to look at a family, as a unit, what must first be evident in the relations we see? Most would subscribe to the notion of “love”, that families must love one another… While this is true, love does not come without “kavod”, without honor.
Loosely translated in a variety of ways, it can mean “intent, focus, direction or understanding”. But KaVaNah is not merely a word that can or should be easily defined – it is a concept. We stand before One who sees us – all the time. Nothing is secret from Him, nothing is hidden. Yet, consider this: how many of us, in the hopes of landing a job, will spend hours crafting our resume, practice our “spiel” if you will, to sell ourselves at the job interview with this potential employer? We are willing to spend countless moments thinking of just the right words to say to someone we want to impress; there will even be rehearsed speeches, teachings, the list goes on and on. Consider this though: with no thought at all we will just drop in any time we feel like it before the King of Glory, with no preparation, no plan, no conscious thought of Who it is we stand before, and we’ll graciously give Him 2 minutes, 5, maybe 15 minutes of our time. Some may be able to stretch it out to 30 minutes or an hour. The most important Presence you or I could ever hope to stand before is neglected or worse, assigned to our minds as an after-thought. We go about our lives, doing our own thing then on the spur of the moment it will be “Oh, by the way, did You want me to do this God? I sure hope so because it’s really what I wanted to do…”
Is there honor, “kavod” in a
mindless, thoughtless approach to the King of Glory? What is our “kavanah”, our
intent? Is there honest reflection upon what we say, meditation before we say it,
and all the while, are we conscious of whom we stand before? Now, we could
never come to the place of total reflection. This would mean we wait until we pray
so we get it exactly right – and end up never praying at all. But our intent must
be to approach humbly, showing honor – treating Him as if He has weight in our
lives – then our “kavanah” becomes mindful, and not mindless. He is our Father,
we are his Mishpacha. Without kavod or kavanah, we are enemies.
Matthew 10:35
(KJV)
35 For I am come to set a man at variance
against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in
law against her mother in law. [1]
·
“…set a 1man at variance against his 2father…”
1[G444] …man… ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos
anth'-ro-pos
Ø
A son contrasted to his father… man
vs. Yahveh
2[G3962] …father… πατήρ patēr pat-ayr'
Ø Progenitor, ancestor, father, model
·
“…the 3daughter against her 4mother…”
3[G2364] …daughter…
θυγάτηρ thugatēr thoo-gat'-air
Ø A relationship of kindness, (Hebraism): Christians vs. Israel a descendant
4[G3384] …mother… μήτηρ mētēr
may'-tare
Ø
Mother, a parent, Progenitor, instructor
· “…and the 5daughter in law against her 6mother in law…”
5[G3565] …daughter-in-law…
νύμφη numphē noom-fay'
Ø
A bride, spouse,
newly married The Bride in Contrast or Opposition
6[G3994] …mother-in-law…
πενθερά penthera pen-ther-ah'
Ø
Another-in-law, in antithesis of the daughter-in-law
Matthew 10:36 (KJV) 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. [2]
…Family can be the worst enemy…
Matthew 7:24-27 (KJV) 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. [3]
…Family can be the worst enemy…
Matthew 21:12-13 (KJV) 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. [4]
“And Jesus went into the temple of God…”
[1 Corinthians 3:17 (KJV) 17 If any man defilec the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. [5] (See also 2 Cor. 6:16)]
[Proverbs 23:23 (KJV) 23 “…Buy the truth, and sell it not…”[6]]
[Are you agōnizomai? Do you pray for righteousness or do you
hunger for the wealth of the nations? Do
you πλεονεξία pleonexia (pleh-on-ex-ee'-ah), want more?
Where are your tables?]
What house have we, you and I, built?
Psalm 127:1 (1901 ASV) 1Except Jehovah build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except Jehovah keep the city, The watchman wakes but in vain. [7]
How we have labored in vain when we ignore the foundations of our house. Yahveh laid the cornerstone, Yeshua - the foundation built up then in the Torah and the Prophets. A city kept by Yeshua, born of light. When Yahveh speaks of robbing Him, we think in terms of tithes and offerings. The tithe and offerings mentioned in Malachi 3 refer to the keep of the temple; what we truly rob Yahveh of is our heart. We withhold our affections from Him when we want more. Look at Psalm 127:1 again: “…Except Jehovah keep the city…” If we want more, does He “keep” the city? If we want what are the covenant promises that Yahveh set toward Eretz Yisra’el or want or desire to replace Yisra’el, surely then we have become a den of thieves, idolaters, and covet that which can only belong to us by the blood and sacrifice of Messiah. We can share, but we do not own…
…Family can be the worst enemy…
“The Kingdom of Yahveh, the Kingdom of Heaven” – long known by the sages of Yisra’el to be idioms for the land of Israel itself and of its people. Our mother, our Father.
Christians vs. Jews
The World vs. the Jews
…And we are silent…
…Family is the worst enemy…
Mark 6:4 (NKJV)
Weep.
The curse. The blessing. Set before us this day is life or death. Look at what is called the church and weep. It will take all our tears to breach this gap. It is time to lay aside the weight of sin, it is time for agōn. Our “family” turns against the natural branch and yet we sit in its pews, silent. A small movement exists to find its way back to the branch, back to the mother that birthed it, holding out hands of repentance and forgiveness seeking mercy, seeking the face of HaShem. The family has been fractured – it is time to reconcile.
For Zion’s sake –I
will not be quiet…
For Messiah’s sake –
I will not be silenced…
For
YHVH Elohim – I will pray for strength, for boldness to tell the truth. Simply agreeing does not promote truth –
truth is not something you say or agree to with your lips; it is something you
do. There are “houses” out there where
truth is not welcome. When you speak
truth, you will be crucified for your words, for:
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reprovedc. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. [10]
When you start believing the truth, when you come to the place that the Word of Yahveh is alive and true in your heart, you will leave those “houses” where truth is not spoken. You will start to do, to speak, to tell of what you’ve learned. You will do the will of Yahveh; and by your actions, those around you will see the light, and they will also.
…You will then start to be family, and cease to be the enemy…
Our eyes have been just as blind as the Jews, for we have let the clouds obscure our sight. This clouded vision keeps us from seeing what we need to see – sometimes, just because they call themselves “Christian” doesn’t make it so. By blinding ourselves, by compromising the Word of Yahveh for the sake of “unity”, what good have we done? We’ve partaken in their iniquity and put Christ to shame. We “agree to disagree” – yet where does it say that in the Word? On the contrary, it says just the opposite. Turn if you will to 1 Cor. 12:12-26. Paul speaks of the body, made of many parts. Yes the parts are diverse, but note two verses in particular:
1
Corinthians 12:13 (KJV)
13
…and… 1 Corinthians 12:25 (KJV)
25
That there should be no schisme in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. [12]One Spirit. No schism, no division; not 2000 plus bodies, all believing something different. TRUTH IS WHAT IT IS… “…I will bless those who bless thee, curse those who curse thee…” This is what it is. My eyes have to be open – they have to see.
No more can we tolerate the sickness that infects the body. Favoring it will not make them part of the elect. Letting false doctrine and anti-Jewish sentiments be preached will only condemn souls to Hell, and continued silence will allow madmen to usher in a Holocaust the likes that have never been seen before.
What do we do then? Let this be the end of the matter: please Yahveh, not men. Pray brethren, O pray beloved of the L-rd to be crushed by His mighty hand, so that the agōn you struggle with turns to victory – and in righteousness you’ll stand.
Bless Yisra’el O Yahveh, make me one with the body
That speaks and seeks Truth; Let not my lips be silent
And iniquity pass by without reproach. Help me to despise ease and comfort,
And to only want to seek contentment, whether it be in
Plenty Or Lack.
Let it be unto me as You will; yoke me with True Believers
And keep me from the evil man. My heart yearns, nay, cries aloud
For You O King of Israel, O Savior of my soul, O Spirit of the Living Yahveh…
May I be found worthy on the Day To suffer for Thy Name and may I never be Silent Again
For Thy People’s Sake, for Jerusalem's... Now with all thanksgiving, We bless the Name of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, Giving all honor, glory and power to Him upon the Throne…
…Amein…
May He richly bless you and keep you my
beloved on this Yom Teruah, Amein.
[1] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[3] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
c defile: or, destroy
[5] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[6] The
Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak
Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[7] American Standard Version. 1995
(Electronic edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[8] The New King James Version. 1996,
c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
f Matt. 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44
[9] The New King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
c reproved: or,
discovered
[10] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
c Gentiles: Gr. Greeks
[11] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
e schism: or, division
[12] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
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