by Charles J. Voss
As the troubles in the Middle East mount there has been much speculation in all walks of religious activity concerning the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Hebrew Scriptures speak plainly of the restoration of all thirteen tribes of Israel in the Davidic monarchy and the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
This series of prophecies concerning end-time Israel and the restored Temple are in the book of Ezekiel. The theme of the book of Ezekiel is "Judgment and Glory for All of Israel." The date of the writing is approximately the sixth century BCE, after the ten tribes of Israel had gone into captivity and during the time of Judah's captivity. Keep in mind whenever you read the prophecies in Ezekiel they are about Israel but Israel has never heard these prophecies. Why? Because by Ezekiel's time Israel was already in captivity and had already been moved out of the area. Babylon had begun to push against Assyria and Assyria pushed the ten tribes towards Europe, so they were no longer there to hear Ezekiel's word. This is shown in Scofield's Notes:
Ezekiel, a priest whose name means CREATOR will strengthen, was among the Jewish exiles carried away to Babylon between the first and final deportation of Judah (2 Kings 24:l1-16).
His book shows him as a man of stern integrity and strong purpose, completely devoted to the practices of his priestly duties. ... Unlike the pre-exilic prophets, whose ministry was primarily either to Judah or to the ten-tribe kingdom, or to both, Ezekiel was the voice of ETERNAL to "the whole house of Israel." 1
The purpose of Ezekiel's ministry was to:
Warn ALL Israel of an end-time future captivity and exile. In addition, he warned of the national sins that had brought Israel so low and how the exact same sins of B-al worship will do it again in the end-time.
To sustain the faith of the Jewish exiles by prediction of national restoration and of the execution of justice upon the oppressors.
To proclaim the end-time glory of the Davidic monarchy; consisting of all 13 Israelite tribes:
Observe that the Glory of ETERNAL departed from the city of Jerusalem just before its destruction. The Glory will return to Jerusalem in the millennia period. No temple in Jerusalem has known the presence of the Glory of the ETERNAL in this manner since 586 BC" 2 (the date of the destruction of Solomon's Temple).
The trail of our CREATOR's Shekinah 3 Glory is the key to understanding the Third Temple. We will follow the trail.
Step 1 Ezekiel 9:3 "Now the glory of the CREATOR of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple.
"It is noteworthy that to Ezekiel, the priest, was given the vision of the glory of ETERNAL departing:
1) From the cherubim to the threshold of the Temple (Ezekiel 9:3 and 10:4).
2) From the threshold (Ezekiel 10:18).
3) From Temple and city to the mountain on the east of Jerusalem, Olivet (Ezekiel 11:23).
4) Returning to the millennia Temple to abide (Ezekiel 43:2 - 5)." 4
Step 2 Ezekiel 10:18 "Then the glory of ETERNAL departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim."
Step 3 Ezekiel 11:23 "And the glory of ETERNAL went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city."
"The departure of the divine glory (the visible symbol of CREATOR's presence) from the Temple marks the end of the Theocratic Kingdom in OT history. ...The visible glory will return when the Kingdom is restored to Israel (Ezekiel 43:1 - 7)." 5
Step 4 Ezekiel 43:2-5 "And behold, the glory of the CREATOR of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. It was like the appearance of the vision, which I saw like the vision, which I saw when I 6 came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision, which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the Glory of ETERNAL came into the temple by way of the gate, which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the Glory of ETERNAL filled the temple."
Much is being said about the restoration of the Temple, who will build it, and when will it be built. The first Temple was Solomon's; the second Temple was Hezekiah's which was extensively remodeled by Herod. The Mashiach, King David will build the Third Temple in Jerusalem and it WILL NOT be built before that time:
Zechariah 6:12-13 "Then speak to him [Joshua], saying, 'Thus says ETERNAL of hosts, saying: Behold, the man [King David] whose name is the BRANCH! From his place [in the grave], he shall branch out, and he shall build the Temple of ETERNAL. Yes, he shall build the Temple of ETERNAL. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne. So he [Elijah] shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both [King David and Elijah]."'
The Third Temple will be a physical Temple, and then after it is built ETERNAL states He will dwell there:
Ezekiel 43:7 "And He said to me, `Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the Children of Israel forever. No more shall the House of Israel defile My righteous Name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places.'"
The English word "dwell" in verse seven is from the Hebrew word 7 "shakan" and means to reside or permanently stay. Note the resemblance to the word "Shekinah."
Thus, ETERNAL will put His Shekinah Glory into this Third Temple and He will dwell there among His people forever. Another scripture that states the same is: Haggai 2:1-5 "In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of ETERNAL came by Haggai the prophet, saying: 'Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,' says ETERNAL; 'and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,' says ETERNAL, 'and work; for I am with you,' says ETERNAL of hosts. 'According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!'"
That verse is saying that although the Shekinah Glory of the ETERNAL left the first physical Temple and it will not be back until the Third-the final Temple is built. He states My Spirit remains among you fear not! Therefore, we do have access to ETERNAL and His Righteous Spirit now, today. Then again, our CREATOR promises peace:
Haggai 2:6-9 "For thus says ETERNAL of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land. And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this Temple with Glory,' says ETERNAL of Hosts. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says ETERNAL of Hosts. 'The Glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says ETERNAL of Hosts. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says ETERNAL of Hosts."
There will come a day when both Houses of Israel will be at peace, when the ETERNAL will again dwell among His people. However, that is yet a ways off because before the destruction and regathering of Israel, a work is being done in the end-time: A work that is dedicated to working for the reuniting of Israel. A work that will tell Israel who they are and what their sins are; in hope they will repent. For ETERNAL in speaking to Solomon about the first Temple has stated:
2 Chronicles 7:12-14 (TLB) "One night ETERNAL appeared to Solomon and told him, 'I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place where I want you to sacrifice to me. If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust swarms to eat up all of your crops, or if I send an epidemic among you. 14 Then if My people will humble themselves and pray, and search for Me, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear them from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. I will listen, wide awake, to every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and sanctified it to be My home forever; My eyes and My heart shall always be here."
Conclusion
The world should be on notice if the State of Israel falls; that would accelerate the "Time of Jacob's Trouble." What would soon happen afterwards would be catastrophic for the Commonwealth of Greater Israel with 2/3 dying in war and pestilence and 1/3 being taken into captivity.
Then ETERNAL would come down to earth and stand on the Mount of Olives. He would raise the Mashiach (Messiah), King David, and the Prophet Elijah from their graves. While King David gathered the remnant of Israel out of concentration camps, the Prophet would turn the hearts of the children [the captives] to the fathers [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob] and the fathers to the children.
Regardless who you may think the Jews and Jewish people are does not affect how this is played out. The reason is, regardless of what your thoughts may be on who the thirteen tribes of Greater Israel are today, captivity and deliverance will still happen! Why? Even if you discount the people, The Mighty One of Israel is concerned over Jerusalem and its falling will trigger the end-time scenario with all of its prophesied death and destruction.
However, if you are serving our loving SOVEREIGN with all of your heart and might, you will be there for the restoration of all things and the Kingdom of ETERNAL on earth. It will begin with all of those living the Hebrew Faith of Abraham and those Questing for the Ancient of Days standing from their graves. Both groups will then have spirit bodies. 8 Oh, what a glorious time that will be.
Since the one SOVEREIGN has only one set of Scripture, the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament, Tanakh), He has only one Way for us to live. We must trust His promised protection and live His Way. Compare your daily activities against what the Commandments, Statutes, and Judgments state. Are they the same? If not, then "right now" is the time to change.
If you do compare and change and obey ETERNAL's words, then He will bring you and the rest of the Righteous Remnant safely through the time of Jacob's Trouble. Then you will experience The Wonderful World of Tomorrow that follows the upcoming holocaust during the time of Jacob's Trouble.
In addition, we must tell our friends, family, and those we know that we are part of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. We must also warn them of the coming danger of the Time of Jacob's Trouble and give them the good news of The Wonderful World Of Tomorrow. Oh Israel, we must turn from worshiping the B-als on Sunday morning and search for the heart of our loving CREATOR we will find it.
How can you know what we have said in our literature and tapes is true? To prove it one way or the other, you must study to find the answers in the Hebrew Scriptures. Wake Up America! Wake Up Britain! Wake Up Judah! The Tribes of Israel, both Houses of MUST Wake Up! It is much later than you think! Even now the ancient land of Judea is flirting with total disaster.
Begin now to obey our SOVEREIGN and His written word -- not the word of some man no matter how much you esteem him. This is for both you and your family. In addition, no man dead or alive can save us. However, repentance to the Great Mighty One, the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN, is the only action that will save us (Isaiah 43:25-26; Psalm 51:4). We must study to know our SOVEREIGN and His Way; we must "Quest for the Ancient of Days." Let us help you with your Quest. Write us or stop by our website at and see for yourself. We will leave the light on for you. Write for our magazine "The Hope of Israel."
You have been exposed to this work. The question of what you will do about it has already been asked. The answer is already in your heart known only to you and the Mighty One of Israel. He alone is your judge.
[Back to Messiah Main Page]
Footnotes
1. Notes from New Scofield Reference Edition, introduction notes for Ezekiel
2. Ibid.
3. "A word not in the Scriptures but use by later Jews and 'Christians' to express the visible Divine Presence, especially when resting between the Cherubim over the mercy seat. Aramaic and Late Hebrew "Shekiniah" or residence of 'God'. Unger's Dictionary, p 1008.
4. Scofield's note for verse (9:3)
5. Scofield's note for verse (11:23)
6. Scofield's note for verse 3:
"Obviously it was not Ezekiel who came to destroy the city of Jerusalem for her sins, but ETERNAL Himself. On the basis of the requirements of the context, the reading in some six manuscripts, the version of Theodotion and that of the Vulgate, the best reading is "when I came to destroy the city." A possible rendering, and perhaps preferable, would be to read the final letter of the disputed word as a well-known abbreviation for "LORD," thus giving us the reading "when ETERNAL came to destroy the city."
This is an example of Midnight Monk activity, see our article, "Why Satan Not Win?"
7. Strong's H7931 "shakan" (shaw-kan') a prim. root through the idea of lodging; to reside or permanently stay.
miércoles, 25 de julio de 2007
Quest for the Abrahamic (Hebrew) Faith
The Old Testament is The Consecrated Hebrew Scripture.
But, what is the true faith of these Hebrew Scriptures?
Transcription by Carol Bullock of a sermon by Charles J. Voss.
The stars in the sky are proof of an overall power in the universe that somehow put them all in place and controls all that there is. The Designer of the universe must have an overall plan for ALL of the inhabitants of the earth. This is a search for that plan.
Our Quest will focus on the ancient writings of the Hebrew people that left Egyptian slavery. These writings were chosen because there is no big religious faction that is based strictly on them alone, without any other mediating documents. 1
It is true that the religion of Judaism claims to be based on these ancient writings but they have other books that are just as consecrated to them. In our Quest we must use one set of writings that stand-alone and has a plan for ALL of mankind. The Hebrew Scriptures are the only ones that fit this requirement.
The word Hebrew, what does it mean and what is a Hebrew? The answer to that question is straight out of the Hebrew Scriptures (known as the Old Testament):
"And they [sailors] said to one another, 'Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.' So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, 'Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?' So, he [Jonah] said to them, 'I am a Hebrew; and I fear "YHWH" (ETERNAL), the CREATOR of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." (Jonah 1:7-9 KJV)
Dr. James Moffatt translates "YHWH" as ETERNAL in his translation of the Scriptures and Strong's gives ETERNAL for a meaning of "YHWH," #H3060. Like Dr. Moffatt, I use ETERNAL. as this calls immediate attention to the actual name rather than a title or description for the CREATOR.
Jonah said, "I fear ETERNAL (ONE, ONE single Being) the CREATOR of the heavens who made the seas and the dry land." Now notice that Jonas did not say that he was an Israelite or a Jew, but he describes himself as a Hebrew 2 . Since he is certainly not a Gentile, he placed himself on the other side of a moral divide with the Hebrews on one side and everyone else on the other side.
Jonah's answer to the question, is the subject for today. This sermon is based on the article Restoring the Abrahamic Faith by Dr. James D. Tabor. It is important that we understand what our CREATOR would have us do. Because even though we say that we believe in the ONE true CREATOR and we say we believe only in The Hebrew Scriptures, we must make sure that we do not identify with any of the other books that would pretend to override the Hebrew Scripture. Having made that point clear there is still a lot that we need to do in order to live by the writings in The Hebrew Scriptures. Now getting to the question, "What is a Hebrew?" Genesis 14:12-13:
"They [the kings that had gone to war against Sodom] also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods and departed. Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, ... (Gen. 14:12-13)
That is the first time the word "Hebrew" is used in the Scriptures. We will focus on is the faith that Abram lived by, the Faith of Abraham. What is that faith? Notice immediately that one of the first times Abram is mentioned, he is first called a Hebrew, but let us go back to Genesis 12:4. The story flow is that CREATOR has told Abram to leave the country:
"So Abram departed as ETERNAL had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So, they came to the land of Canaan. (Gen. 12:4-5)
Notice that when Abram was told to do something, and he departed immediately. He obeyed. Why would Abram obey? What is it about the CREATOR that could cause Abram to have this faith to obey all the things the CREATOR had told him to do. Remember at this point when he did not know what he was getting into. He had no idea where he was going. He was going to a place that CREATOR would show. Notice what it revealed in Genesis 22:1:
"Now it came to pass after these things that CREATOR tested Abram, and said to him, 'Abram!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He [CREATOR] said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.' So Abram rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which CREATOR had told him. Then on the third day Abram lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abram said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and WE will come back to you.'" (Gen. 22:1-5 NKJV) 3
Notice, Abram said we--plural. We will come back. To quote that from the King James Version:
"And Abram said to the young men, abide here with the ass and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you." (Gen. 22:5)
Abram was confident that he would come back with his son, Isaac. Thus, we see he obeyed because he knew he could trust what ETERNAL had told him. But, what had the ETERNAL told him that made him think he would be able to come back to the men with his son? Notice Genesis 12:1:
"Now ETERNAL had said to Abram get you out of this country and from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3)
What was the promise? That ETERNAL would make a great nation from Abram so that Abram's descendents would be a great nation. Isaac was the son, from which this promised nation would come. So consequently, Abraham trusted ETERNAL to do as He said He would do, even if it meant that ETERNAL would have to resurrect Isaac.
"So Abraham departed as ETERNAL had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Gen. 12:4)
ETERNAL had promised that many descendents would come from him, so Abraham was not worried. Now back to Genesis 22:6:
"So, Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took the fire in his hand and a knife and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' Then he said, 'Look the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, CREATOR will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.' So the two of them went on together." (Gen. 22:6-8)
And again Abraham is showing why he obeyed. He obeyed because he trusted his CREATOR. You will see that has even a deeper meaning in just a moment or two. Down to verse 9:
"Then they came to the place which CREATOR had told him; and Abraham built there an altar and placed the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. [In other words, he had drawn back and was coming down with the knife.] But the angel of ETERNAL called to him from heaven and said 'Abraham! Abraham!' So, he [Abraham] said 'Here I am.' And He [ETERNAL] said 'Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him, because now I know that you fear your CREATOR since you have not withheld your son, your only son from Him." (Gen. 22:6-8)
Abraham proved that he trusted CREATOR. ETERNAL now knew that Abraham was obedient, that he could be trusted by ETERNAL. That is basically the faith of Abraham, the Abrahamic faith, or the Hebrew faith. "It is my belief that there is a single faith in The Hebrew Scriptures. When I say The Consecrated Scriptures or The Hebrew Scriptures is what the world commonly refers to as the Old Testament. I claim that this one faith was indeed the faith of all the ancients, from Seth to Noah to Abraham and Moses. It was and still is the one true religion of humankind. This faith is neither 'Christian' nor Jewish in any modern sense of those terms. Well, what is the religion of Abraham? How would you label his religion or faith, or what about Enoch, Noah, Jonas, Moses, David, or any of the Hebrew Prophets?
"We might call them Hebrews or Ancient Israelites. The Jewish people refer to them as Jews but they are the Israelites or the Hebrews. The terms Israelites or Hebrew people include the Jewish people. The Jews are but 1/13th of all Israelites. 4
"But what religion or faith did they practice? Is it around today? Those are excellent questions because there are not many that practice what The Hebrew Scriptures state. This matter of labeling a religious faith is confusing. Most of us have worn such labels at one time or another. Many of us have changed from one to another in the course of our religious Quest. I think a growing number of people would like to resist such tags, labels, and somehow get back to the core Scriptural faith. An increasing number desire to be nondenominational, free from the fetters of religious organizations and creeds.
I am setting out the broad outlines of the single Scriptural faith. I claim that this one faith was indeed the faith of all the ancients from Enoch to Abraham and then later to Moses. 5 It always was and still is the one true religion of humankind. The faith is neither 'Christian' nor Jewish and it is absolutely nondenominational." Only one organization that I am aware of, The United Hebrew Congregations represents that faith.
In saying that, I am not saying we live by the Scriptures completely because many of us have just come into this knowledge. Thus, there is a lot that we must still learn and understand. But I say that we are the only organization, of which I am aware, that even pretends to use only the Old Testament, The Hebrew Scriptures. I am also not saying we are perfect, because all humans sin against our CREATOR.
The Muslims have their bible the Koran, which "they say" supersedes and overrides The Hebrew Scriptures. The "Christians" have their bible the New Testament which "they say" supersedes and overrides The Hebrew Scriptures. The Jews have their books the Mitchna and Talmud which "they say" supersedes and overrides The Hebrew Scriptures. The Mormons have their bible the Book of Mormon, which "they say" supersedes and overrides everything and everybody.
And as far as I know, we are the only group that proclaim that The Hebrew Scriptures and them alone are the sole written Words of (ETERNAL) our Elohim (ETERNAL our CREATOR). We must live by these words. And I have used the description of the Abrahamic or Hebrew faith because the three main Western religions, the ones we have just mentioned, Judaism, "Christianity," and Islam, all claim to go back to this one man Abraham and his religions Quest.
Friend of ETERNAL
"What is the basis of Abraham's faith? We need to know because Abraham is uniquely called "The Friend of CREATOR." in Isaiah 41:8:
"But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend." (Isa 41:8)
ETERNAL our CREATOR calls Abraham His friend. The English word translated "friend" comes from the Hebrew word "ohad" which comes from the verbal root "ahed" number H157 6 and means "to love or to have affection for." It is a strong and tender word of affection, devotion and is even used for a passionate lover. This simple but deeply meaningful description "friend" captures the essence of what I want us to come to understand. What would it mean to live by the faith of Abraham? It is to be the friend of the ETERNAL and for Him to say of us that we are His friends.
"Abrahamic Faith" or "Hebrew Faith" is the core Scriptural faith and it is well represented by Abraham. It centers on three fundamental concepts. Simply put, the first one is knowing the one true CREATOR 7 or The Almighty. Second is following the way of that CREATOR, and third, is participating in the universal plan of CREATOR for humankind.
These concepts can be stated just that simply, but each involves profound areas of Scriptural revelations. Millions of Jews, "Christians," and Muslims claim to represent the truth in these three vital areas. Yet, they are hopelessly divided as to an understanding of who CREATOR is and how one might have an intimate relationship with Him; much less, His way for humankind and the ultimate purpose or plan of our SOVEREIGN in history.
"I claim the Scriptural revelation can be understood plainly. It carries a unifying message in each of these areas: knowing our SOVEREIGN is ONE, the way of our SOVEREIGN, and the plan of our SOVEREIGN.
This Abrahamic faith is just that clear. It involves a singular faith that was shared by all the ancients. In other words, this one true religion for all mankind has not changed over the ages. Yet, it is surprisingly different from what most people assume the Scriptures say. This is not what you hear on the pulpits in the land. This understanding has become almost wholly lost or even rejected by virtually all of those who claim to follow the Scriptural revelations. It is seemingly understood and lived by only a few. Still, if we are to believe the Prophets, this Abrahamic faith is the definite wave of the future. They foretell a time when this specific wave would fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
The Messianic Age
Isaiah 11:1 "There shall come forth a rod from Jesse, the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its roots."
...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.
This is referring to King David and 8 when he will be resurrected out of the ground. He will then sprout out of the roots:
Isa 11:2-10"The spirit of the ETERNAL shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the ETERNAL. His delight is in the fear of the ETERNAL and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes nor decide with the hearing of his ear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with a rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips, he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be in his loins and faithfulness the belt of his waist. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf, the young lion, the fattling together, and the child shall lead them. The cow and the beaver shall graze. Their young ones shall lie down together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play on the cobra's hole and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all of My consecrated mountain for the earth shall be full of the ETERNAL as the waters cover the seas. And in that day, there shall be a root of Jesse who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek him, and his resting place shall be glorious."
The English word "root" is translated from the Hebrew word "sheresh," Strong's #H8328 and means "a root." Root comes from #H8327, "sharash," which means, "to strike the soil, to pluck from." In other words, "there shall be a root of Jesse that will be plucked from the soil, he shall stand as a banner to his people, for him Gentiles shall seek, and where he is will be a glorious place on earth." The time is coming, upon the earth, when the way of ETERNAL will fill the earth as the waters fill the sea.
We Must Return to the Ancient of Days
"What I am giving you is a clarion call for the restoration of that Faith. The ETERNAL CREATOR told Ancient Israel:
"...return to Me and I will return to you." (Zach. 1:3)
"There is a vital principle involved here and the Scriptures say much about why and how CREATOR has actually hidden Himself from Israel and all of humankind. We must first return to Him. Long ago, Moses spoke of such a return for Israel in exile:
"You will seek the ETERNAL, your CREATOR, and you will find him if you search for Him with all your heart and with all of your soul." (Deut. 4:29)
But the Prophets make clear that the Gentile nations of the world will eventually return to ancient faith. That is stated in Jeremiah 19:19-21. 9 This great return, this restoration of all things is part of the Divine Plan. There will come a time when ETERNAL will set His hand and bring all nations to Him. The beginnings of which appear to be unfolding in our time, now in the 21st century.
But at this point in history, reconciliation to ETERNAL is a totally an individual matter. It is up to each individual to Quest to find the Ancient of Days. UHC proclaims that, at this time, it is up to each of us to seek and find. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear this proclamation, with the inner spiritual motivation to actually return to the ONE CREATOR's original Scriptural faith will be few. "The pressures of tradition and the comfort one finds in what he has always believed are make it very easy to stay with those beliefs. Others have been burned out, by chasing down this or that biblical claim for truth, over the years. The result of that is that it is hard now to make an honest and absolute open commitment to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and that is still rare.
"Still, there are those of us that would be drawn to this ancient Way. And in being drawn, we return directly to our ETERNAL CREATOR, the SOVEREIGN of the universe. Not to any human being or organization, but to our SOVEREIGN. The rewards and satisfactions are great. It is like having a veil lifted from our eyes, which brings clarity of understanding and a renewed purpose in life. And if you want to see that in Scripture, it is Isaiah 25:6-7. 10
Ultimately, it is our CREATOR Himself, who calls us into an understanding of the true faith. Yet, we are told at the same time to Quest for Him with all our heart and soul. Is that a contradiction? No, because ETERNAL must put within each of us a new heart and spirit while at the same time we are told to make yourself a new heart and new spirit. 11 How can that be? First, we must Quest to find the Ancient of Days.. Then in some mysterious ways, CREATOR uses our works as He works, His will with those of us who will respond in time.
"The foundation pillar of Abrahamic faith is to know the one true SOVEREIGN. Our problem today is that when we use the word "God" or even bring up a concept of the Divine, we invite English confusion and controversy. Yet, Scripture speaks of One Being beside whom there is no other. In contrast to other deities, or claims about divinity, this One Being is called the true and living SOVEREIGN. And you can see that in Jeremiah 10:10. 12
"The gods and goddesses of the nations of this world are declared by the Hebrew Prophets to be idols, empty vanities and void of living reality. It involves the revelation of the CREATOR to draw close to Him, of whom are all things and who has created all things. He is the one who has acted in history. He can personally encounter us individually and directly. The foundational confession of Scriptural faith is called the "Shema." This great confession is repeated by faithful Jews daily, but 'Christians' have sorely neglected it. Although Mark 12 plainly says that it is the absolute core of the faith of that book, it comes from the last sermon that Moses gave to ancient Israel. The first word is "hear" and in Hebrew that word is "shema."
"Hear, (Heb. Shema), oh Israel, ETERNAL is our SOVEREIGN, ETERNAL is one, and you shall love ETERNAL, your SOVEREIGN, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart." (Deut. 6:4-5)
"That affirmation is basically what the AbrahamicHebrew Faith is. All else is just words on how to fulfill that. It is so fundamental to the Abrahamic Faith that it bears repeating, but from a different version:
"O Israel, listen: ETERNAL is our SOVEREIGN, ETERNAL alone. You must love Him with all your heart, soul, and might." (Deut. 6:4-5 TLB)
There is Only One SOVEREIGN
"Yet, few who claim to follow the Scriptural revelation uphold this basic affirmation. CREATOR chooses the people of Israel to witness to this simple pillar of Scriptural faith with all of its implications. Notice carefully the following quotation from Isaiah where the SOVEREIGN Himself speaks in the first person addressing the nation of Israel and He makes this very point.
"You are My witnesses declares ETERNAL and My servants whom I have chosen in order that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no other god or no other deity form, and there will be none after Me. I, even I am ETERNAL and there is no Savior besides Me" (Isaiah 43:10).
"This is an incredibly profound passage. It is the absolute foundation of the faith spoken by the CREATOR Himself. Israel's purpose is to deeply absorb this notion of the oneness of the CREATOR in order that she might declare it to the Gentile nations:
"That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is none beside Me. I am ETERNAL and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:6)
"I am the first and the last and there is no CREATOR beside Me." (Isa. 44:6)
"This is also stated in Isaiah 44:8; 44:24; 45:5. Now, take these passages that say "I am ETERNAL, there is no other besides Me." Millions of "Christians" are able to run quickly through these passages without absorbing the significance of this unequivocal language. This teaching of one SOVEREIGN can not be reconciled with the doctrine of the "trinity" as three persons, the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" or the doctrine of a "twinity" of two persons of a Father and a son. Nor was any doctrine which confuses or equates the Messiah, and in their mind the one they call "Christ," with the one SOVEREIGN. There can not be a trinity or a "twinity." There is the only ONE CREATOR. "And if we do this, we shall live." And this is a direct quotation from the Torah in Leviticus 18:5. 13
"To know the CREATOR is one, to love Him with one's whole being and to follow the Commandments and their full implication, this alone is true religion, "This teaching about one CREATOR, one Elohim, is not nearly some technical doctrinal point; it is the key to the true religion. Isaiah speaks of knowing, of believing, and understanding just who the CREATOR is. (Isa. 43:10 above). Note these three verbs knowing, believing, and understanding. This is a vital matter of personal faith and experience. To come before the one true SOVEREIGN, the one CREATOR, the Righteous One of Israel, is a very concrete and distinct experience. It involves the whole being, mind, as well as heart.
"Of the countless thousands of gods or idols throughout history, the endless ideas among different individuals that they have about our SOVEREIGN and how one can speak of knowing the one true SOVEREIGN, the term "God" is used in so many confusing ways. For most people, it is somewhat vague and perhaps often a bit unreal. After all, can anyone really say they absolutely know our SOVEREIGN? How can anyone be sure?
"According to The Hebrew Scriptures, ETERNAL revealed Himself clearly and dramatically. He did this once for all, in the time of Moses at Mount Sinai, when Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt. This fundamental revelation was like no other before or since. It is constantly referred to by the latter Prophets and in Psalms. It is the actual, absolute fundamental, which is never to be superseded or forgotten. This is not some OT bible story that "Christians" can quickly skim over as some kind of background to the New Testament. Rather, this is the absolute essential bedrock. Without a deep understanding of this core revelation at Sinai, no one will ever understand and know the one true SOVEREIGN. This extra ordinary revelation comes directly through Moses, the meekest man on earth when he was 80 years old, and that's recorded in Numbers 12:3.
"Initially, the CREATOR appeared to Moses in the Sinai area as a voice speaking in the first person from the burning bush. Notice that the SOVEREIGN first identifies Himself:
"I am the SOVEREIGN of your father; the SOVEREIGN of Abraham, the SOVEREIGN of Isaac, and the SOVEREIGN of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon our SOVEREIGN.
Tha is without using the word "God" and again, whenever I use that it is in quotes because those are not necessarily my thoughts. "The way SOVEREIGN describes Himself here is striking. He is not merely the CREATOR, the first cause, or a cosmic power of force. He is the intimate personal SOVEREIGN of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; a definite family line through which He revealed Himself. 14
"To speak of the SOVEREIGN of Abraham is to tie into a definite claim about historical revelations. It is a claim that the one 'god,' the CREATOR, has involved Himself specifically in an unfolding historical plan. In other words, He will be known and understood through the concrete historical experiences of His chosen people. This is in contrast to the philosophical inquiry or individual path of seeking the Almighty.
"When the CREATOR told Moses to go and deliver the people, Moses had protested that if he goes to the Israelites and tells them that the 'god' of their fathers has appeared to him, they will say, "what is His name?" In other words, they will want this SOVEREIGN to be identified. At that point, CREATOR tells Moses:
"Say to the people of Israel, (ETERNAL), the SOVEREIGN, of your Father, SOVEREIGN of Abraham, SOVEREIGN of Isaac, SOVEREIGN of Jacob has sent me to you. This is My name forever and I am to be remembered throughout all generations." (Exodus 3:15)
"If you think about it, that's quite remarkable that the CREATOR appeared to Moses, He speaks directly in the first person, and most importantly, He identified Himself by name and our CREATOR actually has a name, just as most of all human beings have identifying names. The name here represented by the four Hebrew constants, (Yod, He, Waw He), (ETERNAL), are used nearly 6,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is a compound of the Hebrew word "hyah" meaning "to be." The meaning appears to be "the one who will be, the one is, and the one who was." And that is combined in a single name of which the English translation is ETERNAL.
"For centuries, devout Jews have considered this name too sacred to pronounce and they have substituted "Adonia" meaning "Master or "Lord"" in prayer and "HaShem," which means "the name," in speaking. The important point here is that the CREATOR reveals Himself by name, and not by just any name, but this awesome sacred name which belongs only to Him. This is a great difference between saying "I am the 'Lord'" and saying, "I am ETERNAL." The latter is personal and direct. It immediately calls forth the absolute unique and singular understanding of the one true CREATOR. Notice above in what we have just gone over in the quotation from Isaiah how the CREATOR uses the name constantly in the first person. "I am ETERNAL, there is none other besides Me."
"The Scriptures speak of calling on the name ETERNAL which conveys a completely unrelated meaning when mistranslated and calling upon the name of the "Lord." That's in Joel 2:32 15. There are many so-called gods and lords upon who people call. We hear constant talk of the lord of this or the lord of that and one might just ask, "Well who is this lord, what is his name?" Notice what Jeremiah says:
"Thus says ETERNAL, who made the earth, ETERNAL, who formed it to established it, ETERNAL is His name. 'Call to Me and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'" (Jeremiah 33:2-3)
"What an extraordinary declaration of promise spoken directly in the first person by the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN Himself. To literally call upon ETERNAL leads one into an intimate relationship with the very CREATOR.
"However, the pronunciation of the Divine name is uncertain. Many scholars prefer "Yahweh." Despite what you read in most reference books, very few are evident for the pronunciation "Jehovah" or perhaps, "Yahovah" which then becomes "Ya" in shortened form. Precisely how to pronounce this name is not so important as its meaning with the recognition that it is a personal name revealed by the CREATOR Himself to Moses. ETERNAL is the SOVEREIGN, or the CREATOR, who was, is, and always will be. He is ETERNAL. That's what His name means. The Hebrew "ETERNAL" translates to "ETERNAL" in English. This can not be said of any other being in the universe.
In writing I prefer "to use the letters ETERNAL without vowels avoiding the controversies over pronunciation." When quoting Scripture I use ETERNAL. 16 This calls immediate attention to the actual name rather than a title or description for the CREATOR.
In speaking, Dr. Tabor says he prefers "to either follow the orthodox Jewish practice of using 'HaShem' which remember, means 'The Name,' which actually reminds one of the actual name of the CREATOR as it is intended. Or I use the pronunciation 'Jehovah' if the setting is appropriate." But, personally, in speaking I like to use ETERNAL the English translation of ETERNAL. Since no one is certain how to pronounce the name in Hebrew, I prefer to use the English translation and what is most important is its meaning. The meaning of the four Hebrew letters 17 in English is "ETERNAL." Rather than use the name "God," with its pagan origins that is widely used instead of the Hebrew "Elohim." I would rather say "CREATOR" or "SOVEREIGN" for "Elohim" and the setting is always appropriate for the use of those terms.
ETERNAL's Characteristics
"Knowing our CREATOR implies this fundamental revelation of CREATOR's sacred name with all that it involves. It is a tremendous revelation and once understood, it can transform one's whole sense of who our SOVEREIGN is. Later CREATOR tells Moses:
"I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of El Shaddai, but by My name ETERNAL was I not known to them." (Exodus 6:3)
"Though the meaning ETERNAL was not revealed to Abraham or those before him, the essential meaning of the name was known. In Genesis 21:33 where "Abraham calls on the name of the everlasting "God" (El in Heb.)." In Genesis 14:19 El was understood to be "most high SOVEREIGN of heaven and earth." The revelation of the name "ETERNAL" at Sinai serves to capture these concepts into a single, mystical awesome word.
"Much later, when Israel comes out of Egypt and is gathered by Moses at Mount Sinai, the dramatic scene set, the CREATOR Himself is revealed to the whole nation in an overwhelming display of power and glory speaking directly to them setting forth the Ten Commandments. There is thunder, lightning, and clouds of smoke and fire, the piercing sound of a trumpet and whole mountain shakes. Finally, the SOVEREIGN Himself speaks in an audible voice for all to hear. First, He identifies Himself:
"I am ETERNAL, your SOVEREIGN, you shall have no other deities beside Me." (Exodus 20:1)
"The reaction of the people is terror. They call out to Moses:
"You speak to us and we will hear, but let not CREATOR speak to us, lest we die." (Gen. 20:19)
"Forty years later, Moses reminds the Israelites of the uniqueness and purpose of this great moment of revelation:
"For ask now of the days that are passed which were before you since the day that CREATOR created man on the earth and asked from one end of heaven to the other whether such a thing as this had ever happened or has ever been heard of. Did any people hear the voice of a CREATOR speaking out of the mist of fire as you have heard it and still live? To you it was shown that you might know the ETERNAL is SOVEREIGN. There is not other beside Him. Out of heaven, He let you hear His voice that He might discipline you. On earth, He let you see His great fire and you heard His words out of the mist of the fire. Know therefore, this day, lay it upon your heart that the ETERNAL is SOVEREIGNof heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no other." (Deut. 4:33-39)
"The further dramatic and awesome aspects of this revelation of our SOVEREIGN at Sinai took place the second time that Moses ascended to the mountain after the golden calf incident. The CREATOR literally identifies Himself to Moses and offers Him a remarkable description of Divine character. The CREATOR told Moses He would send His angel to accomplish them further, but would not personally go in their midst because of their rebellion. Moses had an extraordinary personal relationship with ETERNAL. He would go into the tent and ETERNAL would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. 18
"The actual physical presence, literally, of the ETERNAL with an audible voice would manifest during this time in the wilderness. In one of these conversations, Moses pleads with ETERNAL to accomplish them personally rather than through an agency of an angel or messenger. ETERNAL was persuaded and agrees, and you can see that in Exodus 33:12-17.
Then Moses asks something more. "Oh let me behold your glory," he pleads. He is told that no human could see CREATOR face to face, but he would be allowed to experience some measure of the SOVEREIGN's glory or direct presence. As He passes by him, he will behold the SOVEREIGN's backside. That's in Exodus 33:18-23. And Moses goes up the mountain and what follows is surely the most significant self-revelation of the CREATOR in the entire Hebrew Scripture.
"Now ETERNAL descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of ETERNAL. And ETERNAL passed before him and proclaimed, 'ETERNAL, ETERNAL SOVEREIGN, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. [But] by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.'" (Exodus 34:5-7)
Let's explore the phrase "who will by no means clear the guilty." First, notice that unrepented sin not only causes grief in a person's life but also in his children's lives. Depending on the severity the sin may effect several generations. I am sure you have heard people say from time to time, "Well I know what it says, but because of this or that (excuse) I did it. But ETERNAL is a loving SOVEREIGN and I know He will understand." Some specific examples, "I know it says to get rid of leavening from our homes, but, you know, I'm on a limited income and I just can't afford to throw that away. I'm sure our loving SOVEREIGN will understand." Well, don't be too sure. Let's look at some examples and notice the rule, the breaking, and then the excuse.
"But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat, thereof, you will die." (Gen. 2:17)
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, a tree desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and she did eat." (Gen. 2:17)
Her excuse most probably was "I know Adam said not to eat it, but it's good for food and it's pleasant to look upon, and I'm hungry and I'm sure the loving SOVEREIGN will understand."
You know I am sure that the CREATOR will understand. He said to roast the lamb, but they have already boiled it and I am sure the CREATOR is going to understand."
Brethren, the SOVEREIGN says do it a certain way and that's the way that He wants it done. No amount of human reasoning will be enough. Going back to Exodus 34:5-7:
"ETERNAL, ETERNAL SOVEREIGN merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Keeping steadfast, love for thousands, forgetting iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty." (Exodus 34:5-7)
Brethren, if we have done anything wrong, that does not mean He will immediately zap us with a lightning bolt, but when we realize it, we must repent. Now repent does not mean, "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry about that." Repent means to change, to do something different, to go at it an entirely different way. If you throw a ball up into the air, gravity begins to take hold, and it slows down, stops, and then falls back to the earth.
Repentance is the same way. If you are going the wrong way from the CREATOR the pull is against you making you realize you are going the wrong direction and you stop, and go back in the other way. Repentance is going before the SOVEREIGN with a contrite and broken heart, declaring your guiltiness, and asking for mercy. Because He is steadfast love for thousands, forgetting iniquity and transgression and sin. So all we have to do brethren, when we have transgressed, is ask for mercy. You don't need a blood sacrifice, as some religions would say. The CREATOR says what He is interested in is a contrite and broken heart and that is what He expects us to give. And if we sin, then follow the example in Psalm 51 as King David did and go before ETERNAL and pour out your heart confessing your sin and He will forgive you.
ETERNAL's Glory
Backing up to where we were, this is an incredible scene of the CREATOR coming down and is showing Moses His glory, but Moses' face is turned away so that he does not die. "Not only does Moses experience the glory of the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN to the extent that Moses' face glows thereafter. Also, the CREATOR personally proclaims His awesome name ETERNAL. He describes His basic nature, His very inner character, merciful, and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. And remember that is what Abraham understood.
"Abraham understood that the ETERNAL was merciful, gracious, and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. And it is out of this faithfulness that we can obey the CREATOR. This self-revelation is so basic, so profound that it occurs repeatedly in various forms throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. It becomes a Heavenly revealed character sketch of the ETERNAL Himself. Moses refers back to it in numerous occasions.
"What is so impressive, so remarkable about this whole Sinai revelation is its absolute concreteness. When one reads through Exodus and Deuteronomy, our two accounts of these awesome events, there is an unmistakable feeling or sense that the text conveys. It has to do with the notion of our CREATOR breaking into the normal events of history and actually introducing Himself by making Himself known in the most objective sense imaginable. Similar to the way that we encounter another human being. It is truly extraordinary.
"To speak of the everlasting CREATOR, the SOVEREIGN of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; who called Moses, who lead Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand, revealed Himself at Sinai speaking face to face to Moses and the people, the CREATOR who's name is ETERNAL, who's way is summed up in the Ten Commandments, is to begin to understand just who this SOVEREIGN is. The great Commandment, summed up in the Shema, tells us that we must love ETERNAL our SOVEREIGN with all our hearts, with all our soul, and with all our might.
"How is it that our SOVEREIGN could command us to love Him? Think about that. He commands us to love Him. Is love something that can be demanded? When one deeply understands the greatness and the goodness of our CREATOR, fear and love are the response. In other words, to truly know ETERNAL is to fear and to love Him as King David sang in Psalms 145:
"Great is the ETERNAL and highly to be praised. His greatness is unsearchable." (Vs. 3)
ETERNAL is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. (Vs. 8)
"ETERNAL is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. ETERNAL is good to all and His mercies are over all His works." (Ps. 145:3,8,9-10)
"Verse eight is the precise description of the ETERNAL's character as revealed to Moses and is repeated here. Total compassion, slow to anger and with great mercy. ETERNAL is good to all. His tender mercies are over all His works. Our love for ETERNAL arises out of a deep realization of His goodness as expressed toward us and all creation and in keeping with this very specifically revealed character. In other words, this is absolutely what He is like. As we truly learn to experience that, we are drawn in love towards Him. Notice how Moses puts all these concepts together in his great farewell address to ancient Israel:
"And now, Israel, what does ETERNAL your CREATOR require of you, but to fear ETERNAL SOVEREIGN, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve ETERNAL CREATOR with all your heart and with all your soul. And to keep the Commandments of ETERNAL and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" (Deut. 10:12-13)
"This is a very definite unfolding sequence of response in coming to truly know ETERNAL, the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN. First, and absolutely vital, is the fear of ETERNAL. Without this fear of CREATOR, there is no possible relationship, and certainly no love. Because as Moses goes on to say:
" For ETERNAL your Elohim is Elohim of elohims and Adonai of adonais, the great SOVEREIGN, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe" (Deut. 10:17).
The fear of ETERNAL is the beginning. That is the absolute foundation of everything else:
"The fear of ETERNAL is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do His Commandments. His praise endures forever." (Psalm 111:10)
"To fear our SOVEREIGN is to have a deep and awesome reverence for who and what He is. This fear, or rather, absolute awe, is based on His majestic greatness. As King David said, His greatness is unsearchable. It's past finding out. First and foremost, ETERNAL is the very CREATOR. The Scriptures declare:
"By the word of ETERNAL, the heavens were made." (Psalm 33:6)
"ETERNAL is the great one who spoke order and life into existence on this planet. He gives us our very life and breath. Without His awesome creative wisdom and power, which belongs to Him and Him alone, planet Earth would be a vast and empty waste much like Mars or Venus today. Likewise, the fear in ETERNAL rests upon His great and mighty acts in history, particularly the exodus from Egypt and at Sinai. This fear of ETERNAL necessarily results in a concrete response that is walking in all His ways.
"Moses told the Israelites that the awesome display of power and glory at the giving of the 10 Commandments, at Sinai, was so great that the fear of Him may remain before you. So that you may not sin by walking in the ways of the ETERNAL, is something, which is most specific and concrete.
"One comes to know and accordingly love the ETERNAL analogous to the way one comes to know and love a fellow human being. There is no separation between these elements of fearing, loving, and obeying the SOVEREIGN. This is the bedrock of an intimate relationship of friendship with ETERNAL. Notice how the Shema begins by speaking of loving the CREATOR with heart, soul, and might. But immediately adds:
Deut. 6:6 And these words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart."
"How a deep fear of ETERNAL, coupled with a heartfelt following of His way, results in total love of ETERNAL. And that is something that can only be experienced. But it is vitally connected with an understanding of that way.
End of Chapter One.
To open Chapter Two click on "2nd Chapter of the Abrahamic Hebrew Faith" Below
[The 2nd Chapter of the Abrahamic Hebrew Faith ]
[ Back to the Quest index page ]
[ The Hope of Israel main index page ]
Footnotes
1. Our purpose is not to prove or to disprove any of the "inspired" books which claim Abraham as the beginning of their religion but simply to point out that they are at variance with The Hebrew Scriptures. There is confusion of differing opinions in the three main religions of the world--Judaism, Islam, and "Christianity." All three claim to have descended from Abraham and use the ancient Hebrew Scriptures or The Hebrew Scriptures. Each of these religions are vastly different from each other and each has its own "inspired or sacred" set of writings which all differ from each other and to varing degrees supersede The Hebrew Scripture text in the mind set or paradigm of each group.
Most adherents of Judaism follow the main tenets of the Torah but some also have and follow the Talmud. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "The Talmud, the great rabbinical thesaurus which grew up during the first four to six centuries of the "Christian" era, and with the Old Testament, became the Bible of the Jews. ...The Talmud consists of the Mischnah (Heb. '[Oral] repetition, teaching'), a systematic collection of religious-legal decisions developing the laws of the Old Testament."
In Jewish eyes their own special books can and sometimes do supersede the Torah. Once while I was attending a Jewish Sabbath, service the topic of the speaker was "wearing fringes [Heb. tsiytsith]" The speaker from Hebrew University, [I will not reveal his name] stated, "Fringes must contain a blue thread on the hem of a person's outer garment." He then said, "But, in the Talmud the Rabbis decided not to include a blue thread in the fringes; which I might add," he said, "is contrary to the Torah." The prayer shawl I was given to wear had no blue in its white tassels.
Right or wrong Judaism has separate books, the Talmud & Mischnah, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. However, our opinion is that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
The people of Islam also have a book, The Koran that they follow. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "The Koran is the sacred Book of Islam, on which the religion of more than two hundred million Mohammedans is founded, being regarded by them as the immediate word of 'God'."
On the subject of Scriptural characters in The Koran notice what the Britannica states: "These histories are chiefly those of the Old Testament, but the deviations from the Biblical narratives are very marked. Many of alterations are found in legendary anecdotes of the Jewish Haggada and the New Testament Apocrypha."
Right or wrong Islam has a separate book, the Koran, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. However, our opinion is that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
While the "Christian" community places some value in The Hebrew Scriptures (OT), their greater focus is on the New Testament (NT). As a past member of several different "Christian" churches I have been taught all my early life the "New Covenant" of the NT completely did away with the "Old Covenant" of the OT and thus all the Laws and Commandments of the Torah are null and void. In fact, I was told "the law was nailed to the cross with J-sus." In any conflict with OT, the NT will be granted preference. Even my former Sabbath keeping "Christian" church would pick and choose and take things out of context to formulate doctrines. They pulled Isa. 28:10 out of context:
"Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little." It was used completely out of context to prove that it was okay to take things out of context -- when the very context of those verses warned not to take things out of context, because: "That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught." (Isa. 28:13)
Right or wrong "Christianity" has a separate book, the New Testament, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. However, our opinion is that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
A subset of "Christianity" is Mormonism which also has its own "holy book." The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "The Church of 'Jesus Christ' of Latter-Day Saints commonly known as Mormons, a religious sect founded by Joseph Smith. ...He said that the angel Moroni appeared to him three times, and told him that the Bible of the western continent, the supplement to the New Testament, was buried on a hill called Cumorh, now commonly known as Mormon hill."
The Mormons claim that both the OT and the NT were corrupted over time, and in any conflicts, The Book of Mormon takes president.
Right or wrong, the Mormons have a separate book, The Book of Mormon, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. however, we feel that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
2. The English word "Hebrew" comes from the Hebrew word " 'Ibriy, ib-ree' #5680 in Strong's and means a descent of Eber. The word Eber means a region across or the other side.
Quoting from the Stone Edition: The ArtScroll Series, Published by Mesorah Publications Published in 1996, Page 28, Note for Gen. 14:13 "Abraham was called the 'Ivri' from the word, the other side. Literally, this means that he came from the other side of the Euphrates. Figuratively, he was on the other side of a moral and spiritual divide from the rest of the world. Alternatively, the name means that he was a descendant of Eber as were other Hebrews. However, only Abraham's descendants are called "Ivrim" for they alone spoke Hebrew, Eber's language.
Keep that point in mind for we in United Hebrew Congregations are like Abraham. We are on the other side of a moral and spiritual divide from the rest of the world. We are not "Christian," Jewish, or Islamic, we are Hebrews. We are Questing for the religion of The Hebrew Scriptures which I believe is the single religion the clan of the patriarchs, the Abrahamic faith or the Hebrew faith. I believe that this religion has our ETERNAL CREATOR as the ONE being, the Supreme Being who created the heavens and the earth.
3. Unless noted all emphasis is the authors and all Scriptures are from The New King James Version.
4. Jacob's twelve sons formed the tribes of Israel. However, Ephraim and Manasseh replaced their father Joseph thus giving 13 tribes. Since the Jews are but one tribe, they are only 1/13th of the total.
5. See our article "The History of Prophesy."
6. From Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.
7. The terms "God" and "Lord" are derived words from the pagan religion of "baalism" and I prefer to use the more Scriptural terms of CREATOR, The Almighty, The Mighty One of Israel, and ETERNAL.
8. See our article, "New Proof of the Messiah."
9. "O ETERNAL, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction. The Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, 'Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.' Will a man make gods for himself, which are not gods? Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is (ETERNAL). (Jer. 16:19-21)
10. "And in this mountain ETERNAL of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations." (Isaiah 25:6-7)
11. That's an interesting comparison that you can do between Ezekiel 11:19 and Ezekiel 18:31. We won't do it now, but one says that the CREATOR will put in each of us a new heart, but at the same time, the other says that we must make for ourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
12. "But ETERNAL is the true SOVEREIGN; He is the living CREATOR and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation." (Jer. 10:10)
13. "You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am ETERNAL. (Leviticus 18:5)
14. See our article History of Prophesy.
15. "And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of ETERNAL Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As ETERNAL has said, Among the remnant whom ETERNAL calls." (Joel 2:32)
16. Dr. James Moffatt translates as ETERNAL in his translation of the Scriptures and Strong's gives ETERNAL for a meaning of "YHWH," #H3060.
17. The Hebrew letters are "Yod He Waw He" and in English is the word "ETERNAL."
18. "So ETERNAL spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11)
The Old Testament is The Consecrated Hebrew Scripture.
But, what is the true faith of these Hebrew Scriptures?
Transcription by Carol Bullock of a sermon by Charles J. Voss.
The stars in the sky are proof of an overall power in the universe that somehow put them all in place and controls all that there is. The Designer of the universe must have an overall plan for ALL of the inhabitants of the earth. This is a search for that plan.
Our Quest will focus on the ancient writings of the Hebrew people that left Egyptian slavery. These writings were chosen because there is no big religious faction that is based strictly on them alone, without any other mediating documents. 1
It is true that the religion of Judaism claims to be based on these ancient writings but they have other books that are just as consecrated to them. In our Quest we must use one set of writings that stand-alone and has a plan for ALL of mankind. The Hebrew Scriptures are the only ones that fit this requirement.
The word Hebrew, what does it mean and what is a Hebrew? The answer to that question is straight out of the Hebrew Scriptures (known as the Old Testament):
"And they [sailors] said to one another, 'Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.' So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, 'Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?' So, he [Jonah] said to them, 'I am a Hebrew; and I fear "YHWH" (ETERNAL), the CREATOR of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." (Jonah 1:7-9 KJV)
Dr. James Moffatt translates "YHWH" as ETERNAL in his translation of the Scriptures and Strong's gives ETERNAL for a meaning of "YHWH," #H3060. Like Dr. Moffatt, I use ETERNAL. as this calls immediate attention to the actual name rather than a title or description for the CREATOR.
Jonah said, "I fear ETERNAL (ONE, ONE single Being) the CREATOR of the heavens who made the seas and the dry land." Now notice that Jonas did not say that he was an Israelite or a Jew, but he describes himself as a Hebrew 2 . Since he is certainly not a Gentile, he placed himself on the other side of a moral divide with the Hebrews on one side and everyone else on the other side.
Jonah's answer to the question, is the subject for today. This sermon is based on the article Restoring the Abrahamic Faith by Dr. James D. Tabor. It is important that we understand what our CREATOR would have us do. Because even though we say that we believe in the ONE true CREATOR and we say we believe only in The Hebrew Scriptures, we must make sure that we do not identify with any of the other books that would pretend to override the Hebrew Scripture. Having made that point clear there is still a lot that we need to do in order to live by the writings in The Hebrew Scriptures. Now getting to the question, "What is a Hebrew?" Genesis 14:12-13:
"They [the kings that had gone to war against Sodom] also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods and departed. Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, ... (Gen. 14:12-13)
That is the first time the word "Hebrew" is used in the Scriptures. We will focus on is the faith that Abram lived by, the Faith of Abraham. What is that faith? Notice immediately that one of the first times Abram is mentioned, he is first called a Hebrew, but let us go back to Genesis 12:4. The story flow is that CREATOR has told Abram to leave the country:
"So Abram departed as ETERNAL had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So, they came to the land of Canaan. (Gen. 12:4-5)
Notice that when Abram was told to do something, and he departed immediately. He obeyed. Why would Abram obey? What is it about the CREATOR that could cause Abram to have this faith to obey all the things the CREATOR had told him to do. Remember at this point when he did not know what he was getting into. He had no idea where he was going. He was going to a place that CREATOR would show. Notice what it revealed in Genesis 22:1:
"Now it came to pass after these things that CREATOR tested Abram, and said to him, 'Abram!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He [CREATOR] said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.' So Abram rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which CREATOR had told him. Then on the third day Abram lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abram said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and WE will come back to you.'" (Gen. 22:1-5 NKJV) 3
Notice, Abram said we--plural. We will come back. To quote that from the King James Version:
"And Abram said to the young men, abide here with the ass and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you." (Gen. 22:5)
Abram was confident that he would come back with his son, Isaac. Thus, we see he obeyed because he knew he could trust what ETERNAL had told him. But, what had the ETERNAL told him that made him think he would be able to come back to the men with his son? Notice Genesis 12:1:
"Now ETERNAL had said to Abram get you out of this country and from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3)
What was the promise? That ETERNAL would make a great nation from Abram so that Abram's descendents would be a great nation. Isaac was the son, from which this promised nation would come. So consequently, Abraham trusted ETERNAL to do as He said He would do, even if it meant that ETERNAL would have to resurrect Isaac.
"So Abraham departed as ETERNAL had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Gen. 12:4)
ETERNAL had promised that many descendents would come from him, so Abraham was not worried. Now back to Genesis 22:6:
"So, Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took the fire in his hand and a knife and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' Then he said, 'Look the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, CREATOR will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.' So the two of them went on together." (Gen. 22:6-8)
And again Abraham is showing why he obeyed. He obeyed because he trusted his CREATOR. You will see that has even a deeper meaning in just a moment or two. Down to verse 9:
"Then they came to the place which CREATOR had told him; and Abraham built there an altar and placed the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. [In other words, he had drawn back and was coming down with the knife.] But the angel of ETERNAL called to him from heaven and said 'Abraham! Abraham!' So, he [Abraham] said 'Here I am.' And He [ETERNAL] said 'Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him, because now I know that you fear your CREATOR since you have not withheld your son, your only son from Him." (Gen. 22:6-8)
Abraham proved that he trusted CREATOR. ETERNAL now knew that Abraham was obedient, that he could be trusted by ETERNAL. That is basically the faith of Abraham, the Abrahamic faith, or the Hebrew faith. "It is my belief that there is a single faith in The Hebrew Scriptures. When I say The Consecrated Scriptures or The Hebrew Scriptures is what the world commonly refers to as the Old Testament. I claim that this one faith was indeed the faith of all the ancients, from Seth to Noah to Abraham and Moses. It was and still is the one true religion of humankind. This faith is neither 'Christian' nor Jewish in any modern sense of those terms. Well, what is the religion of Abraham? How would you label his religion or faith, or what about Enoch, Noah, Jonas, Moses, David, or any of the Hebrew Prophets?
"We might call them Hebrews or Ancient Israelites. The Jewish people refer to them as Jews but they are the Israelites or the Hebrews. The terms Israelites or Hebrew people include the Jewish people. The Jews are but 1/13th of all Israelites. 4
"But what religion or faith did they practice? Is it around today? Those are excellent questions because there are not many that practice what The Hebrew Scriptures state. This matter of labeling a religious faith is confusing. Most of us have worn such labels at one time or another. Many of us have changed from one to another in the course of our religious Quest. I think a growing number of people would like to resist such tags, labels, and somehow get back to the core Scriptural faith. An increasing number desire to be nondenominational, free from the fetters of religious organizations and creeds.
I am setting out the broad outlines of the single Scriptural faith. I claim that this one faith was indeed the faith of all the ancients from Enoch to Abraham and then later to Moses. 5 It always was and still is the one true religion of humankind. The faith is neither 'Christian' nor Jewish and it is absolutely nondenominational." Only one organization that I am aware of, The United Hebrew Congregations represents that faith.
In saying that, I am not saying we live by the Scriptures completely because many of us have just come into this knowledge. Thus, there is a lot that we must still learn and understand. But I say that we are the only organization, of which I am aware, that even pretends to use only the Old Testament, The Hebrew Scriptures. I am also not saying we are perfect, because all humans sin against our CREATOR.
The Muslims have their bible the Koran, which "they say" supersedes and overrides The Hebrew Scriptures. The "Christians" have their bible the New Testament which "they say" supersedes and overrides The Hebrew Scriptures. The Jews have their books the Mitchna and Talmud which "they say" supersedes and overrides The Hebrew Scriptures. The Mormons have their bible the Book of Mormon, which "they say" supersedes and overrides everything and everybody.
And as far as I know, we are the only group that proclaim that The Hebrew Scriptures and them alone are the sole written Words of (ETERNAL) our Elohim (ETERNAL our CREATOR). We must live by these words. And I have used the description of the Abrahamic or Hebrew faith because the three main Western religions, the ones we have just mentioned, Judaism, "Christianity," and Islam, all claim to go back to this one man Abraham and his religions Quest.
Friend of ETERNAL
"What is the basis of Abraham's faith? We need to know because Abraham is uniquely called "The Friend of CREATOR." in Isaiah 41:8:
"But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend." (Isa 41:8)
ETERNAL our CREATOR calls Abraham His friend. The English word translated "friend" comes from the Hebrew word "ohad" which comes from the verbal root "ahed" number H157 6 and means "to love or to have affection for." It is a strong and tender word of affection, devotion and is even used for a passionate lover. This simple but deeply meaningful description "friend" captures the essence of what I want us to come to understand. What would it mean to live by the faith of Abraham? It is to be the friend of the ETERNAL and for Him to say of us that we are His friends.
"Abrahamic Faith" or "Hebrew Faith" is the core Scriptural faith and it is well represented by Abraham. It centers on three fundamental concepts. Simply put, the first one is knowing the one true CREATOR 7 or The Almighty. Second is following the way of that CREATOR, and third, is participating in the universal plan of CREATOR for humankind.
These concepts can be stated just that simply, but each involves profound areas of Scriptural revelations. Millions of Jews, "Christians," and Muslims claim to represent the truth in these three vital areas. Yet, they are hopelessly divided as to an understanding of who CREATOR is and how one might have an intimate relationship with Him; much less, His way for humankind and the ultimate purpose or plan of our SOVEREIGN in history.
"I claim the Scriptural revelation can be understood plainly. It carries a unifying message in each of these areas: knowing our SOVEREIGN is ONE, the way of our SOVEREIGN, and the plan of our SOVEREIGN.
This Abrahamic faith is just that clear. It involves a singular faith that was shared by all the ancients. In other words, this one true religion for all mankind has not changed over the ages. Yet, it is surprisingly different from what most people assume the Scriptures say. This is not what you hear on the pulpits in the land. This understanding has become almost wholly lost or even rejected by virtually all of those who claim to follow the Scriptural revelations. It is seemingly understood and lived by only a few. Still, if we are to believe the Prophets, this Abrahamic faith is the definite wave of the future. They foretell a time when this specific wave would fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
The Messianic Age
Isaiah 11:1 "There shall come forth a rod from Jesse, the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its roots."
...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.
This is referring to King David and 8 when he will be resurrected out of the ground. He will then sprout out of the roots:
Isa 11:2-10"The spirit of the ETERNAL shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the ETERNAL. His delight is in the fear of the ETERNAL and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes nor decide with the hearing of his ear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with a rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips, he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be in his loins and faithfulness the belt of his waist. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf, the young lion, the fattling together, and the child shall lead them. The cow and the beaver shall graze. Their young ones shall lie down together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play on the cobra's hole and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all of My consecrated mountain for the earth shall be full of the ETERNAL as the waters cover the seas. And in that day, there shall be a root of Jesse who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek him, and his resting place shall be glorious."
The English word "root" is translated from the Hebrew word "sheresh," Strong's #H8328 and means "a root." Root comes from #H8327, "sharash," which means, "to strike the soil, to pluck from." In other words, "there shall be a root of Jesse that will be plucked from the soil, he shall stand as a banner to his people, for him Gentiles shall seek, and where he is will be a glorious place on earth." The time is coming, upon the earth, when the way of ETERNAL will fill the earth as the waters fill the sea.
We Must Return to the Ancient of Days
"What I am giving you is a clarion call for the restoration of that Faith. The ETERNAL CREATOR told Ancient Israel:
"...return to Me and I will return to you." (Zach. 1:3)
"There is a vital principle involved here and the Scriptures say much about why and how CREATOR has actually hidden Himself from Israel and all of humankind. We must first return to Him. Long ago, Moses spoke of such a return for Israel in exile:
"You will seek the ETERNAL, your CREATOR, and you will find him if you search for Him with all your heart and with all of your soul." (Deut. 4:29)
But the Prophets make clear that the Gentile nations of the world will eventually return to ancient faith. That is stated in Jeremiah 19:19-21. 9 This great return, this restoration of all things is part of the Divine Plan. There will come a time when ETERNAL will set His hand and bring all nations to Him. The beginnings of which appear to be unfolding in our time, now in the 21st century.
But at this point in history, reconciliation to ETERNAL is a totally an individual matter. It is up to each individual to Quest to find the Ancient of Days. UHC proclaims that, at this time, it is up to each of us to seek and find. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear this proclamation, with the inner spiritual motivation to actually return to the ONE CREATOR's original Scriptural faith will be few. "The pressures of tradition and the comfort one finds in what he has always believed are make it very easy to stay with those beliefs. Others have been burned out, by chasing down this or that biblical claim for truth, over the years. The result of that is that it is hard now to make an honest and absolute open commitment to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and that is still rare.
"Still, there are those of us that would be drawn to this ancient Way. And in being drawn, we return directly to our ETERNAL CREATOR, the SOVEREIGN of the universe. Not to any human being or organization, but to our SOVEREIGN. The rewards and satisfactions are great. It is like having a veil lifted from our eyes, which brings clarity of understanding and a renewed purpose in life. And if you want to see that in Scripture, it is Isaiah 25:6-7. 10
Ultimately, it is our CREATOR Himself, who calls us into an understanding of the true faith. Yet, we are told at the same time to Quest for Him with all our heart and soul. Is that a contradiction? No, because ETERNAL must put within each of us a new heart and spirit while at the same time we are told to make yourself a new heart and new spirit. 11 How can that be? First, we must Quest to find the Ancient of Days.. Then in some mysterious ways, CREATOR uses our works as He works, His will with those of us who will respond in time.
"The foundation pillar of Abrahamic faith is to know the one true SOVEREIGN. Our problem today is that when we use the word "God" or even bring up a concept of the Divine, we invite English confusion and controversy. Yet, Scripture speaks of One Being beside whom there is no other. In contrast to other deities, or claims about divinity, this One Being is called the true and living SOVEREIGN. And you can see that in Jeremiah 10:10. 12
"The gods and goddesses of the nations of this world are declared by the Hebrew Prophets to be idols, empty vanities and void of living reality. It involves the revelation of the CREATOR to draw close to Him, of whom are all things and who has created all things. He is the one who has acted in history. He can personally encounter us individually and directly. The foundational confession of Scriptural faith is called the "Shema." This great confession is repeated by faithful Jews daily, but 'Christians' have sorely neglected it. Although Mark 12 plainly says that it is the absolute core of the faith of that book, it comes from the last sermon that Moses gave to ancient Israel. The first word is "hear" and in Hebrew that word is "shema."
"Hear, (Heb. Shema), oh Israel, ETERNAL is our SOVEREIGN, ETERNAL is one, and you shall love ETERNAL, your SOVEREIGN, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart." (Deut. 6:4-5)
"That affirmation is basically what the AbrahamicHebrew Faith is. All else is just words on how to fulfill that. It is so fundamental to the Abrahamic Faith that it bears repeating, but from a different version:
"O Israel, listen: ETERNAL is our SOVEREIGN, ETERNAL alone. You must love Him with all your heart, soul, and might." (Deut. 6:4-5 TLB)
There is Only One SOVEREIGN
"Yet, few who claim to follow the Scriptural revelation uphold this basic affirmation. CREATOR chooses the people of Israel to witness to this simple pillar of Scriptural faith with all of its implications. Notice carefully the following quotation from Isaiah where the SOVEREIGN Himself speaks in the first person addressing the nation of Israel and He makes this very point.
"You are My witnesses declares ETERNAL and My servants whom I have chosen in order that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no other god or no other deity form, and there will be none after Me. I, even I am ETERNAL and there is no Savior besides Me" (Isaiah 43:10).
"This is an incredibly profound passage. It is the absolute foundation of the faith spoken by the CREATOR Himself. Israel's purpose is to deeply absorb this notion of the oneness of the CREATOR in order that she might declare it to the Gentile nations:
"That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is none beside Me. I am ETERNAL and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:6)
"I am the first and the last and there is no CREATOR beside Me." (Isa. 44:6)
"This is also stated in Isaiah 44:8; 44:24; 45:5. Now, take these passages that say "I am ETERNAL, there is no other besides Me." Millions of "Christians" are able to run quickly through these passages without absorbing the significance of this unequivocal language. This teaching of one SOVEREIGN can not be reconciled with the doctrine of the "trinity" as three persons, the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" or the doctrine of a "twinity" of two persons of a Father and a son. Nor was any doctrine which confuses or equates the Messiah, and in their mind the one they call "Christ," with the one SOVEREIGN. There can not be a trinity or a "twinity." There is the only ONE CREATOR. "And if we do this, we shall live." And this is a direct quotation from the Torah in Leviticus 18:5. 13
"To know the CREATOR is one, to love Him with one's whole being and to follow the Commandments and their full implication, this alone is true religion, "This teaching about one CREATOR, one Elohim, is not nearly some technical doctrinal point; it is the key to the true religion. Isaiah speaks of knowing, of believing, and understanding just who the CREATOR is. (Isa. 43:10 above). Note these three verbs knowing, believing, and understanding. This is a vital matter of personal faith and experience. To come before the one true SOVEREIGN, the one CREATOR, the Righteous One of Israel, is a very concrete and distinct experience. It involves the whole being, mind, as well as heart.
"Of the countless thousands of gods or idols throughout history, the endless ideas among different individuals that they have about our SOVEREIGN and how one can speak of knowing the one true SOVEREIGN, the term "God" is used in so many confusing ways. For most people, it is somewhat vague and perhaps often a bit unreal. After all, can anyone really say they absolutely know our SOVEREIGN? How can anyone be sure?
"According to The Hebrew Scriptures, ETERNAL revealed Himself clearly and dramatically. He did this once for all, in the time of Moses at Mount Sinai, when Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt. This fundamental revelation was like no other before or since. It is constantly referred to by the latter Prophets and in Psalms. It is the actual, absolute fundamental, which is never to be superseded or forgotten. This is not some OT bible story that "Christians" can quickly skim over as some kind of background to the New Testament. Rather, this is the absolute essential bedrock. Without a deep understanding of this core revelation at Sinai, no one will ever understand and know the one true SOVEREIGN. This extra ordinary revelation comes directly through Moses, the meekest man on earth when he was 80 years old, and that's recorded in Numbers 12:3.
"Initially, the CREATOR appeared to Moses in the Sinai area as a voice speaking in the first person from the burning bush. Notice that the SOVEREIGN first identifies Himself:
"I am the SOVEREIGN of your father; the SOVEREIGN of Abraham, the SOVEREIGN of Isaac, and the SOVEREIGN of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon our SOVEREIGN.
Tha is without using the word "God" and again, whenever I use that it is in quotes because those are not necessarily my thoughts. "The way SOVEREIGN describes Himself here is striking. He is not merely the CREATOR, the first cause, or a cosmic power of force. He is the intimate personal SOVEREIGN of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; a definite family line through which He revealed Himself. 14
"To speak of the SOVEREIGN of Abraham is to tie into a definite claim about historical revelations. It is a claim that the one 'god,' the CREATOR, has involved Himself specifically in an unfolding historical plan. In other words, He will be known and understood through the concrete historical experiences of His chosen people. This is in contrast to the philosophical inquiry or individual path of seeking the Almighty.
"When the CREATOR told Moses to go and deliver the people, Moses had protested that if he goes to the Israelites and tells them that the 'god' of their fathers has appeared to him, they will say, "what is His name?" In other words, they will want this SOVEREIGN to be identified. At that point, CREATOR tells Moses:
"Say to the people of Israel, (ETERNAL), the SOVEREIGN, of your Father, SOVEREIGN of Abraham, SOVEREIGN of Isaac, SOVEREIGN of Jacob has sent me to you. This is My name forever and I am to be remembered throughout all generations." (Exodus 3:15)
"If you think about it, that's quite remarkable that the CREATOR appeared to Moses, He speaks directly in the first person, and most importantly, He identified Himself by name and our CREATOR actually has a name, just as most of all human beings have identifying names. The name here represented by the four Hebrew constants, (Yod, He, Waw He), (ETERNAL), are used nearly 6,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is a compound of the Hebrew word "hyah" meaning "to be." The meaning appears to be "the one who will be, the one is, and the one who was." And that is combined in a single name of which the English translation is ETERNAL.
"For centuries, devout Jews have considered this name too sacred to pronounce and they have substituted "Adonia" meaning "Master or "Lord"" in prayer and "HaShem," which means "the name," in speaking. The important point here is that the CREATOR reveals Himself by name, and not by just any name, but this awesome sacred name which belongs only to Him. This is a great difference between saying "I am the 'Lord'" and saying, "I am ETERNAL." The latter is personal and direct. It immediately calls forth the absolute unique and singular understanding of the one true CREATOR. Notice above in what we have just gone over in the quotation from Isaiah how the CREATOR uses the name constantly in the first person. "I am ETERNAL, there is none other besides Me."
"The Scriptures speak of calling on the name ETERNAL which conveys a completely unrelated meaning when mistranslated and calling upon the name of the "Lord." That's in Joel 2:32 15. There are many so-called gods and lords upon who people call. We hear constant talk of the lord of this or the lord of that and one might just ask, "Well who is this lord, what is his name?" Notice what Jeremiah says:
"Thus says ETERNAL, who made the earth, ETERNAL, who formed it to established it, ETERNAL is His name. 'Call to Me and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'" (Jeremiah 33:2-3)
"What an extraordinary declaration of promise spoken directly in the first person by the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN Himself. To literally call upon ETERNAL leads one into an intimate relationship with the very CREATOR.
"However, the pronunciation of the Divine name is uncertain. Many scholars prefer "Yahweh." Despite what you read in most reference books, very few are evident for the pronunciation "Jehovah" or perhaps, "Yahovah" which then becomes "Ya" in shortened form. Precisely how to pronounce this name is not so important as its meaning with the recognition that it is a personal name revealed by the CREATOR Himself to Moses. ETERNAL is the SOVEREIGN, or the CREATOR, who was, is, and always will be. He is ETERNAL. That's what His name means. The Hebrew "ETERNAL" translates to "ETERNAL" in English. This can not be said of any other being in the universe.
In writing I prefer "to use the letters ETERNAL without vowels avoiding the controversies over pronunciation." When quoting Scripture I use ETERNAL. 16 This calls immediate attention to the actual name rather than a title or description for the CREATOR.
In speaking, Dr. Tabor says he prefers "to either follow the orthodox Jewish practice of using 'HaShem' which remember, means 'The Name,' which actually reminds one of the actual name of the CREATOR as it is intended. Or I use the pronunciation 'Jehovah' if the setting is appropriate." But, personally, in speaking I like to use ETERNAL the English translation of ETERNAL. Since no one is certain how to pronounce the name in Hebrew, I prefer to use the English translation and what is most important is its meaning. The meaning of the four Hebrew letters 17 in English is "ETERNAL." Rather than use the name "God," with its pagan origins that is widely used instead of the Hebrew "Elohim." I would rather say "CREATOR" or "SOVEREIGN" for "Elohim" and the setting is always appropriate for the use of those terms.
ETERNAL's Characteristics
"Knowing our CREATOR implies this fundamental revelation of CREATOR's sacred name with all that it involves. It is a tremendous revelation and once understood, it can transform one's whole sense of who our SOVEREIGN is. Later CREATOR tells Moses:
"I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of El Shaddai, but by My name ETERNAL was I not known to them." (Exodus 6:3)
"Though the meaning ETERNAL was not revealed to Abraham or those before him, the essential meaning of the name was known. In Genesis 21:33 where "Abraham calls on the name of the everlasting "God" (El in Heb.)." In Genesis 14:19 El was understood to be "most high SOVEREIGN of heaven and earth." The revelation of the name "ETERNAL" at Sinai serves to capture these concepts into a single, mystical awesome word.
"Much later, when Israel comes out of Egypt and is gathered by Moses at Mount Sinai, the dramatic scene set, the CREATOR Himself is revealed to the whole nation in an overwhelming display of power and glory speaking directly to them setting forth the Ten Commandments. There is thunder, lightning, and clouds of smoke and fire, the piercing sound of a trumpet and whole mountain shakes. Finally, the SOVEREIGN Himself speaks in an audible voice for all to hear. First, He identifies Himself:
"I am ETERNAL, your SOVEREIGN, you shall have no other deities beside Me." (Exodus 20:1)
"The reaction of the people is terror. They call out to Moses:
"You speak to us and we will hear, but let not CREATOR speak to us, lest we die." (Gen. 20:19)
"Forty years later, Moses reminds the Israelites of the uniqueness and purpose of this great moment of revelation:
"For ask now of the days that are passed which were before you since the day that CREATOR created man on the earth and asked from one end of heaven to the other whether such a thing as this had ever happened or has ever been heard of. Did any people hear the voice of a CREATOR speaking out of the mist of fire as you have heard it and still live? To you it was shown that you might know the ETERNAL is SOVEREIGN. There is not other beside Him. Out of heaven, He let you hear His voice that He might discipline you. On earth, He let you see His great fire and you heard His words out of the mist of the fire. Know therefore, this day, lay it upon your heart that the ETERNAL is SOVEREIGNof heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no other." (Deut. 4:33-39)
"The further dramatic and awesome aspects of this revelation of our SOVEREIGN at Sinai took place the second time that Moses ascended to the mountain after the golden calf incident. The CREATOR literally identifies Himself to Moses and offers Him a remarkable description of Divine character. The CREATOR told Moses He would send His angel to accomplish them further, but would not personally go in their midst because of their rebellion. Moses had an extraordinary personal relationship with ETERNAL. He would go into the tent and ETERNAL would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. 18
"The actual physical presence, literally, of the ETERNAL with an audible voice would manifest during this time in the wilderness. In one of these conversations, Moses pleads with ETERNAL to accomplish them personally rather than through an agency of an angel or messenger. ETERNAL was persuaded and agrees, and you can see that in Exodus 33:12-17.
Then Moses asks something more. "Oh let me behold your glory," he pleads. He is told that no human could see CREATOR face to face, but he would be allowed to experience some measure of the SOVEREIGN's glory or direct presence. As He passes by him, he will behold the SOVEREIGN's backside. That's in Exodus 33:18-23. And Moses goes up the mountain and what follows is surely the most significant self-revelation of the CREATOR in the entire Hebrew Scripture.
"Now ETERNAL descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of ETERNAL. And ETERNAL passed before him and proclaimed, 'ETERNAL, ETERNAL SOVEREIGN, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. [But] by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.'" (Exodus 34:5-7)
Let's explore the phrase "who will by no means clear the guilty." First, notice that unrepented sin not only causes grief in a person's life but also in his children's lives. Depending on the severity the sin may effect several generations. I am sure you have heard people say from time to time, "Well I know what it says, but because of this or that (excuse) I did it. But ETERNAL is a loving SOVEREIGN and I know He will understand." Some specific examples, "I know it says to get rid of leavening from our homes, but, you know, I'm on a limited income and I just can't afford to throw that away. I'm sure our loving SOVEREIGN will understand." Well, don't be too sure. Let's look at some examples and notice the rule, the breaking, and then the excuse.
"But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat, thereof, you will die." (Gen. 2:17)
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, a tree desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and she did eat." (Gen. 2:17)
Her excuse most probably was "I know Adam said not to eat it, but it's good for food and it's pleasant to look upon, and I'm hungry and I'm sure the loving SOVEREIGN will understand."
You know I am sure that the CREATOR will understand. He said to roast the lamb, but they have already boiled it and I am sure the CREATOR is going to understand."
Brethren, the SOVEREIGN says do it a certain way and that's the way that He wants it done. No amount of human reasoning will be enough. Going back to Exodus 34:5-7:
"ETERNAL, ETERNAL SOVEREIGN merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Keeping steadfast, love for thousands, forgetting iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty." (Exodus 34:5-7)
Brethren, if we have done anything wrong, that does not mean He will immediately zap us with a lightning bolt, but when we realize it, we must repent. Now repent does not mean, "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry about that." Repent means to change, to do something different, to go at it an entirely different way. If you throw a ball up into the air, gravity begins to take hold, and it slows down, stops, and then falls back to the earth.
Repentance is the same way. If you are going the wrong way from the CREATOR the pull is against you making you realize you are going the wrong direction and you stop, and go back in the other way. Repentance is going before the SOVEREIGN with a contrite and broken heart, declaring your guiltiness, and asking for mercy. Because He is steadfast love for thousands, forgetting iniquity and transgression and sin. So all we have to do brethren, when we have transgressed, is ask for mercy. You don't need a blood sacrifice, as some religions would say. The CREATOR says what He is interested in is a contrite and broken heart and that is what He expects us to give. And if we sin, then follow the example in Psalm 51 as King David did and go before ETERNAL and pour out your heart confessing your sin and He will forgive you.
ETERNAL's Glory
Backing up to where we were, this is an incredible scene of the CREATOR coming down and is showing Moses His glory, but Moses' face is turned away so that he does not die. "Not only does Moses experience the glory of the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN to the extent that Moses' face glows thereafter. Also, the CREATOR personally proclaims His awesome name ETERNAL. He describes His basic nature, His very inner character, merciful, and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. And remember that is what Abraham understood.
"Abraham understood that the ETERNAL was merciful, gracious, and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. And it is out of this faithfulness that we can obey the CREATOR. This self-revelation is so basic, so profound that it occurs repeatedly in various forms throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. It becomes a Heavenly revealed character sketch of the ETERNAL Himself. Moses refers back to it in numerous occasions.
"What is so impressive, so remarkable about this whole Sinai revelation is its absolute concreteness. When one reads through Exodus and Deuteronomy, our two accounts of these awesome events, there is an unmistakable feeling or sense that the text conveys. It has to do with the notion of our CREATOR breaking into the normal events of history and actually introducing Himself by making Himself known in the most objective sense imaginable. Similar to the way that we encounter another human being. It is truly extraordinary.
"To speak of the everlasting CREATOR, the SOVEREIGN of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; who called Moses, who lead Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand, revealed Himself at Sinai speaking face to face to Moses and the people, the CREATOR who's name is ETERNAL, who's way is summed up in the Ten Commandments, is to begin to understand just who this SOVEREIGN is. The great Commandment, summed up in the Shema, tells us that we must love ETERNAL our SOVEREIGN with all our hearts, with all our soul, and with all our might.
"How is it that our SOVEREIGN could command us to love Him? Think about that. He commands us to love Him. Is love something that can be demanded? When one deeply understands the greatness and the goodness of our CREATOR, fear and love are the response. In other words, to truly know ETERNAL is to fear and to love Him as King David sang in Psalms 145:
"Great is the ETERNAL and highly to be praised. His greatness is unsearchable." (Vs. 3)
ETERNAL is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. (Vs. 8)
"ETERNAL is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. ETERNAL is good to all and His mercies are over all His works." (Ps. 145:3,8,9-10)
"Verse eight is the precise description of the ETERNAL's character as revealed to Moses and is repeated here. Total compassion, slow to anger and with great mercy. ETERNAL is good to all. His tender mercies are over all His works. Our love for ETERNAL arises out of a deep realization of His goodness as expressed toward us and all creation and in keeping with this very specifically revealed character. In other words, this is absolutely what He is like. As we truly learn to experience that, we are drawn in love towards Him. Notice how Moses puts all these concepts together in his great farewell address to ancient Israel:
"And now, Israel, what does ETERNAL your CREATOR require of you, but to fear ETERNAL SOVEREIGN, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve ETERNAL CREATOR with all your heart and with all your soul. And to keep the Commandments of ETERNAL and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" (Deut. 10:12-13)
"This is a very definite unfolding sequence of response in coming to truly know ETERNAL, the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN. First, and absolutely vital, is the fear of ETERNAL. Without this fear of CREATOR, there is no possible relationship, and certainly no love. Because as Moses goes on to say:
" For ETERNAL your Elohim is Elohim of elohims and Adonai of adonais, the great SOVEREIGN, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe" (Deut. 10:17).
The fear of ETERNAL is the beginning. That is the absolute foundation of everything else:
"The fear of ETERNAL is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do His Commandments. His praise endures forever." (Psalm 111:10)
"To fear our SOVEREIGN is to have a deep and awesome reverence for who and what He is. This fear, or rather, absolute awe, is based on His majestic greatness. As King David said, His greatness is unsearchable. It's past finding out. First and foremost, ETERNAL is the very CREATOR. The Scriptures declare:
"By the word of ETERNAL, the heavens were made." (Psalm 33:6)
"ETERNAL is the great one who spoke order and life into existence on this planet. He gives us our very life and breath. Without His awesome creative wisdom and power, which belongs to Him and Him alone, planet Earth would be a vast and empty waste much like Mars or Venus today. Likewise, the fear in ETERNAL rests upon His great and mighty acts in history, particularly the exodus from Egypt and at Sinai. This fear of ETERNAL necessarily results in a concrete response that is walking in all His ways.
"Moses told the Israelites that the awesome display of power and glory at the giving of the 10 Commandments, at Sinai, was so great that the fear of Him may remain before you. So that you may not sin by walking in the ways of the ETERNAL, is something, which is most specific and concrete.
"One comes to know and accordingly love the ETERNAL analogous to the way one comes to know and love a fellow human being. There is no separation between these elements of fearing, loving, and obeying the SOVEREIGN. This is the bedrock of an intimate relationship of friendship with ETERNAL. Notice how the Shema begins by speaking of loving the CREATOR with heart, soul, and might. But immediately adds:
Deut. 6:6 And these words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart."
"How a deep fear of ETERNAL, coupled with a heartfelt following of His way, results in total love of ETERNAL. And that is something that can only be experienced. But it is vitally connected with an understanding of that way.
End of Chapter One.
To open Chapter Two click on "2nd Chapter of the Abrahamic Hebrew Faith" Below
[The 2nd Chapter of the Abrahamic Hebrew Faith ]
[ Back to the Quest index page ]
[ The Hope of Israel main index page ]
Footnotes
1. Our purpose is not to prove or to disprove any of the "inspired" books which claim Abraham as the beginning of their religion but simply to point out that they are at variance with The Hebrew Scriptures. There is confusion of differing opinions in the three main religions of the world--Judaism, Islam, and "Christianity." All three claim to have descended from Abraham and use the ancient Hebrew Scriptures or The Hebrew Scriptures. Each of these religions are vastly different from each other and each has its own "inspired or sacred" set of writings which all differ from each other and to varing degrees supersede The Hebrew Scripture text in the mind set or paradigm of each group.
Most adherents of Judaism follow the main tenets of the Torah but some also have and follow the Talmud. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "The Talmud, the great rabbinical thesaurus which grew up during the first four to six centuries of the "Christian" era, and with the Old Testament, became the Bible of the Jews. ...The Talmud consists of the Mischnah (Heb. '[Oral] repetition, teaching'), a systematic collection of religious-legal decisions developing the laws of the Old Testament."
In Jewish eyes their own special books can and sometimes do supersede the Torah. Once while I was attending a Jewish Sabbath, service the topic of the speaker was "wearing fringes [Heb. tsiytsith]" The speaker from Hebrew University, [I will not reveal his name] stated, "Fringes must contain a blue thread on the hem of a person's outer garment." He then said, "But, in the Talmud the Rabbis decided not to include a blue thread in the fringes; which I might add," he said, "is contrary to the Torah." The prayer shawl I was given to wear had no blue in its white tassels.
Right or wrong Judaism has separate books, the Talmud & Mischnah, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. However, our opinion is that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
The people of Islam also have a book, The Koran that they follow. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "The Koran is the sacred Book of Islam, on which the religion of more than two hundred million Mohammedans is founded, being regarded by them as the immediate word of 'God'."
On the subject of Scriptural characters in The Koran notice what the Britannica states: "These histories are chiefly those of the Old Testament, but the deviations from the Biblical narratives are very marked. Many of alterations are found in legendary anecdotes of the Jewish Haggada and the New Testament Apocrypha."
Right or wrong Islam has a separate book, the Koran, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. However, our opinion is that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
While the "Christian" community places some value in The Hebrew Scriptures (OT), their greater focus is on the New Testament (NT). As a past member of several different "Christian" churches I have been taught all my early life the "New Covenant" of the NT completely did away with the "Old Covenant" of the OT and thus all the Laws and Commandments of the Torah are null and void. In fact, I was told "the law was nailed to the cross with J-sus." In any conflict with OT, the NT will be granted preference. Even my former Sabbath keeping "Christian" church would pick and choose and take things out of context to formulate doctrines. They pulled Isa. 28:10 out of context:
"Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little." It was used completely out of context to prove that it was okay to take things out of context -- when the very context of those verses warned not to take things out of context, because: "That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught." (Isa. 28:13)
Right or wrong "Christianity" has a separate book, the New Testament, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. However, our opinion is that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
A subset of "Christianity" is Mormonism which also has its own "holy book." The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "The Church of 'Jesus Christ' of Latter-Day Saints commonly known as Mormons, a religious sect founded by Joseph Smith. ...He said that the angel Moroni appeared to him three times, and told him that the Bible of the western continent, the supplement to the New Testament, was buried on a hill called Cumorh, now commonly known as Mormon hill."
The Mormons claim that both the OT and the NT were corrupted over time, and in any conflicts, The Book of Mormon takes president.
Right or wrong, the Mormons have a separate book, The Book of Mormon, that they look to in place to the Hebrew Scriptures. however, we feel that only the Hebrew Scriptures alone, are to be used as doctrine or a guide to live by.
2. The English word "Hebrew" comes from the Hebrew word " 'Ibriy, ib-ree' #5680 in Strong's and means a descent of Eber. The word Eber means a region across or the other side.
Quoting from the Stone Edition: The ArtScroll Series, Published by Mesorah Publications Published in 1996, Page 28, Note for Gen. 14:13 "Abraham was called the 'Ivri' from the word, the other side. Literally, this means that he came from the other side of the Euphrates. Figuratively, he was on the other side of a moral and spiritual divide from the rest of the world. Alternatively, the name means that he was a descendant of Eber as were other Hebrews. However, only Abraham's descendants are called "Ivrim" for they alone spoke Hebrew, Eber's language.
Keep that point in mind for we in United Hebrew Congregations are like Abraham. We are on the other side of a moral and spiritual divide from the rest of the world. We are not "Christian," Jewish, or Islamic, we are Hebrews. We are Questing for the religion of The Hebrew Scriptures which I believe is the single religion the clan of the patriarchs, the Abrahamic faith or the Hebrew faith. I believe that this religion has our ETERNAL CREATOR as the ONE being, the Supreme Being who created the heavens and the earth.
3. Unless noted all emphasis is the authors and all Scriptures are from The New King James Version.
4. Jacob's twelve sons formed the tribes of Israel. However, Ephraim and Manasseh replaced their father Joseph thus giving 13 tribes. Since the Jews are but one tribe, they are only 1/13th of the total.
5. See our article "The History of Prophesy."
6. From Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.
7. The terms "God" and "Lord" are derived words from the pagan religion of "baalism" and I prefer to use the more Scriptural terms of CREATOR, The Almighty, The Mighty One of Israel, and ETERNAL.
8. See our article, "New Proof of the Messiah."
9. "O ETERNAL, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction. The Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, 'Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.' Will a man make gods for himself, which are not gods? Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is (ETERNAL). (Jer. 16:19-21)
10. "And in this mountain ETERNAL of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations." (Isaiah 25:6-7)
11. That's an interesting comparison that you can do between Ezekiel 11:19 and Ezekiel 18:31. We won't do it now, but one says that the CREATOR will put in each of us a new heart, but at the same time, the other says that we must make for ourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
12. "But ETERNAL is the true SOVEREIGN; He is the living CREATOR and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation." (Jer. 10:10)
13. "You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am ETERNAL. (Leviticus 18:5)
14. See our article History of Prophesy.
15. "And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of ETERNAL Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As ETERNAL has said, Among the remnant whom ETERNAL calls." (Joel 2:32)
16. Dr. James Moffatt translates as ETERNAL in his translation of the Scriptures and Strong's gives ETERNAL for a meaning of "YHWH," #H3060.
17. The Hebrew letters are "Yod He Waw He" and in English is the word "ETERNAL."
18. "So ETERNAL spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11)
El Pensamiento de los Enemigos de Israel
!Oh Eterno Creador, no te estés mudo, cese ya Tu silencio y Tu reposo, oh Padre¡
Mira cómo tus enemigos braman, los que Te odian levantan la cabeza.
Contra Tu pueblo maquinan intriga, conspiran contra Tus protegidos;
dicen: ► Venid, borrémoslos de entre las naciones, no se recuerde más el nombre de Israel ◄
Así conspiran de corazón a una, pactan alianzas contra Tí: Edom, los Ismaelitas, Moab, los Hageos, Guebal, Ammon, Amalec, los de Tiro, tambien Asur en unión de los hijos de Lot.
Salmos 83:2/9
Mira cómo tus enemigos braman, los que Te odian levantan la cabeza.
Contra Tu pueblo maquinan intriga, conspiran contra Tus protegidos;
dicen: ► Venid, borrémoslos de entre las naciones, no se recuerde más el nombre de Israel ◄
Así conspiran de corazón a una, pactan alianzas contra Tí: Edom, los Ismaelitas, Moab, los Hageos, Guebal, Ammon, Amalec, los de Tiro, tambien Asur en unión de los hijos de Lot.
Salmos 83:2/9
ADVERTENCIAS AL PUEBLO DEL ETERNO CREADOR
Descargáos de todos los crímenes que habéis cometido contra Mí, y haceos un corazón nuevo y un espíritu nuevo,.
¿Por qué habéis de morir, Casa de Israel?
Yo no me complazco en la MUERTE de NADIE, SEA QUIEN FUERE,
oráculo del Eterno Creador.
Convertíos y vivid.
Ezequiél 18:31 y 32
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)