The Narrator of Torah…

Since we will be reading the Torah again for another year soon, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves about how the Torah itself begins… In this connection we note that it speaks from an omniscient, “third person” perspective. When we read, “In the beginning, God (אֱלהִים) created the heavens and the earth,” we must ask who exactly is speaking? Who is the narrator of the Torah? The next verse states that the Spirit of God (רוּחַ אֱלהִים) was hovering over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), followed by the first “direct quote” of God Himself: i.e., יְהִי אוֹר: “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3). The creative activity of Elohim (God) and the presence of Ruach Elohim (the Spirit of God) are therefore narrated by an omniscient Voice or “Word of God” (i.e., Davar Elohim: דְּבַר הָאֱלהִים).  Obviously the Spirit of God is God Himself, just as the Word of God is likewise God Himself, and therefore the first verses of the Torah reveal the glorious nature of the Godhead (i.e., hashilush HaKadosh: השילוש הקדוש). God is One in the sense of echdut, “unity,” “oneness,” and and so on, though not “one” in the monistic sense of a solipsistic mind (νοῦς). God is beyond all theological predications: there can be no sense of “person” apart from relationship, and therefore God’s Personhood entirely transcends all our finite conceptions – and yet God forever is One….

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Find God or Die…

“Choose life that you may live.. ” (Deut. 30:19). The most significant question God asks is whether you want to live or not. Albert Camus wrote, “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy” (Myth of Sisyphus, 1942). Camus’ comment is not at all original, since this is also the ultimate question of theology as well. Do you want to live? Will you believe? Will you choose life and turn away from self-destruction? The Spirit of the LORD calls out: “Choose life that you may live…”

 

Hebrew Lesson:

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Parashat Nitzavim Podcast…

Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Nitzavim (פרשת ניצבים), is always read on the Shabbat immediately before the solemn holiday of Rosh Hashanah, and therefore it is the last Torah portion read before the new Jewish year (see Exod. 23:16). In many synagogues, the opening and concluding paragraphs of parashat Nitzavim are also read during the Yom Kippur morning service.

Nitzavim begins: “You are standing here today, all of you, before the LORD your God (אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלהֵיכֶם) … so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the LORD your God, which the LORD your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Deut. 29:10-13). After this Moses went on to review Israel’s history and prophetic future — i.e., the great prophecy of the Diaspora and Return of the people — and then he solemnly appealed for all those who believed to turn to the LORD for life: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (Deut. 30:19).

 

In addition to an overview of the Torah reading, I discuss the fall holidays of the Torah’s calendar, particularly the significance of Rosh Hashanah for followers of Yeshua the Messiah.

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Podcast:

Made Captive to Hope…

God gives us special graces, especially in light of the passing of days, with thwarted hope, aching bones, and inner keening for lasting deliverance. This gift of despondency helps us to awaken and to reach out to find the Real, the True, the Eternal. Learn to wait; ask God for the wisdom of patience. Between acceptance and anxiety, always choose acceptance. Find hope while waiting…

Many people want healing apart from the cure. How many settle for half-measures? While you might find respite for your suffering in temporary measures, you cannot have lasting healing apart from the divine remedy…

An old Jewish prayer, uttered somewhat wistfully, begins, “O Lord, I know that Thou wilt help us; but wilt Thou help us before Thou wilt help us?” It’s not always easy to wait for God, especially when we are in pain or anxiety, but we must never, ever, give up; we must never ever, abandon our heart’s longing for ultimate healing. Faith excercises hope in the Reality, Substance, and Being (ὑπόστασις) of the Invisible and is made captive to undying hope (Heb. 11:1). Therefore the Spirit cries out: “Wait for the LORD; be strong and he will strengthen your heart; and (again) wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).

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In this verse, the imperative verb translated “wait” is the Hebrew word kaveh (קַוֵּה), which might better be rendered as “look for with anticipation!” or “hope!” (the same root appears in the Hebrew word for hope, i.e., tikvah: תִּקְוָה). Therefore hope in the Lord and “chazak!” – be strong! (the Septuagint translates chazak as “andridzou” (ἀνδρίζου – act like a man!). Note that the verb ve’ametz is a causal active stem (i.e., Hiphal) in the “jussive mood,” which means it is imperative – “command your heart to be strengthened,” or “let your heart be made strong!” Make the decision to be strong in the LORD, and the LORD will give you strength to bear your present suffering: “Look to the LORD (קַוֵּה אֶל־יְהוָה) and find hope.”

When we put our hope in the LORD, strong in our conviction, we will be given courage to bear whatever may befall us – and this is help indeed during these perilous days! So “hope to the LORD (קַוֵּה אֶל־יְהוָה); be strong and strengthen your heart; and (again) hope to the LORD.” There can be no turning to God without genuine hope (תִּקְוָה). Indeed, as the Apostle Paul wrote: “We are saved by hope” (Rom. 8:24).

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Endurance and Healing…

You may sometimes struggle with your faith — not by questioning whether Yeshua is the Savior who died for your eternal healing, but in an hour of testing, when you feel exhausted by pain, when you pray for relief, seeking God in your cries and tears, but the pain continues, and then you are left rationalizing why you were denied your supplication, why your suffering has been prescribed — for surely, you believe, God can heal you by simply saying the word – and then you wonder to what extent you need to be broken in order to be fully remade… As C.S. Lewis once said, “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be” (Letters of C.S. Lewis, 1964). There is a trust issue in suffering, and an intimacy that comes through its fires. As Kierkegaard reminds us, “It is one thing to conquer in the hardship, to overcome the hardship as one overcomes an enemy, while continuing in the idea that the hardship is one’s enemy; but it is more than conquering to believe that the hardship is one’s friend, that it is not the opposition but the road, is not what obstructs but what develops, is not what disheartens but ennobles” (Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1844).

Read more “Endurance and Healing…”

Between Heaven and Hell…

“Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” – 2 Cor. 5:11

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­The parable of the “Rich man and Lazarus” (Luke 16:19-31) is one of the most sobering and consequential of the Scriptures. Yeshua’s concise and brilliant story ranges over the issues of life and death and of our ultimate destiny beyond the grave. It answers perennial questions about where people go when they die, and it gives counsel about how to plan for the inevitability of judgment. It forewarns of the terrifying prospect of hell and eternal torment while it comforts those who seek heavenly blessing and eternal life. It tells of an “unbridgeable chasm” that exists after death that prevents any return from our final destination, implying that what we believe and how we live in this life has eternal significance and consequences. Those who believe in God’s truth as revealed in creation, in history, in the testimony of Scripture, and above all in the revelation of Yeshua will find salvation, consolation, and everlasting fellowship in the Father’s House, but those who turn away from the message of life will be consigned to irremediable suffering, sorrow, and terrifying loss. In this short essay, I hope to discuss this parable in a manner that will encourage us to “make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:24).

By way of providing some context to the parable, note that the Pharisees at that time taught that obedience to God’s commandments led to prosperity and blessing, whereas disobedience led to poverty and curses, and they therefore apparently justified the accumulation of riches as a sign of divine approval. Because of this, when they heard Yeshua say that no one can serve both “God and mammon,” they scoffed, though he replied to them by saying: “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:13-15). He then went on to say that with his arrival a “new era” had arrived, “the time was fulfilled,” and the Kingdom of God was being opened up for all who were willing to enter. This new way, or new covenant, was offered to the needy, the broken, and to all who realized they were sinners in need of the promised divine redemption (Luke 16:16-18). It is part of the irony of the parable that Lazarus, the outcast, was the blessed one accepted into heaven, whereas the rich man, the Pharisee, was cursed and locked outside of heaven’s gate.

I should add that some read the parable as a morality tale about economics and social justice, saying that God condemns the rich and vindicates the poor, though the sin of the rich man was not in his possession of wealth per se, but in his misuse of it, since he withheld charity that the Torah required to help his needy neighbor. After all, wealth by itself is neither good nor bad but depends on how it is used. Abraham was a very wealthy sultan who is called the “father of faith,” the prototype of a hospitable and gracious man of God. Likewise the prophet Job was described as “perfect and upright, and one that feared God,” though he was the “wealthiest man in all the east” (Job 1:1,3). So it is a distraction to interpret the parable in “Marxist” terms to make it about the evils of economic disparities and inequalities. Moreover, justice and economic responsibilities such as employment wages, ownership, tithing, lending, giving charity, and so on are matters clearly defined in the law of Moses.

The parable obviously concerns more than issues of economic injustice, however, and this is evinced by Yeshua’s description of the spiritual condition of each man that was revealed after their death. As Yeshua tells the tale we are given a vision beyond the grave, seeing the consequences of how the decisions we make in this life will play out in eternity. The issue of social injustice is secondary at best; what is at issue is the ultimate destiny of the soul.

The parable begins: “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day, and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores, who desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores” (Luke 16:19-21).

The story opens with this unnamed rich man living in luxury and opulence, elegantly attired and well-fed, going about his business, when a destitute, sickly, and disabled beggar named Lazarus was carried to his house and “laid at his gate.” Perhaps the citizens of the town had no other option than to drop Lazarus off at the rich man’s place, hoping that a man of his means would show compassion and help the poor wretch. For Lazarus’ part, he was nearly starving and hoped he might eat scraps from the man’s table that otherwise would be thrown in the garbage. Whatever else we can say, it’s clear that Lazarus was the embodiment of need: penniless, covered with putrefying ulcers, and unable to walk; his only companions were stray dogs who would lick his wounds…

The rich man, however, lived lavishly in his exclusive and “gated” home, and while he knew of the plight of Lazarus, he did nothing to alleviate his suffering. He offered no meal. He offered no shelter. He didn’t even offer a shekel or two to help the beggar buy some bandages or go see a doctor. His hardness of heart was wicked and clearly violated commandments of Torah to care for the needy brother and not to turn him away (Lev. 25:35; Deut. 15:7-8).

Lazarus, on the other hand, is depicted as a nobody, an outcast, a leper. However, he is a lowly man of faith, as indicated by his Hebrew name Elazar (אֶלְעָזָר) which means “God (אֵל) will help (עָזַר).” Lazarus represents someone “poor in spirit,” someone who mourns over his life, a humble and broken soul that hungers and thirsts for God’s righteousness and mercy, and so on (see the “Beatitudes” listed in Matt. 5:1-12).

The story continues. “And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus upon his bosom” (Luke 16:22-23). This is another contradiction of the Pharisaical expectation. The soul of the outcast, the unclean leper, and the beggar who was not even given a proper burial, was collected by the angels of God and carried up to lean upon “Abraham’s bosom” (or chest) – a beautiful image of intimate embrace and comfort – whereas the rich man found himself in hell. This place of torment, called Hades (or she’ol in Hebrew), is a place of punitive confinement where the unrighteous dead are gathered to await their final judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Note that the rich man was conscious; he could see Abraham with Lazarus by his side, and he remembered who Lazarus was…

So he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). Note that the rich man called Abraham his “father,” perhaps alluding to an early mishnah of the sages that every son of Abraham is given a share in the world to come: כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעלם הבא. In other words, the rich man appealed to Abraham as his child, and asked him to command Lazarus to bring him some water to allay his suffering…

“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us'” (Luke 16:25-26).

There are a few things to note here. First, Yeshua was not teaching that those who have wealth and good things in this life are necessarily going to be tormented, nor was he saying that simply being poor and afflicted makes a person fit for heaven. As mentioned above, a wealthy person such as Abraham can be declared righteous while a poor person like Judas Iscariot can be treacherously wicked. Ultimately the destination for each soul is based on their faith in God, and that was likely Yeshua’s point to the Pharisees: temporal prosperity is not an indication of divine favor (Prov. 10:2), nor does it define what makes a good Jew (Rom. 2:28-29). Secondly we note the “great gulf” (χάσμα μέγα) is immovably fixed so that no one can cross over or escape from their destiny. After death, your fate is sealed. There is no going back; there are no “re-do’s”; there is no further chance to repent at that time… This is it. This is what has become of your life, and now all that’s left is God’s judgment.

Yeshua therefore teaches that hell is not some form of annihilation, nor is a place of “purgatory” wherein the soul suffers and learn to repent after death. No, “it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this is judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Hell is a dreadful eternal reality is terrifying to consider. Those who go to hell will be fully conscious and will experience and unending nightmare of regret and sorrow that will never be extinguished. Indeed, eternal torment is gruesomely likened to worms feeding upon rotting corpses in “Gehenna,” the Valley of Hinnom, an ancient garbage dump used to burn waste. Hell is likened to the state “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44; Isa. 66:24). Some have said the “worm” here likely is a metaphor for a guilty conscience that forever gnaws away with no end to the remorse. This is all terrifying to consider, dear friends…

The story continues: “Then he said (to Abraham),`I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him (i.e., Lazarus) to my father’s house, for have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment'” (Luke 16:27-28). The rich man now is beginning to understand his irretrievably lost condition, his need for deliverance, and yet it is too late for repentance. In a moment of apparent contrition, he beseeches Abraham to command Lazarus (whom the rich man never addresses directly) to go to his brothers and warn them of the danger that they too may end up in the same terrible place as he. Implicit in his request is the allegation that if only God would do a miracle like this, his brothers would believe, since he would have believed had God done this for him. In other words the man is indirectly accusing God of being unfair to him because he was not given enough reason to believe. In response, “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them’” (Luke 16:29).

And now we getting to the point of the parable that reveals the divide between the destinies of the righteous from that of the wicked. The rich man denied that the word of God was sufficient to save his brothers from perdition, and that some great miracle was needed instead. He therefore protested to Abraham saying, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” The parable concludes emphatically with Abraham saying: “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded even if one rises from the dead” (Luke 16:30-31).

So what are we to learn here? What conclusion might we draw? The parable teaches that Lazarus was accepted because he believed in the promise of God, whereas the rich man did not. Yeshua indicates this by having Abraham repeatedly say that salvation comes from listening to Moses and the Prophets, that is, believing in the testimony of the Scriptures and how they point to him (Deut. 18:15; Isa. 53; John 1:45; 5:46; Luke 24:27; 24:44). Again, when the doomed man objected that listening to God’s word was insufficient, he was rebuffed: “If they do not listen (i.e., ἀκούω, understand, perceive) Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded even if one rises from the dead.” Miracles are not enough. After all, even those who saw Yeshua raise Lazarus (of Bethany) from the dead refused to believe that he was Israel’s Messiah and Savior (John 11:40-53). So seeing isn’t believing, though believing God’s word enlightens the eyes of the heart to see. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes from the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Therefore it is understanding the word of God and believing its truth that saves the soul from death. Abraham believed the Lord (regarding the promised child) and the Lord declared him righteous for doing so (Gen. 15:6). This is the touchstone of faith (Rom. 4:1-13; Gal. 3:7-9; 3:29). Amen: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). So the destiny of each soul turns on the inescapable responsibility to believe in God and to trust in his promises (John 6:47).

“It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this is judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Each of us, then, must confront not only his own death, but also his own destiny… It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. Therefore we are admonished to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).

God has given many convincing proofs of his reality (Acts 1:3); he has implanted eternity within our hearts (Eccl. 3:11); he enables us to use logic and to clearly infer his power (Rom. 1:20); he testifies of his moral authority by the voice of conscience (Rom. 2:15); he reveals his glory in the splendors of creation (Psalm 19:1-3), and most especially, he reveals himself to faithful witnesses who have preserved their prophetic in the holy Scriptures (Matt. 5:17; Luke 11:49-51; John 20:31; Rom. 3:1-2; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16).

The gift of the Holy Spirit assures the heart and confirms the truth of God to those who listen and believe the testimony (John 14:26; John 16:13-14; 1 Cor. 2:10; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). We can know God as our “Abba” by the inner witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8:15). Our hearts experience real peace as we are transformed by the grace of his love. We trust that the Lord will shepherd our lives and faithfully bring us into glories of heaven when we die.  Amen.

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Addendum: Lazarus of Bethany…

There may be a connection between Lazarus of Bethany – the man Yeshua raised from the dead (as recorded in John 11) and the Lazarus named in this parable. First note that the raising of Lazarus is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all the miracles recorded in the New Testament, and of all miracles performed by Yeshua, this most clearly attested to his divinity and glory. Nevertheless, even after witnessing this miracle, many of the Pharisees remained faithless and the religious leadership thereafter conspired to kill him (John 11:46-56). By identifying the “rich man” in the parable with the religious leadership, Yeshua would be giving utmost warning that they were in utmost danger of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit’s witness, the unpardonable sin that leads to eternal death (Matt. 12:31-32).

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More Blessed to Give…

From our Torah portion for this week (i.e., Re’eh) we read: aser te’aser: “You shall tithe…” (Deut. 14:22). Understand this as the great blessing of becoming a conduit of heavenly good to others. The sages say that giving tzedakah (צְדָקָה, i.e., “charity”) to others is like a nursing mother. As long as she suckles her child, her milk supply is replenished and even increases; but once she weans the child, her supply dries up… So also when we give of our substance – the more we give, the more we will have; the less we give, the less we will have (Matt. 13:12). Therefore as our Lord taught us: “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. ‘Middah keneged middah’ (מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה) – for with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

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Knowing God Truly….

“I never knew you…” O dreadful vision to consider that we, even though we profess faith in God, may become strangers to the truth, and that the essence of our life was discovered to be a lie, a vanity, everlasting loss…

That is the substance of Yeshua’s warning to each of us. “The inner is not the outer.” Not every one who says that he believes in him truly does so, and not every one who thinks he knows him does so truly (Matt. 7:21). Truth is revealed by what a person does with his or her life, since this manifests who they are and what they really believe, far more than mere words. We can say a lot of things about what we may believe, but the test is whether we are doing the will of God – or not. Those who “enter the kingdom” are those who seek to do the will of God as the utmost passion of their existence.

Clearly none of this is about religion or religious “scrupulosity.” It is far more serious than that. Yeshua warned that many people do various religious activities, “good deeds” such as feeding the poor, protesting social injustice, or ministering to the oppressed, and so on. Some may even teach or preach the very gospel message itself, but alas! all these may be outsiders who break the inmost law of truth by refusing to surrender to God.

Hear Yeshua’s words: “Many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ (Matt. 7:22). But note the plural pronoun used in this self-reference. Why does the crowd speak on its behalf regarding what “they” have done to justify themselves? Are these people trusting in their religious associations or virtues to make them right with God? Do they identify themselves with some church or righteous cause and assume that should suffice to obtain favorable judgment from heaven? Be careful. Yeshua always speaks to the individual heart, not to groups, tribes, or political parties… “I never knew you” is spoken in the plural: Οὐδέποτε ἔγνων ὑμᾶς.

But Yeshua is saying something more. In this admonitory vision of judgment there is a surprising twist. There is no indication that he denied that some people objectively did such things. Many did prophesy (or teach) about God; many did cast out demons and do “powerful” or miraculous works. The essence of the judgment, however, is that despite all this, despite their ostensible allegiance to God, they were really practitioners of lawlessness, workers of iniquity, and therefore they were cast out: “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23).

Yeshua had warned us before. He made the matter clear: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13-14). The “wide” gate is the way of the crowd, spacious enough to accommodate the masses. It’s the way of open-ended “tolerance” coupled with the unthinking repudiation of moral convictions. The “paradox of tolerance” is that absolute tolerance is self-contradictory and ultimately leads to self-destruction. As Karl Popper said: “If everyone is tolerant of every idea, then intolerant ideas will emerge. Tolerant people will tolerate this intolerance, and the intolerant people will not tolerate the tolerant people.”

The “narrow way,” on the other hand, leads to life. It is not the popular way. It is not the way of the masses or the “politically correct” crowd. It’s not amenable to the way of the jaded skeptic who has no faith in truth. It is not the path of the proud or arrogant. Nor is it the way of “religion” or social justice organizations. It does neither “jihad” nor affect compassion through worldly philanthropy. It is certainly not the way of the State nor political movements driven by mass appeals of the tyrants and demagogues. Nor is it the way of the “institutional” churches. It is not a mass “Christian” movement. It is not concerned with teachings of theologians, or professors, or even preachers who are simply “interested” in the things of God but who never engage in raw personal struggle and agony of heart to do the will of God. No, the way of true surrender involves confessing your brokenness and poverty – your need for deliverance from yourself – and in humility coming before the light to ask God for the miracle of salvation, “life-from-death” deliverance, resurrection, and newness of life…

Something more is therefore needed than merely thinking about God or doing various forms of good works, and that “something more” is having an honest and genuinely tested relationship Yeshua, knowing him in the secret communion of your heart as you live whatever remains of your days in surrender to his will. Doing so will nake you a wise person who “builds his life upon the Rock” – the solid foundation of God’s heart given in Christ – and you will thereby be able to weather the inevitable storms of life without failing (Matt. 7:24-27).

So do you truly know the Lord, friend? Or better – does He really know you? Again, this is not some abstract knowledge about God or the practices of religion, but constitutes the passion of the heart. It is the “knowledge” of knowing someone that you truly love. And that is the key: love. To know God is to know his love and to receive his passion. You simply cannot know Yeshua apart from knowing his love for you, for these are bound together as one.

God loves you despite yourself. It’s not your love for God that saves you but God’s love for you: ῾Ημεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτόν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς. “We love him because he first loves us” (1 John 4:19). We were born into this world alienated, lost, spiritually dead, and therefore unable to know the truth of God’s heart. Our love (and knowledge) of God comes from God’s love for us, and we receive that love by the miracle of his intervention in our lives. There is no other way. We do not ascend a “stairway to heaven” to find God, but he descends to the depths and rescues us from the shadowy world of exile and fear.

Yeshua was once asked: “What shall we do to do the works of God?” and he answered: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he sent” (John 6:28-29). This, then, is the will of God; this is what the Lord requires from us; this is the key that opens the door to enter in the Kingdom: to believe in God’s personal love for us given in Yeshua and to live the truth of that love humbly and in all our ways.

If you forget the essence of your soul you begin to lose sight of your reason for being, the “why” that underlies all other whys… This essence, however, is not discovered by means of reason, but by revelation — it is a divine disclosure that awakens you to newness of life. Teshuvah is a return to the arms of your Heavenly Father…

 

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Psalm 139:23-24 Hebrew page (pdf)

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Tishah B’Av Prophecies

Yeshua foretold the destruction of the Second Temple when he lamented: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, Barukh Haba Ba’shem Adonai: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Yeshua then left the Temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the Temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Matt. 23:37-24:2). Note well that we are not awaiting the construction of the “Third Temple” which will be hastily erected during the time of Jacob’s Trouble during the Great Tribulation, but we await the “Fourth Temple,” that is, the Temple that will be built by Tzemach Tzaddik (צֶמַח צַדִּיק), namely, the Messiah the Son of David (מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־דָוִד) who will come again to establish the Kingdom of Zion upon the earth in fulfillment of the promises of God (Zech. 6:12; Jer. 23:5).At that glorious time the mourning of the Jewish people will forgotten, as it is written: “Thus says Adonai Tzeva’ot (יהוה צְבָאוֹת): The fast of the fourth month (Tammuz), and the fast of the fifth month (Tishah B’Av), and the fast of the seventh month (Gedaliah), and the fast of the tenth month (Asarah b’Tevet), will be to the house of Judah for joy and rejoicing and for pleasant appointed seasons. Therefore love truth and peace” (Zech. 8:19). In that coming day, “The LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.”

 

 

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly over the years, the word “Zion” (i.e., tziyon: צִיּוֹן) is mentioned over 160 times in the Scriptures. That’s more than the words faith, hope, love, and countless others… And since Zion is a poetic form of the word Jerusalem, the number of occurrences swells to nearly 1,000! It is therefore not an overstatement to say that God Himself is a Zionist…. “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Psalm 50:2). Zion represents the rule and reign of God in the earth and is therefore synonymous with the Kingdom of God. The entire redemptive plan of God — including the coming of the Messiah Himself and our very salvation — is wrapped up in the concept of Zion. It is the “historiography” of God — His “philosophy of history,” if you will.

In a sense, the great vision of Zion is the heart of the Gospel message and the focal point of God’s salvation in this world. Zion represents our eschatological future — our home in olam haba (the world to come). Even the new heavens and earth will be called Jerusalem — “Zion in her perfection” (Rev. 21). “This is what Adonai Tzeva’ot says: I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure” (Zech. 1:14-15). “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch” (Isa 62:1). “The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcasts of Israel he will gather in… Praise God, O Jerusalem, laud your God, O Zion” (Psalm 147:2-12).

We are presently living in the “days of the Messiah,” just before the time of great worldwide tribulation that will lead to the prophesied acharit hayamim (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים), or the “End of Days.” This is the age in which the spirit of the Messiah is available to all. These are “days of God’s favor” that are ending soon. According to traditional Jewish sources (Pesachim 54b; Midrash Tehilim 9:2), no one knows the exact time when the Messiah will appear — though there are some hints. The condition of the world during the end of days will be grossly evil (2 Pet. 3:3; 2 Thess. 2:3-4, 2 Tim. 3:1-5). The world will undergo various forms of tribulation, collectively called chevlei Mashiach (חֶבְלֵי הַמָּשִׁיחַ) – the “birth pangs of the Messiah” (Sanhedrin 98a; Ketubot, Bereshit Rabbah 42:4, Matt. 24:8). Some sages say the birth pangs will last 70 years, with the last 7 years as the most intense period — the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” / עֵת־צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקב (Jer. 30:7). Just before the second advent of Yeshua, a period of tribulation and distress for Israel will occur. After this “great tribulation” period, however, Yeshua will usher in Yom YHVH, the “Day of the LORD,” and the sabbatical millennium, the 1000 year reign of King Messiah will commence (Rev. 20:4).

 

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Although “Day of the LORD” (i.e., yom Adonai: יוֹם יְהוָה) is often associated with Tishah B’Av and the catastrophic destruction of the Jewish Temple, the words of the prophets were only partially fulfilled, and there awaits another Day coming when God will terribly shake the entire earth (Isa. 2:19). “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Rev. 6:17). The prophet Malachi likewise says: “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them'” (Mal. 4:1). For those who are godless, the great Day of the LORD is a time of horrific judgment, but for those who belong to the LORD, it represents a day of victory and great blessing. Regarding that day the prophet Malachi said, “Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things” (Mal. 4:3).

Ultimately the Great Tribulation period is purgative and healing (sometimes called yissurim shel ahavah, or “the troubles of love”). The prophets wrote that Zion will go through labor and then give birth to children (Isa. 66:8). Thus the Vilna Gaon wrote that the geulah (national redemption) is something like rebirth of the nation of Israel. This accords with the prophetic fulfillment of Yom Kippur as the Day of Judgment and time of Israel’s national conversion. In the verse from prophet Jeremiah regarding the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble,” it’s vital to see the goal in mind – “yet out of it he is saved” (וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵׁעַ). When Yeshua returns to Zion, all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26). The sages note that childbirth is a time of radical transition and struggle for the baby — from the time of relatively peaceful existence within the womb into the harsh light of day — and therefore a similar transition between this world and the Messianic world to come is about to take place…

 

 

Stay strong, friends.

John

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