LightofGod

     Last week we studied the Sabbath portion titled Sh'mini, which means "Eighth Day". The Hebrew word not only includes the number eight as well as numbers built upon the number eight like eighteen, eighteen thousand and so on, but the meaning of sh'mini or semini/samen/saman includes so much more. It includes the idea of "plenteous, fat, robust, rich/to shine with oil, to cover with fat or oil." The idea is the overflowing riches of the anointing and shining with the oil of anointing. 

     In keeping with the understanding of the word semini, the Sabbath portion also includes Atz'ma'ut, a recognition of the anniversary of the restoration and independence of the modern nation of Israel. Atz'ma'ut in the Hebrew means "to become an entity". God prophesied that He would restore Israel as a nation, and approximately 2,000 years after its demise, Israel was restored as an independent nation on May 14, 1948. This was a great miracle and fulfilment of prophecy. However, the miracle doesn't end there. While the nation of Israel prospers greatly and is the premier military power in the area, the promise of semini goes so much further. If we limited the fulfilment of God's promises to the 1948 physical re-establishment of the nation of Israel, we would be robbing Israel of the great prophetic semini promises of God for the spiritual riches and anointing that He has for Israel that will impact the world. Because of this, God's semini promises for Israel are important for all of the people and nations of the earth.

     If the Atz'ma'ut anniversary of Israel does not occur until May 14, why does a March/April Sabbath reading portion include it? It was decided that the month of Nisan, which is the month of Passover, is the perfect time to examine the great miracle of this restoration, and God's semini prophecies for Israel.

     The first Atz'ma'ut anniversary reading portion from the Sh'mini Sabbath is from the prophet, Micah, whose Hebrew name Michayahu means "Who is like the LORD (Yahweh)?":

     "Now it shall come to pass in the latter ('aharit/'ahar - after part, end, latter time, future time, posterity, remnant/afterwards, seeing, in the background, hinder parts) days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore....'In that day,' says the LORD, I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast and those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, and the outcast a strong nation; so the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever." (Mic. 4:1-7, excerpt, also Isa. 2:1-4). Isaiah, who earlier in time wrote this same Word of the LORD added: "O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the LORD." (Isa. 2:5).

     How wonderful is the semini shining oil of the anointing that will flow out of Jerusalem, as the LORD, Himself, teaches all people and nations! How wonderful is the shining anointing that causes the end of war among the nations of the whole world! How wonderful is the shining anointing that creates a nation from the lame and the outcasts that no one valued! This is not an Atz'ma'ut celebration remembrance that is limited to the physical restoration of the nation of Israel, miraculously brought back from non-existence in 1948, but a Sh'mini celebration of the shining anointing of the LORD, that will change the world. Believers in Messiah/Christ view this prophetic vision of Micah's as the reign of Messiah/Christ Jesus on earth after His return.

     Another Atz'ma'ut (anniversary) reading portion from this Sh'mini Sabbath is from Isaiah 60: "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness (hosek/hasak - darkness, misery, destruction, sorrow, obscurity, wickedness, of Hades/become dark, grow dim, confuse) shall cover the earth, and deep darkness ('arapel - heavy thick darkness, gloom, heavy dark cloud) the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and the kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up (nasa - lift up, arise, to carry, forgive, hold up, obtain, cast eyes upon) your eyes ('ayin - sight, a fountain, look well, regard) all around (sabib/sabab - on every side, in a circle/walk around, march around, turn oneself, change, transform), and see (ra'a - see, look, consider, seer, discern, perceive, foresee, have vision, to be visible): They all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see (ra'a, see above) and become radiant (nahar - flow together, lightened, to shine, to beam, be radiant), and your heart shall swell with joy...The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you...And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD...For the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. Also your people shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time." (Isa. 60:1-6, excerpt, 20-22).

     As Isaiah wrote the LORD's prophecy above, it must have reminded him of His vision of the Lord on His throne in the temple of God in heaven, and the seraphim angels that cried out to each other: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isa. 6:3).

     Even when all around is a thick, deep darkness, the LORD is asking above for Israel to "see" with spiritual sight, to turn in place and look all around them and "see into being or visibility" what the LORD has declared over Israel. This goes beyond the establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948, as miraculous as that was. This is a vision of radiant beaming light that shines out from Israel. Nations and people will be drawn out of that crushing darkness towards this beaming sh'mini oil of shining. Israel and all of us who value the Word of the LORD are to prophetically "see" this vision. 

     In the 1930's and 40's a thick darkness of lies and oppression did attempt to cover the earth and to subject all of the people, especially Jewish people, to the point of extinction. However, out of this time of darkness, the nation of Israel was born in 1948. We are living in a time when a great spiritual darkness from hell of destruction, wickedness and misery is again trying to overcome the world. Even now, Isaiah's words from the LORD are again calling out to Israel and to all of us who believe to look up and look all around us and "see" this promise of the manifestation of the light and glory of the LORD coming forth to the world from this restored nation. "All around", or sabib/sabab in Hebrew, includes the meaning of to change, to transform (see above). Seeing with ra'a prophetic sight, brings the invisible into visibility (see ra'a meaning above) and transforms the nations and people even beyond the borders of Israel as the shining light overwhelms the darkness.

     Darkness cannot be destroyed with military strategies or bombs. It is a spiritual power. As Isaiah wrote, darkness, even the thick darkness of Hell, is only overcome with the eternal and gloriously radiant Light of God from within His people whom He has raised up: "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you," Isaiah wrote.

     At the current time of great darkness, we are called to lift our eyes all around us and ra'a see the glory of the Kingdom of God, and the glory of the Messianic/Christ's Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, and to be that same glory of beaming radiance, the same sh'mini shining with the oil of anointing, that overcomes the darkness. 

     John wrote: "This is the message we have heard from Him (Jesus) and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 Jn. 1:5-7, see also Jn. 1:4-5, Jn. 8:12, Col. 3:1-4, 2 Pet. 3:13-14, Lk. 21:28). The prophecy of Isaiah above is still powerful, still working, still being fulfilled in the earth. To both the nation of Israel, and to the Jewish and Gentile believers in Messiah/Christ, who are the light of the world as Jesus is the Light of the world, let this Light so shine. (see Mt. 5:14-16).

     The vision of the LORD didn't end in 1948, and the intention of the vision is to beam this shining light into the darkness. The prophet Daniel spoke of those who shine. Jesus spoke of that shine and told us all to be it. He is the source of that shine because He is Messiah/Christ, the Anointed One, anointed with the sh'mini shining oil of Kingship. If you can ra'a see and be the shine, then you will also see Him as the source of it.

     When David wrote of the LORD as his Shepherd in Psalm 23, he said: "...You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over," he was speaking in a way that incorporates the meaning in Hebrew of the Sh'mini (see above) Sabbath.   

     The Hebrew word, Atz'ma'ut, the anniversary of Israel's independence included in the Sh'mini Sabbath, also has in its root meaning the word "bone." Israelites use this meaning to point to the prophecy regarding the valley of dry bones of "the whole house of Israel" that come to life again as Ezekiel obediently prophesied the Word of the LORD over those dry bones, which have been long imprisoned in death. (Ezek. 37:1-14). This was written while Ezekiel and the Israelites were still kept in captivity in Babylon. The LORD promises that He will "...open (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-your-graves" and bring you into the land of Israel...Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-your-graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. Then I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land." (v. 12-14).

      (*Aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) resurrection from death, the voice that opens graves (see Jn. 5:24-25), did come to the nation of Israel generations after their captivity in Babylon ended and they were returned to the land. From that nation of Israel, the news of the Resurrection and the Life, the Messiah/Christ (see Jn. 11:23-27), was spread by Israelite believers to other people and nations, changing/transforming millions and millions of lives over two thousand years.

     God's wondrous and miraculous plan for the nation of Israel and its impact on the world was not begun and completed in 1948 but began in eternity and will continue into eternity, including playing a key role in the return of Jesus to earth to rule and reign forever. In the meantime, Arise, shine against the darkness. Look up and all around and "see" it according to the Word of the LORD.

     If you would like to learn more about the battle of Light against darkness, and our "seeing", "being", and "shining" role in it, you can join with me in prayer: "Heavenly Father of Light! You have prophesied to Israel and to all of us the truth of Your purpose and plan to overcome the kingdom of darkness that attempts to cover the earth and all of the people. You sent Your beloved Son, Jesus, to be the Light of the world, and He called me and those who believe on Him to be the same Light. Father, I want to be that Light. Your Word is Light. Let Your Word, who is Jesus, and Your Spirit, who is truth, dwell within me and shine from me. Anoint my head with Your pure oil, Father, and transform me into Light and transform also those who see Your Light in me. Father, let darkness recede from before Your Light as I turn all around and "see" and believe that the whole earth is filled with the glory of God. I ask this in the name of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus. AMEN."

 *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Above&Beyond

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Sh'mini, meaning "the eighth." The title comes from Leviticus 9:1: "It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel." It is taught in Judaism that "the eighth" is "one step above/beyond the natural order". The Hebrew word for the eighth, semini, includes this meaning: "eighth, plumpness, plenteous, rich, robust, cover with fat." In other words, there's more to "the eighth" than meets the eye. There is something bigger held within it. There is so much more existing in the meaning of "the eighth" that it is almost full to bursting with fatness! We will see this in the Sabbath reading portions of this week.

     This week's Sh'mini Sabbath portion also includes the recognition of the upcoming anniversary of Israel's modern statehood which was re-established in 1948. This anniversary is called Atz-ma-ut. Within minutes after David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel in May 1948, the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, recognized the new state of Israel, making the U.S. the first nation to do so. As with the meaning of sh'mini stated above, we will see that the nation of Israel's purpose goes above and beyond what men might think or expect. Let us begin to reveal this hidden pattern of Sh'mini.

     As Leviticus Ch. 9 begins, Moses instructs Aaron and his sons about the offerings which must be brought to the altar in order to make atonement for themselves and the Israelite congregation. These offerings from the animals must contain the hidden inner fat (heleb - fat, fatness, best, finest, the richest or choice part, the best or most excellent of any kind) from the specified sacrificial offerings (see Lev. 9:9-11, 19-20). Even the grain offering had to be mixed with the fatness of oil (semen/saman - fat, oil, richness, fatness of the earth). The description could stop there, but these sacrifices that included the fatty portions would yield a result above and beyond what an observer might expect. Moses said: "...for today the LORD will appear to you" and "...the glory (kabod - glory, honor, glorious, abundance, riches, splendor, copiousness) of the LORD will appear to you." (Lev. 9:4, 6). The fatness of the glory of the LORD would be appearing (ra'a - look, behold, show, appear, seer, foresee, perceive, discern, to be visible) to His people. Not only would the LORD be visible, but the word ra'a appear also has a prophetic application. Many generations later, the LORD also became visible to us in the appearing of Jesus Christ, "and we beheld His glory". (see Jn. 1:14, Jn. 14:9-11, Col. 2:9). As Moses had prophesied, the LORD did appear after the offerings had been completed: "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the people, and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." (Lev. 9:23-24). This was "the eighth" day above and beyond wonder from the LORD.

     We see another example of a kind of Sh'mini "the eighth" above and beyond work of God in another reading portion from this Sabbath. In 1 Chron. 17, King David tells Nathan the prophet about his desire to build a house for the Ark of the Covenant. The King reasoned that since he dwelt in a fine house of cedar, why shouldn't the Ark be housed in a fine house as well instead of a tent? The prophet Nathan told David to do what was in his heart to do because the LORD was with him. However, that night, Nathan was given a prophetic Word from the LORD for David. Nathan told David the prophetic Word. David would not be building a house for the LORD..."Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house....I will set up your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me a house, and I will establish (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) his throne forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son...And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." (v. 10-14).

     While this prophetic Word from the LORD was partially fulfilled as one might expect it to be through David's son, Solomon, who did build a house for the LORD, this prophetic Word goes above and beyond in the Spirit of Sh'mini "the eighth" what anyone would have expected.

     The LORD was prophesying that the eternal King, the Messiah/Christ, who would rule forever, would be a seed of David, and David understood this prophetic meaning. After receiving this above and beyond covenant promise of God, King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?...And now, LORD, You are God, and have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now You have been pleased to bless (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You have blessed it, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever." (v. 16, 26-27). The LORD poured out His spiritual fatness and goodness towards the house and seed of David, above and beyond what David ever could have expected, and we have Jesus, the Son of David (Lk. 18:35-43), the Messiah/Christ, as our Lord today.

     Both of these blessings from God came as a result of offerings. The first instance included the offerings of the choicest kinds through Moses' Word to Aaron, and this led to the appearance of the LORD and His glory before all of the people. In the second example, David desired to give God an offering from his heart - a cedar house for the Ark of the Covenant, which would be a house like David's, fit for a king. This led to the promise of the Messiah/Christ from David's house, who would rule forever. David described this above and beyond promise as the goodness of God towards him.

     From another reading portion from this Sh'mini "the eighth" Sabbath, David's son King Solomon wrote about an evil which he has seen under the sun. This evil is summed up this way: "If a man begets a hundred children, and lives many years...but his soul is not satisfied with goodness...even if he lives a thousand years twice - but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?" (Eccl. 6:3-6, excerpt). The above and beyond goodness of God is needed, and even hungered for, by the human soul, for those things which are above and beyond the natural order (see the meaning of "the eighth above), no matter how naturally well off that person is. Solomon said that a man's life is a failure without that above and beyond goodness of God.

     From another Sh'mini Sabbath reading portion, the LORD had broken out against and killed one who had touched the Ark of the Covenant while it was being incorrectly moved to the City of David (Jerusalem). After that event: "...David would not move the ark of the LORD into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the LORD blessed (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Obed-Edom and all his household." (2 Sam. 6:6-11, excerpt).

     Obed-Edom was faithful in allowing the Ark into his home and among his family, even though the previous mishandling of the Ark had just caused the death of a man. His offering of obedience and reverence was rewarded.

     This is a very interesting example of an above and beyond blessing of God as associated with Sh'mini, "the eighth". Obed-Edom's name means "servant of Edom" or "servant of the flesh". The fact that he is called a Gittite means he is from the Philistine city of Gath, also the hometown of Goliath the giant whom David killed. Perhaps this was not the expected place where one would leave the Ark of the Covenant. However, Obed-Edom must have treated the Ark with the special reverence that it deserved because the LORD blessed his house. There is a hint for us in the fact that the written Hebrew places an aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega prefix before Obed-Edom's name, which associated him with the (fore)knowledge of the identity of Messiah/Christ (see *note below). Obed-Edom would also be named later with the Levites as one of the doorkeepers for the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Ark. (1 Chron. 15:23-25).

     From this Sh'mini "the eighth" Sabbath reading portion, we also have the Atz-ma-ut scriptures to be read for the coming anniversary of Israel's statehood as mentioned above. We will also see that these reading portions fulfill the above and beyond meaning found in Sh'mini, "the eighth". The LORD shows us that Israel is more than just a nation in the earth. Its purpose is above and beyond what one might expect of a geo-political state. The LORD reveals this abundance of meaning: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore...So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion." (Mic. 4:1-7, excerpt, see also Isa. 2:1-4).

     Regarding this nation of Israel, the LORD promises His/Messiah's/Christ's reign of peace, judgment of the nations, and the end to all war. The nations will come to Israel to receive and learn the Word of the LORD. This above and beyond purpose is prophetically hidden in one of the smallest nations on earth, but it is the nation of God's covenant people, and the LORD intends to rule all of the nations from this place upon which He has written His name.

     In Isaiah 60, another reading portion this Sabbath for Atz-ma-ut anniversary, the LORD describes the glory that will bring all of the nations of the earth to Israel. It is resurrection glory: "Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you...The Gentiles/nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising...You shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob...Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise...Also your people shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; The branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified." (Isa. 60, excerpts).

     It is fitting that the anniversary celebration of the re-establishing of the nation of Israel, and the above and beyond prophetic vision of the LORD towards this nation, be included this year with the Sh'mini, "the eighth", Sabbath reading portion. Let us understand the LORD's miraculous vision for that nation.

     There are many mentions of "the eighth" in scripture that are connected to meaningful and amazing events. However, except for the mention of "the eighth" in Lev. 9:1, above, there are no specific mentions of "the eighth" in the other reading portions from this Sabbath. This leads me to question the Lord as to why none of the other reading selections gathered together under this scheduled Sh'mini Sabbath portion have a specific mention of "the eighth"? For me, this is an example of the wisdom and revelation to be found in the schedule of Sabbath reading portions in general. "The eighth" is not just a specific ordinal number, but it contains a truth that surpasses above and beyond a literal connection to "the eighth". "The eighth" does not express only a physical reality, but the very vision and will of God for man and for the earth. It is an above and beyond vision that man could never have imagined. The New Testament gives us this clarity by saying: "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Eph. 3:17-21). Paul was revealing "the eighth" realm to us in this set of verses. As a Jew, he would have studied this Sh'mini Sabbath reading portion.

     As I read these verses written by Paul, above, I can see where he is trying to pull us into the realm of "the eighth", a realm beyond natural knowledge and expectations, and exceedingly abundantly above what we now think and ask of God. It is said that man uses only 10% of his available brain capacity. Perhaps we have kept our understanding of God to the same limitation - 10% of His capabilities and plans for each of us and beyond us, into future generations. That would be a shame. Paul is telling us that we need to be filled with the knowledge of, and the belonging to Christ in order to truly comprehend the above and beyond contained in God, expressed here as "all the fullness of God", and its accessibility to us through Christ, who was the perfect, choicest offering that was provided for us. As believers in Christ, we can begin to desire and reach forth for this above and beyond understanding of the fullness of God meant for us. It is part of our purpose. This is especially important for us to know while living in these turbulent times before the return of Christ. 

     If you would like to learn more about this above and beyond fullness of God in us and for us, you can join me in my prayer: "Almighty God, Heavenly Father, how wonderful are Your thoughts towards me and towards the whole earth! You desire for me to understand the depth and heights of Your fullness as I deepen my joining with Jesus Messiah/Christ, Your beloved Son, and as I seek out the knowledge of Your Holy Spirit. Forgive me for the many times that I have limited Your power and Your will by not understanding that You are absolutely limitless. My Lord, I want to live in the fullness that You have intended for me so that I may walk in Your Ways and draw others to You with that rising light. Renew my mind and create a right spirit in me so that I can know and show others the above and beyond of my Lord. I pray for Your vision for Israel, for Your glory to appear in the midst of it, for Your peace to secure it, and Your rule to reign from it, and the awesome, earth-changing things You have in store for the whole world through that nation and its Messiah/Christ. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

HolyVision

      Sometimes my vision is too limited. God's vision is not limited. This Sabbath reading portion titled K'doshim, or "Holy ones", challenges me to see as God sees. We need this kind of vision to fulfill the purpose that the LORD ordains for us because it has an effect on future events. We need this kind of vision in order to be conformed to the image of His dear Son, Jesus. Paul, a Pharisee, and a learned student and later inspired teacher of the Tanakh (Old Testament), as well as teaching in new covenant revelation sight, wrote: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these also He justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Rom. 8:28-30).  Here we have the vision of God for us from eternity to eternity. This week's Sabbath reading portion, which includes Leviticus Ch. 19 through 20, introduces us to this truth of purpose while incorporating prophetic vision. I think we will find that the prophetic vision of God's people, and their call to manifest the image of God, will activate, even hasten, prophetic events. There's an old saying: "What you see is what you get." What are the people of God "seeing"? 

     From our Sabbath reading portion, K'doshim, or "Holy ones", we have the following pronouncements by the LORD: 

• "Speak to all (kol/kalal - the whole, all, each, every, anything, everything, whosoever, whatsoever, in regard to one continuous thing, of all kinds, every sort, altogether like/to complete, make perfect, to perfect, to put a crown upon) the congregation (eda/ed/ud - company, assembly, multitude, people, congregation, gathering, family, fixture, a private domestic meeting of family/witness. testimony, evidence of things, a recorder, prince, what testifies/surround with testimony and witnesses, to restore, relieve, say again and again, affirm-warn-exhort-enjoin solemnly-admonish-charge) of the children of Israel, and say (dabar) to them: "You shall be holy (qados/qadas - holy, Holy One, saint, sacred, set apart, God [by eminence], a sanctuary/to consecrate, sanctify, appoint, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be separate, clean, purify, to show oneself sacred or majestic, to be hallowed of God), for I the LORD your God am holy (qados/qadas - same as previous)." (Lev. 19:2).

    Here in this verse, we have the reference to our title K'doshim, or "Holy Ones" (see qados/qadas, above). This verse also tells us that we need to adjust our "sight" according to the Hebrew meanings of "all" and "congregation", above. Did you know that the simple word "all" has its root in perfection, completion and setting a crown upon the head? Sometimes "all" means more than "all"! Even "all" is beyond the limit of our assumptions in the vision of God. "Congregation" means any group or assembly, even family, that is alike in some manner. In this case, their alikeness is defined by their (princely) witness, evidence and testimony which serves to affirm, warn, exhort, admonish and charge. We will see more about this later. However, "Congregation" is not defined by something so superficial as an ethnic, racial or cultural group, but by our testimony, witness, and evidence. This is a very high calling as God's Holy Ones. We become holy because God is holy, as being set apart to His identity. He has dedicated us to Himself.

• "Consecrate/Sanctify (qadas - same as above) yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. And you shall keep My (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies (qadas - same as above) you." (Lev. 20:7-8).

Again we are sanctified by our connection to the sanctified identity of the LORD, who has called us to be part of Him. This sets us apart from all other people and powers and we should honor that separation by His identity, not resent, walk contrary to it or disregard it.

• "...I am the LORD your God who has separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore distinguish (badal - to divide, separate, sever utterly, withdraw from, to disjoin by placing a physical divider between, separate things previously mixed together, shut out, be secluded) between unclean (tame - unclean, impure sexually, morally, ethically and religiously; defiled, profane, contaminated, polluted)...and clean (taor/taher - pure, clean, unmixed/be or make clean or pure, to shine, be bright)...and you shall not make your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) souls abominable (saqas - make detestable, abominable, filthy, loathsome, polluted, utterly abhorrent, base, impure, contaminated) by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." (Lev. 20:24b-26).

The LORD's identity has already separated us to Himself. We are to understand, acknowledge and honor that separation from the unclean.  As we have read in past Sabbath portions, we, His people who are called by His name (see 2 Chron. 7:14), are so closely united with the identity of the LORD that the uncleanness of God's people makes the whole house of God, which He has set in the midst of His people, unclean also. While we know that the reference to the clean and unclean creatures is generally applied to dietary practices, there is also mention here of unclean creatures that make a person's soul into something "abominable". This is a very deep and dark subject that may include and also extend beyond that understanding that I cannot go into here because of length. Some of it deals with witchcraft, sorcery, divination and animism, and the habit of dark powers to inhabit certain living creatures as we have also seen in examples from scripture (see Gen. 3:1, 14-15, and Mk. 5:1-20). 

     Throughout Leviticus Chapters 19 and 20, the LORD repeats this phrase numerous times after giving the commandments regarding holiness: "I am the LORD", or "I am the LORD your God". His character and being are associated with His commands of holiness. In these chapters the LORD wants us to "see" as He sees and be changed by His vision. The LORD does not want us to be conformed to the vision and understanding of the world and the ungodly. He tells His people not to act in the ways of Egypt, out of which they came, nor to act in the ways of the Canaanites of the land to which the LORD was taking them (Lev. 18:3-5), but to walk by His (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Words (see also Rom. 12:1-3).

     I mentioned above that the holy calling to which we have been called also has prophetic importance. In the Book of Exodus, the LORD had already revealed His calling to holiness for His people: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Ex. 19:4-6). Simon Peter, the apostle, wrote of the same vision for believers in Messiah/Christ: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10). It's the same prophetic vision regarding God's people. 

     The other reading portions of this K'doshim "Holy ones" Sabbath are scheduled to be read around the anniversary (Atz'ma'ut) of Israel becoming an independent nation on May 14, 1948. However, the assigned portions are of a future vision. These reading portions for this specific time is telling Israel to keep the prophetic vision until it is fulfilled. There is more to come for the natural nation of Israel than what they "see" with their natural eyes, as well as for those who are grafted into that holy root by faith in the Messiah/Christ (Rom. 11:16-21). 

     This is the vision for the K'doshim, the Holy Ones for this Sabbath for the (Atz-ma'ut) anniversary of Israel: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem...They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Mic. 4:1-3). The vision for Israel and all of us at the anniversary of the restoration of their independent nation is not rooted in the present, though the present with its terrorism and warfare seems to be all-consuming. What are we "seeing"? Is it the vision for which the LORD has purposed His K'doshim Holy Ones to carry and walk in? There is much at stake.

     The vision doesn't stop there. In another Sabbath reading portion for Atz'ma'ut, the anniversary of Israel, the vision of the LORD for His K'doshim Holy Ones is one of glory: "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles/nations/heathen/people shall come to your light, and the kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around and see...Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within you borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory." (Isa. 60:1-4a, 19). If we are looking at the thick darkness of violence that covers the people, we are looking at the wrong thing. The vision of the LORD is commanding us this Sabbath to look for the risen light and glory of the LORD and conform to it.  This vision of Isaiah's is also brought into the new covenant (Rev. 21:22-27) for the vision of the LORD is eternal and does not change (Mal. 3:6). The verses of Revelation show us the presence of God and the Lamb for the dwelling place/tabernacle/temple of the Holy Ones, because it is written that "...there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Saints and K'doshim Holy Ones, are we carrying this vision? These visions of the LORD extend far beyond the current state of Israel and the nations, but look into the eternal, prophetic state of Israel and the nations. This is the LORD's anniversary gift to His people. according to the reading portions assigned for this Sabbath.

     Simon Peter wrote of the even further extent of this far-reaching, unlimited vision of the LORD's and our responsibility to it: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night...the heavens will pass away...the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore...what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening (speudo - to desire earnestly, make haste, urge on diligently or earnestly, await eagerly) the coming of the day of God...Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." (2 Peter 3:10-13, excerpt). Isaiah first prophesied this vision of the LORD (Isa. 65:17-19) regarding a new heaven and a new earth which was also "seen" by John the apostle in a vision in Rev. 21:1-4. Saints and K'doshim Holy Ones, what are we looking for? Is it this same vision of the LORD, which pulls us forward to the new and the righteous? Or do we only see the here and now, which are the things that are passing away? 

     The prophet Habakkuk wrote the word of the LORD: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but in the end it will speak, and will not lie. Though it tarries (mahah/ma - be reluctant and linger because of the questions "What?", "How?", "Where?", "Why?", "When?"), wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry (ahar - delay, hesitate, defer, remain behind, slack, keep back)." (Hab. 2:2-3). The LORD wants His K'doshim Holy Ones to read His vision and act upon it with urgency. Are we treating the Holy Vision that the LORD has commanded to His people with urgency?

     The writer of the Book of Hebrews also wanted to adjust our vision by picking up on the prophetic word of Habakkuk above: "For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just (dikaios - righteous, observing divine laws, approved of or acceptable of God, of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in the heart or life) shall live by faith...Now faith is the substance (hypostasis = hypo: under + istemi: to make firm, fix, establish, uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything, stand immovable, of the foundation of a building) of things hoped for, the evidence (Greek root elegcho - reprove, refute, shame, correct, admonish, to call to account, to bring to the light) of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Heb. 10:37-38, Heb. 11:1-3). The exercise of our (prophetic vision) faith brings forth the new things by scolding them for not manifesting, according to the Greek meaning above! This is the calling of the K'doshim Holy Ones and saints.

     If you would like to know more about the prophetic vision that the LORD has appointed for the K'doshim saints and Holy Ones, you can pray with me: "LORD of all creation, Your creation is still manifesting Your Word. The vision which You set from before the beginning will come to pass because You watch over Your Word to perform it.  As I follow Jesus, fill me with the Holy Spirit so I may walk in Your vision, running with it, looking forward and hastening it, living by the faith of the Son of God that pulls into existence the things that are not yet visible. I pray for Israel on their anniversary as a nation, that they would be blessed also in "seeing" by Your vision, which You entrusted to them, and by looking to the risen light and glory of Zion. I ask these things in the name of my Savior, Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

     

HolyOnes

This Sabbath is a special or unusual Sabbath called K'doshim, meaning "holy ones". The reading for this Sabbath begins in Leviticus 19, where God gave the command: "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy." (v. 2). As we can see, it was always God's intention that His people be like Him, so as to be identified as belonging to Him. God's people were to be set apart from the other people of the world: "I am the LORD your God who has separated (badal - set apart, divide, sever out, to make a distinction or a difference) you from the peoples...And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated/severed you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." (Lev. 20:24-26). The Apostle Paul also wrote about this separation or severance: "...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (metamorphoo - transfigure, change into another form, adjustment of shape, nature, form) by the renewing (anakainosis - complete change for the better, renewal; to be changed into a new kind of life as opposed to the former corrupt state) of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Rom. 12:2). Paul wrote about a change that goes much more deeply than that of adopting a kind of outwardly "holy" behavior or attitude. The change Paul wrote of is about being changed into a completely new form. In verse 1 of Romans 12, Paul begs us to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." The term "reasonable service" comes from the Greek root words logos and latreuo. Jesus is called the Logos, or spoken Word of God, in John 1:1-3. The term latreuo relates to being a menial servant, to serve, to perform sacred services. Paul told us in this verse to sacrifice ourselves and our own identity, in order to be a servant to the Spoken Word, Jesus. It is by the Word of God (Eph. 5:26) that our minds are washed, renewed and changed. This is part of our "transformation" from the profane to the holy. We are not here to be like everyone else, but to become the image of God by belonging to Him through His Son. Jesus is: "...the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation...now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight - if indeed you continue in the faith..." (Col. 1:15, 17, 21-23). Here is change or transformation again: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed (symmorphos - having the same form as another, fashioned like unto) to the image (eikon/eiko - image, figure, likeness/to be like, a copy) of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Rom. 8:29). It is far better to be transformed into the holy identity of the resurrected Christ, conformed to His image, than trying to achieve a holy identity of our own. Man always gets it wrong when they attempt to do that. God did not command us to "act" holy, but to BE holy in the same way, and by the same standard that HE is holy. This is truly what Christ accomplished in our behalf. If we can understand and accept it by faith, then we can become it in truth. New Testament scripture is full of the necessity of our ending, in order for Christ to begin in us, such as: "...you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on (endyo - in the sense of sinking into a garment) the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him...Christ is all and in all." (Col. 3:9-11). The holiness of God incorporates a new identity in us, which is begun through His Son, Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God from our innermost being (Eph. 3:14-19, 2 Cor. 4:16-18), progressing outwardly. Jesus wanted to teach this to us about our new identity when He said that you just can't put new wine into old wineskins! (Mk. 2:21-22). It turns out that when the LORD spoke the sentence "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" to the children of Israel, He was really saying a mouth-full, even a book-full. In a look at another complete transformation in the holiness of God, this Sabbath, because of where it falls on the calendar, is also set apart as the Sabbath before Israel's Independence Day, which is on the date of Iyar/Ziv 5, or May 14th on our calendar. In Hebrew, this independence is noted as Atz'ma'ut accompanied by the Sabbath reading of Micah 4, and Isaiah 60. Israel miraculously became an independent nation again in 1948 after 2,000 years. This is an event that will transform not only Israel, but the world. The end time events prophesied in scripture depend upon Israel and Jerusalem existing and being inhabited. The names of the month in which this restoration of Israel as a nation occurred, Iyar/Ziv, have a special meaning dealing with transformation. Ziv means "radiance, light, glow". This same month became known as Iyar after the Babylonian captivity. Iyar is associated with a Biblical event when the bitter water of the wilderness was made sweet. This transformation happened when Moses was shown (yara - point out, teach, instruct, to shoot) by the LORD a tree (es - timber, wooden post, gallows, carpenter) that when thrown into the bitter water, would make it sweet. (Ex. 15:22-26). The LORD made that place and event a statute and ordinance for Israel. The LORD promised to set a difference between the diseases of Egypt and His people, and to be their Healer (rapa - healing of national defects, of personal distress, of hurts of nations involving restored favor, to sew together, to mend), as His people obeyed His ordinances. Therefore the month of Iyar is associated by the Jewish people as providing an opportunity for healing. We can see a prophetic meaning to the transformation of the bitter water by the throwing in of a tree to be related to the transformative work of the cross on which Jesus was later crucified. It is interesting that out of all of the verses in scripture that deal with Israel as a nation, it is the verses from Micah 4 and Isaiah 60 that are applied to this miraculous anniversary of Israel's independence as a nation. Micah 4 speaks about a transformation that will occur in the latter days, the time in which we are now living. Nations shall be transformed because of the Word and Law that flows from Zion and Jerusalem, and the mountain of the house of the LORD will be exalted. The lame and the outcast will become "a strong nation". Redemption will come to God's people, and the stronghold, dominion and kingdom will be with Zion and Jerusalem. In Isaiah 60, though the earth will be covered in great darkness, Zion shall arise in light. They shall become radiant, and the nations with their abundance shall come to them. Their sons and daughters will be brought back to them, and "Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations." (Isa. 60:15), and "...your people shall all be righteous;" (v. 21). In remembering God in the rebirth of Israel after two thousand years, scriptures were chosen in which the blessing and favor of the LORD upon Israel and Zion would transform not just their own nation, but all of the nations of the world. It is difficult sometimes to picture this great transformation considering the conditions in the world today, but God is the God of miraculous transformations, and we will be holy, because He is holy. He is transforming you and me, and He is transforming all creation through His Son. If you would like to learn more about this transformation, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, by Your Son, Jesus, you have brought transformation to my life, and also to Israel and the nations. You have made us holy through Jesus, as we are transformed from our own likeness into His image. You allowed me to be born anew. You showed Moses how to transform the bitter waters, so they would become sweet. You brought Your nation, Israel, back from the dead, and the whole world will be affected by it in these last days. Father, transform Your people from our innermost being to our outer form into the image of Your holiness, Your Son. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit who quickens my mortal flesh, raising me from death to life. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."