November 1, 2014 Shabbat Bible Study
©2011, 2014 Mark Pitrone and Fulfilling Torah Ministries
Year 2 – Shabbat 31
Vayikra 8:1-36 – Yechezkel 43:27 – Tehellim 75 – Gilyahna 20:1-15
Links for this week:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Dastar#Helmet_exemption
http://tzion.org/Tree_Sefiroth.htm
Leviticus 8.1-12 – To paraphrase Marvel Comics’ Fantastic 4, “It’s Anointin’ Time!” It is Moshe’s privilege to perform the first offering of each kind under the “Law Yehovah Added” to the Covenant (Gal.3.19), and to anoint the priesthood. Moshe showed Aharon how to offer each type of offering after having TOLD him how. If Moshe was a good supervisor, he watched Aharon the first time or 2 that he performed each type and was available to answer questions or give direction when needed. You know that Ruach was there guiding Moshe through the original offerings and as Aharon learned, as well, making sure that he would instruct Aharon properly. Moshe did what Yeshua did;
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.(I John 2:6)
Moshe brought Aharon and his sons, the animals for offering and the set-apart garments to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. This is not the Mishkan, but Moshe’s tent. I think it unlikely that the whole congregation of 2+ million people in the camp were able to fit in the space between the altar of burnt offering and the laver. After explaining that Yehovah had commanded him to do what he was about to do, he mikvah’d Aharon and his sons, who must have been clothed in their holy underwear for the mikvah. Then he put the coat, the girdle, the robe and the ephod on Aharon and then tied it all together with the ephod’s hooks and laces. Then he attached the breastplate with the inset stones and placed the Urim and Thummim in the breastplate. Then he placed the mitre on his head and the crown on it.
The Urim and the Thummim were ‘oracular’ stones, according to Christian theology – they would give indication of how to proceed in any situation that arose that was not covered by revealed Torah. Rashi says the Urim and Thummim was a piece of parchment that contained the ineffable Name of Yehovah (Zohar says it was of 42 letters), and was placed in the fold of the breastplate. As we said when we saw Bezaleel making the thing, it was a solid plate of gold, about 18”x9” with 12 holes cut in one side of it to anchor the stones representing the tribes and the other side with the parchment Urim and Thummim behind the stones. When a question not covered by revealed Torah arose, they would ask Yehovah for the judgment and the stones would ‘light up’ (Urim – from the root עור – ohr, light) specific letters in the tribal names. When read properly, the answer was complete and perfect (Thummim – from the root תממ – tamiym, perfect or complete).[1] So the Urim and Thummim gave perfect light. I think this was the source of the mishpatim or ‘judgments’ that are referred to throughout scripture (or at least until the Ark, the oil for anointing, the Breastplate and the other furnishings of Schlomo’s Temple were hidden during Yoshiyahu’s reign, perhaps by the hand of YiremYahu (?).
The golden plate, or crown, with the words “Kadosh l’Yehovah” engraved in it was placed on the front of the turban/mitre and attached over top and around the sides with a techeleth ribbon. There must have been some loop or something on the back of the turban to anchor the ribbon and the crown to the turban. This was NOT a mitre, like you see the pope or bishops of the liturgical churches wear. If the turban was tied like a Sikh’s dastar it might have held the crown in place. (see one at https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Dastar#Helmet_exemption) The turban is a symbol of spirituality and holiness in Sikhism. It definitely sets the High Priest apart here.
Then Moshe took the anointing oil and anointed the entire Mishkan and all its furnishings and then the altar and all its utensils for service to Yehovah. He sprinkled the oil on the altar 7 times. The oil itself symbolizes the Ruach haKodesh, and the 7 times symbolizes the 7 spirits of Yehovah [YeshaYahu 11.1-2] as manifested in Moshiach [YeshauYahu 11.3-4; see the representation of the Menorrah at http://tzion.org/Tree_Sefiroth.htm];
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And (1) the spirit of Yehovah [Eyn Sof] shall rest upon him, the spirit of (2) wisdom [chochmah] and (3) understanding [binah], the spirit of (4) counsel [chesed] and (5) might [gevurah], the spirit of (6) knowledge [netzakh] and of (7) the fear of Yehovah [hod]; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of Yehovah: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (YeshaYahu 11.1-4)
Next he anointed Aharon. That he anointed the Mishkan and Aharon first, before he dressed and anointed Aharon’s sons set the High Priest and the Mishkan on a separate level of holiness than the rest of the priesthood. That he anointed the Mishkan and the furnishings and utensils, even those outside the Sanctuary – the Laver and the altar, set all of them on a similar level, as well. The anointing oil ran down Aharon from the top of his head to his feet, symbolizing the mikvah in Ruach haKodesh [baptism of/in the Spirit] Q&C
Vv.13-39 – Next, Moshe put the priestly garments on his nephews; the coats, girdles and headdresses. Then he brought the bull for the sin offering and had Aharon and his sons lay hands on it for a sin offering. Then he took the bull and slew it in the holy place set apart for that purpose, between the altar and the Mishkan, and took the blood of the bull and smeared some on the horns of the altar to purify it. Then he poured the remaining blood on the ground in the place where he had killed the bull. Then he pretty much field dressed it, removing the innards, the kidneys, the diaphragm and the fat associated with them and burnt them on the altar, but the rest of the bull was burnt without the camp. That which was set apart unto Yehovah went up as a sweet savour to him, but the rest bore the sins of the priests and had to be burnt outside the camp, for they had to be free of sin to be the mediators between Elohim and Yisrael. They had to offer this sin offering every day to be certain of their standing, for they may have sinned accidentally or unknowingly. I think[i] that had they missed doing this offering, they might have been struck dead on the spot. Our Melchizedek Priest has no such need to offer for sins, at all;
For One Elohim, and one Mediator between Elohim and men, the man Moshiach Yeshua, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. [1Tim.2.5-6]
For he hath made HIM sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of Elohim in him. [2 Cor.5.21]
Next came the ram for burnt offering, which Aharon and his sons laid hands on and then Moshe slew it. He took the blood and threw it on the altar in the Northeast and Southwest corners, ensuring that all 4 sides got blood on them (so the blood could be seen from all directions). Then he butchered the ram, burnt the head and the pieces parts and fat, washed the legs in the laver and then burnt them. The whole ram was burnt on the altar.
Next came the ram for consecration, which Aharon and his sons laid hands on as Moshe slew it, catching the blood. Moshe then took some of the blood on his thumb and rubbed some on Aharon’s right ear (always listen to the voice of Yehovah), right thumb (do all for the kavod of Yehovah) and right big toe (serve Yehovah everywhere you go) before throwing the rest of the blood on the altar in the same manner as the other’s blood. Then Moshe took the fat, the rump, the kidneys, the diaphragm and the fat associated with them, along with the right shoulder and one unleavened bread, one unleavened cake and one wafer and placed it all on Aharon’s hands and then one by one on all his son’s hands and then waved it as a wave offering to Yehovah. Then he burnt it all on the altar, a consecration offering for a sweet savour to Yehovah. Then he waved the breast as a wave offering for his own part and burnt it, all of this as Yehovah had commanded him.
Then Moshe took of the anointing oil and of some of the blood from off the altar (I think that which had been thrown on it before) and sprinkled it on Aharon and his sons and all their garments to sanctify them. Next Moshe told Aharon to boil the remainder of the consecration ram’s flesh and then eat it with the remainder of the bread at the door of the tabernacle, as much as they could eat. The remainder was burnt on the altar. Aharon and his sons were to remain in the Tabernacle for 7 days of their consecration, “that they die not”. And so they did as Yehovah had told Moshe they needed to do.
I think the 7 days may have been a training session for the priests and Aharon. They got training in obedience, and possibly they all got to do some of the daily offerings under Moshe’s supervision and guidance. I merely apply what I would do if I had 5 guys who needed to learn and had their undivided attention for a week. At least some of the rabbis agree with me. Q&C
Yechezkel 43.8 – For context we have to go back to v.5 (actually ch.40), where the antecedent to the pronouns in the following verses occurs. The antecedent is Yehovah, whose kavod fills the house, which is the house of Yehovah. The man spoken of in v.6 is also Yehovah, as can be seen in the previous chapters, where the man with the measuring reed (40.3-4) can only be Yehovah in the flesh, and also in the juxtaposition of Yehovah and the man in 43.5-6, which makes the case that they are one;
3 And he brought me thither, and, behold, a man, whose appearance like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. 4 And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. (Ezek.40.3-4)
This is either the same man as in 43.6-8 or he hasn’t been introduced to us yet. This man says ‘the place of MY THRONE’ and ‘MY HOLY NAME” in v.7. It is Yehovah, no doubt in my mind. The man, Yehovah in the flesh (Yeshua), said that Israel had defiled his Temple and his land ‘where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever’, affirming the promise to Israel through Ezekiel. He said that they were exiled due to their whoredom with other elohims and that they had defiled his Temple with the bones of kings because Schlomo had built his palace abutting the Temple. I think it was the king’s bedchamber that abutted the Temple. The Gate of the Guards was in another part of the same wall in the palace. Yehovah sets a zoning regulation here – his Temple will stand apart alone. In that way, no king will defile his Temple again by dying in his own bed.
there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length , with five hundred in breadth , square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. 3 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary, the most holy. (Ezek.45.2-3)
Of course, when this Temple is built, there will be no more kings dying in the palace, for that king will be King Yeshua haMoshiach.
Yechezkel 43.27 – From about v.18, Yhwh gives Yechezkel instructions on dedicating the Temple that are pretty much identical to those Moshe was given in our Torah portion, right down to the sons of Zadok, like Aharon and his sons, being sequestered from the people for 7 days to learn their jobs and to become intimately familiar with the presence of Yhwh. And then, on the 8th day, they take up their ministries in the Beit haMikdash. Q&C
Tehellim 75 – This is a Messianic Psalm, for the speaker, addressing Elohim, says he will receive the congregation, H4150 moayd, the people coming up for Shabbat and the Feasts. It also speaks of the New Earth, for in v.3 the earth and all that inhabit it are dissolved, like in Rev.20 and 2Pe.3.10-12,
10 But the day of Yehovah will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of Elohim, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
He also bears up the pillars of the earth – no merely human king could claim this. Selah.
We get some biblical definitions in vv.4-5. Wicked people speak with a stiff neck, which is likened to lifting up the horn to go into battle against Yehovah. This is the same behaviour he tells the foolish not to pursue. The horn seems to be used by the wicked to call allies from every direction except heaven’s (north) to themselves against the King. But Elohim, from whom comes promotion, judges righteously (v.2), putting down a wicked ruler and raising up a godly one.
V.8 speaks of the cup of judgment, wine mixed with dregs (the bitter sediment that settles to the bottom of the wine in the bottle). In the wedding proposal, the prospective groom asks his intended to marry him, promises to provide a home and the necessities of life and then, to seal the agreement for himself, takes a sip of wine from a cup. Then he offers the cut to his intended. If she takes it and takes a sip, the marriage is both agreed to and accomplished and the two are now one – betrothed and legally married, though they do not live together until the groom’s father TELLS his son to go and get his bride. Whatever wine is left in the cup is also called the dregs. So the groom and his intended each drink of the wine and leave the dregs. In v.8, the wicked try to look like the bride, but all they get is the leftover wine and the bitter scum at the bottom of the cup. This puts me in mind of Rev.17.1-8:
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Yeshua: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
The wicked woman and her followers whose names are not in the book of life, drink of the dregs left by the groom and his bride, and receive the bitter Wrath of Yehovah. But the Bride both sings Yehovah’s praises and has Yeshua, the horn of their strength, exalted forever, while the horns of the wicked imposters are cut off. Q&C
Gilyahna 20.1-3 – By this time in a trip through Revelation we have seen all types of angels. There have been angelic spirits (7.1), there have been angels who have revealed that they are just men and that John should NOT worship them (19.10), there have been angels who worship before Yehovah’s throne (7.11), there have been angels who delivered all kinds of messages to the earth from Yehovah (many), and we have seen an angel who is strikingly similar to Messiah (8.3-5). THIS angel in vv.1-3 is a very powerful angel, in that he can lay hold of, bind and muzzle haSatan. This angel could be any one of these types. HaSatan is not necessarily any less powerful than he’s always been, but this angel has total control of him. I think[2] it could well be Michael, but it could be just a guy like you or me, as well. This revelation is ‘in the spirit’ – outside of time and space. It could be anywhen. And the angel could be any one of the above or something entirely different. But we know that at LEAST this angel has power over haSatan, who was once the most beautiful, talented and powerful of all the angels of Yehovah – so much so as to pretend for his throne. And he will again after his release from his bondage in the Abyss at the end of the Millennium.
This angel “shuts up” haSatan. This could mean that he closes him away in solitary or he literally muzzles him, thereby removing his ability to lead others astray. I lean toward the latter, at least, that this angel muzzles haSatan somehow. Or perhaps “Yes!” There will be a millennium on earth in which men will be left without destructive outside spiritual guidance, and they will still rebel against Yehovah’s commands.
16 And it shall come to pass, every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, Yehovah Tsavaoth, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, whoso will not come up of the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Yehovah Tsavaoth, even upon them shall be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that none; there shall be the plague, wherewith Yehovah will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Zech.14.16-19)
There is no Satanic influence to help them rebel, but rebellion occurs nonetheless. The Millennium truly is a time when man cannot make the excuse, “The devil made me do it.” It is just the evil inclination, what the church calls the Old Sin Nature (OSN), that leads men to rebel. Men choose to rebel of their own free will. It is for this reason that I think haSatan gets a lot more credit than he is due. He doesn’t need to do a lot of tempting to sin because if he just leaves us to ourselves, we will likely sin by ourselves. Man will be left without excuse before Yehovah himself, who sits on the throne in J’lem.
Vv.4 – Who are ‘they’ who sit on the thrones as judges? I think the verse goes on to explain who they are. The 2nd instance of the simple sentence “I saw” is italicized in the KJV – it was added by the translators. I think that sets up a false dichotomy, that they who sit on the thrones in judgment are those who overcame by staying faithful unto death in the time of Yacov’s trouble. Let’s read that verse without the added words, and then from the Aramaic/English New Testament:
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Yeshua, and for the word of Elohim, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Moshiach a thousand years.
And I saw thrones, and (persons) sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and to the souls that were beheaded for the testimony of Y’shua and for the Word of Elohim: and these are they who had not worshipped the beast of prey nor his image; neither had they received the mark upon their forehead or on their hand; and they lived and reigned with their Mashiyach those thousand years. (AENT)
This could also be the ‘hosts’ that follow Moshiach Yeshua on white horses in 19.14, the resurrected saints in his train and/or angelic spirits, and this may not be an either/or, but a ‘yes’. “They” who sit on these thrones could well be none other than those who were beheaded for their faithfulness and for their witness to the Truth of Yeshua haMoshiach, possibly including the saints seen under the altar when the 5th seal is opened, and who were resurrected for the purpose of being witnesses to Yeshua’s claiming the throne he earned by his death on the tree and being the firstfruits of the dead. They were faithful witnesses to Truth in their mortal life and the first thing they get to witness in their resurrection (besides Yeshua himself on his white horse) is Yeshua claiming his reward. HalelluYAH! Q&C
Vv.5-6 – The ‘rest’ of the dead and the first resurrection refers to Dan.12.1-2;
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame, everlasting contempt.
This is not a slam dunk for 2 resurrections, but juxtaposed with our verse, the case can be made. But add to this equation Lk.14.14 and Jn.11.24-25, the picture sharpens a bit:
12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. (Lk.14.12-14)
23 Yeshua saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Yeshua said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (Jn.11.23-25)
All these passages taken together make the 2-resurrection idea plausible – one for the righteous and the other for the wicked. I don’t think that any righteous individuals will die during the Millennium, and only those who absolutely refuse to obey the King will die during those 1000 years. I think that death may be reserved to only those who will not submit to King Yeshua’s authority, and that’s why someone 100 years old dying will be a sure sign of his reprobate condition, even if he is torn by animals or crushed by a tree.
There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. (Isaiah 65:20)
The resurrected dead are immortal, incorruptible and righteous. They CANNOT die again for
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)
These have been judged, never to be judged again. Q&C
Vv.7-10 – As we’ve seen in Zech.14, there will be a requirement for all to come up to J’lem for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) in the Millennium. This will be one of the ways in which the reprobate will be marked as such by their deaths. If they fail to come up one year, they will receive no rain. If they fail to come up a second time, they will receive the plagues of Egypt on themselves;
there shall be the plague, wherewith Yehovah will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Zech.14.18b)
I think this will be the usual mechanism for a death to occur in the Messianic Kingdom, though perhaps not the only one
So after a few people die as a result of NOT going up for Sukkoth, EVERYONE will go up every year – but MOST will not like it. They’ll say (in private), “Who is this ‘King’ to demand our appearance every year for Tabernacles? Who does he think HE is to make me do this against my will? I have RIGHTS, don’t I!”
In a Kingdom, you have the right to obey the King and do as he allows or commands. In a Kingdom, the King is sovereign, not the individual, as was intended in the American Republic, where the citizen is sovereign UNDER ELOHIM. Even the sovereign American citizen is subject to a higher authority – his Creator, who endowed him with unalienable rights – unalienable, that is, by any but the Creator who gave them to us in the first place.
When haSatan is loosed from his bonds and the muzzle is removed, he moves at the speed of thought (which only immortals can do unless acted upon by Yehovah himself) to get together every person who hates the bother of going up to J’lem for Sukkoth or who doesn’t like all the restrictions of Torah on their lives. That means everyone who is not of the remnant who go up gladly to their appointment with their King. The VAST majority of humanity will follow this powerful, spiritual being to go up to J’lem to overthrow that tyrant King and kill all those holier-than-thou types in their camp. They think to themselves how EASY this is going to be, since they outnumber the saints by a margin of at least 19:1, perhaps 49:1. What they fail to consider, and what haSatan has conveniently NOT told them, is that the King happens to be the Creator of the Universe and Yehovah Tzavaoth. So, the nations of the earth follow haSatan as the ultimate Gog uMagog invasion of haAretz and King Yeshua calls fire down out of heaven to devour them, starting the Lake of Fire burning with a fervent heat – thermonuclear dissolution of all matter, as we see in 2Pe.3.10-12;
10 But the day of Yehovah will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Then all these things shall be dissolved, what manner ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of Elohim, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
The word translated ‘element’ is G4747/48, stoicheion, set in order, orderly. The elements will lose all their order. In physics, that is the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, or entropy, in action. Things left to themselves, with no intelligent influence or input, go from greater order to greater disorder. This is a LAW of physics. Nothing has ever been discovered that negates it. But somehow, the elements hold together, even against physical LAWS, like the Laws of electro-magnetism. Science has no experimental explanation of this, so they assume an as yet undiscovered sub-atomic particle and call it a ‘gluon’. We have an explanation called Yeshua haMoshiach, the Word of Yehovah.
HaSatan, who deceived the nations, is thrown into the Lake of Fire that burns with fire and brimstone wherein were thrown the Beast and False Prophet, and haSatan will be there l’olam va’ed. I don’t necessarily believe that the Beast and False profit are still there (the ‘are’ in the KJV is added and completely changes the understanding of the passage), or will be l’olam va’ed, but they WERE thrown in there 1000 years before. Perhaps this Lake of Fire and Brimstone is outside of the physical Universe of the New Creation and is prepared specifically for rebellious spirits.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41)
Spirits do not die – they are eternal. Flesh is temporal. Spirits cannot burn in a physical fire; flesh does and is destroyed. Is there a ‘spiritual fire’ that can affect temporal creatures, as well? Only Yehovah knows. If so, that may be what is being referred to here in v.10. Q&C
VV.11-15 – Everything in the physical Universe flees from Yehovah’s face, sounds like a cloud rolling away or in on itself to me. I think it’s describing in other terms the dissolution Peter told us about. Meanwhile, here is the resurrection of the wicked dead, alluded to in Dan.12.2 and spoken of here in v.12. I don’t see any indication of any righteous dead here. I think they were all resurrected to their reward in the 1st resurrection. I can see where the righteous, who were in the camp of the saints, could be judged here on the same basis as the resurrected were – the blood of Moshiach and trust in his finished work for their justification. That they never died physically makes them the progenitors of the New Creation’s population. Now, they were born with the same evil inclination (OSN) that you and I were and they are going to populate a Creation in which there is no sin or death. So what happens to their OSN/evil inclination?
I believe it will be miraculously expunged from their beings, by what mechanism other than the Word of Yeshua’s mouth I have no clue. What I do know is this:
4 And Elohim shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev.21.4)
That these have tears wiped away from their eyes assumes there were tears to wipe away. In order to do this the memory of all that can cause sorrow must be expunged as well as the OSN/evil inclination. There will be no memory of death or disease, no memory of those we loved who would not turn from their own ways to Yehovah’s, no memory of even a headache or toothache. The former things are ‘passed away’, removed from our memories, even as our sins are removed from Yehovah’s – as far as the east is from the west. But that all follows the Judgment of the wicked and the execution of that judgment.
The book was opened that holds the record of each life, which is judged according to the objective standard of Torah – the 2nd book that is opened. Also the book of life is opened. The sinner is shown that the Creator of the Universe, who sits in righteous judgment, using his Torah as his standard, is judging everything, even every idle thought and every unthinking action of his life. And he knows he is in deep KimChee. He also may have memory of the threat of punishment in hell for all eternity, and he is scared to death of living forever in torment. When judgment is pronounced and he is shown the manner of execution, I believe that THAT is when he voluntarily falls on his knees before Yehovah Yeshua and praises him for his mercy, even in his final, righteous judgment.
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear (Isaiah 45:23)
10 That at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth; 11 And every tongue should confess that Yeshua haMoshiach is Yehovah, to the glory of Elohim the Father. (Phil.2.10-11)
The wicked, I think, will be dissolved in the same manner as the old creation, in a moment at the sub-atomic level. There will be no torment for the wicked men, they will be annihilated in an instant. And their relief will show in their submission to and praise of Yehovah Yeshua.
Even death and hell will see annihilation in the Lake of Fire. And since death is dissolved last (1Cor.15.26), this must be the time the OSN/evil inclination and all memories of the saints who were encamped for Sukkoth are wiped clean, as well.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
55 O death, where thy sting? O grave, where thy victory? (I Corinthians 15:26, 55)
Death and the grave (hell) have been thrown into the Lake of Fire to be utterly dissolved, along with all whose names are not found written in the Book of Life.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation of John 3:5)
Q&C
End of Shabbat Bible Study
[1] Summarized from notes on Ex.28.30 in Stone’s Chumash, Mesorah Publications, pg.470.
[2] Any time there’s an italicized I think, it is an educated guess. I COULD be wrong …. But I doubt it!
[i] An italicized I think denotes an educated guess, which COULD BE wrong … but I DOUBT it!
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