How Old is the Earth?

Creation, Peter's blogs, ,

For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth

“…for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” Ex 30:17

My first posting on the topic of God (Elohim) as Creator discusses why we should believe that YHVH is the Creator of everything in the universe. In my second posting on this topic, I talked about the vast storehouse of evidence that points to a super intelligent Designer for our universe. One of the most controversial and divisive topics in the creation-evolution debate, even within the Christian community, is the actual time-frame for the creation of the world.

The best place to begin our study is Genesis 1. It is significant that the Hebrew word for Genesis is bereshit, which means “beginnings”. Starting with Genesis 1:5, each passage that describes an element of God’s Creation uses the Hebrew word yom (day), plus a number (1,2,3..). The Hebrew word yom is used over 2300 times in the Tanach (Old Testament). Outside of Genesis 1, yom plus a number (used 410 times) always refers to an ordinary day, that is a 24-hour time period. The words “evening” (erev) and “morning” (boker) are used together 38 times in the scriptures, and always denote an ordinary day. Finally, when yom + “evening” or “morning” or yom + “night” (Hebrew lailah) are used in scripture, they also denote a 24-hour day.

Since yom is used in one of these ways every time it is stated in Genesis 1, it is evident that the author meant 24-hour periods. The references to “evening” and “morning” make no sense unless they refer to a literal 24-hour period. This literal translation of yom was the standard interpretation of the Creation passages in Genesis 1:5-2:2 until the mid-1800’s when a paradigm shift occurred within the scientific community (based on the theories of Sir Charles Lyell and others), and the earth’s sedimentary strata layers were reinterpreted to show long ages of time (millions instead of thousands of years). Whereas previously the rock layers were interpreted as evidence of Noah’s flood, the flood model was thrown out by the scientific community and the rock layers were reinterpreted as evidence for an excessively old earth. Some well-meaning but very misguided Christians then sought to reconcile this new anti-flood, anti-biblical interpretation with the Genesis account by reinterpreting yom to mean vast, unspecified periods of time.

Scientific research over the past 50 years reveals that the sedimentary rock layers in the crust of the earth formed very rapidly and under catastrophic conditions. This would be an expected result of a global, catastrophic flood (see Five Evidences for a Flood, Brad Forlow). A strong indication of the wide-spread scale of this catastrophe is the scope of the rock layers which, in some cases, cover an entire territory such as the Rocky Mountain, Midwest, and Ozark states of the US. Another strong piece of evidence for a global flood is the sedimentary rock layers and marine fossils found at the top of the highest mountain ranges in the world.

Dramatic geologic formations around the world, such as the Grand Canyon, also show evidence of catastrophic flooding. Although there are 5,000 feet of layered strata stacked on top of one another in the Canyon, the fact that they are sedimentary and twisted into very dramatic formations within a short space indicates that the rock layers were laid down underwater, with a large volume of water rushing through the area at a high velocity. A modern-day illustration of the power of water is the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Although this was a local catastrophe, the incredible earth reshaping damage was mostly water-related. When it was heated, the glacier on top rapidly liquefied, and the super-heated torrent of water raced down the mountain as a mighty flood, eroding soil rocks, trees and anything else in its path. When the eruption and ensuing floods were finished, up to 600 feet of sediments had been deposited, forming layers made up of plant and animal remains. The sediments have now hardened, forming a “mini Grand Canyon”.

In addition to rock layers, there are many other evidences for a young Earth and solar system, including (see Thousands…Not Billions, Dr. Don DeYoung): rapidly decaying magnetic field, number of years that the Sun could continue to burn intensely; lack of dust on the moon; lack of sediments and salts in the world’s oceans; soft tissue and DNA found in “ancient” fossils; helium in radioactive rocks; and Carbon-14 found in fossils, coal, and diamonds, to name a few. For many years, scientists have realized that Carbon-14 particles are found in places where they should not exist according to the evolutionary timeline. With a half-life of about 5,700 years, measurable levels of Carbon-14 should not be found within ancient fossils, coal or diamonds, which are supposedly millions of years old.

The evidence cited above for a young earth (thousands and not billions of years old) is amazing, but it is far more amazing when we think of a God who could create all of this in only six days. This amazingly creative God, who is our Father and Lord, loves us and wants to spend time with the humans He created to be in His image. Give it a try – spend time with YHVH – you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

When Will Yeshua Return?

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blessed is He who comesAmid endless speculation and discussion concerning end times events, and especially the timing of Messiah Yeshua’s return, one important factor is often overlooked. Both the Old and New Testaments agree that one thing must happen before Yeshua will return (Matt 23:39). The Jews as a group must invite Yeshua to return.

At Yeshua’s first coming, He announced that He was the long-awaited Messiah and performed signs and wonders that only Messiah would be able to perform. However, many of the Jewish leaders were threatened by Messiah’s coming. Yeshua criticized their practices and leadership. They did not humble themselves and submit to Messiah’s kingship, but rejected Yeshua and many Jews followed the guidance of their leaders and rejected Him as well.

 Yeshua warned them that He would not return to them until they proclaimed, “Blessed is He that comes in the name of YHVH.” In 70 AD the Temple was destroyed as and the Jews were killed or driven from Israel. Although, there has always been a small remnant of Jews who remained in the land, the Jewish people would not again reside in the land as a nation until 1948.

 It is now over 70 years since Israel was declared a nation once again. So, why hasn’t the nation of Israel made the statement necessary to usher in Messiah Yeshua’s return? What are the obstacles to Israel welcoming Yeshua as Messiah? The list below provides some insight:

  • Persecution of Jews at the hand of Christians in the name of Jesus for 2000 years
  • Reading the New Testament is forbidden or discouraged for many Jews since it is viewed not only as heresy, but is perceived as a hate document due to the aforementioned persecution
  • Key passages of Old Testament Scripture pointing to Yeshua are forbidden reading or are not included in the Parasha series in most Jewish congregations.
  • False teaching and tradition regarding Yeshua from both Jewish and Christian leaders
  • Fear of the loss of identity as Jews due to false Christian teaching (having to relinquish worship, feasts, Sabbaths, etc. and adopting practices that are not only foreign, but are even expressly forbidden by YHVH
  • Speaking the name of YHVH. Current common practice is that the name of YHVH is too sacred to be written or pronounced aloud, rendering it impossible to welcome the One Who comes in the name of YHVH.
  • Misunderstanding of the tri-une God and thus rejection of Yeshua as the Son of YHVH or as equal to YHVH because YHVH is one (echad). Actually, echad not only designates the number one in Hebrew, but can also designate unity, such as a husband and wife who are one (echad).

 Both Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua who yearn for Yeshua’s return can play a vital and active role in addressing and removing these obstacles. How can we make a difference?

 First, pray for the salvation of Israel and for the Jewish people still scattered throughout the world (Gen 12:2-3).

 Second, educate yourself and seek the truth concerning the history and development of Christianity, the various forms of persecution of the Jews by Christians over the past two thousand years, the reasons for avoiding the name of YHVH, and so on. Seek to understand the misconceptions of the Jewish people as well as your own misconceptions. Some suggested resources are listed at the end of this article (Hosea 4:6).

Third, reach out to the Jewish people with love and understanding. Seek forgiveness and reconciliation where needed (Ps. 133:1).

 YHVH has always known that the enemy would go all out to bring about the rejection of Messiah Yeshua and to try to prevent Yeshua’s return in glory. YHVH is well aware that the enemy would succeed in deceiving humans into cooperating with him. However, YHVH has graciously provided opportunities to each of us to shake off the lies, embrace the truth and reverse the present course

 YHVH carries out His plan through us even when our own efforts are misguided. This is clearly demonstrated in the gospel accounts of Yeshua’s entry into Jerusalem on a donkey just days before His crucifixion. The people were lined up with palm branches silently awaiting the arrival of the high priest’s spotless Passover lamb. His followers recognized the true spotless Lamb (Yeshua) and began to hail Him. The others, thinking that the high priest’s lamb had been spotted, joined in the chorus, not realizing that they were “accidentally” hailing the ultimate High Priest and Lamb.

 YHVH will see to it that the Jewish people recognize their Messiah. Yeshua will return to Jerusalem to begin His reign on earth. We can have the privilege of helping in YHVH’s plan by doing our part to bring about this glorious event.

Suggested Resources

Our Hands Are Stained with Blood by Michael L. Brown

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus by Michael L. Brown (3 volumes)

Introducing Your Jewish Friend to Yeshua by Daniel Nessim and Mark Surey

The Messianic Church Arising!:Restoring the Church to Our Covenant Roots by Robert D. Heidler and Chuck D. Pierce

Restoring The Jewishness of the Gospel:  A Message for Christians Condensed from Messianic Judaism by David H. Stern

Messiah in the Feasts of Israel by Sam Nadler

Ultimate Struggle in God’s Star Pictures

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Scorpio2

Many scriptures describe Yeshua’s conflict with and victory over the great adversary (HaSatan). These “good vs. evil” conflict scriptures lead us into the third major sign in the Zodiac: Scorpio, or Akrab in Hebrew which means “the Redeemer’s conflict”. The word pictures in this sign and its three related constellations clearly depict the Messiah as our Redeemer, who comes to save us from the power of the enemy.

The first and most familiar allusion to Messiah’s great battle with the enemy is in Genesis 3:14-15, where God curses the serpent (the devil) and says to him that He will “…put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He [Messiah] shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel”. This prophecy from YHVH set in motion the spiritual battle between HaSatan and the children of Eve that continues through the ages. Hebrews 2:14 describes how Yeshua, through His death, destroyed the one who has the power to bring death (the devil). Because of Yeshua’s victory over the enemy, we as YHVH’s children now have His authority to defeat the power of HaSatan in our lives (Luke 10:19, Romans 16:20, Psalm 91:13 and Revelation 12:11).

The Scorpio star-pictures graphically illustrate each of these scripture prophecies. In a couple of previous “Gospel in the Stars” postings, I discussed how Yeshua (Jesus) represents the strong man in Psalm 19:5. In this star sign, there are two images representing the Messiah as the Strong Man: El Gibbor (which means “Mighty God” as in Isaiah 9:6) and Ophiuchus, derived from a Hebrew word meaning “Mighty One”. In Scorpio, these Strong Men characters are actively engaged in warfare with the enemy, and are winning the battle! We see the serpent (Serpens) struggling vainly with Ophiuchus. Although the serpent [HaSatan] stole the crown from Adam in the Garden, he is not able to steal the crown from Messiah Yeshua in the ultimate battle between YHVH and the enemy. At the same time Ophiuchus is treading on the heart of the Scorpion, which is the bright star Antares, meaning “the wounding” (from Arabic) or “the heart of the scorpion” (from its Latin name).

In this star-picture, the Mighty God, El Gibbor (paganized to Hercules by the Greeks) has His foot positioned over the head of Draco the dragon (which also represents the devil in Revelation 20:2-3) ready to crush him with His foot. The finality of Messiah Yeshua’s victory over the evil one is shown in Revelation 20:1-3, 10 (“And He [Yeshua] seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, which is the devil and Satan,…and threw him into the pit…and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur…where [he] will be tormented day and night forever and ever”). In the end, HaSatan is thrown into the lake of fire and will never again return to deceive and torment YHVH’s children.

Many people in our modern society seek to know the future by studying the stars from a pagan perspective (astrology) or other means of worldly prophecy. However, we can know the truth of the future from the beautifully accurate stories YHVH painted into the stars from the beginning of His creation. The message in the Scorpio star-pictures has helped confirm for us the scriptures which prophesied Messiah’s victory over the enemy, as well as our authority to tread on the enemy (serpents and scorpions, from Luke 10:19) and to trample the serpent [HaSatan] under our feet (Psalm 91:13).

We pray Abba’s blessings over you to seek and know the truth of Abba’s word (both in writing and painted in the sky). We pray that this new revelation will help you grasp ahold of the authority that YHVH has blessed us with, that in the name of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach we can defeat the fiery darts of the enemy that come against us in our daily lives.

Invisible Treasure

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keep pursuing the goalAs discussed in previous article, Yeshua paid a heavy price for His treasure. We are His pearls of great value. Yeshua is our Pearl of great value, a value far beyond what we can comprehend. Yeshua was once on this earth, but we can no longer see Him. However, He is real and still very much alive, even though to us He is invisible right now.

Let us examine Scripture to learn some of the aspects of Yeshua’s value. The following list is but a fragment of all that describes Messiah Yeshua, but it is plenty for us to contemplate. Yeshua is fully human, but He is also fully God (Matt 16:16; 1 Tim 3:16)). Our treasure is God Himself! Our Father refers to Yeshua as “My Beloved Son. (Matt 17:5).” In western thinking, we tend to view Yeshua as somewhat inferior to Father, but in Hebrew thinking the firstborn son is equal to his father. Colossians 1:15 refers to Yeshua as the first-born of every creature. Yeshua came to restore all creation.

 Our Redeemer is the Creator and Upholder of all things. (Col. 1:16; Heb.1:3). Yeshua refers to Himself as the Alef and the Tav (in Greek, the Alpha and Omega) (Rev. 1:8, 22:3). In ancient Hebrew, each letter was a picture. The alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and was a picture of a strong bull designating both a leader and a protector. The tav, which is the last letter of the alphabet, was a picture of a cross being carried. Yeshua, Who is first and strongest, made Himself to be last and weakest for our sake (John 1:29).

 Yeshua is eternal life (1 John 1:2; John 11:25). We all face death in our mortal bodies, but we have hope of eternal life in and through Yeshua. In our present life, we may have many trials and tribulations, but we can look forward with hope to a joyous and triumphant life in Messiah Yeshua for eternity.

 Everything we will ever need or desire is in Yeshua. He is our Shepherd (John 10:16). He is the true Vine and we, the branches, receive power and abundant life through Him (John 10:10; John 15:5). It is only with His lifeblood flowing through us that we are able to be fruitful in the Kingdom of God.

 Yeshua is our Provider (John 6:35) and with Him we will want for nothing. We need never fear for Yeshua is also our Rock (Ps. 19:14; 1 Cor 10:4); and our Refuge in all the storms that threaten us (Isa 25:4). Yeshua is our wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Cor 1:30).

 Many people mistakenly believe that there are many ways to God. Yeshua has revealed to us that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Even if it were possible to find another way to the Father, why would we desire anyone or anything else? Yeshua is everything to us (Col 3:11). Therefore, it is our joy and privilege to die to ourselves, so that we may have life in Him. If we are willing to give up all that we have, we will be abundantly compensated (Mark 10:29-30). Our Pearl is priceless indeed!

Fear and Glorify His Name

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great is your mercy toward me

In my previous postings about God’s name, I talked about the many scripture passages relating to speaking, fearing, and trusting in YHVH’s name [Yehovah]. YHVH goes beyond just saying that we are honoring and pleasing Him when we do these things. YHVH also pours out His blessings on us when we fear, glorify, praise, and trust in His name.

The banner verse for this posting from Psalm 86:12-13 states “…I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of sheol.” David knew he deserved to be cast off forever and doomed to hell for his sin against Uriah. The prophet Nathan assured David that YHVH had taken away his sin and delivered him from hell. David knew that God’s mercy towards him was awesome and unconditional. In the verse before this (Psalm 86:11), David says “I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” And then in verse 12 he says: “I will glorify Your name forevermore.” Clearly David understood the importance of fearing and glorifying YHVH’s name.

In Isaiah 52:6, YHVH says: “Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I’” (Isa 52:6). The word translated as “behold, it is I” is hineni in Hebrew, which is what Isaiah answered to YHVH when He first called him to be a prophet (Isa 6:8): “Here I am [hineni], send me.” This is a very powerful promise to people who know His name (Yehovah), that He will be right there for them – it essentially means “Here I am, waiting for you.”

One of the greatest blessings King David ever spoke over his people was in 2 Sam 6:18 – “And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts [Yehovah Tzava’ot].” You are truly blessed when someone blesses you in the name of YHVH. Numbers 6:27 confirms this truth. Immediately following the Aaronic blessing YHVH says: “So they shall put My name [Yehovah] on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Num 6:27)

Although all of YHVH’s promises are powerful to meditate on, the passage in Malachi 3:16 is especially meaningful to me, as Yehovah speaks directly about blessing His people because they are fearing and meditating on His name: “Then those who feared the LORD [Yehovah] spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name.”

YHVH provides the perfect follow-up to the verse above in the next chapter of Malachi: “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.” (Mal 4:2) From the study of Messianic prophecy, we learn that this verse points to the healing miracles Messiah Yeshua would perform when He came to earth the first time. The “wings” spoken of here are Kanaph in Hebrew, which literally means the fringes of the garment which all observant Jews wore. This prophecy was fulfilled in Matt 9:20, when the woman who had the flow of blood for 12 years came up behind Yeshua and touched the fringes of His garment.

This woman had faith in the scripture promise that she would be healed if she “feared His name” (trusted in Yehovah). It was her faith (trust) that healed her more than the physical act of touching the fringes of Yeshua’s garment. What about us? Will we trust in His name the way this woman did, laying our life on the altar and risking everything we have to follow Him? If so, Yehovah is faithful to keep His promises.

Buried Treasure

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Finding 1 pearl of great value

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matt 13:45-46 NIV)

 Have you ever thought of yourself as valuable? Have you ever considered your true worth? Do you realize how precious you are?

 After Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their glory. They were stained, no longer perfect. They saw their nakedness and were embarrassed and ashamed (Gen 3:7 NLT). They tried to cover up their loss of glory by using fig leaves sewn together. It was not enough. They were still “damaged goods.”

 Even though YHVH was angry with them for their disobedience and lack of trust, He took pity on them. He slew animals and made temporary coverings for Adam and Eve. The Author of life now had to take back the life that He had given to some innocent animals, so that Adam and Eve could be covered, not just physically, but spiritually.

 Animals continued to be sacrificed to cover the sins of Adam and Eve’s offspring. All of nature suffered right along with humans. The blemishes and stains multiplied, while the glory of creation diminished.

 The enemy must have thought he had accomplished his goal. Surely the perfect Creator would discard the earth and its inhabitants. How could YHVH, Who is pure and holy, accept something so tarnished especially those who had been created in His image and likeness? They were a lost cause, or so the enemy thought.

 However, the all-knowing and all-seeing YHVH was already prepared with a plan to rescue and restore what had been damaged or lost. In due time, YHVH would beget a Son and send this most precious Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for us.  The spotless and blameless Yeshua would be sacrificed for the sinful and guilty.

 Yeshua embraced this role, and willingly sacrificed all that He had, even His own body, to pay our debt and our ransom to get us back. Through Yeshua’s shed blood we are once again restored to glory. Yeshua looked through all the ugliness of our sin and saw something precious, so valuable buried within us that He gave everything that He had to purchase us.  What unseen glory awaits us now that we belong to Him again?

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18 NIV)

Is God Weak?

God's Strength & Character, Peter's blogs, , ,

God's emotions

When we think of God’s nature or character, what comes to mind? We certainly think of His supernatural qualities (omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent), since they are astonishing to us as mortal humans.  Next we might think of His qualities in interacting with His creation, such as His love, compassion, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. These qualities are not quite so amazing to us, since He wants us to learn to take these on personally as we grow closer to Him. The most awesome aspect of these qualities is their absolute perfection within our Creator (e.g. unconditional love).

There is a tendency to think that emotions attributed to YHVH are only mentioned in scripture to help people relate better to Yehovah. In other words, some scriptural commentators teach that the apparently human emotions ascribed to YHVH in His Word are meant to be merely anthropomorphic, as we wouldn’t understand Yehovah’s words and actions if we didn’t bring His character down to a human emotional level.

However, if the scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit of YHVH, then they would not lie to us or mislead us by wrongly ascribing contrived human emotions to the Creator and Redeemer of the universe! As we have said in other postings, Yehovah Elohim is all about relationship, both within the triune Godhead and between Himself and all of His human children on earth. So, wouldn’t He want us to know His emotions as well as His will, His heart, His intellect and other aspects of His character? Nancy and I believe that YHVH has powerful and awesome emotions which He exhibits all through His Word. It is apparent from even a simple perusal of the passages where He shows strong feelings that He has good reason for His emotions, and understanding those emotions helps us to know Him better and draw closer to Him.

We know that we are made in Yehovah’s image (Gen 1:27), so it makes perfect sense that our emotions are reflective of His emotions. The only difference is that we are subject to sin whereas He is sinless. For example, He gets angry but does not sin, unlike us. Yehovah is pleased with us sometimes (1 Kings 3:10), but at other times He can be angry with us (Deut 1:37); He is truly grieved at times, with His heart full of pain (Ps 78:40), but at other times He is full of joy (Jer 33:9). We even see YHVH laughing (Ps 2:4) and also weeping as illustrated passionately by Yeshua in John 11:35 and Luke 19:41.

Here are a few other key examples illustrating Yehovah’s emotions in scripture: He was “moved by pity” (Judges 2:18), had “compassion on His children” (Ps 103:13), “rejoices over them [His people] with singing” (Zeph 3:17), shows great anger – Isa 54:8 “In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment..”, and even has regrets – “So the LORD was sorry He had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke His heart” (Gen 6:6). We also know that Yeshua was fully human and fully divine (Heb 2:17; 4:15), representing YHVH on this earth (Immanuel, literally “God with us”). Being fully human means that Yeshua has a mind, will, heart and emotions just like any created human, except that He is without sin. Yeshua also said that if we have seen Him we have seen the Father, so Yeshua’s emotions cannot be attributed merely to His being human.

Recognizing that YHVH has emotions helps us understand YHVH better, and there is comfort in knowing that He identifies with every one of the emotions we feel, because they originated from Him and He feels every one of them just as we do (Heb 2:17).   When we search for evidences of Yehovah’s Kingdom being manifested here on earth as Yeshua prayed in Matthew 6:10, we need to look for YHVH-like qualities in people. We can certainly see people’s actions easily – but how do we see their heart motives underneath as YHVH sees them? One of the best ways is through the emotions they’re exhibiting. Are they God-like – kind, compassionate, patient, gracious, and caring more about others than themselves?

When I think of the best movies and books I’ve enjoyed over the years, I realize that they are the life stories of people who have struggled with various human issues and eventually overcome the sinful nature and frailties of character that we are all born into this fallen world with. So what touches us about these stories? Is it the great victories these people won, or the relationships that were healed, or the way they have (or God has) changed their lives for the better and overcome their sinful natures? It is all of these, but what really touches us (from my experience anyway) are the powerful, passionate emotions shown by these people as they are going through these life-changing experiences and transformations in their character and their relationships.

Yehovah is a God filled with emotions, and one of the best ways to get in touch with His emotions is to spend time with Him. When we praise and worship Him in Spirit and truth (John 4:24) we draw close to Him and learn to empathize with His emotions and His heart. This may result in physical manifestations like weeping or feeling an electrical current flowing through our body, or in a deeper spiritual connection with the Creator of the universe, lining up our emotions with His emotions and feeling what He is feeling.

Our Western society does not value or respect human emotions, and many people (like myself) grew up in families where it is considered wrong or weak to show emotions. I find it so comforting to know that my capacity to feel and show emotions comes from our Abba Father, who is God that expresses Himself through His emotions. Since we know that YHVH is not weak in any way, then the emotions we feel can no longer be seen as a human weakness but rather as a strength that allows to connect with our Creator in a deeper way.

Restoring the Bride of Messiah

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marriage of the Lamb

In my previous article, we had a glimpse at how the Bride of Messiah has become fragmented over the past 2000 years and how it is now being restored. YHVH is calling many of Yeshua’s followers to explore their Hebrew roots, to learn His name and use it with reverence and awe, to function in the gifts of the Holy Spirit for strengthening the Bride, and to continue to preach the good news of the Kingdom of YHVH throughout all the ends of the earth. YHVH is uniting the fragments to restore the Bride of Messiah. If indeed YHVH is restoring the Bride and we are part of the Bride of Messiah, then each of us has an assignment, a part to play in this restoration.

 How do we find out our personal assignment and ensure that the Bride is prepared to meet her Husband? YHVH must not only unite the various groups and segments of the Bride, but each individual must understand and operate in all the truth. What do we do? Where do we start?

 The best place to start is to come before YHVH and seek His heart. This is best done through praise and worship. As we worship YHVH, He reveals His heart to us. He lets us know how to intercede for our brothers and sisters in Yeshua. YHVH also communicates to us the direction we are to take or the assignment He has designated for us. Sometimes His revelations will catch us off guard, so we must be open and ready for change, even in ourselves.

 In order to be receptive to what YHVH wants to reveal, we must search our own hearts and minds and ensure that we are actively seeking truth, whatever the personal cost. Seeking the truth means letting go of false strongholds, false beliefs, false perceptions. When we seek truth, we must be ready and willing to relinquish our “comfort zones.”

 Our assignments from YHVH will often begin, not with changing others or with some type of outreach, but rather with submitting ourselves to the Potter to be remolded. Many of us have inherited lies from our ancestors.

 [YHVH], my strength, my fortress,
my refuge in time of trouble,
the nations will come to you
from the ends of the earth, saying,
“Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies,
futile idols, completely useless.” (Jer 16:19 CJB)

 When we come to YHVH, we want to come armed with the truth, not the inherited lies. We certainly do not want to come with idols, for these are an abomination to YHVH. Anything we cling to and cannot relinquish to YHVH is an idol. It may not be a carved statue, but it is still a false god. We must be willing to lay ourselves on the altar and ask YHVH to remove the chaff in our lives and leave us with only the finest wheat. Then, we will be ready for our next assignment in restoring the Bride of Messiah. Let us be about our Father’s business (Luke 2:49 CJB).

The Fragmented Bride

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Bride of MessiahIn our own spiritual journey, the Holy Spirit has led Peter and me to various congregations and ministries. Each new experience taught us something about living and functioning as members of the kingdom of YHVH. Although we fellowship with various groups and congregations, we continue our search for the one congregation where we are encouraged to put all the newly-acquired pieces together.

 A brief summary of our journey may help to paint this picture more clearly. At one congregation, we learned to love each other unconditionally. However, the Spirit moved us on to another congregation to learn our Hebrew roots so that we might gain a more accurate knowledge of the history of our faith and acquire a better lens through which to understand both Old and New Testaments. Once again the Spirit moved us on to various ministries and congregations in order to understand better how we should be functioning in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. A separate ministry supplied us with a more mature understanding of our spiritual enemies and how to be delivered from bondage to the enemy. Interaction with various other ministries confirmed the message I had received from Father that we were to call Him by His name. While we are grateful for these congregations and ministries, we wonder why each group seems to have part of the truth, but not all of the truth.  After meditating on Acts chapters 2 through 8, I began to realize just how fragmented the Bride of Messiah has become over the centuries.

 The first eight chapters of the Book of Acts paints a very different picture of the living functioning Bride of Messiah. Yeshua’s followers lived together in close proximity to one another sharing all their belongings. As a unit they prayed, praised and worshipped, studied, healed, preached, taught, learned, and shared all their possessions (Acts 2:42-47). Today, we and many others must search from place to place to acquire what we need to be mature contributers to Yeshua’s Bride.

 When did the fragmenting start? Right away, since the majority of Jewish leaders and many of their followers rejected Yeshua as their Messiah. Yeshua’s followers went to the Temple as YHVH commanded in the Torah, but they had to go outside the Temple parameters in order to learn about Yeshua. Although not perfect, the first generation of Yeshua’s followers provided a more complete picture of what the Bride should be. As time went on the Bride became further fragmented as the good news spread and Yeshua’s followers were scattered over several nations. Distance, persecution, poverty and other trials helped to foster misunderstanding, suspicion, and outright abuse or neglect of each other, especially dividing Jews from non-Jews. Constantine’s efforts to unite his massive empire mingled in pagan practices and beliefs, and at the same time sought to eliminate all ties to Jewish or Hebrew roots. Over time empty manmade rites and rituals increasingly replaced true relationship with YHVH.

 At this time, YHVH seems to be restoring the Bride, perfecting her in anticipation of Yeshua’s return. Several congregations that we have met with locally are seeking to restore the missing pieces in their groups. Three Messianic congregations in India have demonstrated for us the most complete example thus far of how the Bride should function. These congregations function according to their Hebrew roots, actively preach and teach the good news of the Kingdom of YHVH, operate daily in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and call the Father by name. They do so in the midst of daily trials and persecution. What about each of us? How are we participating in YHVH”s work to restore the fragmented Bride?