Judaizers in the Church - The Yoke of Torah! (Part 1)

[Devorah]

Originally Posted by Nathan

(Continuation)

The Messiah

So let's talk about Jesus, the Messiah. At the end of His ministry at the Last Supper, Jesus said that He was making a new covenant with us.

The Scriptures also tell us that Jesus is our High Priest who is seated at the right hand of God.

“…We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;”
Hebrews 8:1

And this is what I want to concentrate on for the remainder of this message, because I have something to show you that is very important and enlightening.

Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur

As mentioned, it was among the Levites that a high priest was always chosen through the Order of Aaron. One of the most reverent ceremonies for the high priest was to officiate the ceremony for the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement is also known today as Yom Kippur. It happened once a year on the 10th day of the seventh month. This was the most solemn day in all of Israel. On this day, no work was to be done by any person. And it was on this day that the high priest went into the most holy place behind the veil to make a sin offering for all of the people of Israel.

Now it is very important to keep in mind that all of the offerings and sacrifices that the priests conducted in Old Testament Israel were symbolic of what Messiah was going to do as the Lamb of God. The sacrifices pointed forward to Jesus who was the true sacrifice for Israel and, the entire world!

All of the ceremonies, offerings, and sacrifices were shadows about Jesus and His death on the cross. They painted the picture of salvation which comes through faith.

On the Day of Atonement, no work was to take place by anyone in Israel, except for the sacrifice of the high priest, now please keep this in mind.

On any other given day, all of the Levitical priests took part and helped to minister during the daily sacrifices at the temple. Because after all, there are many different duties that need to take place to keep the temple functioning. It took a lot of manpower and many Levitical priests to deal with the hundreds of sacrifices a day that came through the temple.

Only the High Priest

But on the Day of Atonement, it was very different. It was a day like no other day. And on this day, only one priest was to be involved. It was the high priest!

He had to do everything by himself. None of the other Levite priests were allowed to help him. And for the High Priest, the Day of Atonement was a very arduous task. It was a very reverent task. The high priest had to make sure that he was cleansed of sin, before he was allowed to give a sin offering for Israel. So he had to bathe thoroughly, in fact, five times! He had to offer a sacrifice for his family and himself.

Again, when he offered the sacrifice for all of Israel, he had to be a high priest that was totally clean and free of sin.

Also, on this day, none, absolutely none of the Israelites were allowed to work! The only person working on the Day of Atonement was the high priest, period!

Jesus did ALL of the work!

And looking forward to Messiah, this ceremonial event was a beautiful shadow of what Jesus actually did for the world. Jesus was the High Priest who is without sin. And Jesus did all of the work by Himself. None of us can do any of the work for atonement. None of us can add to the work of atonement!

This is why the children of Israel where not allowed to work on that day. It was symbolic of us not working our way to salvation. Jesus did all the work on the cross. This is why He cried out,”It is finished,” as He died!

The Day of Atonement was a type and a shadow, and it pointed to Jesus our Messiah. Over time, the Levites added another symbolic duty to the high priest for the Day of Atonement.

More Shadows - Awake all Night!!

On the eve of the Day of Atonement, the high priest would stay awake all night to prepare for his ministerial duties. He was not allowed to sleep. So he would read the Psalms and pray to get ready for the sin offering that he would present the next day.

I find it incredible, that the Levites of Israel were actually prophesying about Messiah when the high priest stayed up all night.

I find it even more incredible, just how accurate it this prophetic shadow was. The Levitical high priest prophesied two things about the high priesthood:

1. The corruption of the office of the Levitical Priesthood.

2. The beauty of the sacrifice of Messiah. A New High Priest

The Priesthood Started with Corruption

Allow me to explain: The Levitical priesthood began through Aaron. He was the very first high priest.

Aaron began his office in a corrupt form!! How many can remember that the first sacrifice that Aaron officiated for Israel was the golden calf!



And to think, that Aaron was the first high priest!

And looking forward to Messiah, it was also a corrupt high priest Caiaphas, who stayed up all night in the scandal of the ages. And it was Caiaphas the high priest who stayed up all night not to recite the Psalms, or to pray, but indeed to prepare the sin offering for the world.



So for hundreds of years, the high priests of Israel, prophesied through their work on the Day of Atonement, the sacrifice of Messiah. And they had no clue!!

Another thing that the high priest prophesied, by staying up all night, they were a type and shadow of Jesus the Messiah staying up all night. But when Jesus stayed up all night, He was mistreated, tortured, and betrayed.

The Priesthood Ended in Corruption!

In conclusion: the Levitical priesthood began corrupt, and it ended corrupt!

But thanks be to God, Jesus our High Priest, overcame corruption and was the fulfillment of the shadow of the Levites.

“…seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, …” Hebrews 8:4,5

In summary, the Levitical priesthood pointed to Jesus and it prophesied the need for a better priesthood.

(To be continued - Part 2 - Coming Soon )

Nathan Leal
Feb.09, 2010

Dear Nathan,
I appreciate all that you have written here, and I know you have a wonderful loving heart towards anyone who serves our Messiah in purity and TRUTH.

Yah brought me out of both the christian churches and the messianic congregations. There is much error in BOTH.

I feel it is important to remember for all of us, that we become DRAWN to groups that teach different things, at different times in our SPIRITUAL GROWTH CYCLE.

I learned much from my christian walk, and also much from the hebrew roots movement, and I am GLAD for the richness of BOTH. There is much valuable instruction in both that I have applied to my personal life.

We are expected to keep the 10 Commandments given at the mountain, as it was a MIXED MULTITUDE which came out of Egypt from all the nations into the wilderness. This was the first CHURCH (KAHAL=ECCLESIA).

I am deeply saddened by the the divisions, criticisms, lack of love, and lack of appreciation between both the christians and messianics. It has been so PAINFUL IN FACT that Yah pulled me out and away from both.

In Jeremiah 17:5 there is a CURSE for following the arm of men.
We must all be careful that we are NOT following MEN, but allowing the Spirit of TRUTH to instruct us in all our SPIRITUAL GROWTH CYCLES, no matter what is going on with other groups, religions, teachers, etc.
IT IS ALL ABOUT OUR PERSONAL WALK WITH MESSIAH.

Example: I asked Yah WHO was the prophet that He sent to the USA to warn us, as that is Yah's pattern through all of scripture. He directed me to Dimitru Duduman and grandson Michael Boldea. AFTER I devoured all those messages I asked Yah WHY IS IT THAT YOU HAVE NOT CORRECTED MICHAEL ABOUT KEEPING SABBATH (Frid sundown-Sat sundown as per bible).
He enlightened me to these two things: ONE, Michael is serving Yah in the churches by going out and calling them to REPENT of their evil doings. So he is called to that ministry, and to his ministry in Romania to the orphans. He is exactly WHERE YAH WANTS HIM TO BE IN HIS SPIRITUAL GROWTH CYCLE and in HIS SERVICE TO MESSIAH.

We must realize Yah has each of us in the location and manner in which He can use us the best to serve in LOVE and OBEDIENCE to His 10 commandments.

We are FREE to worship on ANY DAY, although scripturally the Sabbath remains specific to ONE DAY. Let us NOT fight and argue these points, as the 1000 year reign of Yeshua/Jesus will find us all keeping the proper commandments in LOVE for the rest of eternity, and Yeshua will set all these ISSUES TO REST.

I am saddened by all this discussion, for I have been taught by the Holy Spirit that ALL SCRIPTURE IS FOR INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GENESIS THROUGH REVELATION.

Salvation is by faith alone, and with that, Yeshua said also that we MUST KEEP THE 10 COMMANDMENTS. That is repeated in the words of our Messiah in the NT over and over and over again. So we have the responsibility to search out WHAT IT MEANS TO KEEP THEM? Then we are accountable to Yah ALONE, for our GROWTH CYCLE IN THEM.

Yeshua said, ALL will know you are my disciples, because YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Let us practice doing that, as we share together. We are all learning, and will ever be learning from Yah. I love the Holy Spirit teaching me, and His precious VOICE guiding me in the details of my daily life, as I practice minute by minute repentance in LOVE AND OBEDIENCE TO YAH.

Thank you Nathan and Bradd Scott, as I have listened to all your teachings and have GLEANED MUCH FROM ALL OF THEM. I appreciated you both and love you both, and look forward to our fellowship in the kingdom quickly coming to us.

PRAISE HIM, LAUD HIM, ESTEEM HIM, AND GLORIFY HIM AND IN DOING SO ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE RESOLVED. Love in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus Devorah