Showing posts with label How to Receive the Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How to Receive the Holy Spirit. Show all posts

Saturday, October 13, 2018

PART 3: THE TRUE BLOODLINE OF CHRIST IS SPIRITUAL BY FAITH

THREE-PART ARTICLE SERIES by Helena Lehman:
THE ALL-SURPASSING POWER OF THE 
BLOOD AND BODY OF THE MESSIAH

PART 3 OF 3: THE TRUE BLOODLINE
OF CHRIST IS SPIRITUAL BY FAITH

Yahshua Points to His Disciples as His True Family by Faith 
While His Mother and Brothers Look On from Outside
In Part 1 of this article series, we examined the character of Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany as beloved disciples of Yahshua or Jesus, and we explored the possibility that these two women named Mary may actually be referring to the same person. In Part 2, we examined the view of Mary Magdalene as the possible wife of Christ, and the supposition that she was the mother to His literal blood children, and why this doctrinally unsound message is being pushed by some enemies of the Gospel of Salvation. Now in Part 3, we will explore the reasons why any literal bloodline traced to Yahshua has zero bearing on the Salvation message that He carefully laid out in the Gospels.

This is because Yahweh our Heavenly Father and His Son Yahshua judge everyone by the SAME STANDARDS, and NOT everyone is worthy of everlasting life in Heaven unless they believe that Yahshua is who He said that He was. In His First Advent ministry, Yahshua revealed exactly Who He was (The Son of God - Matthew 14:28-33)  and what He came to accomplish (The Sign of Jonah - Matthew 12:38-41), and it is all recorded in the Gospels. Furthermore, He said repeatedly that only those who love Him and His Father, are spiritually born again, and do His Commandments will see everlasting life in Heaven. This article will therefore prove that whether or not a person can claim to be a literal blood relation to Yahshua means absolutely nothing in regard to their status in the Kingdom of God. Because, unless they have faith in Yahshua as the Messiah, and they love and follow Him, they are NOT saved, and they will perish!

There are several teachings from Yahshua and the letters of the Apostles in the New Testament that explain the importance of Yahshua’s blood sacrifice on the Cross to seal the salvation of those who believe in, love and follow Him, His Moral Law, and the other spiritual teachings that He shared. This section of this three-part article will explore many of these teachings. But before going over these Scriptures, I’d like to share a fascinating excerpt from Chapter 9 of my book The Language of God in Humanity” that explains the meaning and purpose of ancient Blood Covenants and the rituals associated with them in the context of the life of King David and others in Old Testament times:

Excerpt from Chapter 9 of “The Language of God in Humanity”:
Subtitle: Validating a Covenant by Exchanging Clothing
As can be seen in Abraham’s Covenant with Yahweh, where no clothing could be exchanged between the representative parties, all seven acts used to seal covenants were not always incorporated into every Covenant made. Sometimes only a few of the ritual acts were utilized.

David and Jonathan Enter A Covenant Of Brotherhood Together
In another biblical example, exchanging clothing was the primary method utilized to confirm the Covenant. This was when Jonathan made a Covenant with his beloved friend David (1 Samuel 18:3-4). Exchanging clothing, or symbols of one’s office was a way of sealing a Covenant that had been verbally agreed to prior to the exchange. As already shown, verbal agreement over the terms of the Covenant was essential for both Covenant parties, and served as the oath, or word of the Covenant.

In Jonathan and David’s case, the oath, or word of their Covenant was made when they vowed to be friends, and brothers forever. Though no blood was shed to validate this Covenant, Saul’s son Jonathan and David exchanged many personal items. Jonathan gave his royal robe, fine belt, sword, bow, and armor to David, while Jonathan donned David’s garments and weapons, which were those of a high-ranking soldier in Saul’s army. In this way, Jonathan symbolically took on David’s role as a warrior, and David took on Jonathan’s role as a prince.

This allegorical switching of roles in the Covenant between Jonathan and David had a dual significance, in that it was prophetic. This is because Jonathan died a horrible death on the battlefield at the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:1-13), while David was destined to rule as King of Judah - then later as King of all Israel in Jonathan’s stead (2 Samuel 1:4, 5:3-4). In this way, Yahweh honored their Covenant by literally switching the two young men’s fates. Therefore, even as David became the King of Israel instead of Jonathan - who was King Saul’s son, and rightful heir - Jonathan kept his Covenant oath by dying in battle instead of David. Similarly, Yahweh took on Abraham’s sinful nature and death sentence, while Abraham was seen as pure and sinless, and given the promise of everlasting life. Though, in Abraham and Yahweh’s case, their Covenant was only a promise of things to come, their agreement was literally fulfilled when God’s own Son Yahshua died for our sins, and then rose from the dead three full days later.

In the past, the same principles surrounding biblically enacted Covenants were once evident in diverse cultures around the world. From Africa, to the Americas, to the remotest Pacific Islands, leaders often exchanged cloaks, or staffs when they made agreements. This is because the act of exchanging clothing had, and still has much allegorical significance. For example, just as in ancient times, the cloak of a leader usually represents his or her authority. Therefore, by exchanging cloaks, each party entering a Covenant agreement promised to protect and provide for the physical needs of the other person, as well as the people he or she was responsible for.

Similarly, a leader’s staff usually signifies his or her right to judge the people, and to make laws to govern with. By exchanging staffs, both leaders were thereby agreeing to share the responsibility of looking after one another’s possessions, and people. Through the Covenant, they were then mutually bound to provide for all the people that they were uniting into one family, tribe, or nation.

The Covenant Shedding and Mingling of Blood

There were three methods of employing blood as a seal of a Covenant. First, the Covenant parties might walk on the ground soaked with the blood of the animals sacrificed to validate the Covenant. As an alternative, the two people entering a Covenant relationship might have somehow mingled their own blood together so that they symbolically shared each other’s life force. Another method would have been to ritually eat an animal whose blood was sacrificed to seal the Covenant. The Christian ritual of Communion is a divinely instated form of this type of blood exchange, as we will explore later in this chapter.

One way blood could be exchanged between two people was by slitting the palm with a knife, and clasping the other officiating individual’s wounded, bleeding hand. This part of the Covenant ceremony is reminiscent of the Native American rite of Blood Brotherhood, which is a primitive version of Covenanting that has been practiced since the dawn of time. Incidentally, though nobody realizes this today, the act of shaking hands with people we have just met was actually used in ancient times to signify that both parties acknowledged a previous Covenant that had been made between their families!

Blood could also be mingled by dripping a few drops of each party’s blood into a cup of wine, mixing it together, and then making the two Covenant parties drink from the same blood-tainted cup. After the blood was mingled, the two parties swore an oath of fidelity to one another, and promised to honor their Covenant agreement forever. In this way, their agreement was signed in their own blood, and this ritually marked them as one entity, or “one blood.”

Though God forever outlawed the practice of eating blood as sinful immediately after the Flood, and again in Mosaic times (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 3:17, 7:26), it was still done among sinful people who felt that a bit of blood had to be consumed to truly mingle the blood of two individuals, and thereby validate the Covenant agreement. Perhaps that is why Christ wanted us to recognize that we are allegorically consuming His own body and blood in Communion - so that we would know that we belong to His Family by blood, and not just by adoption.

Two parties entering a Covenant often shared the cup of blood-tainted wine at a formal, ritual meal that sealed their alliance. This was done partly because any dining table was considered an altar in ancient times due to the Covenant of Salt. Before food was eaten, it was laid out on the table as if on an altar. Then the host of the meal was called to bless the meal. He did so by thanking God for the food, and asking God to sanctify the food, the table, and the people who sat at it. Then the people consumed the food, which was seasoned with salt.

This is why, in many ancient cultures, it was considered a huge breach of trust to harm anyone who had been invited to eat at one’s table. Any person eating with a particular family at their own table was considered to have entered into a Covenant relationship with them, and was thereafter seen as a full-fledged member of that family. For example, before their way of life was lost, many Native Americans upheld just such a Covenant relationship with anyone they invited to eat at their campfires.

A meal honoring a major Covenant was usually much more than a simple meal. Often a huge feast was prepared for all the people invited to enter a Covenant together. During this feast, the two main representatives of the Covenant often took bread, broke it together, and served it to each other. Before eating it, they were then required to say: “this is my body, which I now place within your body.” After the bread was eaten, they were required to drink from a goblet of wine that may or may not have contained a few drops of their own blood. As they exchanged the goblet and drank from it, they were called to say: “This is my blood, which has now become your blood.”

Incidentally, the ritual of Communion that Yahshua instated on the night before He died is identical to this ancient ritual part of the Covenant meal!  In effect, the Blood Covenant was a symbolic uniting of two separate parties into one family, or “one flesh.” Christ was therefore asking everyone who partook of that first Communion with Him to enter into an eternal Covenant relationship with Him. This is what Yahshua meant when He called the wine offered to His apostles “My Blood of the New Covenant” (Matthew 26:28).
End of Book Excerpt

Yahshua Cut the New Covenant in His Blood on the Cross
This book excerpt makes it clear that there was much more to the Blood Covenant ritual that Yahshua instated at the Last Supper than most people today are aware of, and that is why there is so much ridicule and confusion concerning it. It also makes it clear that the remembrance of Yahshua at the Last Supper in the ritual act called the Lord’s Supper or Communion that is given in Christian Churches was meant to signify that all who partook in this ritual were stating their desire to become the literal blood relatives of Yahshua, which meant that they were looking forward to becoming the perfected, perpetual royal sons and daughters in the royal family of God at the time of the First Resurrection. The reason for this belief among Christians were the words of Yahshua Himself. In fact, when He taught about His true purpose, Yahshua made it clear that His literal flesh and blood allegorically represented spiritual food and drink, and without His coming sacrifice on the Cross, no one could inherit everlasting life:
John 6:47-58 ~ “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
Yahshua Ritually Offers Himself as a Blood Sacrifice at the Last Supper
Due to the Lord’s Supper ritual’s true meaning as a Sign of the New Covenant in Christ’s Body and Blood, it reveals the sinister aspect of the fact that so many who reject Yahshua’s deity are placing an emphasis on the literal bloodline of Yahshua or Jesus today. In addition, it flies in the face of Yahshua’s own feelings about His body and blood symbolizing spiritual food and drink, and about His disgust at His literal blood relatives that did not believe in the stated objectives of His First Advent Ministry. This was to be the Savior of the Universe via the Sign of Jonah that was His death by crucifixion and resurrection into everlasting life three days later. The following Scriptures clearly explain what Yahshua felt about His ministry, and how He felt toward His literal blood relatives:
Matthew 12:38-41 ~ “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”
Matthew 12:47-50 ~ “Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” 48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” 
Matthew 16:15-23 ~ “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
          18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Yahshua the Christ (Anointed One of God).
          21 From that time Yahshua began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Thus, Yahshua came to show that He was the Messiah and the Son of God, that He was going to offer Himself up as a perfect sacrifice for sin, and that He would be resurrected back to life in what He called the Sign of Jonah. This Sign alludes to the fact the Old Testament Prophet Jonah was dead to the world while inside the belly of the big fish and did not breathe again until the big fish belched Jonah's body out onto the shore. Likewise, Yahshua died on a Wednesday, was buried in the tomb of a rich man for 3 days and 3 nights, and then miraculously rose from the dead early on a Sunday, which is the true first day of the week.

As shown in the illustration at the beginning of this article, the true members of Yahshua’s family are not His blood relations, but those who love and follow Yahshua and serve their Heavenly Father. Through Yahshua, all those who love Him and follow His commandments are honorary members of Israel, and are reckoned to be in the Tribe or House of Ephraim, while Jewish converts to the Narrow Road, which is a metaphor for the Righteous Path or Way of Yahshua, are members of the House of Judah. This same rule applies to Yahshua's literal earthly blood relatives - in the uncertain event that there are any. If they do exist, and they want to be seen as true disciples of God, they need to believe in Yahshua’s First Advent Mission as the Suffering Servant or Messiah of Isaiah 53, where it says:

 ~*~ Isaiah 53:5-7 ~*~
“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.”

Yahshua was this Suffering Servant. He suffered a brutally cruel death on a Cross in order to offer the Israelites, and all Gentiles that believed in His Deity and role as the Messiah of Israel forgiveness of sin and everlasting life. Yahshua also offered all His disciples the opportunity to become literal members of the royal family line of God through their faith in His saving deity, healing power, and unconditional love. This is made clear in Matthew 12:47-50, which I quoted a bit earlier, as well as the following passage that also can be found in Matthew’s Gospel:
Matthew 19:28-30 ~ “So Yahshua said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration (i.e. Spiritual and Physical rebirth in the First Resurrection), when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Here, we are told by Yahshua Himself that the Apostles will sit as kings with Yahshua in the Kingdom of God after the First Resurrection. What is not clear here though is that their acceptance as Royal heirs and priests with Yahshua is due to their Spiritual as well as physical regeneration into immortal saints, and that this gift of faith will be given to everyone that believes in Yahshua as the Messiah of the Universe and the only incarnate Son of God. The Apostle Paul spoke of Yahshua’s First Advent role as a High Priest in the Book of Hebrews, where it says:
Hebrews 9:11-14 ~ “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Christ as High Priest in the Heavenly Tabernacle
So Yahshua’s death on the Cross for our sins was not only a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin, but a Blood Covenant ritual that allows believers to enter the New Covenant with Yahshua, and to become joint Israelite heirs and priests with Yahshua forever. The Apostle Peter made this clear in the following Scripture:
1 Peter 2:6-10 ~ (In Reference to Yahshua)
“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by
no means be put to shame.” (Isaiah 28:16
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is
precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,” (Psalm 118:22
8 and “A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.” (Isaiah 8:14)
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
In the preceding passage, the Apostle Peter is quoting from the Old Testament to show that those who love and follow the Chief Cornerstone of the Temple of God that Isaiah spoke of, whom Peter clearly saw as Yahshua, will become a Royal Israelite Priesthood and a Holy Israelite Nation that is set apart for God’s service forever. But Yahshua made it clear that people do not automatically receive the Spirit of God that allows them to become Royal heirs with Him at birth via their natural parents, but that it is only given to those that believe in Him as the Son of God and Messiah. This is shown in the following Scripture from the Gospel of John:
John 3:4-8 ~ “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus (Yahshua) answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
In essence, Yahshua was telling Nicodemus that our fleshly Israelite birth means nothing without our subsequent spiritual Israelite rebirth through our complete faith in Yahshua as the Messiah, and our desire to dwell in the Kingdom of God with Him. We enter the Kingdom of God within our hearts when we are born again, but we will also enter the literal Kingdom of God when Yahshua sets up His literal earthly Kingdom as the King of kings at His Second Coming. The Apostle Paul further explained how faith in Yahshua is a requirement for forgiveness of sin, and our subsequent justification and sanctification as joint heirs with Christ in the Kingdom of God. This is clear from Paul's deeply spiritual discourse in the Book of Romans. The following three quotations were taken from it, and encapsulate the central message of the book:
Romans 3:20-23 ~ “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Yahshua the Messiah, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
Romans 8:13-17 ~ “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Romans 8:20-23 ~ “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”
In the Book of Romans, the thirteenth Apostle Paul did an exemplary job of explaining that faith in Yahshua, and our subsequent baptism by the Spirit of God due to our love of, and desire to follow Yahshua, are necessary for us to inherit everlasting life. As the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit along with Christ, and by our elevation as royal priests with Him by our faith in Him, we obtain a lofty position as the princes and princesses of the Kingdom of Heaven. According to Chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation, Yahshua's closest disciples will be coronated as royalty with Christ after the final stage of the First Resurrection, which will occur at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation. This will be when the Kingdom of God is literally set up on the Earth via Christ’s Millennial Reign as King of kings.

The second and third quotations from the Book of Romans shared above also speak of all those who are saved, justified and sanctified in Yahshua as the Israelite children of God. This means that - before their salvation through belief and faith in Yahshua, and their subsequent spiritual rebirth as Israelites - these people were NOT children of God! So even if Yahshua has living blood descendants, or closely related blood descendants through His siblings on the Earth today, they are NOT children of God until they believe in the resurrected and glorified Person of Yahshua in Heaven as their Lord and Savior, and they do not sin, but righteously keep His commandments. In addition to reading this entire article, I  highly recommend reading the following article linked to below afterward. It will help you to to understand what it means to recognize that all believers have an everlasting Israelite heritage:

A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON IDENTIFYING
WHO THE ISRAELITES ARE TODAY

The idea that true disciples of Yahshua become righteous Israelites through Him is further set forth in the First Epistle of John:
1 John 3:7-12 ~ “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
In essence, the true children of God and blood Israelite relatives of Yahshua are those who are covered by His perfect, healing Blood. The ones who are covered by Yahshua's blood are those who love, believe and trust in Him and His Heavenly Father, and are born again by the Spirit of God. So if anyone comes to you claiming to be the literal descendant, or the reincarnation of Yahshua, and they say that they have a divine right to rule, do NOT believe it - even if they come performing many seemingly miraculous signs and wonders!  Also remember that the Antichrist will do just that:
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 ~ “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
The Lawless One mentioned in the preceding Scripture is referring to the same person as the Man of Sin or Son of Perdition, who will seemingly be a benevolent Christ figure. But in reality he will be the secretly malevolent Antichrist of antichrists. As it says in Scripture:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 ~ “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
This Antichrist will claim to be God, will embody the evil of Satan, and will use all manner of miraculous signs and wonders to try and convince even Yahshua's elect saints, if that were possible - which it should not be in anyone who is born again. This evil man will also likely claim to be the literal blood descendant of Yahshua with a divine right to rule, and many uneducated and unsaved people will believe him because of the many lying signs and wonders that he will be able to perform.

What this three part article series has shown is that - even if there is a literal bloodline of Yahshua via His supposed marriage to Mary of Bethany, or via His earthly siblings on the Earth today (which is far more likely!), it means absolutely nothing if these blood descendants do not love and follow Yahshua, have a personal relationship with Him, and keep His Commandments. Likewise, this also applies to every single one of the Jews alive today if they are not believers in Yahshua as their Messiah. Furthermore, they cannot be true Israelites or disciples of Yahshua without the help of the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit, Who helps us to have faith in Yahshua and His deity, and to remember His Word and Law. The indwelling presence of the Spirit of God also helps us to patiently await Yahshua's literal return. This is going to happen one day soon as Yahshua, the one and only King of kings and Lord of lords, comes to conquer the armies of the Antichrist surrounding Jerusalem at the end of the Great Tribulation (See Revelation Chapter 19).

Yahshua and the apostles all attested to the fact that only true believers in Yahshua will receive the rebirth of the Holy Spirit, and the promise of everlasting life, which He offers all who have faith in Him and His promises. Yahshua also made it clear that those who love and follow Him will keep His Two Great Commandments, which are to love God and one another as He has loved us:
Matthew 22:36-40 ~ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus (Yahshua) said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
John 15:9-11 ~ “As the Father loves Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
In review of what was covered in this article, it is clear that - whether or not there is literal bloodline of Christ - Yahshua’s true Israelite relatives are His disciples, and His spiritual Kingdom is first established in our hearts due to our spiritual rebirth via the Holy Spirit of God, which gradually educates us about our need to keep God’s Moral Law, and which allows us to fully love our Heavenly Father Yahweh and one another as Yahshua did (John 14:26). But someday soon, the Kingdom of God will also be established by Yahshua forever on the Earth for His people Israel, once and for all time. This is why Yahshua told His beloved saints to watch for His return, when all the living and the dead that died believing in Him will be raised to everlasting life, and taken to Heaven temporarily in the event known as the Rapture. From that time forward, all these resurrected, born-again, glorified saints will be filled with everlasting joy, and they will dwell with their beloved Messiah Yahshua forever:
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 ~ “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
To that, I say: “Amen and Hallelu-Yah!”

This concludes my three part article entitled “THE ALL-SURPASSING POWER OF THE BLOOD AND BODY OF THE MESSIAH”, with Parts 2 and 3 immediately preceding it on this Ministry blog.

In the future, I plan to publish an entire book that deals with the subject of Mary Magdalene and the misleading legendary information about the Holy Grail that has been popularized surrounding her in modern culture, as well as some other mysteries and hidden details in the Gospels that provoke deep thought and puzzle-solving. When my book on the Bible's hidden wisdom and veiled invitations to seek deeper spiritual understanding is published, this three part series may serve as an introduction to it. Until then, I pray that this article series will bless everyone that reads it.

With Love From
Your Sister In Yahshua
Helena Lehman of the
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
This article series is the Copyrighted written work of Helena Lehman, and it cannot be used in any digitally written blog or printed book without the express written permission of Helena Lehman, or an officially designated representative. Contact information for Helena can be found on the following web page at her Pillar of Enoch Ministry web site at: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/contact.html
IF YOU MISSED PARTS 1 AND 2:

PART 1: WAS MARY MAGDALENE THE
DISCIPLE KNOWN AS MARY OF BETHANY? 

PART 2: THE BLOOD OF CHRIST OR
HOLY GRAIL CONNECTION TO 
THE MEROVINGIAN KINGDOM

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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

KEEPING CHRIST'S COMMANDMENTS TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BE FOUND WORTHY


PLEASE NOTE: This article is the answer to my 10-8-2017 Prayer Request post on Facebook where I was seeking to know why God had placed a spirit of heaviness and sorrow on me in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is about expressing our overwhelming joy in the knowledge of our Messiah's love for us, and the gift of His salvation. ~ Helena Lehman
When I first became a born again believer in 1987 at the age of 30, the first thing Yahshua did after I felt my initial joy in knowing Him was to lay a spirit of heaviness and sadness over me that lasted for weeks, and that I came to understand as Christ's sorrow over all the people in the world today that have rejected Him, and do not know Him by His Spirit because they are not born again. This tragedy provoked the sorrow in me, and over time, its memory motivated me to really want to reach out to the lost, and lead them to a saving knowledge of Yahshua Ha Mashiach, or Jesus the Christ.

This same sort of sorrow overtook me again on October 8th, 2017, which I now know was no accident, for the date is significant. This is because "Octo" actually means "Eighth", as October was the Eighth month on the old Roman Calendar, which began the year with the Spring Equinox in March. It was also the eighth day of the month, and the "17" in 2017 adds up to 8, making the date 8-8-17, and a symbolic 888, which is the number of the Name of "Jesus" in Greek. Incidentally, my home phone number ends with the number sequence 888 also, which I really find appealing.

Getting back to the point of my story, I wanted to know why I was feeling this sorrow because it was very tough to handle, especially since it was right in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, when we are commanded to express our joy in our salvation. So I asked for prayer on Facebook because of it. Then, as my prayers mixed with those of my brethren and reached God's ear, I felt the sorrow lift slowly as God revealed why He had overwhelmed me with it.

The reason God sent me this manifestation of His feelings was to show me that He is very sorrowful over the terrible nay-saying and backbiting going on right now among His children. So many believers are currently actively and even voraciously mocking those who thought the Rapture might occur this September 20th through 30th, 2017 based on the incredible Heavenly Signs that appeared then in Leo and Virgo.

Even with the mockery they are experiencing, however, many believers (like me!) are continuing to watch, and are now looking at the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles on October 12th, and the eighth day assembly after it on Friday the 13th as possibly tied to the Last Trump of the Rapture. But the mockery those who are watching are receiving from those who are not is in direct disobedience to Yahshua's command to not call one's brethren "fool" or "idiot" lest they want to face judgment and possible Hell-fire. As Yahshua said:
Matthew 5:22 ~ “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
This does not mean that Yahshua never called anyone a fool. In fact, He did call people who were not keeping God's Commandments fools in Matthew 23:16-19. This suggests that Yahshua pointed to the foolishness of the Foolish Virgins in the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 because they will be found not keeping God's Commandments when Yahshua comes for us in the Rapture, and so they will be left behind. The term "virgins" in that Parable indicates that these were all people within the Church who professed to have accepted Yahshua's righteous blood covering over their sinfulness, but that the foolish ones among them were not truly committed to Christ, and were therefore not dead to the world and living for Him by striving to follow His Commandments.

Although I have received a great deal of flack from the "Once Saved, Always Saved" crowd for saying this, it seems apparent from the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins alone that keeping the Ten Commandments and the Moral Laws of God are essential if we wish to be a part of the Rapture, as well as of God's Kingdom, especially serving in the coming Millennial Kingdom of Christ, which is going to be given as a reward for the righteous who always strive to love and follow their Messiah and King. But there is another clear statement made by Yahshua that sets the record straight on this, and it is only found in the Gospel of John:
John 14:15-18 ~ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Taking Yahshua's words here at face value, and as more important than any teaching based on the words of mere men, Yahshua is clearly saying that there is a prerequisite to being born again with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and that prerequisite is the desire to keep Yahshua's Commandments, which were centered around loving God with one's whole being, and loving our neighbors (i.e. brethren in Christ) as ourselves. In other words, a person cannot be born again of the Holy Spirit or be ready for the Rapture unless they are keeping Christ's Commandments, and not just the two greatest ones, but all of the Moral Law of God that He emphasized in His earthly ministry. When we make the decision to follow Yahshua unto salvation and do His Commandments, we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit so that we can do so, as it says in Ephesians 1:13-14:
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”  
In this passage, the word of truth is found in the fact that we all need redemption because we have not kept the Moral Laws or Commandments of God, and we therefore need a perfect blood sacrifice for sin to overcome this obstacle to our salvation, and it can only be found in Yahshua or Jesus, our Passover Lamb. This is the Gospel of Salvation, and those who accept it understand that, though they are forgiven for their past trespasses, they should want to strive to keep Yahshua's Commandments in the future. When they understand this and repent of their sins, believers receive the Holy Spirit as the seal of the promise of their future inheritance and redemption.

The emphasis on loving one's brethren in the faith as an act of love for Yahshua is proven by examining the Commandment that Yahshua was referring to when He said that the second greatest Commandment was that we should love our neighbor as ourselves. This is found in the Book of Leviticus:
Leviticus 19:18 ~ “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
The “children of your people” referred to in this passage means the descendants of Abraham through Jacob. These were the Israelites that dwelt together in the Promised Land. They therefore were fellow believers in the One True God Yahweh Elohim. So the second greatest Commandment is to love your brethren in Christ as you love yourself, while the greatest Commandment is to love “the Lord your God” (i.e. Yahweh Elohim) with your whole being (See Matthew 22:36-40). People therefore need to seek to know God the Father through His Son Yahshua, and to love their brethren with all their hearts. This is how we keep Yahshua's Commandments, and this is what we must do before we can receive the Holy Spirit. This means that the Spirit is not automatically given to just anyone upon the profession of faith in Christ, but only if they have a true change of heart, and die to the world in order to fully serve God and keep His Commandments.

What God was showing me by allowing me to experience His sorrow on October 8th is that there are many Foolish Virgins in the Church right now that are not keeping Yahshua's Commandment to watch for His return, and are actually making fun of the people who are anxiously looking for His return and watching for the signs of His coming. This is why Yahshua reprimanded His Apostles for not being able to watch with Him for even one hour when He went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion (See Matthew 26:37-40). In fact, we are all commanded by Yahshua to watch for His return, as shown here in the Gospel of Mark:
Mark 13:34-37 ~ “It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Note that Yahshua referred to the doorkeeper, who was commanded to watch for the master of the house to return. We, as servants of Yahshua the King of kings and Master of all, are the doorkeepers who have been commanded to watch for our Master's return. Furthermore, we were given signs of when His return would be near, as listed in the following Scriptures:
Matthew 24:9-13 ~ “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” 
Luke 21:25-26 ~ “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” 
2 Timothy 3:1-5 ~ “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
We are therefore not only commanded to watch, but have been given the signs that we must watch for in order to be ready when Yahshua comes for His own. All of these signs can be demonstrated to have been fulfilled in our own era, especially over the past 10 years. The exponential increase in earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts, sinkholes, fires, intense heatwaves, extreme cold waves, Blood Moons and Sackcloth Suns from astronomical movements as well as fires, increased solar activity, increasing perturbations in the Earth's magnetic field and polar orientation, false teachers, false prophets, sexual immorality, sexually-transmitted diseases (pestilences), divorce, adultery, homosexuality, transgenderism, rebellion, murder, lying, stealing, disrespect of authority, cannibalism, demonic possession, and many other forms of lawlessness and wickedness are clear evidence that we are living in the very last days of the last days before Christ's return.

So the point of this article is to express God the Father's, and my own deep concern that followers of Christ are not showing the proper love, kindness, mercy and respect that they should be showing to one another in these last days, especially in regard to those who are ACTIVELY watching and looking for the signs of Christ's soon return. Those who are not looking at all, or are only giving it a casual perusal every now and then need to start paying more attention to their brethren who are watching, stop ridiculing and mocking them, and give them the love and respect they deserve for truly following Christ's command to “Watch!” Otherwise, those who are mocking and not watching are putting themselves in danger of being left behind, along with the rich and lukewarm believers in the Church of Laodicea, and the Foolish Virgins who are also not keeping God's Commandment to love one another.

MARANATHA YAHSHUA!  OUR
BRIDEGROOM IS COMING AGAIN SOON!
ARE YOU KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS?
IF NOT, START NOW, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
AND YOU ARE LEFT BEHIND!

With Love and Blessings
From Your Sister In Yahshua,
Helena Lehman of the
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
Scholar, Author and Artist for
The Language of God Book Series, and
Webmaster for the Pillar of Enoch Ministry Site
Ministry Web Site: http://pillar-of-enoch.com

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RELATED STUDIES IN GOD'S MORAL LAW:

CHRIST'S COMMANDMENTS AND
GOD'S MORAL LAW ARE SYNONYMOUS!

GOD IS ALWAYS LOVE,
AND SATAN IS ALWAYS HATE!

ALL SEXUAL SIN LIKE GAY/BAAL
WORSHIP LEADS TO DEATH!

WHY CHRIST IS THE LORD

WHY WILLFUL SINNERS WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN!

WARNING! SINNERS THAT DO NOT REPENT
WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN!
TO GET AND STAY SAVED, YOU
NEED TO LOVE AND FOLLOW CHRIST!

The New Covenant of Liberty and Freedom

WHAT COMMANDMENTS MUST BELIEVERS KEEP
UNDER THE NEW COVENANT OF GRACE?
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-commandments-must-believers-keep.html

IMPORTANT HEAVENLY SIGN
ARTICLES FOR FURTHER READING:

THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE 
AMERICAN ECLIPSE OF AUGUST 2017
Prophetic Analysis of the Amazing
Heavenly Signs in September 2017

WHAT THE REVELATION 12 SIGN OF 
SEPTEMBER 2017 REALLY MEANS!

HOPEFUL HEAVENLY SIGNS ON THE
FIRST DAY OF THE 2017 FEAST OF SUKKOT
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2017/10/Hopeful-Heavenly-Signs-on-first-day-of-2017-Feast-of-Sukkot.html

WILL YOM KIPPUR 2017 
MARK OUR BLESSED HOPE?
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2017/09/will-yom-kippur-2017-mark-our-blessed-hope.html

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