The Noachide Laws in Christian Perspective
It is clear from the scriptures that God has standards of life he expects from the sons of Israel which he outlines in the Torah.
However Messiah is said to come for the whole world, to establish God's kingdom throughout the entire earth. So a very pertinent question is what are the standards God requires of the Goyim? Or to put the question in a more Jeiwsh manner: What are the Mitzvoth God has laid as a burden upon the Gentiles or Non Jewish nations of the world.
The Rabbis teach from there oral tradition that God has laid seven Mitzvoth as obligations on the gentiles for them to live by. Presumeably in the Messianic age when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Yahuwah as the waters cover the sea, the gentiles will be fulfilling there seven mitzvoth perfectly. Also in that time the Israelites will be presumebly fulfilling their Mitzvoth perfectly also. And if the Rabbis are correcting in handing down a tradition which they claim come from Moses, which states seven obligations are laid on the gentiles, and all is done and completed, the world will run in the Messianic age, just as God planned it to run. All will be in harmony and peace and all will be well for mankind.
The Rabbis are expecting many Gentiles to run after them, forsake the ways their forefathers taught as false and begin to follow the seven laws of Noah. We need to look at the seven laws, understanding that the standard they were to uphold had to be taught to the Goyim, by Israel. In history only one set of Jews have had a major impact on the knowledge of the true God among the nations, and they are the followers of Yeshua of Nazareth.
What then are the 7 laws of Noah?
Rambam lays them out in his Mishneh Torah, the Laws of Kings and their Wars. They can also be read in Tractate Sanhedrin of the Talmud section 56a to 60a, where it will be quite apparent that there are more than seven.
He states that " Six precepts were commanded to Adam:"
These six were prohibitions against
(1) Against Idolatry (Avodah Zarah).
So we can ask does the New Covenant, teach Goyim to turn from idolatry.
Well the answer is a clear yes. No where in all the New Covenant do we read of the followers of Yeshua setting up and worshipping idols. In fact we have the opposite. Apostle John says "Keep yourself from Idols.". Apostle Paul says "Flee Idolatry" Yeshua lists idolatry among those things which defile a man. Apostle Paul says that God punished men because they began to worship the created rather than the Creator. So there is a clear prohibition against idolatry, in the New Covenant. It was said of one Church in Thessalonica that they "Turned from idols to serve the living God" Not only this but when Yeshua was dealing with the Jews he did not go so much in to the commandment on idolatry because they had been cleansed of a lot of the service of idols after the Babylonian exile. He challenged the people more on the level of their relationship to Yahuwah and their treatment of one another. So not only does the the New Covenant forbid idolatry, as in the 10 commandments, it also enjoins a closer walk with the Only True God , through his Messiah, and the circumcision of the heart so that all traces of idolatry are removed from the man.
(2) Against Cursing God (Bircat Hashem)
Yeshua said that anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin, it would not be forgiven him in this age or the age to come. The Apostle Paul lists blasphemy among the works of the flesh which the believer is to kill or die to. Not only are the believers enjoined not to curse God, but according to Yacov, they are enjoined not to curse anybody, but they should be blessing all. So cursing is out. Let your conversation be filled with grace, the goyim were told. Bless those who curse you.
(3) Against Murder (shepicot damim).
Yeshua noted that not only was murder forbidden, but the anger in the heart and the words which that anger are also censored. The believer is told to be angry, but not to sin by the Apostle Paul. And the Apostle John taught that no murderer had eternal life in him. Yeshua often dealt with the conditions that might lead to murder and taught the believers to love not to hate their enemies, to pray for not to kill their persecutors.
(4) Against Incest and Adultery (Giloy-Erayot)
A situation was brought in the Church and Corinth which showed that the early Church was indeed teaching against incest. He said a man had his father's wife, and that this man should be put our of the church after judgement. Because the Church took on certain elements of the Torah, they also brought other restrictions on immorality. Certainly each man was told to have his own wife, and that they should defraud one another, by going with each others wives. Yeshua himself made adultery a matter for the heart, stating that the very act of looking at a woman in order to lust after her was adultery. So Yeshua took the teaching against adultery on to a higher level than the immediate commandment might read.
(5) Against Theft (Hagazel).
The robber was told to stop stealing get a job that he would have not only enough for his own needs, but to give to the poor afterwards. In the Talmud it says they even if a goy stole a very small amount he was due the death penalty. The reason given for this was that the goyim don't forgive. But every believer in Yeshua was taught how to forgive , even as they had been forgiven there sins. They were taught to replace stealing with generosity.
(6) To establish laws and courts of justice.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian Church that instead of going to court in front of unbelievers, that the church should set up its own court. And the fact that they hadn't that already was a cause for shame. He also said that one person should be tried and although he wouldn't be physically present he would be spiritually present when the person was tried.
It is believed that at the time of Noah a law against eating the limb of a living animal was also added:
(7) Against Eating flesh from living animal.
The Gentiles were taught to not eat animals that had been strangled and to refrain from blood. If they literally stopped eating blood they most certainly wouldn't be eating the limb of an animal which was still living, since for the blood to be gone the animal would have to be dead. I will have to look at this command in more detail.
These together are called the Noachide laws and we know that Noah had the job of repopulating the earth after the flood. So all mankind are descended from Noah and his three sons. If we read Genesis we find that the first generation after the flood consisted of 16 nations. And the total number of the nations were 70. Those that follow Rabbinic Judaism beleive that Gentiles are yet to be taught these 7 laws and that it is going to come about that as the Messianic age approaches more and more Gentiles will begin to follow these 7 laws, the assumption being that the Jews are to be a light to Gentiles and by teaching them these laws will be part of their job done.
However the contention of this paper is that not only have Jews already taught the righteousness of the Noachide covenant to the Gentiles who were willing to receive it but that the plan of God for the Gentiles was that in the Seed of Abraham, they would bless themselves. That is the blessing of righteous will come on the Gentiles through the promised seed and specifically the Messiah and his followers.
Not only this but whereas Noah was considered righteous in his generation, the righteousness of Abraham is considered to be a higher level of rightoeusness and this is the righteouness which God has chosen to give to the Gentiles.
It is written of Abram that "He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness". The contention of this paper is that not only is the faith which came from the seed of Abraham, Messiah Yeshua, a fulfillment of the 7 laws of Noah, (which as a specific obligation is nowhere mentioned in the Tanach, whatsoever,) but that what this faith and righteousness does is to exceed the requirements of righteousness laid down in the 7 laws of Noah. It also goes on to say that Abraham had the friend of God level of righteousness. And that whilst the Rabbinic Jew has been so concerned with learning the letter of the Torah and attempting to fulfil 613 Mitzvoth ( many of which can't be fulfilled until Messiah, through his Body has rebuilt the temple,) God's righteousness, his everlasting righteouness which was near to come at the time of Isaiah, has been speeding its way to the ends of the earth, through the work of Christian missionaries, translating and preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God and King Messiah Yeshua. They preached wherever they went, repentance, forgiveness of sins, baptism, to die to the old life and begin the new and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which would cause them to walk in Yahuwah's statutes and commandments.
That whereas that which went forth from the fourth century got isolated from its Biblical and Israelite roots, yet now in the lasts days in accordance with the plan and purpose of God, the reconnection with the roots is taking place through the reestablishment on the earth of a nation called Israel.
And whereas most Muslim nations seek the destruction of the nation of Israel from the map, yet the true followers of Yeshua are supporting the nation, not where it acts in injustice but where it is fulfilling its God given mandate to exist and to be the place where all of Israel may be gathered together, in order to sanctify the name of Yahuwah and indeed be the light of the nations Israel was created to be.
As Isaiah said in the 8th century BC
"Preserve justice and do righteousness,
for my righteousness is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed"
At that time Israel had the whole Torah and their Oral Torah, yet Yahuwah insists that even with all this his 'righteousness' is yet to be revealed. It was future, and we know now that in Yeshua, Messiah of Israel, this righteouaness by faith was indeed revealed and began to speed it was to the ends of the earth by the power of Almighty God. We note also that in God's commissioning of Abram it is said "in you will all the families of the earth be blessed or bless themselves.
The families of the earth are active in receiving the blessing, it is not imposed upon them. So it was that Yeshua sent his apostles out to proclaim the message and the families of the earth were given a choice to accept or reject the message. In accepting it they blessed themselves just as Yahuwah had explained to Abram.
Let us see what the great well respected Jewish Rabbi says of Yeshua. Rambam has said
" Yeshua of Nazareth who aspired to be the Messiah and was executed by the court was also (alluded to) in Daniel's prophecies, as (ibid) 11:14 states "The vulgar among your people shall exalt themselves in an attempt to fulfil the vision, but they shall stumble.'
Can there be a greater stumbling block than this?
All the prophets spoke of the Messiah as the redeemer of Israel and it's Savior, who would gather their dispersed and strengthen their (Observance of ) the Mitzvoth. (This however) caused the Jews to be slain by the sword, their remnants to be scattered and humbled the Torah to be altered, and the majority of the world to err and serve a god other than the Lord.
Nevertheless the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of man to comprehend, for His ways are not our ways, nor are his thoughts our thoughts.... All the deeds of Yeshua of Nazareth....will serve to prepare the way for the Messiah's coming and the improvement of the entire world, (motivating the nations) to serve God together, as Zephaniah 3:9 states "I will make the peoples pure of speech that they will call upon the name of God and serve him with one purpose"
The Charges of Rambam against Yeshua are then as follows:
(1)He did not fulfill the role assigned to him by the prophets, namely to be redeemer of Israel,and its saviour.
(2)He did not gather their dispersed
(3) He did not increase there observance of Mitzvoth.
(4) He caused the Jews to be slain by the sword.
(5) Their remnants to be scattered and humbled.
(6) The Torah to be altered.
(7) The majority of the world to err and to serve a god other then the Lord.
Now we know that as Yeshua the Messiah said "By his words a man shall be aquitted and by his word he shall be condemned" So we know that Rambam will have to give an answer for his accusations against Yeshua, to Yeshua on that great and awesome day before God indeed to his great surprise he will also answer to Yeshua himself for as the Apostle Paul says "He(God) has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a Man who he has appointed having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead"
Or as Yeshua himself said "All judgement has been given to the Son because he is the Son of Man"
So Rambam will answer to Yeshua on that great and awesome day.
Yeshua said of himself "I proceeded forth and came from God, for I have not even come on my own initiative, but he sent me."
And Yahuwah said " I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to my words,which he shall speak in my name. I my self will require it of him"
So we can be sure that in ignoring the words of Yeshua, a person puts himself in the position where Yahuwah will require explanation.
1)He did not fulfill the role assigned to him by the prophets, namely to be redeemer of Israel, and its Saviour.
The prophets did prophesy that the Messiah would be the redeemer of Israel and their Saviour and indeed Yeshua has come to fulfill those prophecies. By looking at some of the prophecies we can begin to see why Rambam has not understood how Yeshua fulfilled and is fulfilling those very prophecies.
We know that the best interpreter of prophecies is God the author of the prophecies and generally he does this either through an Angel or his Holy Spirit. So when a prophet is in the middle of a vision we often see them asking questions to the angel as to the understanding of what the vision of prophecy meant. On the other hand prophets, without the help of these heavenly interpreters can often find themselves perplexed by what they see. So we turn to one prophecy regarding the Messianic role of redemption.
"And the Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob"
Declares Yahuwah.
"And as for me, this is my covenant with them,
says Yahuwah:
"My Spirit which is upon , and my words which I have put in your mouth,
shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring,
nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring,
say Yahuwah
"from now and forever".
So we can observe from this prophecy of Isaiah, written 700 around years, before the coming of Yeshua, that the redeemer will come to Zion. Mount Zion is where the temple stood. Zion is also sometimes used regarding Jerusalem.
Well Yeshua came to both. So Yeshua most definitely fulfilled the first line of the prophecy. He indeed came to Zion in all senses of the word. He did not stay in Galilee, but attended all the feasts in Zion, during his three year ministry.
The next line of the prophecy is what it would appear Rambam missed. The redeemer would come to Zion AND to those in Jacob who turn from trangression".
So it is clear, Jacob, we know is another name of Israel. However the redeemer is said to come to those in Jacob, who turn from trangression. Now Jacob for sure included all Jews. However not all Jews turned from trangression, when Yeshua the redeemer came to Zion. If they had turned he would have fulfilled for them his Messianic role of Redeemer and Saviour. But those who did not do Teshuva, did not receive their Messiah. It is very clear that Messiah could come and a Jew who would refuse to listen to him and do teshuva or to turn from trangression, would not receive him.
This was clear in the case of Yeshua. For as Rambam said. Yeshua was "executed by the court"
A court which Rambam clearly agreed with, which those who turned from transgression did not agreed with. But they too were in Jacob. Let us not think that because Yeshua was executed he lost the approval of God, No it is written "He was despised and forsaken of men"
It is also written "Adonai Yahuwah has opened my ear; And I was not disobedient,
Nor did I turn my back.
I gave my back to those who strike me,
And my cheeks to those who pluck out my beard,
I did not cover my space to humiliation and spitting.
For Adonai Yahuwah helps me.
Therefore I am not disgraced;
Therefore I have set my face like flint,
And I know that I shall not be ashamed.
He who vindicates me is near;
Who will contend with me?"
Yes immediately after they charged Yeshua with blasphemy
"they spat in his face and beat him with their fist;
and others beat him with rods"
So all this is faced, but this does not stop him being the Messianic redeemer of those who turn from transgression in Jacob.
So he indeed redeemed according to the angelic interpretation of that term.
"And she will bear a Son and you shall call his name Yeshua, for it is he whom will save his people from their sins."
What! so indeed the guilt offering Yeshua became redeemer or paid for many people to be saved from their sins. Many to begin worshipping the true God in spirit, as God promised his people they would "I will put my Spirit upon you" and in truth as God also promised "
"Because he who is blessed in the earth shall be blessed by the God of Truth"
All this took place after his condemnation to death.
He was killed but he was raised from the dead. Thus God showed that he did not approve of the courts judgement. He then ascended back to the Father and sent down the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth on his disciples. He had already said that he was the truth and we all worship and bless in the name of the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua Messiah, the Truth. That is we bless in the name of the God of Amen (truth).
We see above that the final
message of Isaiah 69 was that the Spirit would remain on the offspring of those who turned from transgression in Jacob. And that the word would also remain on their lips.
Well the offspring of those disciples are still here to day on earth and number over 1 billion. They receive the Holy Spirit when they believe and have the word of the Gospel on their lips every day all over the earth in one part of the world or another.
As Yeshua said, they have only one Father in heaven and one teacher the Messiah.They are born again and so like the Spirit on them and the word in their mouths they abide for ever.
And Yeshua had all his disciples baptised in the Holy Spirit
(2) He did not gather there dispersed
Here we have the second accusation against Yeshua and his Messianic role. In a sense it is clear that the error of this accusation comes from Rambam's limited view of the Messiah as a person and his role. Here is how Rambam identifies the Messiah
"If a King will arise from the house of David who is learned in Torah and obs
ervant of the Mitztvoth. As prescribed by the written law and the oral law, as David, his ancestor was, and will compel all of Israel to walk in (the way of the Torah) and reinforce the breaches (in its observance); and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him the Messiah.
If he succeeds in the above , builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah. He will then improve the entire world, (motivating ) all the nations to serve God together as (Zephaniah 3:9) states: "I will make the peoples pure of speech that they will call upon the Name of God and serve him with one purpose"
If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he is surely not (the redeemer) promised by the Torah".
We see that Rambam makes no mention of the Spirit's role in causing observance. As Yahuah said
"I will put my spirit upon you and cause you to walk in my statutes and commandments"
Nor does he mention the possibility of the events mentioned taking place over a protracted period of time because the Messiah by some is understood to be eternal.
There is an odd tendency among the Rabbinical schools of thought to deny the deity of the Messiah, but to give him roles only God could possibly fulfil and which God has specifically said he will personally do, to the Messiah. For example, there is a great emphasis on the ingathering of the dispersed ones of Israel.
Well there is a mega problem involved in this ingathering. That is no man knows who are the dispersed of Israel. No man knows where they live. And even if a man knew where they were it was be almost impossible to convince others that these and not those are Israel. Then on the other hand, having done the mammoth task of working out exactly who Israel are, among the mass of nation into which they were scattered, we then have the issue of "compelling" them to fulfil the Torah, which no man has yet, apart from Yeshua, completely fulfilled.
In regard to these issues they are considered a fundamental element of the Messianic work.Now we know as followers of Yeshua that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to himself.
We know full well that only God can do things assigned to Messiah.
Now the ingathering is so vital to Rabbinic Judaism and its view of Messiah that Rambam says to understand that God will gather in the dispersed of Israel is to understand Messiah is coming. And to believe in the coming of Messiah is one of Rambam's 13 fundamental beliefs of Judaism.
He says "Anyone who does not believe in him or does not waith for his coming, denies not only (the statements) of the other prophets, but (those of) the Torah and Moses, our teacher. The Torah testified to his (coming), as (Due 30;3-5) states:
"God will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you. He will gather you"
So Messiah will do exactly and no less than what God promises to do in his Torah. Rambam believed this but when Yeshua came calling himself the son of God, they wanted to stone him for blasphemy.
We who believe Yeshua to be God manifest in the flesh have no problems with these passages, but the Rabbis who deny this truth will have to do all sorts of gymnastics with the plain words of God. As Yeshua says "Moses wrote of me"
Now we can ask how has the coming of Yeshua tied in with not only the expectation of Rambam but a Messiah who is far greater in revelation than Rambams finite mind could ever contemplate. We see this that Yeshua is doing what Rambam expects but not necessarily in the order he expected and in a far higher way than he imagined. For Gods ways and thoughts are far higher than our ways and thought as Rambam admits in Halakah 4 page 236 of The laws of Kings and there wars.
"Nevertheless the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of man to comprehend"
So let us see how Yeshua shapes up in his present and on going Messianic role.
"If a King will arise from the house of David who is learned in Torah and observant of the Mitztvot. As prescribed by the written law and the oral law, as David, his ancestor was, and will compel all of Israel to walk in (the way of the Torah) and reinforce the breaches (in its observance); and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him the Messiah.
If he succeeds in the above, builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah. He will then improve the entire world, (motivating ) all the nations to serve God together as (Zephaniah 3:9) states: "I will make the peoples pure of speech that they will call upon the Name of God and serve him with one purpose"
If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he is surely not (the redeemer) promised by the Torah".
What are Rambams requirements?
(1) A King
(2) From the house of David
(3) Is learned in Torah
(4) Observant of Mitzvoth (Written and Oral)
(5) Will Compel all Israel to walk in the Torah
(6) Reinforce the breaches in its observance
(7) Fight the wars of God
(8) Builds the Temple in its place
(9) Gathers the dispersed of Israel
(10 ) Improve the entire world (motivating) all the nations to serve God together.
Now Rambam has given 10 points to spot his Messiah. His list is by no means exhaustive but we can work with it and compare Yeshua the Messiah extraordinaire, with Rambam's limited requirements for Messiah.
Because much of Rambams criteria is taken from the Tanakh I will use prophets and Apostles to help illuminate the true meaning of the terms Rambam talks about.
(1) A King.
Our question is then Is Yeshua a King? If so was he the kind of King Rambam was looking for?
When Yeshua was asked by Pontius Pilate :
Are you the King of the Jews?
Yeshua replied
It is as you say. (Matthew)
When he was earlier on talking to his disciples in Lukes gospel he said to his discples
"The Kings of the the nations lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are benefactors. But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as one who serves. And you are those who have stood with me in my trials; and just as my father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you. That you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and you will sit judging the twelves tribes of Israel.'
When Yeshua died he had written over him "This is the King of the Jews."
I wonder if anyone else in all history was crucufied with that title written over them.
We have to remember, when the Israelites asked for a king like the nations, they got one. But Yahuah was not very pleased about it. When Samuel gives the list of the things the King would do it was in order to dissuade Israel, from their unfortunate request. But Yahuah in his mercy gave them what they asked for on the understanding that they had reject him from being King over them.
David was chosen by God. The King Messiah to was sanctified by the Father and sent into the world. We must always remember, the son of David , the Messiah will also be the Son of God, and unlike David, he will be a man of peace not of war.
Finally we can ask does this King have any subjects in his Kingdom and what kind of Kingdom is it?
Yeshua told Pilate:
My kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world then my servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; But as it is , My Kingdom is not of this world.
Pilate answered "So you are a King? Yeshua answered
You say correctly that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of truth hears my voice."
We can conclude this section that is clear not just to Yeshua but to millions of his subjects all over the world that he is indeed a King and not any ordinary he is a king of God's appointing in the order of the Melchizedek priesthood.
(2) From the House of David.
Here we can start with the words of the Angel to Yeshua's mother:
"Do not be afraid Mary for you have found favour with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son and you shall name him Yeshua. He will be great, and called the son of the Most High; and Adonai Yahuah will give him the throne of his Father David."
As Yahuah had promised David
"Moreover I tell you Yahuah will build a house for you
And it shall come about when your days are fulfilled that you will go to be with your fathers,
That I will set up one of your descendants after you, who shall be of your sons;
And I will establish his Kingdom.
He shall build a house for me , and I will establish his throne forever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son.
I will not take my lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you.
But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever,
And his throne shall be established forever".
These are the words of Nathan the prophet to David. This word of Yahuah has to be fulfilled be cause none of his words fall to the earth. This is the true promise of Messiah.
Now note a number of significant things here. Yahuah is going to build Davids house. And we know that it is through the Spirit of Yahuah that he builds. As he said through Zechariah, "its not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says Yahuah" We know also that a physical house is not what is being referred to, for David would die before all these things would take place. What good would a brick or cedar house do for a dead man. No this house but be of another order altogether.
We also note that this son would be very special for he would be the son of two fathers. Yahuah and David.
We know that the term son of David doesn't just refer to a physical seed because whenever a King of Israel acted righteously his sonship was referred to David. However when a King did wrongly his Sonship was referred elsewhere although he could still be buried in the city of David.
Also we can note that this son of God, son of David, would build a house for Yahuah, however later on the prophesy says "I will settle him in my house forever".
This means the house referred in the second part of the prophecy can not be the temple of Solomon. For this temple only last about 400 hundred years. It is clear that Yahuah said he would settle His Son and David's Son in His house forever. The Temple of Solomon did not last forever, so another house must be referred to. "Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his Father, David"
So Solomon fulfilled parts of the prophecy but not the complete prophecy.
However Yeshua has been pointed out as a fulfiller of this prophecy, firstly by the Angel Gabriel above.
Firstly he was born of a virgin and it came about that :
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the most high will over shadow you
and for that reason the holy thing begotten will be called the son of God"
As Yahuah said " I will build for you a house …I will be to him a Father and he will be to me a Son"
So Yeshua body came from God it did not come in the ordinary way but by the Holy Spirit and the power of the most high.
Can his body be described as a house?
When Yeshua was first cleansing the temple he was challenged to show a sign, he replied
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up"
They reply "It took forty six years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days?"
The scripture comments "He was speaking about the temple of his body."
So here immediately we have the living and the dead temple compared and Yeshua sees that both are the house of the Father. We know already that God did not promise to build David a house of stone, and nor did ask for one. But for Solomons temple God himself gave the instruction to David by the Holy Spirit.
We know that because of the way of the birth of conception of Yeshua God was a Father to him.
Indeed he could say 'I will declare the decree of Yahuah he said to me You are my Son, this day I have begotten thee".
He described the second temple as "My Fathers house" and took particular pains to cleanse it from all defilement "Take these things away; and stop making my Fathers house a house of Merchandise."
"I will establish his kingdom"
Well immediately after Solomon died his Kingdom was split into because of sin. Rehoboam got Judah and Benjamin and Jeroboam, Son of Nebat got the rest.
"He will build a house for me"
When Yeshua came the temple was already standing. However, it clearly did not need to be built. So how then could Yeshua fulfil this prophecy?
He made it clear himself. "destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it"
He was talking about his body. By raising himself from the dead and becoming the foundation of a spiritual temple , he is building a house for Yahuah. Not of cedar but of living stones.
He said in three days he will rebuild it. If we apply this to Herods temple with a day for a thousand years we have another 70 years until we enter the third day. Ample time to build the the final stone temple.
So the kingdom of Solomon survived. Whereas Yeshua died, like Solomon, but unlike Solomon, he did not stay dead. He rose from the dead.
Of Solomon it was said "Behold I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and give you (Jeroboam) 10 tribes (But he will have one tribe, for my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth….Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand"
So for David and Jerusalem sake Solomon survived and his throne.
However of Yeshua it was said "His Son who was born of a descendant of David, according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of Holiness, Yeshua Messiah our Lord."
Yeshua himself could say
"All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth"
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age"
I will establish his Kingdom said Yahuah.
So he got everything as Son of God. Solomon lost most of his Kingdom, Yeshua received everything.
We see that Rambam admits here the Mystery of the ways of God. He has not had revealed to him the way of Messiah in Yeshua but he understands that God is organising the whole show and sees very clearly, what to the Christian is already a fact, Yeshua motivates the nations together to serve God.
But what was his main objection to Yeshua or his Church:
"Can there be a greater stumbling block than" (Yeshua)?
he says this because of the suffering that came on the Jews through there rejection of Yeshua. They stumbled on him.Rambam almost cries for understanding, but admits that it was in God's hands. What did he stumble on really? What does Yahuah say through the prophet Isaiah
"Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed."
Isaiah 28.
However Messiah is said to come for the whole world, to establish God's kingdom throughout the entire earth. So a very pertinent question is what are the standards God requires of the Goyim? Or to put the question in a more Jeiwsh manner: What are the Mitzvoth God has laid as a burden upon the Gentiles or Non Jewish nations of the world.
The Rabbis teach from there oral tradition that God has laid seven Mitzvoth as obligations on the gentiles for them to live by. Presumeably in the Messianic age when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Yahuwah as the waters cover the sea, the gentiles will be fulfilling there seven mitzvoth perfectly. Also in that time the Israelites will be presumebly fulfilling their Mitzvoth perfectly also. And if the Rabbis are correcting in handing down a tradition which they claim come from Moses, which states seven obligations are laid on the gentiles, and all is done and completed, the world will run in the Messianic age, just as God planned it to run. All will be in harmony and peace and all will be well for mankind.
The Rabbis are expecting many Gentiles to run after them, forsake the ways their forefathers taught as false and begin to follow the seven laws of Noah. We need to look at the seven laws, understanding that the standard they were to uphold had to be taught to the Goyim, by Israel. In history only one set of Jews have had a major impact on the knowledge of the true God among the nations, and they are the followers of Yeshua of Nazareth.
What then are the 7 laws of Noah?
Rambam lays them out in his Mishneh Torah, the Laws of Kings and their Wars. They can also be read in Tractate Sanhedrin of the Talmud section 56a to 60a, where it will be quite apparent that there are more than seven.
He states that " Six precepts were commanded to Adam:"
These six were prohibitions against
(1) Against Idolatry (Avodah Zarah).
So we can ask does the New Covenant, teach Goyim to turn from idolatry.
Well the answer is a clear yes. No where in all the New Covenant do we read of the followers of Yeshua setting up and worshipping idols. In fact we have the opposite. Apostle John says "Keep yourself from Idols.". Apostle Paul says "Flee Idolatry" Yeshua lists idolatry among those things which defile a man. Apostle Paul says that God punished men because they began to worship the created rather than the Creator. So there is a clear prohibition against idolatry, in the New Covenant. It was said of one Church in Thessalonica that they "Turned from idols to serve the living God" Not only this but when Yeshua was dealing with the Jews he did not go so much in to the commandment on idolatry because they had been cleansed of a lot of the service of idols after the Babylonian exile. He challenged the people more on the level of their relationship to Yahuwah and their treatment of one another. So not only does the the New Covenant forbid idolatry, as in the 10 commandments, it also enjoins a closer walk with the Only True God , through his Messiah, and the circumcision of the heart so that all traces of idolatry are removed from the man.
(2) Against Cursing God (Bircat Hashem)
Yeshua said that anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin, it would not be forgiven him in this age or the age to come. The Apostle Paul lists blasphemy among the works of the flesh which the believer is to kill or die to. Not only are the believers enjoined not to curse God, but according to Yacov, they are enjoined not to curse anybody, but they should be blessing all. So cursing is out. Let your conversation be filled with grace, the goyim were told. Bless those who curse you.
(3) Against Murder (shepicot damim).
Yeshua noted that not only was murder forbidden, but the anger in the heart and the words which that anger are also censored. The believer is told to be angry, but not to sin by the Apostle Paul. And the Apostle John taught that no murderer had eternal life in him. Yeshua often dealt with the conditions that might lead to murder and taught the believers to love not to hate their enemies, to pray for not to kill their persecutors.
(4) Against Incest and Adultery (Giloy-Erayot)
A situation was brought in the Church and Corinth which showed that the early Church was indeed teaching against incest. He said a man had his father's wife, and that this man should be put our of the church after judgement. Because the Church took on certain elements of the Torah, they also brought other restrictions on immorality. Certainly each man was told to have his own wife, and that they should defraud one another, by going with each others wives. Yeshua himself made adultery a matter for the heart, stating that the very act of looking at a woman in order to lust after her was adultery. So Yeshua took the teaching against adultery on to a higher level than the immediate commandment might read.
(5) Against Theft (Hagazel).
The robber was told to stop stealing get a job that he would have not only enough for his own needs, but to give to the poor afterwards. In the Talmud it says they even if a goy stole a very small amount he was due the death penalty. The reason given for this was that the goyim don't forgive. But every believer in Yeshua was taught how to forgive , even as they had been forgiven there sins. They were taught to replace stealing with generosity.
(6) To establish laws and courts of justice.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian Church that instead of going to court in front of unbelievers, that the church should set up its own court. And the fact that they hadn't that already was a cause for shame. He also said that one person should be tried and although he wouldn't be physically present he would be spiritually present when the person was tried.
It is believed that at the time of Noah a law against eating the limb of a living animal was also added:
(7) Against Eating flesh from living animal.
The Gentiles were taught to not eat animals that had been strangled and to refrain from blood. If they literally stopped eating blood they most certainly wouldn't be eating the limb of an animal which was still living, since for the blood to be gone the animal would have to be dead. I will have to look at this command in more detail.
These together are called the Noachide laws and we know that Noah had the job of repopulating the earth after the flood. So all mankind are descended from Noah and his three sons. If we read Genesis we find that the first generation after the flood consisted of 16 nations. And the total number of the nations were 70. Those that follow Rabbinic Judaism beleive that Gentiles are yet to be taught these 7 laws and that it is going to come about that as the Messianic age approaches more and more Gentiles will begin to follow these 7 laws, the assumption being that the Jews are to be a light to Gentiles and by teaching them these laws will be part of their job done.
However the contention of this paper is that not only have Jews already taught the righteousness of the Noachide covenant to the Gentiles who were willing to receive it but that the plan of God for the Gentiles was that in the Seed of Abraham, they would bless themselves. That is the blessing of righteous will come on the Gentiles through the promised seed and specifically the Messiah and his followers.
Not only this but whereas Noah was considered righteous in his generation, the righteousness of Abraham is considered to be a higher level of rightoeusness and this is the righteouness which God has chosen to give to the Gentiles.
It is written of Abram that "He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness". The contention of this paper is that not only is the faith which came from the seed of Abraham, Messiah Yeshua, a fulfillment of the 7 laws of Noah, (which as a specific obligation is nowhere mentioned in the Tanach, whatsoever,) but that what this faith and righteousness does is to exceed the requirements of righteousness laid down in the 7 laws of Noah. It also goes on to say that Abraham had the friend of God level of righteousness. And that whilst the Rabbinic Jew has been so concerned with learning the letter of the Torah and attempting to fulfil 613 Mitzvoth ( many of which can't be fulfilled until Messiah, through his Body has rebuilt the temple,) God's righteousness, his everlasting righteouness which was near to come at the time of Isaiah, has been speeding its way to the ends of the earth, through the work of Christian missionaries, translating and preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God and King Messiah Yeshua. They preached wherever they went, repentance, forgiveness of sins, baptism, to die to the old life and begin the new and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which would cause them to walk in Yahuwah's statutes and commandments.
That whereas that which went forth from the fourth century got isolated from its Biblical and Israelite roots, yet now in the lasts days in accordance with the plan and purpose of God, the reconnection with the roots is taking place through the reestablishment on the earth of a nation called Israel.
And whereas most Muslim nations seek the destruction of the nation of Israel from the map, yet the true followers of Yeshua are supporting the nation, not where it acts in injustice but where it is fulfilling its God given mandate to exist and to be the place where all of Israel may be gathered together, in order to sanctify the name of Yahuwah and indeed be the light of the nations Israel was created to be.
As Isaiah said in the 8th century BC
"Preserve justice and do righteousness,
for my righteousness is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed"
At that time Israel had the whole Torah and their Oral Torah, yet Yahuwah insists that even with all this his 'righteousness' is yet to be revealed. It was future, and we know now that in Yeshua, Messiah of Israel, this righteouaness by faith was indeed revealed and began to speed it was to the ends of the earth by the power of Almighty God. We note also that in God's commissioning of Abram it is said "in you will all the families of the earth be blessed or bless themselves.
The families of the earth are active in receiving the blessing, it is not imposed upon them. So it was that Yeshua sent his apostles out to proclaim the message and the families of the earth were given a choice to accept or reject the message. In accepting it they blessed themselves just as Yahuwah had explained to Abram.
Let us see what the great well respected Jewish Rabbi says of Yeshua. Rambam has said
" Yeshua of Nazareth who aspired to be the Messiah and was executed by the court was also (alluded to) in Daniel's prophecies, as (ibid) 11:14 states "The vulgar among your people shall exalt themselves in an attempt to fulfil the vision, but they shall stumble.'
Can there be a greater stumbling block than this?
All the prophets spoke of the Messiah as the redeemer of Israel and it's Savior, who would gather their dispersed and strengthen their (Observance of ) the Mitzvoth. (This however) caused the Jews to be slain by the sword, their remnants to be scattered and humbled the Torah to be altered, and the majority of the world to err and serve a god other than the Lord.
Nevertheless the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of man to comprehend, for His ways are not our ways, nor are his thoughts our thoughts.... All the deeds of Yeshua of Nazareth....will serve to prepare the way for the Messiah's coming and the improvement of the entire world, (motivating the nations) to serve God together, as Zephaniah 3:9 states "I will make the peoples pure of speech that they will call upon the name of God and serve him with one purpose"
The Charges of Rambam against Yeshua are then as follows:
(1)He did not fulfill the role assigned to him by the prophets, namely to be redeemer of Israel,and its saviour.
(2)He did not gather their dispersed
(3) He did not increase there observance of Mitzvoth.
(4) He caused the Jews to be slain by the sword.
(5) Their remnants to be scattered and humbled.
(6) The Torah to be altered.
(7) The majority of the world to err and to serve a god other then the Lord.
Now we know that as Yeshua the Messiah said "By his words a man shall be aquitted and by his word he shall be condemned" So we know that Rambam will have to give an answer for his accusations against Yeshua, to Yeshua on that great and awesome day before God indeed to his great surprise he will also answer to Yeshua himself for as the Apostle Paul says "He(God) has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a Man who he has appointed having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead"
Or as Yeshua himself said "All judgement has been given to the Son because he is the Son of Man"
So Rambam will answer to Yeshua on that great and awesome day.
Yeshua said of himself "I proceeded forth and came from God, for I have not even come on my own initiative, but he sent me."
And Yahuwah said " I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to my words,which he shall speak in my name. I my self will require it of him"
So we can be sure that in ignoring the words of Yeshua, a person puts himself in the position where Yahuwah will require explanation.
1)He did not fulfill the role assigned to him by the prophets, namely to be redeemer of Israel, and its Saviour.
The prophets did prophesy that the Messiah would be the redeemer of Israel and their Saviour and indeed Yeshua has come to fulfill those prophecies. By looking at some of the prophecies we can begin to see why Rambam has not understood how Yeshua fulfilled and is fulfilling those very prophecies.
We know that the best interpreter of prophecies is God the author of the prophecies and generally he does this either through an Angel or his Holy Spirit. So when a prophet is in the middle of a vision we often see them asking questions to the angel as to the understanding of what the vision of prophecy meant. On the other hand prophets, without the help of these heavenly interpreters can often find themselves perplexed by what they see. So we turn to one prophecy regarding the Messianic role of redemption.
"And the Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob"
Declares Yahuwah.
"And as for me, this is my covenant with them,
says Yahuwah:
"My Spirit which is upon , and my words which I have put in your mouth,
shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring,
nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring,
say Yahuwah
"from now and forever".
So we can observe from this prophecy of Isaiah, written 700 around years, before the coming of Yeshua, that the redeemer will come to Zion. Mount Zion is where the temple stood. Zion is also sometimes used regarding Jerusalem.
Well Yeshua came to both. So Yeshua most definitely fulfilled the first line of the prophecy. He indeed came to Zion in all senses of the word. He did not stay in Galilee, but attended all the feasts in Zion, during his three year ministry.
The next line of the prophecy is what it would appear Rambam missed. The redeemer would come to Zion AND to those in Jacob who turn from trangression".
So it is clear, Jacob, we know is another name of Israel. However the redeemer is said to come to those in Jacob, who turn from trangression. Now Jacob for sure included all Jews. However not all Jews turned from trangression, when Yeshua the redeemer came to Zion. If they had turned he would have fulfilled for them his Messianic role of Redeemer and Saviour. But those who did not do Teshuva, did not receive their Messiah. It is very clear that Messiah could come and a Jew who would refuse to listen to him and do teshuva or to turn from trangression, would not receive him.
This was clear in the case of Yeshua. For as Rambam said. Yeshua was "executed by the court"
A court which Rambam clearly agreed with, which those who turned from transgression did not agreed with. But they too were in Jacob. Let us not think that because Yeshua was executed he lost the approval of God, No it is written "He was despised and forsaken of men"
It is also written "Adonai Yahuwah has opened my ear; And I was not disobedient,
Nor did I turn my back.
I gave my back to those who strike me,
And my cheeks to those who pluck out my beard,
I did not cover my space to humiliation and spitting.
For Adonai Yahuwah helps me.
Therefore I am not disgraced;
Therefore I have set my face like flint,
And I know that I shall not be ashamed.
He who vindicates me is near;
Who will contend with me?"
Yes immediately after they charged Yeshua with blasphemy
"they spat in his face and beat him with their fist;
and others beat him with rods"
So all this is faced, but this does not stop him being the Messianic redeemer of those who turn from transgression in Jacob.
So he indeed redeemed according to the angelic interpretation of that term.
"And she will bear a Son and you shall call his name Yeshua, for it is he whom will save his people from their sins."
What! so indeed the guilt offering Yeshua became redeemer or paid for many people to be saved from their sins. Many to begin worshipping the true God in spirit, as God promised his people they would "I will put my Spirit upon you" and in truth as God also promised "
"Because he who is blessed in the earth shall be blessed by the God of Truth"
All this took place after his condemnation to death.
He was killed but he was raised from the dead. Thus God showed that he did not approve of the courts judgement. He then ascended back to the Father and sent down the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth on his disciples. He had already said that he was the truth and we all worship and bless in the name of the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua Messiah, the Truth. That is we bless in the name of the God of Amen (truth).
We see above that the final
message of Isaiah 69 was that the Spirit would remain on the offspring of those who turned from transgression in Jacob. And that the word would also remain on their lips.
Well the offspring of those disciples are still here to day on earth and number over 1 billion. They receive the Holy Spirit when they believe and have the word of the Gospel on their lips every day all over the earth in one part of the world or another.
As Yeshua said, they have only one Father in heaven and one teacher the Messiah.They are born again and so like the Spirit on them and the word in their mouths they abide for ever.
And Yeshua had all his disciples baptised in the Holy Spirit
(2) He did not gather there dispersed
Here we have the second accusation against Yeshua and his Messianic role. In a sense it is clear that the error of this accusation comes from Rambam's limited view of the Messiah as a person and his role. Here is how Rambam identifies the Messiah
"If a King will arise from the house of David who is learned in Torah and obs
ervant of the Mitztvoth. As prescribed by the written law and the oral law, as David, his ancestor was, and will compel all of Israel to walk in (the way of the Torah) and reinforce the breaches (in its observance); and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him the Messiah.
If he succeeds in the above , builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah. He will then improve the entire world, (motivating ) all the nations to serve God together as (Zephaniah 3:9) states: "I will make the peoples pure of speech that they will call upon the Name of God and serve him with one purpose"
If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he is surely not (the redeemer) promised by the Torah".
We see that Rambam makes no mention of the Spirit's role in causing observance. As Yahuah said
"I will put my spirit upon you and cause you to walk in my statutes and commandments"
Nor does he mention the possibility of the events mentioned taking place over a protracted period of time because the Messiah by some is understood to be eternal.
There is an odd tendency among the Rabbinical schools of thought to deny the deity of the Messiah, but to give him roles only God could possibly fulfil and which God has specifically said he will personally do, to the Messiah. For example, there is a great emphasis on the ingathering of the dispersed ones of Israel.
Well there is a mega problem involved in this ingathering. That is no man knows who are the dispersed of Israel. No man knows where they live. And even if a man knew where they were it was be almost impossible to convince others that these and not those are Israel. Then on the other hand, having done the mammoth task of working out exactly who Israel are, among the mass of nation into which they were scattered, we then have the issue of "compelling" them to fulfil the Torah, which no man has yet, apart from Yeshua, completely fulfilled.
In regard to these issues they are considered a fundamental element of the Messianic work.Now we know as followers of Yeshua that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to himself.
We know full well that only God can do things assigned to Messiah.
Now the ingathering is so vital to Rabbinic Judaism and its view of Messiah that Rambam says to understand that God will gather in the dispersed of Israel is to understand Messiah is coming. And to believe in the coming of Messiah is one of Rambam's 13 fundamental beliefs of Judaism.
He says "Anyone who does not believe in him or does not waith for his coming, denies not only (the statements) of the other prophets, but (those of) the Torah and Moses, our teacher. The Torah testified to his (coming), as (Due 30;3-5) states:
"God will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you. He will gather you"
So Messiah will do exactly and no less than what God promises to do in his Torah. Rambam believed this but when Yeshua came calling himself the son of God, they wanted to stone him for blasphemy.
We who believe Yeshua to be God manifest in the flesh have no problems with these passages, but the Rabbis who deny this truth will have to do all sorts of gymnastics with the plain words of God. As Yeshua says "Moses wrote of me"
Now we can ask how has the coming of Yeshua tied in with not only the expectation of Rambam but a Messiah who is far greater in revelation than Rambams finite mind could ever contemplate. We see this that Yeshua is doing what Rambam expects but not necessarily in the order he expected and in a far higher way than he imagined. For Gods ways and thoughts are far higher than our ways and thought as Rambam admits in Halakah 4 page 236 of The laws of Kings and there wars.
"Nevertheless the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of man to comprehend"
So let us see how Yeshua shapes up in his present and on going Messianic role.
"If a King will arise from the house of David who is learned in Torah and observant of the Mitztvot. As prescribed by the written law and the oral law, as David, his ancestor was, and will compel all of Israel to walk in (the way of the Torah) and reinforce the breaches (in its observance); and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him the Messiah.
If he succeeds in the above, builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah. He will then improve the entire world, (motivating ) all the nations to serve God together as (Zephaniah 3:9) states: "I will make the peoples pure of speech that they will call upon the Name of God and serve him with one purpose"
If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he is surely not (the redeemer) promised by the Torah".
What are Rambams requirements?
(1) A King
(2) From the house of David
(3) Is learned in Torah
(4) Observant of Mitzvoth (Written and Oral)
(5) Will Compel all Israel to walk in the Torah
(6) Reinforce the breaches in its observance
(7) Fight the wars of God
(8) Builds the Temple in its place
(9) Gathers the dispersed of Israel
(10 ) Improve the entire world (motivating) all the nations to serve God together.
Now Rambam has given 10 points to spot his Messiah. His list is by no means exhaustive but we can work with it and compare Yeshua the Messiah extraordinaire, with Rambam's limited requirements for Messiah.
Because much of Rambams criteria is taken from the Tanakh I will use prophets and Apostles to help illuminate the true meaning of the terms Rambam talks about.
(1) A King.
Our question is then Is Yeshua a King? If so was he the kind of King Rambam was looking for?
When Yeshua was asked by Pontius Pilate :
Are you the King of the Jews?
Yeshua replied
It is as you say. (Matthew)
When he was earlier on talking to his disciples in Lukes gospel he said to his discples
"The Kings of the the nations lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are benefactors. But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as one who serves. And you are those who have stood with me in my trials; and just as my father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you. That you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and you will sit judging the twelves tribes of Israel.'
When Yeshua died he had written over him "This is the King of the Jews."
I wonder if anyone else in all history was crucufied with that title written over them.
We have to remember, when the Israelites asked for a king like the nations, they got one. But Yahuah was not very pleased about it. When Samuel gives the list of the things the King would do it was in order to dissuade Israel, from their unfortunate request. But Yahuah in his mercy gave them what they asked for on the understanding that they had reject him from being King over them.
David was chosen by God. The King Messiah to was sanctified by the Father and sent into the world. We must always remember, the son of David , the Messiah will also be the Son of God, and unlike David, he will be a man of peace not of war.
Finally we can ask does this King have any subjects in his Kingdom and what kind of Kingdom is it?
Yeshua told Pilate:
My kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world then my servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; But as it is , My Kingdom is not of this world.
Pilate answered "So you are a King? Yeshua answered
You say correctly that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of truth hears my voice."
We can conclude this section that is clear not just to Yeshua but to millions of his subjects all over the world that he is indeed a King and not any ordinary he is a king of God's appointing in the order of the Melchizedek priesthood.
(2) From the House of David.
Here we can start with the words of the Angel to Yeshua's mother:
"Do not be afraid Mary for you have found favour with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son and you shall name him Yeshua. He will be great, and called the son of the Most High; and Adonai Yahuah will give him the throne of his Father David."
As Yahuah had promised David
"Moreover I tell you Yahuah will build a house for you
And it shall come about when your days are fulfilled that you will go to be with your fathers,
That I will set up one of your descendants after you, who shall be of your sons;
And I will establish his Kingdom.
He shall build a house for me , and I will establish his throne forever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son.
I will not take my lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you.
But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever,
And his throne shall be established forever".
These are the words of Nathan the prophet to David. This word of Yahuah has to be fulfilled be cause none of his words fall to the earth. This is the true promise of Messiah.
Now note a number of significant things here. Yahuah is going to build Davids house. And we know that it is through the Spirit of Yahuah that he builds. As he said through Zechariah, "its not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says Yahuah" We know also that a physical house is not what is being referred to, for David would die before all these things would take place. What good would a brick or cedar house do for a dead man. No this house but be of another order altogether.
We also note that this son would be very special for he would be the son of two fathers. Yahuah and David.
We know that the term son of David doesn't just refer to a physical seed because whenever a King of Israel acted righteously his sonship was referred to David. However when a King did wrongly his Sonship was referred elsewhere although he could still be buried in the city of David.
Also we can note that this son of God, son of David, would build a house for Yahuah, however later on the prophesy says "I will settle him in my house forever".
This means the house referred in the second part of the prophecy can not be the temple of Solomon. For this temple only last about 400 hundred years. It is clear that Yahuah said he would settle His Son and David's Son in His house forever. The Temple of Solomon did not last forever, so another house must be referred to. "Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his Father, David"
So Solomon fulfilled parts of the prophecy but not the complete prophecy.
However Yeshua has been pointed out as a fulfiller of this prophecy, firstly by the Angel Gabriel above.
Firstly he was born of a virgin and it came about that :
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the most high will over shadow you
and for that reason the holy thing begotten will be called the son of God"
As Yahuah said " I will build for you a house …I will be to him a Father and he will be to me a Son"
So Yeshua body came from God it did not come in the ordinary way but by the Holy Spirit and the power of the most high.
Can his body be described as a house?
When Yeshua was first cleansing the temple he was challenged to show a sign, he replied
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up"
They reply "It took forty six years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days?"
The scripture comments "He was speaking about the temple of his body."
So here immediately we have the living and the dead temple compared and Yeshua sees that both are the house of the Father. We know already that God did not promise to build David a house of stone, and nor did ask for one. But for Solomons temple God himself gave the instruction to David by the Holy Spirit.
We know that because of the way of the birth of conception of Yeshua God was a Father to him.
Indeed he could say 'I will declare the decree of Yahuah he said to me You are my Son, this day I have begotten thee".
He described the second temple as "My Fathers house" and took particular pains to cleanse it from all defilement "Take these things away; and stop making my Fathers house a house of Merchandise."
"I will establish his kingdom"
Well immediately after Solomon died his Kingdom was split into because of sin. Rehoboam got Judah and Benjamin and Jeroboam, Son of Nebat got the rest.
"He will build a house for me"
When Yeshua came the temple was already standing. However, it clearly did not need to be built. So how then could Yeshua fulfil this prophecy?
He made it clear himself. "destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it"
He was talking about his body. By raising himself from the dead and becoming the foundation of a spiritual temple , he is building a house for Yahuah. Not of cedar but of living stones.
He said in three days he will rebuild it. If we apply this to Herods temple with a day for a thousand years we have another 70 years until we enter the third day. Ample time to build the the final stone temple.
So the kingdom of Solomon survived. Whereas Yeshua died, like Solomon, but unlike Solomon, he did not stay dead. He rose from the dead.
Of Solomon it was said "Behold I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and give you (Jeroboam) 10 tribes (But he will have one tribe, for my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth….Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand"
So for David and Jerusalem sake Solomon survived and his throne.
However of Yeshua it was said "His Son who was born of a descendant of David, according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of Holiness, Yeshua Messiah our Lord."
Yeshua himself could say
"All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth"
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age"
I will establish his Kingdom said Yahuah.
So he got everything as Son of God. Solomon lost most of his Kingdom, Yeshua received everything.
We see that Rambam admits here the Mystery of the ways of God. He has not had revealed to him the way of Messiah in Yeshua but he understands that God is organising the whole show and sees very clearly, what to the Christian is already a fact, Yeshua motivates the nations together to serve God.
But what was his main objection to Yeshua or his Church:
"Can there be a greater stumbling block than" (Yeshua)?
he says this because of the suffering that came on the Jews through there rejection of Yeshua. They stumbled on him.Rambam almost cries for understanding, but admits that it was in God's hands. What did he stumble on really? What does Yahuah say through the prophet Isaiah
"Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed."
Isaiah 28.
posted by Evangelist Edi Nachman Bsc. PGCE at
4:09 AM
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