What message will the Lord give to those who listen to his word? Why should they care what the Lord thinks? When and how will they make their adjustment?
Passage of Scripture from the Orthodox Jewish Bible:
Zephaniah 2:1-3… Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O shameful nation; Before the decree brings forth, before the day passes like the chaff, before the charon af Hashem comes upon you, before the Yom Af Hashem (Day of Hashem’s Anger) comes upon you; Seek ye Hashem, all ye anvei ha’aretz (humble of the land), which have wrought His mishpat; seek tzedek, seek anavah (meekness, humility); it may be ye shall be hid in the Yom Af Hashem.
After reading this passage of Scripture it looks like God’s anger is coming upon his nation, his people. Let’s read the same passage of Scripture but from the Amplified Classic Bible:
Zephaniah 2:1-3… Collect your thoughts, yes, unbend yourselves [in submission and see if there is no sense of shame and no consciousness of sin left in you], O shameless nation [not desirous or desired]! [The time for repentance is speeding by like chaff whirled before the wind!] Therefore consider, before God’s decree brings forth [the curse upon you] before the time [to repent] is gone like the drifting chaff before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you—yes before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you! Seek the Lord [inquire for Him and require Him as the foremost necessity of your life], all you humble of the land who have acted in compliance with His revealed will and have kept His commandments; seek righteousness, seek humility [inquire for them, require them as vital]. It maybe you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.
After reading this passage of Scripture it seems like God is asking for the congregation to check themselves for sin before the Lord’s curse comes upon them. That the time of repentance is now, before God’s anger flares up against them.
Anyone who believes they are acting in compliance with God’s commandments are asked to humble themselves and reevaluate before the anger of God comes.
Is it not better to accept the blessing of God? And to remove ourselves from the curse of God that is among mankind? Is it not better to be transferred into the kingdom of son of love and resist the wrath of God?
Colossians 1:8-23… Also, he has informed us of your love in the [Holy] Spirit. For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things—That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins. [Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; He is the Firstborn of all creation. For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him. And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together). He also is the Head of [His] body, the church; seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He alone in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place [stand first and be preeminent]. For it has pleased [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him permanently. And God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross (covenant). And although you at one time were estranged and alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities, yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence. [And this He will do] provided that you continue to stay with and in the faith [in Christ], well-grounded and settled and steadfast, not shifting or moving away from the hope [which rests on and is inspired by] the glad tidings (the Gospel), which you heard, and which has been preached [as being designed for and offered without restrictions] to every person under heaven, and of which [Gospel] I, Paul, became a minister.
There was a lot of information in that reading so let’s focus on the two main points. How are we qualified to share with Christ? How are we transferred into his kingdom?
Sharing with Christ
What does it mean to share with Christ and what are we sharing?
1 Corinthians 10:14-16…Therefore, my beloved ones, flee from idolatry. I speak as to men with discernment; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of the Christ? The loaf which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of the Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, although many, are one body, for we are all partaking of that one loaf. LOOK at that which is Israel in a fleshly way: Are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers with the altar?
The apostle Paul speaks about sharing in a celebration of drinking wine and of the eating of the bread, these symbolize something of great importance. Paul speaks of the Israelite nation sharing with God from the sacrifices off of the altar so, there is a connection between worship and partaking, it is a sharing, a communion.
But the apostle Paul gave a warning to us about idolatry while he was yet speaking about sharing with Christ, why? How would idolatry affect our relationship?
What is the symbolism of the bread and of the wine?
1 Corinthians 11:20, 23-26…Therefore, when YOU come together to one place, it is not possible (it’s not attainable) to eat the Lord’s evening meal… 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also handed on to YOU, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf and, after giving thanks, he broke it and said: This means my body which is in YOUR behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me. He did likewise respecting the cup also, after he had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the New Covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, as often as YOU drink it, in remembrance of me”. For as often as YOU eat this loaf and drink this cup, YOU keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives.
The Lord Jesus is asking us to share with him in the eating of the bread, this identifies us as being part of his body. And when we partake of the wine, we share with him because this means we accept the New Covenant, that of being betroth to Christ as his bride.
If we don’t understand the New Covenant fully, we may need to pray and ask for God’s direction. Malachi 3:1 who is the messenger of the covenant?
Is it possible that were missing out on the New Covenant because we are not sharing the bread and wine together as a congregation?
YES, that is correct we will miss out.
“Where two or more are gathered in my name I will be there” that is the Lords promise. Matthew 18:20
If we are gathering together in the name of Yeshua, the Messiah then where is the partaking of Christ? How are we showing that we belong to him?
Now I would like to address those questions about idolatry in worship that we asked earlier.
Idolatry in my worship?
What is idolatry? What is veneration is there a difference? Idolatry is the expression of devotion, admiration, or reverence to someone or something that is given. Where as veneration refers to giving respect or great awe. There is a fine line between idolatry and veneration. Any idolatry could keep the blessing of God from coming, the Holy Spirit could even be removed from your life. You could again find yourself alienated from God.
What was accomplished at the second Council of Nicaea? And do the rabbis of Congregation Beth Messiah agree with that counsel?
In 787 the second Council of Nicaea was convened under the oversight of Constantine the sixth, were 350 delegates along with 308 bishops concluded that the veneration of icons was acceptable.
You may ask what is an icon? Well, it is a symbol designated worthy as an aid to devotion in worship, like a statue or cross they would-be good examples of an icon.
But how does the Lord of the universe feel about veneration of icons? The apostle Paul identifies an icon as part of the act of worship and because it is idolatry, and he calls it a practice or work of the flesh.
Galatians 5:19-20… Now the ma’asei habasar are manifest, dehainu (being:) zenut (fornication), tum’ah (impurity), zimmah (licentiousness), Avodah zarah (idolatry), kashefanut (sorcery, witchcraft), eivot (enmities), merivah (strife), kinah (jealousy), rogez (anger), anochiyut (selfishness), machalokot (dissensions), kitot (sects),
Now let’s read the same passage of Scripture but from the Amplified Classic Bible:
Galatians 5:19-20…Now the doings (G2041 practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
What is the meaning of the Greek word practice?
As it is found in Strong’s Concordance G2041 ergon, and can be rendered up as work, deed, employment, and action as an inner desire.
Does God’s word allow for the act or action of giving honor or reverence to anything? How about the act of idol worship? NO, God’s word does not but clearly idolatry goes against the second commandment of God, you shall not make idols! This leads you down the path contrary to God’s direction.
Exodus 20:4-5…You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me.
But you say we don’t bow down to the Torah as is being carried around the congregation, we didn’t make it, it is not in the likeness of any animal or thing upon the earth, no but it was given to us by the Lord.
Ok but are you giving it reverence or veneration are you then perhaps headed down the wrong path? Then tell me this, what happened to the copper serpent on the signal pole that Moses made and set it before the sons of Israel for healing as an act of faith? (Numbers 21:9)
Was it not crushed to pieces later on by the king of Israel because it became a stumbling block for the sons of Israel as they began to idolize it as part of their worship! (2 Kings18:1-5)
Congregation Beth Messiah which one of the congregations do you identify yourself as? Do you have stumbling blocks or teachings the go contrary to the direction of the Messiah?
The Lord Yeshua has a message for you, will you not publicly read it? Revelation 2:1- 3:22
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