By Maria Merola
© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, January 2010
Back in 2002, I had begun to embrace a Hebraic un-derstanding of the scriptures, after receiving prophetic dreams and visions during my times of prayer and fasting.
I began to realize that much of what had been taught to me in the Christian Church all my life was nothing more than regurgitated human traditions passed on from religious leaders in Seminaries.
During this season, YaHuWaH was giving me an insatiable hunger for truth as I cried out to him asking for wisdom and understanding. Since that time, I started sharing my articles on the internet, and much to my surprise, I was not the only one who was receiving these revelations about the Hebraic Roots of our faith in Messiah.
At the same time that I was beginning to publish my articles, hundreds of emails and letters began to pour in as many people had questions and were beginning to discover these same truths. But there were also the naysayers who would only write to me hoping to debunk my articles. I was amazed at how many Christians would use the very same passages of Paul’s epistles out of context in order to somehow “prove” that we are no longer expected to obey the Towrah (Mosaic Law) under the New Covenant.
The classic objections that I encountered repeatedly during the course of these dialogues was the erroneous notion that our Messiah has put an “end” to his own Towrah (Law). In my response, I would show them that the Towrah was the written marriage agreement given by YaHuWaH to his bride, Yisra’el.
I would often pose this question to the naysayers:
“Why would our Messiah come to do away with the marriage covenant?.....Wasn’t his main reason for coming into the world to restore the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’el back to the marriage covenant?” (Matthew 15:24).
Surprisingly, however, most in the Christian Church had never even considered that idea.
Most have been taught to believe that our Messiah came to start a brand new religion and that he came to abolish all of the commandments in the Towrah aka “The Mosaic Law.”
They say that he came to give us only two brand new commandments to follow as a replacement to those found in the “Old Testament” (Matthew 22:36-40). Little do they realize that he was quoting the Mosaic Law when he emphasized to us the importance of the obeying the “two greatest commandments” as a “keystone” to the rest of the commandments in the Bible (Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:5).
This article was written in response to a certain Christian friend of mine whom I used to attend church with. She had written to me with the same misunderstanding that most in the Church have today. The entire premise upon which most Christians base their theology stems from something that has been taught in Theological Seminaries since the late 1800’s called “Dispensationalism.”
What exactly is Dispensationalism?
Below, I have taken an excerpt from my good friend named Paul J. Rico who wrote this article entitled “Dispensationalism &Grace. ”
Classic Dispensationalism
By definition a dispensation is a period of time whereby Elohiym deals with man and sin and the judgment of that sin in a particular fashion or administration. The key to classic Dispensationalism is the idea that a dispensation begins with a gift or blessing from Elohiym and ends with a judgment of humankind’s failure to be obedient to Elohiym because of unbelief.
The classical model of Dispensationalism purports that each succeeding dispensation terminates the one that preceded it.
The classical model of Dispensationalism purports that each succeeding dispensation terminates the one that preceded it.
Progressive Revelation of the Covenants
This is a model which provides for the progression of revelation of scripture and more accurately reflects the covenants Elohiym has made with man. Down thru the ages Elohiym slowly gave us HIS Word over a period of 1500+ years. Covenants seem to be central to all of Biblical thought especially in the Old Testament.
Each succeeding covenant builds on the foundation of the previous one and not abolishing it (Matthew 5:17-19).
Problems with Classical Dispensationalism
1.) Scripture is the standard for what we believe (2nd Timothy 3:16) yet we find nowhere in the Bible a definition for a dispensation, not even the one preferred by classical Dispensationalists. A gratuitous assertion is just as gratuitously denied. The classic definition of dispensation is invalid if it contradicts Scripture. And that it does. It is PFA theology (plucked from air). Covenants are Biblical and reflect the progressive revelation of Scripture as they build upon the previously given truth.
2.) Classic Dispensationalism implies (and confuses many) by the naming of the sixth period as the dispensation of Grace that Elohiym has never dealt with mankind on the basis of grace in the previous periods. Nothing could be farther from the truth. King David, 1000 years before the incarnation of Messiah, was very much aware of Elohiym’s grace. In Psalm 103:6-14, David stated that the message of Torah, (what Elohiym taught Moses and the Children of Yisra’el), was Elohiym’s mercy and grace. This same idea is asserted numerous times in various books. See also: Deuteronomy 7:9, 1st Kings 8:23, Nehemiah 1:5, Daniel 9:4, Romans 4:1-8.
A related error is that some assume that during the Old Testament (dispensation of Law) that Elohiym justified people by keeping the Law, but that in the New Testament (the dispensation of Grace) people are now saved by grace through faith in the death of Messiah. NOT TRUE!!!
There has never been anyone who was justified before Elohiym by the works of the Law. Again see Romans 4:1-8 and also consider the whole 11th chapter of Hebrews and also (Genesis 15:6, Psalms 32:1-2, Acts 13:39-39, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 3:9, Titus 3:5). Torah teaches (as does the New Testament) that one is given righteousness by faith and rewards by obedience.
There has never been anyone who was justified before Elohiym by the works of the Law. Again see Romans 4:1-8 and also consider the whole 11th chapter of Hebrews and also (Genesis 15:6, Psalms 32:1-2, Acts 13:39-39, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 3:9, Titus 3:5). Torah teaches (as does the New Testament) that one is given righteousness by faith and rewards by obedience.
3.) We find that although the Bible does speak of dispensations there is no indication that any dispensation has ended but rather they become the foundation for the succeeding dispensations. That is a revealed precept which becomes the foundational truth for the next precept Elohiym reveals. In other words, any covenant or revelation of truth of Elohiym is eternal in its validity. Elohiym’s words are true when He speaks and they remain true forever. Elohiym’s revelation to man was progressive in that HE didn’t give us ALL Scripture from the beginning, but rather took a period of time of over 1500 years and over 40 human authors. None of Elohiym’s promises are ever invalidated by His further revelation and promises.
The idea that a dispensation ends is based solely on the misunderstanding of Romans 10:4 “For Messiah is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
This verse has been taken to mean that the Law is terminated by the dispensation of Grace. However, a careful look in the same book of Romans reveals the use of the Greek word for “end” as follows:
#5056. telos tel’-os from a primary tello (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly, the point aimed at as a limit, i.e. (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination (literally, figuratively or indefinitely), result (immediate, ultimate or prophetic purpose); specially, an impost or levy (as paid):--+ continual, custom, end(-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare 5411.
As we can see, the word phrase “Christ is the end of the law, ” literally means that our Messiah is the goal, the final outcome, or prophetic purpose of the Towrah!
Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to Elohiym, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end [goal, telos] everlasting life.
Romans 14:9 For to this end [goal, telos] Messiah both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Master both of the dead and living.
Messiah is the “outcome of the Law” for righteousness to everyone who believes.
#5056. telos tel’-os from a primary tello (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly, the point aimed at as a limit, i.e. (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination (literally, figuratively or indefinitely), result (immediate, ultimate or prophetic purpose); specially, an impost or levy (as paid):--+ continual, custom, end(-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare 5411.
As we can see, the word phrase “Christ is the end of the law, ” literally means that our Messiah is the goal, the final outcome, or prophetic purpose of the Towrah!
Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to Elohiym, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end [goal, telos] everlasting life.
Romans 14:9 For to this end [goal, telos] Messiah both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Master both of the dead and living.
Messiah is the “outcome of the Law” for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Notice what the verse didn’t say. It didn’t say that “… to everyone who keeps the Law” but rather “…to everyone who believes.”
Again, the law was never intended to be the means by which we are to earn salvation, but there are well over a dozen legitimate uses of the Law that Elohiym intended. See the study outline on “SALVATION AND TORAH” for fifteen proper uses of the Law and three improper uses.
To believe that Messiah is the termination of the Law to those who believe contradicts the same YaHuWaH who said in Matthew 5:17-19:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
By careful observation we see that heaven and earth have not as of yet passed away. The Law is therefore still in full effect for the purposes that Elohiym intended it. The most significant of those purposes is for believers to live a Towrah pursuant life to glorify YaHuWaH.
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
By careful observation we see that heaven and earth have not as of yet passed away. The Law is therefore still in full effect for the purposes that Elohiym intended it. The most significant of those purposes is for believers to live a Towrah pursuant life to glorify YaHuWaH.
The essence of the Renewed (New) Covenant found in the promise in Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 31:31-35 and Hebrews chapter 8 is that the Law (instead of being terminated) would be written on our hearts via the HOLY SPIRIT (also see Ezekiel 36:25-27). This New Covenant, made unconditionally with each individual based on faith alone, is in contrast with the Old Covenant that Elohiym made with the whole nation of Yisra’el, based on their obedience, (when HE took them out of Egypt) as a corporate body to govern the nation as a theocratic monarchy. The Torah was their constitution, especially the book of Deuteronomy.
In our New Covenant with Messiah, HE writes the Torah on our hearts and gives us the power of HIS HOLY SPIRIT to be able to fulfill what we are unable to accomplish in our flesh (sinful human nature). Therefore the Scriptural understanding of the transition between the dispensation of Law and that of Grace is that the dispensation of Law became the foundation of Grace. The dispensation of Grace doesn’t abolish, destroy or terminate the Law which is true to the words of Yahuwshuwa. See Matthew 5:17-19 and also the promise of the New Covenant in Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 31:31 and Hebrews Chapter 8.
In our New Covenant with Messiah, HE writes the Torah on our hearts and gives us the power of HIS HOLY SPIRIT to be able to fulfill what we are unable to accomplish in our flesh (sinful human nature). Therefore the Scriptural understanding of the transition between the dispensation of Law and that of Grace is that the dispensation of Law became the foundation of Grace. The dispensation of Grace doesn’t abolish, destroy or terminate the Law which is true to the words of Yahuwshuwa. See Matthew 5:17-19 and also the promise of the New Covenant in Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 31:31 and Hebrews Chapter 8.
Each dispensation builds on the truth received from Elohiym in the previous dispensation. This is not to say that every Law given applies to every person. Even Messiah kept only those laws that applied to Himself i.e. Messiah didn’t keep the laws pertaining ritual washing after a woman’s menstrual cycle; since He was a man those laws didn’t apply to him.
Likewise we, desiring to be like Messiah, should study the Scriptures verse by verse from Genesis to Revelation asking Elohiym to reveal to us if each commandment applies to us, how does Elohiym require us to live and what is the truth that we should believe, (2nd Timothy 3:16,17).
Some commandments will not apply to today’s believer because they were part of the constitution of the theocratic monarchy established by Elohiym for the nation of Yisra’el as a corporate entity. The moral codes, heath laws and examples of Yisra’el’s failures concerning holiness were to instruct and guide us (the New Covenant believer) to live a life consecrated to Elohiym shedding worldliness and paganism in all their forms.
Likewise we, desiring to be like Messiah, should study the Scriptures verse by verse from Genesis to Revelation asking Elohiym to reveal to us if each commandment applies to us, how does Elohiym require us to live and what is the truth that we should believe, (2nd Timothy 3:16,17).
Some commandments will not apply to today’s believer because they were part of the constitution of the theocratic monarchy established by Elohiym for the nation of Yisra’el as a corporate entity. The moral codes, heath laws and examples of Yisra’el’s failures concerning holiness were to instruct and guide us (the New Covenant believer) to live a life consecrated to Elohiym shedding worldliness and paganism in all their forms.
Strange theology emerges from modern Evangelicals who reject the validity of the Law, reject the believers responsibility to live a holy life in accordance with all the Scriptures (2nd Timothy 3:16) by the power of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, they require good works to be saved or to stay saved, while denying the eternal security of the believer. Such teaching is a false gospel and legalism, which is using the Law of Elohiym for purposes Elohiym has clearly stated it was not intended.
Legalism prevails in the teaching of such teachers, pastors and evangelists who misunderstand the nature of the Law, the Old Covenant, the New Covenant and Grace. They often err by requiring the lost to live a sanctified life before a person can be justified which is putting the cart before the horse. Deeply rooted in all of this confusion is an inaccurate understanding of the nature of dispensations that they are progressively building on the foundation of the previous periods and revelation of the Holy Scriptures.
Legalism prevails in the teaching of such teachers, pastors and evangelists who misunderstand the nature of the Law, the Old Covenant, the New Covenant and Grace. They often err by requiring the lost to live a sanctified life before a person can be justified which is putting the cart before the horse. Deeply rooted in all of this confusion is an inaccurate understanding of the nature of dispensations that they are progressively building on the foundation of the previous periods and revelation of the Holy Scriptures.
* Paul J. Rico’s article ends here, and Maria’s article begins again:
This Christian woman who wrote to me brought up 2nd Corinthians 3, (one of my favorite passages), so let’s see what it says in context once the clouded lens of “Dispensationalism” is removed.
2nd Qorintiym (Corinthians) 3:
This Christian woman who wrote to me brought up 2nd Corinthians 3, (one of my favorite passages), so let’s see what it says in context once the clouded lens of “Dispensationalism” is removed.
2nd Qorintiym (Corinthians) 3:
2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Messiah ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living Elohiym; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
*Note: Here Sha’uwl (Paul) is telling us that the Spirit of Yah has transferred the Towrah from stone into “fleshy tables of the heart” and this means that the Towrah is not detached from us as an impersonal thing. It has become a part of us now, and we become THE LIVING TOWRAH, just as our Messiah is also THE LIVING TOWRAH! In other words, we become “doers of the word (Towrah)” and not merely hearers of the word.
Ya’aqob (James) tells that we are deceiving ourselves if we are only hearers of the word and not doers. This means that under the New Covenant, it is not enough to merely “hear” the Towrah but we are expected to obey it:
Ya’aqob (James) 1:22 But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Continuing from 2nd Corinthians 3:
4 And such trust have we through Messiah towards Elohiym:
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of Elohiym;
6 Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
*Note: Here Sha’ul (Paul) is telling us that we are able ministers of the Renewed (New) Covenant. In Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 31:31, Yah is telling us that he will make a “New” Covenant with Two Houses:
1.) The House of Yahuwdah (Judah, Jews).
2.) The House of Yisra’el (Ephrayim, Ten Tribes who are today called Gentiles).
In Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 31:31, the word used for “new” is “chadash” which means RENEWED!
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance results for the word “new” in Jeremiah 31:31:
#2318 chadash khaw-dash’ a primitive root; to be new; causatively, to rebuild:--renew, repair.
This means that Yah promised to “renew, rebuild and repair” the broken marriage covenant that ended in divorce (Jeremiah 3:8) because of Yisra’el’s spiritual adultery! The Renewed Covenant is not a totally different covenant; it has been “upgraded” and now has a perfect and eternal sacrifice to make it permanent, and not breakable. The Renewed Covenant contains the same commandments as the Old Covenant. The only thing that has changed is the WAY in which we enter into this Covenant. But once the covenant has been entered into, we continue to obey the same commandments and scriptures (Genesis through Revelation).
You will notice that YaHuWaH did not say that he would make a New Covenant with the Christian Church! And so all of those Christians who are declaring that they are “under a New Covenant” yet they say that the Church and Yisra’el are “separate entities” this means that they cannot be under any Covenant!
When these “Lost Tribes of Yisra’el” (Gentiles) are restored back to their true identity, then the “fullness of the Gentiles” will be accomplished and this means that the “natural branches” (Yisra’elites joined to the House of Judah) will be “provoked to jealousy” and this will become “riches to the rest of the world!” (See Romans 11).
The NEW WAY that we enter into the Renewed Covenant is now through the blood of Yahuwshuwa Messiah which results in “circumcision of the heart” (Romans 2:28-29). But is this really a “New Way”? Or was it always the blood of Messiah all along from eternity past that enabled Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses & David to enter into covenant? The Adamic Covenant between Yah & Adam was entered into with the blood of an animal and “skins” (coverings) that were made for him and his wife (Genesis 3:21). The Noahide Covenant occurred when Noah offered sacrifices (Genesis 8:20) and YaHuWaH confirmed that covenant with him by setting a rainbow in the sky (Genesis 9:13).
The Abrahamic Covenant was also entered into by the blood of animals as Abraham “walked between the pieces” of animals (Genesis 15:17). At Mount Sinai, the Covenant that “genders to bondage” (Galatians 4:24) was the one that ended with a “broken set of tablets” (broken marriage contract) and the blood of these Yisra’elites was then shed for their own sins! That is why it was a “broken covenant” because it resulted in a divorce and the blood of the guilty adulterous bride was then shed. She had no atonement for her sins yet!
The Abrahamic Covenant was also entered into by the blood of animals as Abraham “walked between the pieces” of animals (Genesis 15:17). At Mount Sinai, the Covenant that “genders to bondage” (Galatians 4:24) was the one that ended with a “broken set of tablets” (broken marriage contract) and the blood of these Yisra’elites was then shed for their own sins! That is why it was a “broken covenant” because it resulted in a divorce and the blood of the guilty adulterous bride was then shed. She had no atonement for her sins yet!
The Davidic Covenant was also established when David offered blood sacrifices, (1st Chronicles 29:21, 2nd Chronicles 7:18, 2nd Chronicles 21:7, Psalm 89:3). But David also recognized that YaHuWaH had already slain his lamb “from the foundation of the world” in eternity past, and he received grace and mercy when he deserved the death penalty for his sins (Psalms 51).
Something that may come as a shock to many of you is that the “Renewed Covenant” is not fully implemented into the earth (the cosmos) until the New Millennium after “the marriage supper of the lamb” (Revelation 19). All of those who say “we are under a new covenant” do not realize that they are not married yet! Those who are called “the elect” are engaged to be married, but they have to be like those “five wise virgins” who do not run out of oil in order to make it to the marriage supper!
Remember that there were “ten virgins” (Matthew 25) who started out with “oil” (symbolic of the Holy Spirit). But only 50% of them (5 wise) made it into the marriage, but the other “five foolish” did not make it into the marriage!
Remember that there were “ten virgins” (Matthew 25) who started out with “oil” (symbolic of the Holy Spirit). But only 50% of them (5 wise) made it into the marriage, but the other “five foolish” did not make it into the marriage!
Romans 8:23 tells us that the elect have only received “the first fruits of our redemption” until we receive “the redemption of the body.” The seal or the “engagement ring” is the fact that we have the “indwelling of the Holy Spirit.” However if it is possible for those “engaged virgins” to run out of oil, that means that not everyone who received “the first fruits of redemption” will make it into the marriage!
In Hebrews 4:3 & Hebrews 9:26, we are shown that the Messiah has already suffered for our sins from “the foundation of the world” and those who are his “elect” have also been “chosen from the foundation of the world” as well (Matthew 25:34, Ephesians 1:4).
If he was always the lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), then even the sacrifices that were done in the Tabernacle of Mosheh (Moses) should’ve been considered “obsolete” since he had performed them already in eternity past. But because Elohiym gives us “living shadow pictures” of what has taken place in eternity past, the animal sacrifices that took place with Abraham & Moses were also being done “after the fact.” Similarly, the animal sacrifices that will take place during the Millennium will continue to be done as a memorial and prophetic picture of himself. It will be like a married couple who goes back and watches the videos of their wedding day and they recall the event.
We don’t do away with the shadow picture, just because the event has already occurred. How many married couples throw away their wedding photo album after the wedding?
We did them in the past pointing to the final fulfillment, but we continue to do them in an eternal prophetic sense of doing it “in remembrance” of Yahuwshuwa’s ultimate sacrifice. The only reason why animal sacrifices are not being done today is because Yah caused Jerusalem to come under judgment for not accepting Yahuwshuwa as their Messiah.
Had they accepted him in 70 A.D. there would’ve been no destruction of the city and the temple, and Yahuwshuwa would’ve returned at that time, to set up his earthly kingdom, and he would’ve acted as the High Priest Melchizedek at that time serving alongside with the Levites just like King David did. The blood of bulls and goats NEVER did take away sin, even under the Abrahamic & Mosaic Covenants. They were always meant to point us to the lamb slain from the foundation of the world!
We don’t do away with the shadow picture, just because the event has already occurred. How many married couples throw away their wedding photo album after the wedding?
We did them in the past pointing to the final fulfillment, but we continue to do them in an eternal prophetic sense of doing it “in remembrance” of Yahuwshuwa’s ultimate sacrifice. The only reason why animal sacrifices are not being done today is because Yah caused Jerusalem to come under judgment for not accepting Yahuwshuwa as their Messiah.
Had they accepted him in 70 A.D. there would’ve been no destruction of the city and the temple, and Yahuwshuwa would’ve returned at that time, to set up his earthly kingdom, and he would’ve acted as the High Priest Melchizedek at that time serving alongside with the Levites just like King David did. The blood of bulls and goats NEVER did take away sin, even under the Abrahamic & Mosaic Covenants. They were always meant to point us to the lamb slain from the foundation of the world!
But if the administration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Yisra’el could not stedfastly behold the face of Mosheh (Moses) for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
*Note: Here the Apostle Sha’uwl (Paul) is telling us that if the “old administration” of the “High Priests” of the sons of Aharown (Aaron) was glorious, how much more shall the “new administration” of Melchizedek be glorious? But is it really a “new administration?” Didn’t Abraham pay tithes to Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18 even before the Mosaic Covenant was introduced? Yes he did!
With YaHuWaH everything is “circular” because the first becomes the last and the last becomes the first! What was old becomes new again and what was new then becomes old!
What was Paul talking about when he said that the “administration was being done away with” in 2nd Corinthians 3:7? It was not the written marriage covenant (Towrah) that was done away with but the “administration” of High Priests who were mere mortal men who could possibly die behind the veil in the Holy of Holies! The Towrah is now in our hearts instead of merely in stone:
2nd Qorintiym (Corinthians) 3:
8 How shall not the administration of the spirit be rather glorious?
9 For if the administration of condemnation be glory, much more does the administration of righteousness exceed in glory.
The eternal priesthood of Melchizedek can never be condemned for once they put on incorruption (immortality) they can never be condemned!
Likewise if this administration of Yahuwshuwa Messiah is able to “minister” the blood of the Lamb in eternity past for our past, present and future sins, that means that we are not condemned if we are part of that priesthood! It does not mean that the Torah (terms and conditions of the marriage covenant) brings condemnation! It simply means that we are now “able ministers” of a better covenant that actually makes it possible for us to keep the Towrah (terms and conditions of the marriage contract) without falling into condemnation if we sometimes slip and fall!
For we have “an advocate” (1st John 2:1) who intercedes on our behalf every time we find ourselves stumbling into sin. It does not mean that we can “go on sinning willfully!” (Hebrews 10:26-29).
However, the 2nd set of stone tablets that Mosheh (Moses) presented to Yisra’el were kept and deposited into an ark made of incorruptible wood. The first set of tablets had no sacrificial system in place yet, so the people had to pay with their own blood. But the second set of tablets were deposited into an ark made of incorruptible wood (symbolic of being born-again of incorruptible seed).
These second set of tablets were also accompanied by the sacrificial system in place to atone for breaking the Towrah. And so the second set of stone tablets had a “safety net” that came along with it, whereby people could be cleansed every time they unintentionally broke the Towrah (Law). This was a picture of the Renewed Covenant!
The word “Sinai” means “the Babylonian moon-god” but the word “Horeb” means to kill, and destroy. The first covenant at Sinai (spoken of by Paul in Galatians 4) is a picture of Hagar & Bondage. But the second covenant at Horeb is a picture of Sarah & Jerusalem which brings us freedom from sin (lawlessness)!
2nd Corinthians 3 continues:
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels.
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious.
*Note: What was “done away with?” The Law of YaHuWaH? Elohiym forbid! What was done away with was the stone tablets which was not able to be deposited into the hearts of men. This first covenant was broken and it was in stone. Now we have the very same commandments as a living oracle written upon our hearts thereby making it possible for us to obey it! The Mosaic Covenant came to us in the form of stone. Stone is hard, and if you pour water onto a stone, it will not penetrate that stone. But if you pour water onto a heart made of flesh, it will absorb water! That is why YaHuWaH came in the form of human flesh and he gave us his Towrah (Law) in the form of a human being, the WORD BECAME FLESH! Listen to what YaHuWaH said through his prophet Ezekiel:
*Note: What was “done away with?” The Law of YaHuWaH? Elohiym forbid! What was done away with was the stone tablets which was not able to be deposited into the hearts of men. This first covenant was broken and it was in stone. Now we have the very same commandments as a living oracle written upon our hearts thereby making it possible for us to obey it! The Mosaic Covenant came to us in the form of stone. Stone is hard, and if you pour water onto a stone, it will not penetrate that stone. But if you pour water onto a heart made of flesh, it will absorb water! That is why YaHuWaH came in the form of human flesh and he gave us his Towrah (Law) in the form of a human being, the WORD BECAME FLESH! Listen to what YaHuWaH said through his prophet Ezekiel:
Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 11:19 And I will give them one heart,
and I will put a new spirit within you;
and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Yechezqel (Ezekiel) Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and
I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
As you can see, the new heart that he has given us is compatible with the Living Towrah, the Messiah who is the Living Water, the Word who became flesh! That is why we are now able to have the very same Towrah written upon fleshy tables of the heart instead of into a heart of stone. You see stone it is too hard to absorb the living water of the word. We needed to be given a brand new heart before we can hold the commandments on the inside of us.
New Toy Same Battery Requirements
When the parent comes along and “installs” the batteries into the toy, now the toy works! The child formerly could not play with the toy and now that he is able to play with the toy he declares “I have a new toy!” But was it really a new toy? Or was it the same toy only now with “new batteries” that enabled the toy to be functional?
None of the above! When the child declared that the toy was “new” what changed? Did the battery requirements change from the original manufacturer’s instructions? No! The same batteries that were required from the creation of that toy are still required now, but the only reason why the child was not able to play with the toy was because he did not install the batteries “inside of the toy.”
Likewise, the Creator (manufacturer) did not make flawed instructions (Towrah) nor did he make a flawed covenant or flawed people. But when Adam & Eve sinned in the garden it was like when the batteries inside of the toy dies! The flaw is with the batteries that eventually die just like the mortal High Priests who eventually die! Now what if new batteries are invented that never die? What if it is the same type “D” batteries only now they are able to be “recharged” into an outlet in the wall and they no longer need to be thrown away? That is what the Renewed Covenant is all about! We have the same requirement of the same Law (symbolized by the size D batteries) but instead of these batteries dying, they can be “renewed” (recharged) by the Holy Spirit!
The same Law (batteries) are now installed into the heart making us functional again in the covenant. When we pray in the Spirit we are being recharged and refilled with the Spirit, thereby enabling us to have the Law renewed in us!
This is what Paul called “the law of the spirit of life” in Romans 8. When the Law (marriage covenant) is renewed in us by the Holy Spirit, we are now full of life! Nothing changed except for the “way” that the Law is now administered through a permanent priesthood with a permanent sacrifice!
Likewise, the Creator (manufacturer) did not make flawed instructions (Towrah) nor did he make a flawed covenant or flawed people. But when Adam & Eve sinned in the garden it was like when the batteries inside of the toy dies! The flaw is with the batteries that eventually die just like the mortal High Priests who eventually die! Now what if new batteries are invented that never die? What if it is the same type “D” batteries only now they are able to be “recharged” into an outlet in the wall and they no longer need to be thrown away? That is what the Renewed Covenant is all about! We have the same requirement of the same Law (symbolized by the size D batteries) but instead of these batteries dying, they can be “renewed” (recharged) by the Holy Spirit!
The same Law (batteries) are now installed into the heart making us functional again in the covenant. When we pray in the Spirit we are being recharged and refilled with the Spirit, thereby enabling us to have the Law renewed in us!
This is what Paul called “the law of the spirit of life” in Romans 8. When the Law (marriage covenant) is renewed in us by the Holy Spirit, we are now full of life! Nothing changed except for the “way” that the Law is now administered through a permanent priesthood with a permanent sacrifice!
Now, let’s take a look at Hebrews 10:9 in context without the Dispensationalist mindset:
Ibriym (Hebrews) 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do your will, O Elohiym. He takes away the first (priesthood), that he may establish the second.
This would give more clarity to what Paul meant in Romans 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? Elohiym forbid: yes, we establish the Towrah (law).”
The Towrah was established all the more permanently when it was deposited into something incorruptible, eternal and immortal!
Continuing in Ibriym (Hebrews) 10:
10 By the which will we who are sanctified through the offering of the body of Yahuwshuwa Messiah once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of Elohiym;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says YHWH, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
*Note: The above verses give more weight now to why we are able to obey Towrah! Since Messiah has given us a “better covenant” whereby the sacrifice is a “once and for all” perfect atonement for sin, this leaves no more excuse for us to break the Law! We have the perfect sacrifice now which cleanses us each time we sin or disobey the Law:
1st Yahuwchanon (John) 3:4 Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Continuing in Ibriym (Hebrews) 10:
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Yahuwshuwa,
20 By a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Now, take a look at what the writer of Hebrews says here:
Ibriym (Hebrews) 10:
26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
*Note: Aha! We are told that once we receive “the knowledge of the truth” (Towrah written in our hearts under the New Covenant) and we continue to disobey Towrah now, there REMAINS NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR SINS! This means that Messiah made the ultimate sacrifice to enable us to keep Towrah, and we have no more excuses to break Towrah (to sin). Now that we have the “knowledge of the truth” through the transfer of Towrah from stone into “fleshy tables of the heart” if we continue to sin (disobey Towrah) we have nothing to look forward to except judgment and fiery indignation!
Let’s continue to read what the “New & Living Way” is all about:
Ibriym (Hebrews) 10:
28 He that despised Mosheh’s Towrah (law) died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much worse punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden underfoot the Son of Elohiym, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Whao! This “New & Living Way” tells us that Messiah has done it all now! Under Mosheh (Moses) we would die under the witness of two or three for breaking the Towrah (Law). But under the New & Living Way, we are under GREATER PUNISHMENT! If we continue to disobey the Towrah willfully (after we have the knowledge of the truth deposited into us), then we are trampling underfoot the Son of Elohiym; we are counting his blood sacrifice an “unholy thing” and we are doing despite to the Spirit of Grace!
Many who write to me accurately state that “THE LAW IS NOT MADE FOR A RIGHTEOUS PERSON, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.” (1st Timothy 1:5-10)
Now, although we are made “righteous by grace through faith” and not by doing “works” of the Law, we know that “faith without works is dead” as Ya’aqob (James) stated in James 2:24 that we are “justified not by faith only but by works” motivated by faith. With that said, how many people think that they are already “righteous by faith” yet they have no works to prove that they even have faith to begin with?
Their faith is nothing more than lip service. If you think that every lip professing believer out there is already made righteous by some “easy believism” without works to prove that they have faith, that person is not “righteous by faith” as he presumes! And we know that this is true, because when our Messiah comes to separate the sheep from the goats, he divides them on the basis of what “they did or did not do!” (Matthew 25).
To those who are not “doers of the word (Towrah)” and merely hearers of the word he will say: DEPART FROM ME YOU THAT WORK LAWLESSNESS, FOR I NEVER KNEW YOU! (Matthew 7:21-23).
If the law was done away with after Yahuwshuwa was raised from the dead, does that make him a liar?
Is Messiah the end of the Law? Did he really say this?
As we saw earlier, the definition of the word “end” is “telos,” and it means “the goal, the end result, the prophetic purpose.”
One could accurately read Romans 10:4 where it says “Messiah is the end of the law” as follows:
One could accurately read Romans 10:4 where it says “Messiah is the end of the law” as follows:
The Strong’s Concordance shows the word “fulfill” as follows:
# 4137 pleroo play-ro’-o from 4134; to make replete, i.e. (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.:--accomplish, after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.
One could accurately say that Yahuwshuwa came to “execute, verify, fully preach, and influence or supply the Towrah of Mosheh!” This word “fulfill” does not mean “do away with.” If he truly meant that he came to fulfill the Mosaic Law at his first coming, then why did he go on to say that the the fulfillment of Law &Prophets was not going to be completed until heaven and earth passes away? When is that scheduled to happen?
In Revelation 21:1 we read
In Revelation 21:1 we read
Yahuwshuwa came to “fill up to the full measure” the Law of YaHuWaH given to us through his servant Mosheh (Moses)!
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 23:
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever HE (Moses) bids you observe, that observe and do; but do not you after their works (the Pharisees): for they say, and do not.”
1 Then spake Yahuwshuwa to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not you after their works: for they say, and do not.
*Note: The Greek translators of Matthew missed a Hebrew vowel marking and so they mis-translated verse 3 with the word “they” but it should have read “he” (meaning Moses). And so the verse should actually read as follows:
And so we have to consider that the Law, (Towrah) is going to last forever. YaHuW’shuwa’s words are the only thing that will last for he is not the termination of the Towrah, but rather the “end result” of what the Towrah does in our lives! For the word of our Creator (Towrah) transforms us and makes us become just like him!
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
No comments:
Post a Comment