The Creation Gospel Podcast

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: The Bear Fight Good news! The transcripts of Heaven Shaking the Bear are still coming thanks to a volunteer. Click here to view Transcript 1. Click here to view Transcript 2. Click here to view Transcript 3. Click here to view Transcript 4. Click here to view Transcript 5. Click here to view Transcript 6. In this next installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear we will take a close look at why Gabriel had to return to fight against the Prince of Persia even after his visit with Daniel. I've created a dedicated Heaven Shaking the Bear playlist to make it easier to find the videos. Click here if you missed past livestreams: Heaven is Shaking the Bear Playlist Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: We're Bear Foot Good news! The transcripts of Heaven Shaking the Bear are still coming thanks to a volunteer. Click here to view Transcript 1. Click here to view Transcript 2. Click here to view Transcript 3. Click here to View Transcript 4. Click here to View Transcript 5. In today's installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear I plan to further explain the role of money hardwired into the nature of the sinking bear beast. This end-time coinage was predicted from traditional rabbinic scholarship on the image of the beast as seen by Daniel, especially in the iron and clay feet. This is an additional right-here-right-now fulfillment of prophecy even beyond the significance of the silver market we saw last Shabbat. The possibility of this economic fulfillment of the image of the beast being a coincidence is likely incalculable. I've created a dedicated Heaven Shaking the Bear playlist to make it easier to find the videos. Click here if you missed past livestreams: Heaven is Shaking the Bear Playlist Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: The Sinking Silver Bear Good news! The transcripts of Heaven Shaking the Bear are still coming thanks to a volunteer. Click here to view Transcript 1. Click here to view Transcript 2. Click here to view Transcript 3. Click here to View Transcript 4. This week's installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear, I explain the role of money hardwired into the nature of the sinking bear beast and why it is crucial to the "fall, fall" of Babylon the great and the rolling up of the heavenly scroll of principalities and powers. Click here if you missed the livestreams Principalities and Powers , Heaven Shaking the Bear, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Four, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Five, Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Six, Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Seven, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Eight, and Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Nine. Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: Silver Bears, Silver Bears Good news! The transcripts of Heaven Shaking the Bear are still coming thanks to a volunteer. Click here to view Transcript 1. Click here to view Transcript 2. Click here to view Transcript 3. This podcast will be the next installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear in which I plan to explain the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf in the present conflict as it pertains to the decree of the scroll. Click here if you missed the livestreams Principalities and Powers , Heaven Shaking the Bear, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Four, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Five, Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Six, Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Seven, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Eight Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: The Worldwide Bear Scroll Tax Good news! The transcripts of Heaven Shaking the Bear are coming thanks to a volunteer. Click here to view Transcript 1. Click here to view Transcript 2. In this next installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear I explain the aggadah of the specific power awarded to Dobiel over the Persian bear kings in the symbolic scroll and how it influenced through the kingdoms of the beast around the earth. We'll briefly discuss the significance of the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf in the present conflict as it pertains to the decree of the scroll. Click here if you missed the livestreams Principalities and Powers , Heaven Shaking the Bear, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Four, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Five, Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Six, or Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Seven Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: The Scroll, the Blood Moon, and the Persian Bear Kings Good news! The transcripts of Heaven Shaking the Bear are coming thanks to a volunteer. Click here to view Transcript 1. The Shabbat livestream will be the next installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear in which I plan to explain the sky-scroll, the blackened sun and blood moon, along with a specific power awarded to Dobiel over the Persian bear kings in the symbolic scroll...that could now be broken depending upon the outcome of the current conflict. Click here if you missed the livestreams Principalities and Powers , Heaven Shaking the Bear, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Four, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Five or Heaven Shaking the Bear Part Six Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: The Bear Prince Dobiel and the Scroll Hello, everyone. Once again, as I'm gathering information and assembling Scripture for such a time as this, there is just enough time to prepare notes for the Shabbat lesson, but not enough time to edit a full newsletter teaching. Perhaps when it is complete, we can put together a transcript for those of you who prefer to read rather than listen. This Shabbat podcast will be the next installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear in which I plan to explain the pattern of the sky-scroll in Isaiah and Revelation along with a specific power awarded to Dobiel in the symbolic scroll...that could now be broken depending upon the outcome of the current conflict. Click here if you missed the livestream review of Principalities and Powers , Heaven Shaking the Bear, Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Four or Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Five Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: The Bear Prince of Persia Hello, everyone. Once again, as I'm gathering information and assembling Scripture for such a time as this, there is just enough time to prepare notes for you this week, but not enough time to edit a full newsletter teaching. Scriptural numbers and dates are lining up with significance to the current situation in Iran faster than I can record and sort them. In this next installment of Heaven Shaking the Persian Bear I plan to explain the pattern of the the Prince of Persia within Daniel and John's visions of the Beast Kingdom. Click here if you missed the livestream review of Principalities and Powers , Heaven Shaking the Bear, or last week's Heaven is Shaking the Bear Part Four Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy This Week: Provoking the Bear This Shabbat we'll examine the provocation of the bear as found in the Scriptures concerning Elisha, the restoration of life springs in Jericho, the mocking boys, and the death of forty-two by the tearing she-bears. We'll see how it might pertain to the present situation in Iran, and time permitting, how the Persian bear and Roman board are related. Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

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Continuation from last week... Heaven is Shaking the Bear Iran in Prophecy Hello, everyone. Last week in the livestream, we did a brief review of Principalities and Powers for those newer to the CG teaching, and tomorrow we'll look more into the "bear" aspect of the Beast kingdom, the abomination that causes desolation, and the significance of the number 42 to the Beast and how it might pertain to the present situation in Iran. Please join us. Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

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Heaven is Shaking the Bear It's a principle of Scripture. Prophecy is not fulfilled only once. It is fulfilled repeatedly at appointed times. It’s a cycle, not a one-off. This is why we observe the appointed times of Scripture. What has happened before will happen again, sometimes in a reversal of events. The prophecy is not fulfilled exactly as it was before, but the template doesn't change. At this very moment I write, the Persian people have revolted yet again against the Islamist regime by the millions, taking over streets in city after city in Iran. The coming days will test whether this latest revolt will uproot the Islamists that took power in 1979. The current uprising is estimated to have begun "around December 28." The Biblical Fast of the 10th of Tevet began the morning of December 30, but the 10th of Tevet began the evening of December 29th. Coincidence? That's why we fast the four fasts mentioned in Zechariah. The Fast of the 10th of Tevet remembers the tragedy of the Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, beginning the siege against Jerusalem and the beginning of the end of the First Temple. Babylon was the first beast kingdom, the head of the image. Persia succeeded it, swallowing and enlarging territory. Over the last several days, the Iranian people have been targeting Islamist seminaries, mosques, and institutions. In an interesting reversal, the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the exiled Shah (King) of Iran, is the one calling on the Persian people to rise up and overthrow the Islamic clerics’ religious governmental hold in favor of a democracy. Many Iranians are calling for the return of the monarchy, tearing down the flags of the Islamic Republic, and putting up the old Iranian flag that flew before the Shah was deposed. Crown Prince Pahlavi's daughter Princess Iman Pahlavi recently married Jewish-American Bradley Sherman. The Persian Queen Esther, was actually Hadassah, a Jewish exile who married the Persian King Ahasuerus. It was a marriage that brought salvation to the Jews nation, designated to die by wicked Haman, may his name be blotted out. Some of the protestors are posting messages, “The Lion and Eagle will rise again together and once again live in peace,” meaning Iran and Israel. “The Lion of Judah and the Lion of Persia will rise again.” I offer no judgment on these things, just to offer a few illustrations of what is being done and said in this revolution. So what we’re seeing is a shaking according to the pattern. What happened to Judah in ancient times, the Babylonian siege against Jerusalem and the seat of Israelite religious life, is occurring in Iran, a territory encompassing both the golden lion of Babylon and the silver bear of Medo-Persia. The Persian people are laying siege to the religious centers and strongholds, demanding regime change, tearing down statues of Islamic terrorist “heroes” such as Soleimani. They are repenting of their grandparents’ choice of an Islamic beast cleric to lead their nation. They are chanting against the Islamist clerics’ funding of weapons, including the rockets, against Israel. They are chanting against the billions paid out to terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah while Iranians go without basic services, such as clean water. The old “sun and lion” flag of pre-Revolutionary Iran is appearing everywhere, even replacing the Islamic Republic’s flag on X. Let’s backtrack. What precipitated this Tenth of Tevet Iranian Uprising? During Chanukkah, I posted this Scripture from Haggai, which is the prophecy of Chanukkah. Chanukkah is tied prophetically to Daniel’s prophecies of “the abomination that causes desolation.” Haggai prophesies that the first day of the event we know as Chanukkah, or the Feast of Dedication, will commemorate a power change, a deliverance from the oppression of a beast government: “…from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was founded, consider: Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’” Haggai continues, highlighting that the appointed time of the prophecy will mark a shaking of the heavens and the earth, which is movement within the principalities and powers that govern the nations: “Then the word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, “Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another.’ ‘On that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’” declares the LORD of hosts.” (Hag 2:18-23) Alt

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Noisy Doors, Leaky Roofs, and the Mark of the Beast Last week's newsletter was written to be very simple. This week...not simple. We're tying together our lessons on the Salt Covenant, The Scarlet Harlot, and the basic menorah pattern of Workbook One. So no, it's not simple, but it's not too difficult, either! Try printing it off and studying it over two Shabbats, referencing the suggested videos or workbooks as you go. *** So what do noisy doors, leaky roofs, and the mark of the beast have in common? Excellent question! I’m glad you asked. In order to see the connection, we have to know a little something about each of them. If you want a refresher on the Beast, consider signing up for the Creation Gospel Workbook Four class coming up with Kisha Gallagher (scroll down for info) or watching the Scarlet Harlot series on YouTube. You can also refresh your memory on the meaning of the mezuzah with our "More Than" YouTube videos. We’ll cover a few basics here to tie it together. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me…” Yeshua standing at the door knocking is a huge hint, especially on the heels of John’s sobering prophecies of the mark of the beast in Revelation. If we can’t see the link to the world commercial system as “Babylon” in Revelation, we’re not trying very hard. Revelation begins with memos to the seven assemblies emphasizing their need to “overcome” the tribulations John is about to describe, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Re 3:14-21) We can conclude that how to overcome is described in Revelation, but we can also conclude that an ignorance of the Torah will make our understanding only partial. Revelation is written as an incredibly intricate re-telling of the Torah portions. Without an understanding of those Torah portions, it will be difficult to be identified as one of those who overcome when they “keep the testimony of Yeshua and the commandments of God.” If Yeshua knocks on the door of one of these potential overcomers, he knocks on a door that is marked by a mezuzah, which contains summaries of the commandments. To pull in the themes of our Salt Covenant study over the last several weeks, a mezuzah is a sign that those inside the house know to be salty within, tenderly and joyfully salting their commandment-keeping. Because they are pliable to the work of the Ruach HaKodesh within the house, they are ready to meet the challenges of the Beast outside the house. The mezuzah is their reminder that they’ve committed their coming and going, especially their work and business dealings, to preserving their covenant with the Father with salt, for savory salt is our faith, the tenderness we have toward His Word. It is our desire to draw close to Him through our sacrifices, not begrudgingly or to be admired by others, but to give glory to the Father. Yeshua reminds us that he also wants to draw near to our salty selves, so he stands at the door and knocks. Just imagine that the mezuzah on your door was Yeshua standing there each day inquiring if he may accompany you in your coming and going. Because he is. The custom is to touch one’s fingers to the mezuzah and kiss the fingers. It demonstrates affection and tenderness toward the Shma and other scriptures in the mezuzah, which remind us in our coming and going Who the only Source of wealth is. The name Shaddai is inscribed on mezuzot, which is the name describing His attribute of nourishment and supply. By touching the mezuzah, we also are reminded like the Israelites in Deuteronomy Eight: “Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers...” The mezuzah on the door marks the boundary between what happens when we go into the world and how we are inside our homes. If we are at war inside our homes, then how will we war against the principalities and powers outside our homes? The shin on the tefillin reminds the person Who opens the Heavenly windows to drip down zuzim, or coins, transactions, in our lives. Zuz is found in the word mezuzah, but the letter shin is found on both the mezuzah and the prayer tefillin. Because they are worn in prayer, it helps one to adjust those trade prayers according to Yeshua’s model…daily bread…forgiveness…holiness…His will and glory on earth…protection from temptation to sin. Ever notice how many famous actors, musicians, and sports stars end up unhappy, addicted, disconnected from the real world,

The Truth About Gumballs for the young and young at heart. Sit down, young folks, and I'll tell you a story of long ago. There was a time when I, too, was young, and we used money you could hold, put in your pocket, and drop into vending machines. Ladies carried coin purses especially for coins. Coins were collected carefully, sorted, and counted because we would save them up to buy something, maybe a comic book or a pint of ice cream. In emergencies, we'd use those coins for lunch money, a little embarrassed if we didn't have two quarters to hand the cashier. Everyone knew if you paid with dimes, nickels, and pennies, your parents had come up short. Coins could also be used as toys. You could play something like a cross between table hockey and marbles (look up how to play marbles) with coins, and I liked setting up basketball and football plays with them the way coaches use whiteboards now. Boys sometimes played quarters, but I couldn't afford to lose mine, so I didn't play that game. One of the great things about coins was that back then, people paid for things with money, and they received change in coins. Dad would empty his pockets of change coins into an old ashtray at the end of the day along with bits of red, blue, and white electrical wire, leftover screws, plastic wire nuts, and guitar picks. What I aimed for, though, was making sure those pockets were emptied before we made it back home. While Dad paid the cashier at a restaurant, I'd inspect the area around the cashier for gumball machines. There was usually at least one. I always checked the dispenser because sometimes a good Samaritan would leave a piece of gum, or if you turned the lever, a stuck piece might drop out. The timing was important, though. Just as the cashier would hand Dad his change, hopefully with lots of coins, I'd dash in and beam my most angelic smile. I could usually score at least enough coins for one gumball, and on a good day, two. If he was short on dollar bills, then my gumballs would be forfeited for the tip. Dad always tipped. Everyone should. Even if you can't buy a gumball. Here's why. There's a passage in Scripture that teaches about gumballs. Don't believe me? Listen closely: "Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today." (Dt 8:11-18) God is explaining to the Israelites that the gumball machine doesn't work like they think it does. At first, they were in the wilderness. The Father gave them manna every morning; all they had to do was pick it up. It was like the gumballs just started rolling out of the machine all by themselves. When they enter the Land of Israel, though, they will have to do something their parents' generation never had to do: sow, cultivate, reap, and thresh to make the produce they'd eat. The extent of the wilderness food effort was their gathering manna that miraculously appeared each morning except Shabbat. God let them be a only little hungry in the wilderness to test them. He didn't starve them, just let them get a little hungry. Being a little hungry is not a horrible thing, but it was their test to see if their hunger would make them angry with God for not making everything completely comfortable. When we don't get what we want when we want, often we become angry with other people, which is a sign we're angry with God. We think we deserve better. We think if God made us, He should treat us better. That's a test probably everyone but Yeshua has failed at one time or another. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they would be blessed to work and accumulate their own wealth. The danger was that they might be deceived into thinking their wealth was a result of their own efforts. They might think they put the coins in the machine, exerted the effort, and therefore, gumballs would fall freely because they turned the lever. They could become pretty proud of themselves for making so much money by planting and harvesting crops. But the Heavenly Father is not a gumball machine, and the Land of I

Sadly Self-Employed I've been thinking a lot lately about greed. That's because in our short break from Song of Songs, we've studied salt covenant in our weekly Zoom classes. Although it's only about eight weeks of material, it's been packed with very practical ideas to improve our spiritual life today. In particular, what's been weighing in my thoughts is the premise that unsavory salt, the kind that has lost its savor, is at its root, greed. In short, our study has dug into Yeshua's question about salt losing its flavor. How do you make it salty again? The salt had savor at some point, but then lost it. If you review the last newsletters, Scripture specified that salt is something that comes from within a person. It is a softness and tenderness toward the Word and one's neighbor. It's the best part of our sacrifices for the Kingdom and Covenant that fulfills it, and without the salt, commandment-keeping is lacking: Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (Le 2:13) We can't put unsalty salt on a sacrifice or work of the Word: “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.” (Mk 9:50) “Have salt in yourselves → be at peace with one another.” So if we lose saltiness, we aren't tender any longer. We can actually keep the letter of the commandments, but when it doesn't come from a tenderness within us, it doesn't create peace. That's salt without savor, and those commandments are not acceptable sacrifices for the Covenant, which must not be lacking salt. Defective salt is like a defective animal. No go. Unaccepted. Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. (Mt 5:23-24) Leave the gift at the altar, go get salty again, make things right with your neighbor, then return, and the gift will be accepted because it came from tenderness toward the Father, which in turn made you tender toward His creation, your brother: “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Ge 4:7) Kain was told to put his happy face on with Abel, and then his gift would be accepted. Kain had short-changed the sacrifice by not bringing his best. He didn't bring first fruits; instead, he brought "of the fruit of the ground." Produce, just not his best. Begrudging, for sure. Instead of repenting of his greed, putting on his happy face, and bringing his best, he simply took out his anger and frustration with Elohim by killing his brother. Put another way, we can be about the Father's business diligently, keeping His commandments, and because of worry and distraction about our income, we find ourselves self-employed, like Martha, who resented Mary's relationship to Yeshua in receiving the Word. Daily we have to remind ourselves to make an "upper room" in our twenty-four hours to simply sit before the Father's Word and soak up His Presence in study and prayer. Doing things is important; it is the sacrifice we make for our families and the Body of Messiah. Without the salt from within, however, those works of the Covenant are lacking. The very meaning of sacrifice is "draw near," korban. Does doing a commandment draw us closer to the Father? If not, it may have become our business instead of His. That's unsavory salt and greed. When we salt the mitzvot of the Covenant, we exert ourselves, just as savory salt comes from “within yourselves” to make peace with others. We must exert ourselves commensurate with our “wealth.” While money is the example, the object of our desires is obtained with currency, which can be money, yet we might traffic for influence, power, manipulation, etc. to obtain our desires. Money is simply the currency most commonly used for the transaction to satisfy our greed. Greed is undisciplined and un-discipled desire. Sin. Idolatry of self-serving. It is easy to construe greed as a desire for money, or mammon, yet the less tangibles are nonetheless greedy: knowledge, esteem, security, attention, pleasure, etc. I have seen believers so drunk on the power of Scriptural knowledge that they habitually beat up their fellow servants with the Word. It is no longer the Father's business; instead, they have become self-employed. They use His Word not to draw people near the Father, but to enrich themselves. Maybe with donations, maybe with product sales, maybe with just a shot of self-esteem in soliciting invitations to speak or posting controversial statements designed to create a public dust-up for attention. How can we know when someone is unsavory an

This is part 2 from last week's teaching recorded at River of Life Tabernacle ... Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

The Salt Covenant The Good Torah Seasoning This teaching is at River of Life Tabernacle. Part A this week will be an introduction to the Salt Covenant covering the following: The requirement of salt on all gifts and sacrifices Why salt must also accompany the commandments How the salt covenant relates to other types of covenant The essential element of human salt as seasoning The relationship between salt and light The salted Bread of Faces Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Custom Mary I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, "It's just man's tradition. It's just a custom." At its worst misunderstanding, the tradition or custom is seen adversarial to Torah obedience and as evil. As a simply uninformed understanding, it's a lack of research or direction into how Yeshua taught and lived customs and traditions...of men. For instance, the letter of the Torah does not say to go to a synagogue every Shabbat. But how should one "hear" the Word, which is a commandment? Synagogues were an answer to that question. The Torah was read every Shabbat, so Scripture tells us that Yeshua went to synagogue every Shabbat: And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. (Lk 4:16) Yeshua wouldn't do something evil, so this was a good custom even if the Torah does not say, "Thou shalt enter the synagogue every Sabbath." How to differentiate among the direct mitzvah (commandment), the custom or tradition that helps one to do the mitzvah, and an outright tare? The answer comes from knowing that the Word is the seed from which we grow fruit and that the heart's intent is a vital indicator of the fruit grown from it. My offer to help with a Biblically sound way to look at customs and traditions for believers was to write the booklet: Truth, Tradition, or Tare: Growing in the Word. This brings us back to our topic of hospitality over the last several weeks. Hospitality is how we invite the very Presence of Adonai into our homes, towns, and gatherings. In the following account of hospitality, the hostess is a woman named Martha, and she had a sister named Mary (Miriam). Custom dictated that a host or hostess like Abraham and Sarah provide a safe refuge, water for washing, and food and drink for their guests. It was customary. Traditional. Martha busied herself providing these customary things for Yeshua and his disciples, but Mary was more, well, I'm going to say it...not Custom Mary: Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Lk 10:38-42) Martha was missing something in her hospitality, just as we can miss it in any custom or tradition we practice: why do we do it? To strengthen our relationship to the Holy One and His Word? Or to earn righteousness or the esteem of others through our own efforts? Yeshua gently pointed out to Martha the important aspect of customary hospitality: it is to strengthen the relationship between the ministry of the Word and the recipients of the Word. To make it come alive. In this case, the Word was literally alive in Martha's home! In fact, Yeshua would have greeted the home with peace when he entered, just as he instructed his disciples to do. Instead of receiving the peace, Martha remained in a state of worry and bother. She did not receive the blessing. Mary, however, was eating and drinking it in, getting to know what the Living Word should be in her life. The custom of hospitality is to enable Kingdom ministry, to provide a temporary little Temple sanctuary for the minister. Martha was not wrong if she wanted to continue preparing food to serve the disciples, but she was wrong if it became contentious and destroyed the very relationships she should be strengthening with other believers. Yeshua was well able to perform a miracle of bread, oil, wine, fish, or any other meal she was serving. He'd certainly done it for others who offered what little they had, and so had Elijah. And I'm sure he was prepared to wait if her meal took longer. After all, he was there to grace her with his Presence, not to grade or promote her on culinary skills. He wanted her to drink him in! To Martha, however, the customary, traditional way a woman of the First Century was viewed as valuable was in her domestic skills. To Yeshua, his custom was to invite all to sit and learn at his feet. Male, female, Jew, non-Jew, slave, free...all could learn and grow in the ministry of the Word. It was the better part of hospitality. It didn't negate the need to feed and house the visiting ministers, the other part, but it was the better part of the whole equation. Perhaps, Yeshua is saying, the point of the serving is forging peace with people and Heaven. Hospitality is the designated vehicle for it. Yeshua didn't pick Martha's home so she could become righteous through serving; he picked her because she believed in him; she already was right

... continuation from "The Second Story and the Third Heaven Part A" Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

The Second Story and the Third Heaven This week I'd like to visit the architecture of resurrection. Yes, such a thing is possible! Scripture gives us several examples from literal buildings. Last week's newsletter gave a hint with the resurrection patterns in the homes of the women who extended hospitality to Elijah and Elisha. There are even more examples than that. Just to review, the last several newsletters have investigated the Torah's ancient call to hospitality, not just a a nice thing to do, but as a vital preparation to inherit the Kingdom. Our hospitality study trail through the Torah, Prophets, Writings, and New Covenant started with Song of Songs 5:1, a restoration of the Bride and Bridegroom to the Garden of Eden: "I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” Elijah in 1 Kings 17:9 protected the widow and her son during the famine. Because she used the last of her flour and oil to feed the prophet of YHVH, she never lacked during the tribulation. She also hospitably gave him an upper room in which to dwell during the famine. In return, her son was resurrected from the dead in that upper room. Because she ministered to the man of God during an apocalyptic famine, she received multiplied miracles of nourishment and resurrection. And in Elisha’s “double portion” fashion, he performs two resurrections for the hospitality of the upper room. First, the barren Shunnemite woman is rewarded with a son, and then later the son is resurrected from the dead: "Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.” (2 Ki 4:8-10) The Shunemmite furnished her upper room with the furniture of the Mishkan. She made a little House for the Presence to dwell over the daily activities of her lower rooms. Elisha, a righteous visitor, was the stand-in for the very resurrecting Presence of Adonai. The upper room is the highest room of our home, a set apart place, yet attached to the rest of the home. What we furnish in the upper room blesses the rest of the home...or not. It can be where heaven meets earth...or not. When the Shunnemite woman constructed an upper room, imagine it as a third story built atop their own living quarters in the second story. Not a brand-new building, but one atop the existing one. Although now more symbolic because its examples are drawn from building construction in ancient times, today we still have upper rooms, those spaces we make to host the righteous believers who will accept our invitations. The visitor becomes the presence of Yeshua in our homes, especially during Shabbat. During the Iron Age (1000–586 BCE; the First Temple Period), the "four-room house" dominated Israelite architecture. The four-room house with pillars was widespread already, but it often had more or less than four rooms. The majority of houses only had three rooms, but could also five or more. The house had long rooms and a transverse broad room in the back, which could be partitioned by walls or columns. The ground level housed valuable livestock and had a working area for storage, weaving, food preparation, or other working tasks. The second level had the living quarters. A rooftop had an area for drying certain products, such as flax or fruits, and it was used as sleeping quarters in the intense heat of the summer for the cool breeze. Below are photos of the four-room house located at the Tamar Fortress. Its size suggests it belonged to a prominent administrator, and it is incredible that its stones were not repurposed for construction under the rule of other empires such as Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, or even the Byzantine. It is a very clean view into the early Israelite construction, characterized by undressed stones. Undressed stones are fitted into the wall or building in their natural shape, while later dressed stones are hewn into uniform blocks. And below is an artist's reconstruction of a plastered finished house by Nick Laarakkers at nl.wikipedia: The Upper Room pattern continues into the Newer Covenant. Yeshua affirms this by directing his disciples to follow a man with a water pitcher to an upper room where the host will have prepared a place for them to eat the Passover together. The experience is profound for the disciples, especially the foot-washing. He re-establishes the heavenly "Upper Room" hospitality pattern for their future Kingdom work: “When they had entered the city, the

Better Homes and Garden The last several newsletters have investigated the Torah's ancient call to hospitality, not just a a nice thing to do, but as a vital preparation to inherit the Kingdom. Our hospitality study trail through the Torah, Prophets, Writings, and New Covenant started with Song of Songs 5:1, a restoration of the Bride and Bridegroom to the Garden of Eden: "I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” This hospitality verse is thought to be one source for the traditional belief that the four rivers of Eden flow with milk, honey, wine, and balsam. In past newsletters, we made the connection between hospitality to the needy and the righteous stranger and one's preparation for to inherit, or even just enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 25:34-46). Entering the Father's House, which was prepared for the righteous from the foundation of the world, is contingent upon preparing one's own house. Yeshua will definitely knock on the door! The very light of the earth was sown for the righteous at the beginning (Ps 97:11), the light of the Word of good works for them to walk in eternally (Eph 2:10). A better garden will be filled with the multiplication of human beings, the precious crown of creation created to fellowship with the Holy One Himself. Yeshua taught his disciples that the "rooms" of the Garden, their eternal home of inheritance, are being prepared for them, yet they also must prepare to inherit by preparing their own homes on earth. This would cause the Presence of the Creator to dwell comfortably in them. Better home, better Garden. "Depart from evil and do good, so you will abide forever. For the LORD loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever." (Ps 37:27-29) צַדִּיקִים יִירְשׁוּ־אָרֶץ וְיִשְׁכְּנוּ לָעַד עָלֶיהָ׃ The commentators to the verse in Song of Songs 5:1 connect it to Psalm 37:27-29 above in the Midrash Rabbah and write, ”The word yishkenu should not be translated as ‘they will dwell,’ but as a causative verb in the present tense, ‘They cause to dwell.’” “If only the righteous dwell upon the earth, what will the wicked do? Shall they fly in the air? Rather, the verse means that the wicked did not cause the Divine Presence to dwell on earth, but the righteous did cause the Divine Presence to dwell on earth.” (5§1) In yishkenu, you see the root of shachan, "to dwell," and the "Shechinah," or indwelling Presence. The Presence of the Creator Elohim has always longed to have an intimate relationship with human beings. He did not appoint them to rule of the earth in order to be a distant, cold judge of their actions, but so they would administer on His behalf according to His will because His Word was alive in them through fellowship. They would be able rulers because of their daily walking and talking in the special abode, the Garden of Eden. The Garden is thought to hover just above the Land of Israel, its centerpoint over Jerusalem. From there the Kingdom will be administered by Yeshua. The righteous are those whose lives are a home of hospitality to the Presence of Elohim. They CAUSE Him to descend for the fellowship He longs for with His creation. Inheriting the Land of Israel, the administrative center of the entire earth, is a matter of preparation. Even in Revelation 21:2, the Bride is described as the inhabitants of New Jerusalem “prepared for her husband.” Prepared. Prepared. Who is the Bride? Those who prepared the better Garden, working the will of the Word in their lives, which affects what Yeshua prepares for them in the Third Heaven, or the Garden of Eden. Is there something in our hospitality study to connect us to this Third Heaven? Yes. The Upper Room. An Upper Room is a characteristic of a Better Home preparing for a Better Garden. This yishkenu is an important nuance of grammar. The righteous are those who cause the Presence of Adonai to dwell on earth. They understand that hospitality is not just a place to spend the night and move on. Hospitality is extending a home that is prepared for the righteous to dwell, even the Holy One Himself. Yeshua’s instructions to inquire about a worthy home to stay in as the disciples ministered wasn’t a random comment. It is a vital insight. They were looking for a sanctuary of reverence for Adonai. Yeshua instructed his disciples to find a home prepared with righteous hospitality. The morally upright home will be part of the cause the disciples minister freely: teaching, immersing, healing, because they know they have a place to abide that is hospitable, compatible to their goals in that community. That house shares in the inheritance of that Kingdom being built! Yeshua said, “If you have done it unto the least of thes

A Host of Troubles Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! The rich man was quite a host! The hospitality he offered his guest was not real hospitality at all. He faked his compassion for the weary traveler. He was so stingy that he killed another man's beloved pet and passed it off as his own sacrificial gift for the guest's benefit. This would be a prime place for a political commentary on the current state of affairs in the United States' political situation, but the reader is intelligent enough to understand that facet of the parable. Fake hospitality deceives people into thinking the host really cares and has compassion. What the wicked host offers is nothing more than someone else's hard work and property. To review from last week's text in this heavenly hospitality series, a righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that home with peace: “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10:9-15) Yeshua sent out his disciples as his messengers. They were to practice what they'd seen Yeshua do: teach, preach, immerse, comfort, exhort, rebuke, heal, and so on. "Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." (He 13:1-2) These are not random strangers who visit, but "brothers" in the faith. No doubt the rich man had some level of acquaintance with the poor man he robbed. He knew where and when to steal the poor man's lamb, perhaps while the poor man was working or gone to the market. A lamb who was raised like his own daughter would not have been left unguarded very often. The rich man's act was premeditated, cunning, a masquerade of righteousness over a filthy act of cruel robbery. Strangely, Scripture links two concepts in the same neighborhood, called smikhut (placement). Those two concepts are lack of hospitality and fornication/adultery. In David’s case, he was the adulterer “rich man” who slaughtered the poor man’s lamb to prepare for the guest. This was also in the neighborhood of hospitality to strangers and "angels" in Hebrews Thirteen. Just skip one verse down: “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (He 13:4) A wicked person may seem to offer hospitality, but the real motive is self-serving. They are not really serving the traveler or needy person; they are enhancing their own appearance of kindness. The hospitality is not for the benefit of the guest, but for himself. In the following account, the Messiah calls out fake hospitality. While the host had the means to extend genuine hospitality toward Yeshua, he'd only invited him out of curiosity to hear a new word, listen for something with which to entrap his guest, or to look hospitable to the rest of the townspeople. Instead, an unwelcome visitor extends hospitality that Simon did not: “Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair...’ “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Lk 7:44-47) The sinful woman understood the principle of hospitality better th

Idol or Angel? Scripture commands us not to make images of things in the earth or in the heavens to worship them. This means different things to different people, even within the Jewish community. It is one of those commandments that drives the reader to its multiple other mentions in Scripture to make full sense of it: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth." (Ex 20:4) Some may not possess any figured images, applying the mitzvah very strictly. Others may give their children dolls or have animal sculpture for decoration, applying additional context for the mitzvah, which is having an image for the purpose of worshiping it or acknowledging its power: You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God. (Le 26:1) In this application, a person avoids images of known gods, demons, or symbols denoting such, but does not avoid having photographs, artwork, or objects in the shape of animals or heavenly bodies, etc. The Tabernacle and Temple were decorated with images of both heavenly and earthly objects according to a Divinely-prescribed pattern. The range of interpretations is not unusual, and it lends itself to investigation so that one can learn more about the mitzvah by tracking down every mention of images as idols. This week, we'll take a look at a song traditionally sung on Erev Shabbat to usher in the Divine Presence on Shabbat, for Shabbat is a moed, an appointed time when the Creator of the Universe promises to visit those who tend His Garden. Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) 5:1 has been our working text for understanding the repopulation of the Garden when the Bride and Bridegroom join the Divine Presence at the wedding feast of resurrection: I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers. This sumptuous wedding meal inaugurates the reign of Messiah Yeshua, for he will return to earth with his holy ones to rule and restore the earth to the purpose for which the Father created it. What we have learned the last few weeks is that earthly hospitality to the righteous brother or sister is the Torah's pattern of preparation for the restoration of all things. Following our lesson on Avraham and the angels last week, let's pick up this week with Yeshua's reiteration of hospitality. A righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that home with peace: “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10:9-15) Yeshua sent out his disciples as his messengers. They were to practice what they'd seen Yeshua do: teach, preach, immerse, comfort, exhort, rebuke, heal, and so on. The disciples were messengers, sometimes called shliachim in Hebrew for "sent ones." Another word for messenger in Hebrew is malak: מֲלְאָךְ mălʼâk; to despatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher):—ambassador, angel, king, messenger Last week's lesson on Sodom was important to Yeshua's instructions to his disciples, who were being commissioned to function like the three "men" (anashim) in Genesis 18:2 who visited Avraham. One was called LORD (YHVH) in 18:13, and then when they approached Sodom, the two angels were called malakim (Ge 19:1). Although the LORD said He was on a mission to investigate the cries of the righteous, poor, and needy in Sodom, Scripture specifies "two angels" continued on to Sodom. Even if YHVH did not continue on after His bargaining session with Avraham to spare Sodom, those He sent functioned on His behalf. Some scholars say each of the three performed a specific task. The LORD blessed Avraham and Sarah and revealed the plans to them; one angel destroyed the cities; and one angel oversaw the deliverance of the Lot's family. Although they worked together, each focused on one aspect of the mission. This is a good example of an "angel" representing the Most High. They acted on His behalf, and anything done to them for good or bad was as if it were done to t

Be My Burning Guest I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” Last week, we learned: "Of all the righteous ones of Scripture, Avraham and Sarah were the best known for hospitality to strangers, especially when they received the three angels. (So 5:1) Good gardening is good hospitality to the voice of Adonai, His holy Presence. Because human beings, particularly believers walking in the Way of Yeshua, are in His image, practicing hospitality toward people of faith is an especially sweet fruit of the Ruach HaKodesh." Hospitality prepares us to be a part of the Garden of Eden conversation in the Scripture above. We can both invite the Bridegroom hospitably and remain in the Garden because we possess the vital character of hospitality without which a human cannot remain in the Garden. We can be a worthy guest...and friend...who will bless the Garden. To get a better handle on this trait, let's take a careful look at what hospitality is. What does the word mean? Hospitality: Middle English hospital, "residence for pilgrims and travelers, charitable institution providing residence for the poor and infirm," "guest accommodations" (probably by ellipsis from hospitāle cubiculum "sleeping room for guests"), noun derivative of hospitālis "of a guest, of hospitality, hospitable” The Hebrew word for “guest” is kara קָרָא The KJV translates Strong's H7121 in the following manner: call (528x), cried (98x), read (38x), proclaim (36x), named (7x), guests (4x), invited (3x), gave (3x), renowned (3x), bidden (2x), preach (2x) Outline of Biblical Usage to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim (Qal) to call, cry, utter a loud sound to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God) to proclaim to read aloud, read (to oneself), read to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint to call, name, give name to, call by The Book of Leviticus is "Vayikra" ["and called"], a book of holies, our calling to create a sanctuary of holiness for YHVH. This hospitality “preaches” His Presence to the earth and His desire to dwell with us. The Torah describes to us our holy "calling." Not only that, Adonai listens to the cries / proclamations of human beings, especially the poor and distressed. Somewhere in this world, your name can be proclaimed to Heaven, either in frustration, agony, and pain, or in gratefulness, relief, and consolation. How this works is that the needy “give name to” the situation in that home or community. A guest can “summon” Adonai’s attention for blessing or chaos. He will actually come investigate the call for Divine help or proclamation of gratefulness! Now the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, so that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” (Ge 18:1-5) Avraham understood what a special opportunity he had. Without a guest, who would bless? Righteous guests are given a Divine mandate to bless or destroy a home. It's an apocalyptic opportunity symbolic of the end of days. Washing feet and providing a safe place to rest with food is the ancient practice of hospitality to guests, especially honored guests. Yeshua told his disciples to honor one another, not a new commandment, but an affirmation and demonstration of an old pattern of hospitality. It strengthens bonds of holiness and signals a desire to return to the ultimate place of hospitality, the Garden. Abraham and Sarah’s [Pesach] hospitality was rewarded with a resurrection of their reproductive process.The messenger guest told them that they would have a son at the appointed time next year. The righteous guest has the Divine ability and OBLIGATION to bless a righteous host. In this respect, the blessing is mutual. The host blesses the righteous guest with three basic things, and the guest blesses the host with something that will bring shalom to the household. This is a Biblical pattern and principle. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (Jn 13:16-17) Yeshua teaches the Garden principle of hospitality. With hospitality, one didn’t wash the whole visitor, but his feet. It is an act of extreme humility, making the benefactor the servant and the guest the recipient of unearned hospitality. Yeshua w

A Leaning Lady I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” Of all the righteous ones of Scripture, Avraham and Sarah were the best known for the hospitality to strangers, especially when they received the three angels. (So 5:1) Good gardening is good hospitality to the voice of Adonai, His holy Presence. Because human beings, particularly believers walking in the Way of Yeshua, are in His image, practicing hospitality toward people of faith is an especially sweet fruit of the Ruach HaKodesh. “Given to hospitality” is not a light characteristic to the righteous. It is integral. It was incorporated into the believers’ daily habits in the Books of Acts, and it is a vital quality for an elderwoman of the congregation... The number 60 is signified by the Hebrew letter samekh, which means to support, sustain, to lean upon, ordain: "Moses did just as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses." (Nu 27:22-23) וַיִּסְמֹךְ אֶת־יָדָיו עָלָיו וַיְצַוֵּהוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָהבְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה The appearance of the letter samekh is round, like a wheel. A burden may be moved more easily in a wheeled cart than dragged or carried, and to ordain someone for ministry is to infuse them with the spiritual strength to be that person who eases the burdens that others must carry for the Kingdom. The anointing of the ordination is to help that servant bear the suffering for that ministry in the Kingdom. As those who ordain must lean their hands upon the one receiving the ordination, so others will lean upon him or her to ease their suffering. Those who plead for an anointing may not understand exactly what they're asking for. With the anointing comes the suffering! By the age of 60, the individual is considered to have committed his or her best physical years to the royal priesthood, slightly different from the Levites, who formally served from ages 25 to 50 (Nu 8:23-26). This did not preclude them from assisting their younger brothers, serving as mentors. The holy Mishkan/Mikdash work was physically demanding as well as exacting. At the age of 60, a righteous woman has achieved an age where she needs physical support as her due for devoting her life as a royal priestess to the support of the righteous community and her family. She is still a teacher and mentor to the younger, but as others have leaned upon her, now she must lean upon others for physical support: “A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.” (1 Ti 5:9-10) The age of 60 suggests that she has fulfilled the days of her ordination to every good work. Just as Levites were still entitld to portions from the Temple gifts after retirement, so a righteous elderwoman is entitled to eat from the common fund of the congregation she's served. Paul defines for Timothy the behaviors that are elderwoman good works according to the Word: bringing up children showing hospitality to righteous strangers washing the feet of the righteous (extended hospitality as in #2) recognizing and assisting those in distress A reputation is a “name,” and Ruach-filled women who demonstrated this vital attribute of a good name were entitled to full benefits from their congregations in old age. It was NOT the responsibility of the government, but her congregation if her family was unable to provide. Hospitality is that vital in doing good works, both to relieve the distress of the righteous as well one's own family. Through her hospitable good works, the elder woman has offered aromatic spices as a royal priestess, making the Holy Name famous. Those aromatic spices are those of good reputation that the Bridegroom Messiah Yeshua will gather into the Garden. Honoring other believers with hospitality is not just an old lady fruit of the Ruach. It is expected of EVERY believer as an outworking of love. Remember, love is not always an emotion. Love can be a preference for one thing over another or one person over another in a specific situation. This does not negate Peter and James’ admonitions that “God is not a respecter of persons.” It explains it: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?” (Mt 22:44 KJV) ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you.” (Re 3:9) vs Ope

The Beverly Hillbillies and Yeshua It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the LORD delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. (Is 62:4) The Land of Israel married? Yes! The full plan of Creation was not for Elohim to create an estranged, distant earth that He found offensive. He created it so He could walk and talk with His creatures, especially human beings; they were made in His image for just this purpose. The Garden of Eden was the geography of the starting place of this Divine plan, a perfect setting for human beings to become acquainted with Him. Elohim placed every plant good for food in Eden so they could enjoy the variety of His bounty (with one exception). In other words, He made a most hospitable environment to begin the journey together. The home looked good, smelled good, sounded good, tasted good, and felt good to both the Creator and His creatures. Sin, however, made the Garden inhospitable to the human beings, and they were expelled. Sin could not inhabit such a holy place. Their disobedient presence had made the Garden also inhospitable to the Presence of their Creator. “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking [מִתְהַלֵּךְ] in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Ge 3:8) The idea of the voice of Elohim descending and ascending comes from this verse. Because Adam and Chavah sinned, Elohim no longer holekh, but mithalekh, as if He were going up and down. It is thought that Heaven withdrew one level when Adam sinned, eventually withdrawing seven levels due to such behavior such as that wickedness that preceded the Flood, then eventually descending with the faith of righteous men such as the patriarchs and Moses. Of all the righteous ones of Scripture, Avraham and Sarah were the best known for hospitality to strangers, especially when they received the three angels. So what does all this have to do with the Beverly Hillbillies? Younger folks may not remember the Beverly Hillbillies, but we older ones not only remember them, we remember when they went from black and white to “living color.” In a nutshell, Jed, Granny, Jethro, and Ellie Mae lived in the wooded mountains of northwest Arkansas. Jed shot at some “food” (it was a possum, so it wasn’t really food) and hit some bubblin’ crude oil instead. They sold the farm to oil men, became rich, and moved to Beverly Hills, a place more fitting of their new wealth. Their neighbors in Beverly Hills were less than thrilled at the hillbillies next door with their strange mountain ways. In contrast, the Beverly Hillbillies extended “a heapin’ helping of their hospitality,” always quick to share a meal or provide accommodations to guests…even a refreshing swim in the “cement pond.” Their hospitality wasn't something they began because they'd become suddenly rich. It was something they'd practiced in the remote hills when they had next to nothing. In the midst of their inhospitable neighbors, the Beverly Hillbillies created a little island of hospitality. Likewise, an inhospitable earth needed a people who would sanctify a place to invite the Presence of Elohim to His creation once again. The clue was in the “leaping, ascending, descending” reflexive verb mithalekh (rather than holekh) that described the movement of Elohim after Adam and Chavah sinned, indicating an inhospitable environment for His Presence. Through the agency of the righteous, especially Moses, The Mishkan (Tabernacle) and Mikdash (Temple) provided His Presence the opportunity to dwell before the fullness of the marriage takes place. It will be a full restoration of the Creation plan, both a people and place for human beings to be with their Creator and administer the earth on His behalf. At Mount Sinai, the Presence descended to an earth that had become inhospitable to Him. Also at Mount Sinai, the Israelites received the instructions for the building of the Mishkan. Its design was based on the pattern of Creation, all the way to the two cheruvim embroidered on the veil. “The Mishkan represents the fulfillment of God’s purpose in creating the world.” (Midrash to Shir 5§1) Mankind and the earth were created so that Elohim could descend to the Garden, the holiest place on the planet, and fellowship with his most holy creation. Mankind was to create and maintain the atmosphere of hospitality in the Garden. The Mishkan also was built to do this for times of intimacy and communication. By offering “the food of your God,” the sacrifices, and building a resting place between the two cheruvim as it was in the Garden, Israel hospitably provided a welcoming place for the Presence of Elohim. Of course, He didn’t physically eat the sacrifices, but He consumed the hospitable, welcoming intent of the hearts that offered the best they could af

This teaching is on obsessive distractions that do not produce the good fruits of the Torah. Instead, they produce anxiety, bitterness, and the rotten fruit of the "Wicked Lamp." Yeshua beckons us up the Father's holy mountain to develop a relationship with Him through the commandments.

Corruption This week we continue the thread of study in the Song of Songs that prophesies of the call to Messiah to possess the earth, the awakening of Gog and Magog, as well as the awakening and ingathering of the Bride of Messiah into the Garden: “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” (Song of Songs 5:1) As with the sending of pomegranates in Chapter Four symbolized the giving of the commandments to Israel, so this expression: “I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam [oil…]” ...can allude to a “good name.” Those who bear the good Name have a reputation that is aromatic in the earth already. They do not wait for Messiah Yeshua to return, but they work hard “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles which know not God:” (1 Th 4:4-5) Because we must show hospitality to the stranger, alien, orphan, and widow, we must be a miniature “house of prayer for all nations” like the Temple. For those seeking healing, comfort, salvation, and the many things for which humans rely on their Creator to supply, we are the Father’s outstretched arms. And because He is holy, we must be holy. Like the greeter at the door of Walmart represents our first impression of the store, so believers are the first impression the nations have of their Creator’s holy nature. Like the holy incense was pounded and compounded for the holy Temple, believers will be pounded and compounded to release the pleasing aromas to the world. The discipline of our evil inclination, or yetzer hara, is like a daily death which turns into a fragrant Temple spice. Likewise, myrrh is a death spice, yet it is compounded with other spices like healing balsam oil to create a compounded fragrance. “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.” (Ecc 7:1) The first statement sounds agreeable, but does the second? If the gathering of myrrh and balsam is the gathering of the righteous to the Garden who have received the Good Name and who have returned their gifts and sacrifices for the sake of His Good Name to the Bridegroom, then how is their “gathering” related to the day of their death and a better day? Death must occur before there can be a resurrection. What was sown in corruption must be raised incorruptible. Isn’t this what every righteous soul longs for? So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable G5356 body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1Co 15:42-44) For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable [G5349] will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. (1 Co 15:53-54) “Perishable” is G5349, phthartós, from G5351; decayed, i.e. corruptible, perishable, i. e. mortal, that which is liable to corruption It is from: Strong's G5351 – phtheirō to shrivel or wither, i.e. to spoil (by any process) or (generally) to ruin (especially figuratively, by moral influences, to deprave):—corrupt (self), defile, destroy. Sin and death go together. As long as we are susceptible to death, we are susceptible to sin. Remove the strength of death, and the strength of sin is removed as well. The aromatic righteous will no longer be subject to the corruptibility of sin that destroys the Temple. Outline of Biblical Usage G5351: to corrupt, to destroy in the opinion of the Jews, the temple was corrupted or "destroyed" when anyone defiled or in the slightest degree damaged anything in it, or if its guardians neglected their duties to lead away a Christian church from that state of knowledge and holiness in which it ought to abide to be destroyed, to perish in an ethical sense, to corrupt, deprave Ummm…wasn’t Paul a Jew? It explains what he taught the Corinthians, who were quite a lusty folk, that corrupting their bodies with sin was like destroying the holy Temple. Perhaps they were merrily celebrating Chanukkah at the Feast of Dedication with their Jewish friends, yet also merrily carrying on in certain lustful sins, defiling their own temples. Here are a couple more examples of its use in context: "If any man destroys G5351 the temple of God, God will destroy G5351 him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." (1Co 3:17) "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts G5351 good morals.'” (1Co 15:33) When Messiah comes into the Garden, he gathers the spices of those who have attained a “good name” and a new day of birth, which also

Satan's Place in Heaven Let's start with our familiar text: Awake, O north wind, And come, wind of the south; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, Let its spices be wafted abroad. May my beloved come into his garden And eat its choice fruits!” (So 4:16) This call to “Awake, O North” is thought to encompass three distinct calls recorded in 1. Jeremiah 31:7-8 (exiles of Israel), 2. Isaiah 41:25 (Messiah) 3. Gog and Magog (Ezek 38:2) Why are Gog and and Magog are so attracted to “the beloved city” and its inhabitants to want to destroy them at least twice in Biblical history? Last week's study of the yetzer ha-ra, or evil inclination, as it pertains to satan, was a key piece to the answer. If we can understand that the power of satan is strong against the holy things of this earth, that will explain it. It does need to the be strong to cultivate evil from the wicked. They are already his willing subjects. It is the holy who require him to exert his maximum strength. This sounds incredible, but Scripture reinforces this Jewish principle: “The evil inclination, as a general rule, gravitates toward holiness, and functions at its greatest strength where holiness resides...Evidently, it is because the forces of evil concentrate their greatest efforts on enticing the righteous, those people most deeply immersed in holiness.” (Midrash Rabbah to Shir HaShirim 5§4) WHAT? You're telling me that if I pursue holiness by obedience to the commandments that I make a bigger target? I put that in all caps because we always seem so surprised and indignant when bad things obstruct our pursuit of the Word. I'm not usually an all-caps writer. More than one question mark is just a bridge too far, though. I don't think I've ever had a peeve as a pet, but if I did want a pet peeve, that would probably be it. Multiple question marks instead of one. Only one per interrogative. Please. So, yes, Scripture suggests that holiness acts like a magnet to evil. Even more perplexing, sometimes the Ruach HaKodesh leads us to the place or situation to be be tested in the Word. Here are a few examples of the principle: “I was watching Satan fall from Heaven” (Lk 10:18) “...there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.” (Re 12:7-9) “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.” (Re 12:13; 16, 17) “the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6) e. “...a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, ‘These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.’ She continued doing this for many days.” Acts 16:16-18; 8:9-18) f. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Mt 4:1) When Scripture identifies the intense effort to sabotage the righteous ones and the Holy City Jerusalem, then it is quite evident that the dragon’s desire to dominate the heavens is still strong even when bound! For that reason, the satan, the evil imagination, must be bound in our daily lives. It does not go away...it is bound. Disciplined. Exercised authority over. How do the pre and post millennial battles with Gog of Magog (the wicked among the nations, “Amalek”) relate to the texts of Shir HaShirim 4:16 and 5:1? Both attack the Garden-ruled Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Song of Songs 4:16 invites the awakening of the Anointed One to execute the process of the resurrection of the righteous dead and the purging of the wicked, including the satan. He will be bound and tossed into the Abyss, which will be sealed over him for 1,000 years. That's important. If he is only bound or imprisoned by the Holy One, then we cannot try to kill it. We must learn how to discipline and bind it with "It is written." Just quoting "It is written," however, is not enough. It must be written and applied in the proper context in which we are tempted! The Word is frequently used by the serpent deceptively...out of context. This is why Job's friends fell so short in their "counsel" to the suffering Job. They really hadn't invested the time to understand how what they knew of the Holy One really applied to Job's situation. They didn't understand the dynamics of what had taken place in Heaven in order for Job's test to be authorized. Job was already confused as to why his pursuit of righteousness was being punished: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38:2) Knowledge in Hebrew is daat, which means an intimate understanding and relationship. It is beyond wisdom and understanding. It is sacrificial love. Job had wisdom and insight to the Holy One, but until he'd suffered through testing, he would not "know" Him. For a man to "know" a woman is for them to cohabit and bear fruit. In Job's case, the result of the test would be greater frui