Our society is in serious trouble. Over the
past fifty years there has been a dramatic decline
in the quality of our education and morals,
and an equally dramatic rise in crime, murder,
suicide, abortion, drugs, sexual promiscuity,
divorce, debt, blasphemy, and other societal
ills. Is the reason for this decline due to
economics? Is big business to blame? The unfair
distribution of wealth? Is it the fault of special
interest groups? Lobbyists? Is it caused by
the Republicans? The Democrats? Both parties?
Hollywood? The mainstream media?
Before this dramatic decline began, A.W.
Tozer concluded that almost everything wrong
with the society of his day was due to the fact
that as a nation, we had been losing the knowledge
of God. He stated that almost all of life's
problems and their solutions are theological.
The person who comes to a right belief about
God will relieve himself of many other problems
in life. The person who has a wrong concept
about God will add many other problems to his
life. There is hardly a problem in society that
can't be traced back to faulty ideas about God.
It is impossible for an individual to keep their
moral practices sound or a society to keep their
values right when their ideas about God are
inadequate or erroneous.
Tozer reasoned that if this decline of the
knowledge of God brought on many of our troubles,
then the rediscovery of the knowledge of God
would go a long way toward curing them. If we
would bring back true spiritual power to our
lives and health to our nation, we must think
about God as He really is - not as we assume
He is. Tozer believed that one of the most important
responsibilities for Messiah’s Holy Community
of Jews and Gentiles - the Church, was to purify
our concept of God until it was once more true
and accurate and worthy of God.
I think Tozer was right about his society,
and that his advice is even more applicable
to our society today. We have fallen much farther
from the knowledge of God. One way to enrich
our knowledge of God is by studying the names,
titles and the metaphors used to describe Him
in the Holy Scriptures.
ELOHIM
Elohim is the first name for God found
in the Tenach (Old Testament). It is in Genesis
1:1 and is the third word of the Hebrew Scriptures:
In the beginning "Elohim" - "God."
Elohim is the most common name that is translated
as "God." It comes from a root that
means "strength, might, power." It
is used over 2,300 times in the Scriptures to
refer to the God of Israel. Elohim is unusual
since it is plural. It can also be translated
as "gods." Exodus 12:12 refers to
"all the elohim (gods) of Egypt."
This plural name that is used for the One God
opens the door for the revelation of the plural
yet single nature of God that is more fully
revealed in the rest of the Scriptures. When
Elohim is combined with other words, different
attributes of God are emphasized.
God Of The Beginning (Deuteronomy 33:27):
The Powerful One always existed. He is the First
One, before all things in time and priority.
He must be before all else in our affections,
and come first in our admiration.
God Of Hosts, or God Of Armies (2 Samuel
5:10): The Strong One is a mighty warrior and
is the Commander-In-Chief of the armies of Heaven
and His people on Earth.
God Of Justice (Isaiah 30:18): The Powerful
One is perfectly just and will bring complete
justice and righteousness to the world.
God Of Heights (Micah 6:6): The expression
“Heights” signifies supremacy of power and position.
The Strongest One is supremely exalted.
God Who Is Near (Jeremiah 23:23): The
Mighty One is not distant. He is close to His
creation - even nearer than our breath; so near
that in Him we live and move and have our being.
Yeshua's incarnation supremely expresses this
truth.
God Of My Kindness (Psalm 59:11): The
Strong One is kind and He works to make us kind.
Yeshua's life and sacrifice is the supreme example
of God's kindness.
God Of My Strength (Psalm 43:2): The
Strongest One desires to make us strong. When
we realize that we are weak and learn to rely
on Him, then He is able to make us strong.
God Of My Praise (Psalm 109:1): God
is supremely worthy of our praise. He desires
to be the main subject of our accolades as well
as what we talk and think about. He enables
us to do the things that will add to His praise.
Whatever praiseworthy things we ever do are
ultimately due to Him.
God Of My Salvation (Psalm 18:47, 25:5):
Humans beings are estranged from God, and alienated
from the Source of Life. God's nature and will
is to rescue, redeem, deliver, help and restore.
Salvation must be personal for each human being.
The Mighty One must become the God of my
Salvation. Salvation is found in being in a
right relationship to a Person - Yeshua, not
by having a mere belief system or good works.
God Of Gods (Deuteronomy 10:17): There
are other so-called "gods" and “higher
powers,” but the Strongest One is mightier than
all. Even they acknowledge Him as the Most Powerful,
and compared to His infinite power, they are
powerless.
God Of The Rock Of My Salvation (2 Samuel
22:47): Rock is strong, solid, dependable and
enduring. It is useful as a weapon or for defense.
We can completely depend on the Most Powerful
One to give us eternal salvation.
God Of All Flesh (Jeremiah 32:27): The
Mighty One created all living things on Earth,
and rightly demands that they conform to His
plans for them.
God Of The Spirits Of All Flesh (Numbers
16:22): God created us with both a physical
and spiritual dimension. He claims lordship
over body and soul, flesh and spirit. The One
who made every human being is able to see into
our innermost being, and distinguish between
the innocent and the guilty, between those who
really love Him and those who are religious
hypocrites.
Holy God (Leviticus 19:2): The Mightiest
One is unique, incomparable, one of a kind.
There is no one and nothing like Him, and there
never will be. He is distinct from everyone
and everything else that exists. He is infinitely
pure and free from anything that is wrong.
Living God (Jeremiah 10:10): The Strongest
One has life in Himself. He gives life to everything
else that exists. He desires to give us life
that is eternal and abundant.
God Of Forgiveness (Nehemiah 9:17):
Men might be slow to forgive, but it is the
Mighty One's nature to forgive. God's desire
is to forgive all of our sins and reconcile
us to Himself, if only we will come to Him on
His terms.
EL
El comes from the same root as Elohim,
is translated “God” and is used 200 times in
the Scriptures. El is also combined with words
that emphasize different attributes of God.
The Faithful God (Deuteronomy 7:9):
Everything the Mightiest One says and does is
100% reliable. He is completely trustworthy.
The Great God (Deuteronomy 10:17): He
is great in all ways: His size (Heaven and the
Highest Heavens can’t contain Him), His stature,
His attributes and His deeds.
The Holy God (Isaiah 5:16): The Strong
One is unique. There is no one and nothing like
Him. He is incomparable - distinct from everything
else that exists.
The God Of Israel (Psalm 68:35): The
Powerful One chose the Jewish Nation and is
forever uniquely connected to His Chosen People.
The God Of The Heavens (Psalm 136:26):
The All-Powerful One created the Heavens - the
sun, the moon, the planets, and the multiplied
trillions of stars. His throne is in Heaven,
where He rules over the heavenly hosts.
God Of My Rock (Psalm 42:10): The Mighty
One is strong, enduring, and my defender, my
stronghold and my protection from all attacks.
God The Joy Of My Exaltation (Psalm
43:4): The Strongest is the source of tremendous
joy to me, as He raises me up in position and
honor.
The God Who Sees (Genesis 16:13): The
Most Powerful One sees and knows all. Nothing
is beyond His sight.
The God Of Glory (Psalm 29:3): God Himself
is beautiful. He is the source of all beauty
and creativity. He is to be supremely honored.
The God Of Knowledge (1 Samuel 2:3):
The Mighty One is all-knowing and is the source
of all wisdom and understanding. Whatever knowledge
man has comes from Him.
The God Of Eternity or The God Of The Universe
(Genesis 21:33): The Strongest One is eternal
- without beginning and without end. He is the
Maker of time, eternity, and the universe.
The God Of Truth (Psalm 31:6): The Powerful
One is the source of ultimate reality. Everything
connected with Him is true and real. Likewise,
the lives of His children are to be characterized
by honesty and truth.
The Faithful God (Deuteronomy 32:4):
The Strong One is completely reliable. You can
trust Him completely in this life, and you can
entrust your eternal destiny to Him.
The God Of My Salvation (Isaiah 12:2):
God Himself is the source of our help. He alone
can deliver us from the consequences of sin
and death. He wants all human beings to be saved,
but each individual must personally know Him
as the God of my Salvation.
The God Of My Life (Psalm 42:9): The
Strong One is the source of all life. He is
the One who gives life to each human being,
and He gives eternal life to those who find
Messiah Yeshua.
The One God (Malachi 2:10): There is
only one true God, who eternally exists as the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The God Of Compassion (Deuteronomy 4:31):
The nature of the Powerful One is one of kindness.
He is full of compassion and feeling for people.
He is completely free of any cruelty or meanness.
The Gracious God (Jonah 4:2): His nature
is gracious, giving and generous, even when
we don't deserve it.
The Jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24):
His very name and character is Jealous (see
Exodus 34:14). The Mighty One is extremely protective
towards His people and doesn't want to share
our affections with any other "gods."
The Righteous God (Isaiah 45:21): Everything
The Powerful One does and says is right. He
is incapable of even the slightest iniquity.
Although there is much unrighteousness in the
world, He is completely fair and just in all
His doings. Eventually He will make everything
right.
God The All-Sufficient (Genesis 17:1):
Like a nursing mother, El Shaddai completely
nourishes and satisfies His people and takes
care of all their needs.
The Most High God (Genesis 14:18): Height
signifies power and position. The Powerful One
is supremely exalted, and should be highest
in our thoughts and affections.
The God Of Yeshurun (Deuteronomy 33:26):
Yeshurun means "Upright One" and is
another name for Israel. The Mighty One is forever
and uniquely connected to Israel. He is righteous
and will make Israel, and all those who are
grafted into Israel, completely righteous.
The Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6): Yeshua,
the Son of God, is fully Man and yet fully God.
He is the mightiest warrior and the strongest
force in the universe.
Elohim and El reminds us that God is the Strongest
One in the universe and the source of all power,
might and strength. No one is more powerful
than He. We can go to the Mighty One, the Powerful
One, the Strong One, who will infuse us with
strength, and empower us to do all that He calls
us to be and do.
ELAH
Elah is another name that is translated
as "God." It is used 70 times in the
Holy Scriptures. Like Elohim, it comes from
a root that means strength, might or power.
It can be combined with other words so that
different attributes of God are emphasized.
God Of Jerusalem (Ezra 7:19): Elah is
uniquely associated with one city - Jerusalem,
the City of Peace. The Mightiest One is forever
connected to the capital of Israel. It is the
place that He chose for the Temple, where He
manifested His presence on Earth, and enabled
atonement to be made. It is the place where
the Son of God offered His ultimate sacrifice,
which brought final atonement. It is the place
where King Messiah will rule for 1,000 years
when He returns to the Earth. At the beginning
of eternity, the New Jerusalem will descend
from Heaven to the New Earth, and it will be
the eternal dwelling place of God and mankind,
and the capital of the new Heavens and the New
Earth.
God Of Israel (Ezra 5:1): God has a
special connection with the Land and the People
of Israel.
God Of Heaven (Ezra 7:23): The Strongest
One created Heaven, which is a real place where
He and the good angels dwell. He also created
the Heavens - the sun, moon, stars and planets.
God’s throne is in Heaven, where He rules over
its heavenly inhabitants and everything else
that exists.
God Of Heaven And Earth (Ezra 5:11):
The Mighty One rules over the entire universe.
There is no one and nothing that is not under
His power.
ELOAH
Eloah is the singular of Elohim, so
it too comes from a root that means strength,
might or power. It is used 50 times in the Bible.
It too is translated as "God."
YHVH
YHVH is a name that is generally translated
"Lord." It is used approximately 7000
times in the Tenach (Hebrew Scriptures), more
than any other name for God. It is also referred
to as the "Tetragrammaton," which
means "The Four Letters," because
it comes from four Hebrew letters: Yud, Hay,
Vav, Hay. This name comes from the Hebrew verb
which means "to be." YHVH emphasizes
God's absolute being. He has life and being
inherent in Himself. Everything else derives
its being from Him. The Lord is the source of
all being, all existence and all reality. He
is without beginning and without end because
He always was, He is, and He always will be.
Even though YHVH appears in Genesis 2, God
didn't reveal Himself as YHVH until Exodus 3
in conjunction with the creation of Israel.
This is the special memorial-name that God revealed
to Moses at the burning bush. "And God
said to Moses, "I Am Who I Am; and He said,
thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I
Am has sent me to you... this is My eternal
name, and this is how I am to be recalled for
all generations" (Exodus 3:14-15).
Although some pronounce YHVH as Jehovah or
Yaweh, those are only guesses, since we no longer
know for sure the proper pronunciation. The
Jewish people stopped saying this name by the
third century AD out of fear of violating the
commandment, "You shall not take the name
of YHVH your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7),
and we lost the knowledge of its proper pronunciation.
According to the rabbis, the Tetragrammaton
may not be pronounced under any circumstances.
Another name, "Adonai," is usually
substituted in place of YHVH. When YHVH is combined
with other words God’s different attributes
are emphasized.
Adonai Elohim - Lord God (Genesis 2:4):
This is a powerful revelation of God as the
Strongest One who is the totality of all being,
reality and existence. He is the Mightiest One
who has all the power He needs to do whatever
He wills. He has all the resources to meet all
of mankind's needs.
Adonai Tz'vaot - The Lord Of Armies
(1 Samuel 1:11): Adonai is the most powerful
being in the universe. The One with Life in
Himself is the greatest of all warriors and
the Supreme Commander in Chief of His forces
in Heaven and on Earth.
Adonai M'kadesh - The Lord Who Makes
Holy (Ezekiel 37:28): The Source of Being is
holy - different from everything else that exists,
unique, special, one of a kind. There is one
God and there is no one and nothing like Him.
He is infinitely pure and separate from any
hint of evil. He sets apart people, places and
things to accomplish His purposes. The closer
we get to and the more we become like the Holy
One, the holier we become.
Adonai Yireh - The Lord Who Sees: (Genesis
22:14): Adonai sees all and knows all. Since
He is omniscient, He is aware of all our problems
and needs. The Source of Existence is committed
to provide for all the needs of His people.
Adonai Neesee - The Lord My Miracle,
or The Lord My Banner (Exodus 17:15): If we
need a miracle, Adonai is able to do one for
us. In the midst of life's raging battles, the
One who is our Banner, is always able to be
seen, high and lifted up and greatly exalted,
leading us to victory.
Adonai Shalom - The Lord Of Peace (Judges
6:24): "Shalom" means peace in the
sense of wholeness and completeness. The Lord
is complete in Himself. The Self-Existent One
needs no one and nothing to make Him complete.
His purpose is to restore peace and wholeness
to His creation that was fractured by sin.
Adonai Rofehcha - The Lord Who Heals
You (Exodus 15:26): The Lord is the Great Physician
and the ultimate source of all healing - spiritual,
physical, emotional, mental, societal, environmental.
If you are in need of any kind of healing, He
is the first One to turn to.
Adonai O'saynu - The Lord Our Maker
(Psalm 95:6): Adonai made us by given us existence
and life. Since He is our Creator, we must follow
His plans and designs for us. Since He is our
Maker, He deserves all that we are and all that
we have.
YESHUA
IS YHVH
The same Lord who revealed Himself as YHVH
in the Tenach is revealed as Yeshua in the New
Testament. Yeshua shares the same attributes
as YHVH. He has life in Himself: "For
just as the Father has life in Himself, even
so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself"
(John 5:26). He gives existence to and sustains
all other things: “All things came into being
by Him” (John 1:3). "He is before
all things, and in Him all things hold together"
(Colossians 1:17). "He upholds all things
by the word of His power" (Hebrews
1:3). In addition, the Son of God claimed to
be Adonai. When asked by some Jewish leaders
how He could have seen Abraham, who lived 2,000
years before, Yeshua replied: "Truly,
truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born,
I Am” (John 8:58), I Am being an essential
part of the Tetragrammaton. Rabbi Paul tells
Messiah’s Holy Community at Rome: "if
you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord...
you shall be saved." A few verses later,
in 10:13, Paul backs up this statement by quoting
Joel 2:32: "Whoever will call upon the
name of the Lord (YHVH) will be saved."
Calling on Yeshua as Lord is equivalent to calling
Him YHVH, because Yeshua is YHVH. In fact, the
powerful title, Adonai Tzidkaynu - the Lord
our Righteousness, is prophetically applied
to the Messiah (Jeremiah 23:6). In some miraculous
way, a human being who comes from the royal
line of King David will ascend to David’s throne,
save us and rule over us with wisdom and righteousness.
And, He is also Adonai Himself, the Source of
Being, who enables those who trust in Him to
have a right relationship with God.
YAH
Yah is a shortened form of YHVH, and
so it too comes from the Hebrew verb that means
"to be." It is generally translated
as Lord. It is used approximately 40 times in
the Holy Scriptures, and appears primarily in
the book of Psalms. It is also found in the
compound word "hallelu-Yah," which
is a plural command to "praise Yah."
ADON
Adon means “Master” or "Lord"
(Isaiah 10:33), and lets us know that God is
the Lord and Master of all things. He has the
right to rule over us, and issue commands, which
we should obey.
ADONAI
Adonai is an emphatic form of "Adon."
It is a plural, and can be translated as "my
lords." It is used approximately 450 times
in the Tenach. It is also used as a substitute
for the Tetragrammaton. Lord of lords, a compound
form of Adonai, is found in Deuteronomy 10:17.
The God of Israel is the Master of masters,
and the King of kings, and the Lord who rules
over all principalities, powers and authorities
that exist, whether they are visible or invisible.
Biblical
Names, Titles And Descriptions For
God
The Father That Are Found In The Tenach
Biblical
Names And Titles
Creator (Ecclesiastes 12:1): The One
who, by His infinite and almighty power, created
everything in the universe.
Creator Of Israel (Isaiah 43:15): God
brought the Chosen Nation into existence, through
which He will accomplish the redemption of humanity
and the salvation of the world. He will fulfill
His good purposes in and through Israel.
Maker (Psalm 115:15): The One who constructs,
out of nothing and sometimes from what already
exists, everything that has being. As our Maker,
He has the right to direct every aspect of our
lives.
The Name - HaShem (Leviticus 24:16):
"Name" stands for character, reputation,
essence and authority. When we refer to God
as The Name, it means that He is the
Supreme Being, the Ultimate Person with impeccable
character and supreme authority.
The God Of Abraham, The God Of Isaac, And
The God Of Jacob (Exodus 3:15): The true
God who made a covenant with the Jewish Fathers,
promising to bless them and through their descendants,
reveal Himself to the nations and send the Redeemer
who would save mankind.
God Of Gods And Lord Of Lords (Deuteronomy
10:17): There may be other beings with great
power and authority, but God is infinitely greater
in wisdom, power and authority!
The Great, Mighty And Awesome God (Deuteronomy
10:17): The Almighty is supremely big and powerful.
There is no being in the universe whose strength
can be compared to His infinite power. Therefore
He must always be treated with reverential fear.
Father (Isaiah 64:8): The Almighty is
not an impersonal force, nor merely a supreme
idea, but a personal, intimate, loving Being.
He gives us existence, and adopts those who
are joined to Messiah Yeshua as His sons and
daughters, making us partakers of His divine
nature. Like a good father, He teaches and corrects
us, as well as provides for us.
Holy One (Habakkuk 1:12): The Supreme
Being is infinitely pure, separate from all
evil and absolutely unique. There is no other
being in the universe like Him.
Holy One Of Israel (Psalm 78:41): Israel
is a holy nation, separate from all the other
nations on Earth. This holy nation has a holy
land, and a holy city, which was and will again
be home to a holy house served by holy priests,
with holy days and people dressed in holy clothes,
eating a holy diet! The God of this holy nation
is holier than all else!
Upright One (Isaiah 26:7): The Lord
is exactly who He appears to be. He is like
a straight and level path, with no twists or
turns. He is morally and ethically straight.
There is nothing crooked or deceitful about
Him.
Redeemer (Psalm 19:14): The Strongest
One is able to extract human beings from the
difficult situations in which they find themselves,
including our most dangerous dilemma - being
sold into the satanic slave market of sin and
death.
Redeemer Of Israel (Isaiah 49:7): The
Most Powerful has helped the Jewish people out
of many difficult and threatening situations.
He will ultimately rescue the Jewish nation
physically, spiritually and completely!
Deliverer (Psalm 144:2): The Holy One
enables us to escape from dangerous situations,
including the most desperate situation of all
- being dead in our trespasses and sins, and
alienated from God, the Source of our life and
happiness.
Savior (Isaiah 45:15): The Faithful
God can rescue us from any danger, give aid
in any situation, and help all those who ask
for it.
Metaphors
Used To Describe God The Father
That
Are Found In The Tenach
Light (Psalm 27:1): The Eternal God
is the source of wisdom, truth, revelation,
understanding, knowledge, victory and salvation!
He has most powerfully accomplished this through
Yeshua, the Light Of The World!
Light Of Israel (Isaiah 10:17): The
Chosen Nation's salvation is found, not in itself,
nor in its own wisdom or strength, but in God,
who gives His people knowledge and salvation.
Dwelling Place (Psalm 90:1): From a
close relationship to the Living God comes the
ability to live properly and in peace.
Fortress (Psalm 91:2): The Mighty One
is able to provide protection for those who
are facing any kind of attack.
Stronghold (Psalm 18:2): The Greatest
One is like a strong and secure place, which
is inaccessible to our enemies.
Tower Of Strength (Psalm 61:3): The
one and only God is like a secure and impenetrable
tower, which protects us from those who are
trying to hurt us.
Refuge (Psalm 46:1): When we are in
danger, we can flee to the Most Powerful, who
will shield us from all evil that is devised
against us.
Shield (Psalm 18:30): Like a shield
that protects a warrior from sword, bow or spear,
the Lord of Hosts protects His children from
dangerous attacks.
Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7): The God of
Heaven, who is invisible to human sight, is
able to conceal us from peril, so that we are
safe.
Rock (Habakkuk 1:12): In an unstable
world, the Strongest One protects us, adds stability
and provides a solid foundation for our lives.
Stone Of Israel (Genesis 49:24): [Used
of the foundation stone of a house (Isaiah 28:16),
or precious stones (1 Kings 10:2, 11) or to
commemorate a special event (Joshua 4:3 and
1 Samuel 7:12), or as a weapon (1 Samuel 17:40)].
The Eternal One is the foundation of our existence,
upon whom we can build our lives; He is our
protector, whom we should continually remember.
Rock Of Israel (2 Samuel 23:3): Just
as one hides among rocks and finds safety, or
uses a rock as a weapon, so the Lord is the
Protector of His Chosen People.
Rock Of My Strength (Psalm 62:7): The
One who defends a nation is also the One who
watches over each of His children individually.
The Lord is my Defender, and the Source of my
ability and stability.
Strength (Psalm 46:1): The Mighty One
gives us the ability to accomplish all the good
things He has ordained for us to do.
My Portion In The Land Of The Living
(Psalm 142:5): An intimate relationship with
God is preferable to my share of food or wealth.
The Portion Of My Inheritance (Psalm
16:5): I desire a close relationship with the
Righteous God more than my share of the family's
assets!
My Cup (Psalm 16:5): Knowing God is
like drinking a refreshing glass of water on
a hot day, or drinking a delicious cup of wine
that brings a feeling of happiness.
Beautiful Crown And Glorious Diadem
(Isaiah 28:5): Like a glorious crown which sits
on the head of an honorable king, a symbol of
authority that adds beauty to the monarch, so
the Lord will bless His people with beauty and
power.
Potter (Isaiah 64:8): God is responsible
for shaping humanity and each individual human
being; He has the right to mold us to His purposes,
and to allow those circumstances, gifts, abilities,
and trials in our lives that He chooses.
Husband or Lord (Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah
31:32): The Most High God relates to us like
a good man to his wife - loving us, providing
for us, protecting us, and helping us reach
our full potential.
Shepherd (Genesis 49:24): The Almighty,
with all of His vast resources and abilities,
cares for us like a shepherd manages his sheep.
He protects us and provides for all of our needs.
Even though we are stubborn, weak, timid, foolish,
pathetic, need endless attention and cause Him
a lot of trouble, He is gentle, kind, firm and
selfless in His devotion to us.
Shepherd Of Israel (Psalm 80:1): It
is God who directs the Chosen Nation, meeting
all of our needs and providing for our protection
and discipline.
My Lovingkindness (Psalm 144:2): The
Living God continually acts with love and kindness
toward me; He showers me with His grace, and
inspires me with love and zeal.
The King (Isaiah 6:5): The Lord is the
Supreme Authority over all things; He rules
over everyone and everything in Heaven and on
Earth; it is our duty to be His loyal subjects,
yielding to His will and obeying His ways.
King of Glory (Psalm 24:7): Many earthly
rulers have had a measure of glory, but the
Supreme Authority is surrounded by infinite
beauty, power, riches, wisdom, blessing, majesty
and honor!
King Of Israel (Zephaniah 3:15): The
Mightiest One has the right to govern the Jewish
people, and issue commands concerning every
aspect of our existence.
Lord Of All The Earth (Micah 4:13):
The Almighty has the power and the right to
control everything on this planet - animate
and inanimate. Everyone and everything has the
duty to bend to His will.
The Most High (Deuteronomy 32:8): The
Lord is in the position of greatest honor, supreme
authority and ultimate power; He is infinitely
beyond all other beings.
Ancient Of Days (Daniel 7:9): God is
without beginning, eternally full of wisdom
and honor. As the Eldest, He is worthy of our
greatest respect.
The Fear Of Isaac (Genesis 31:42): The
One whom Isaac feared, dreaded and held in awe.
The Holy One is supremely deserving of our respect.
We should be afraid to displease Him, and dread
incurring His wrath. We should always revere
Him, and respect those things closely connected
to Him - His People, His Land, His City, His
House, His Son, His Spirit, His Word. We should
never speak ill of Him. We should never ignore
His desires. We should never defy His will.
We should never disobey His commands. We should
never worship, serve or pray to any other god.
We should fear God more than man. We should
fear God more than death. As the prophet Isaiah
said to his generation: “It is the Lord of Hosts
whom you should regard as holy. And He shall
be your fear, and He shall be your dread.”
When the Lord delivered us from the Egyptians,
and brought us safely through the Red Sea, then
Moses and the sons of Israel asked, "Mee
chah-moh-cha ba-elim Adonai? Who is like You
among the mighty ones O Lord?" The answer
was, is now, and always will be, "There
is none like You!"
Names,
Titles And Descriptions For The Son Of God
That
Are Found In The Tenach
Adonai Tzidkaynu - the Lord our Righteousness
(Jeremiah 23:6): This is a prophecy about a
human being who comes from the royal line of
King David. He will ascend to David’s throne,
save the Jewish people, and rule over us with
wisdom and righteousness. The Lord is righteous
- everything that He does, and everything that
He says is perfectly good and right. Since He
is our righteousness, He enables those who trust
in Him to have a right relationship with Him,
and be considered righteous by Him. Ultimate,
saving righteousness doesn't come by keeping
commandments or doing good deeds, but by developing
a right relationship with Adonai Tzidkaynu and
being declared righteous by Him.
The Son of David is also Adonai, and possesses
all the attributes of Adonai. Adonai is also
referred to as the "Tetragrammaton,"
which means "The Four Letters," because
it comes from four Hebrew letters: Yud, Hay,
Vav, Hay. This name comes from the Hebrew verb
which means "to be." The title Adonai
emphasizes God as the Supreme Source of all
being, all reality, and all existence. He has
life and being inherent in Himself. Everything
else derives its existence from Him. Adonai
is without beginning and without end because
He always is. He is involved in creation, but
is Himself beyond this creation. Messiah has
life and being inherent in Himself: Yeshua said,
"For just as the Father has life in
Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to
have life in Himself" (John 5:26).
He gives existence to and sustains all things:
“All things came into being by Him” (John
1:3). "He is before all things, and
in Him all things hold together" (Colossians
1:17). "He upholds all things by the
word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3). Furthermore,
the Son of God claimed to be Adonai. When asked
by some Jewish leaders how He could claim to
have seen Abraham, who lived 2,000 years earlier,
Yeshua replied: "Truly, truly, I say
to you, before Abraham was born, I Am” (John
8:58), I Am being an essential part of
the Tetragrammaton. As Adonai, Yeshua has all
the resources to rule over Israel with wisdom
and righteousness, to save the Jewish people,
and give us a right standing and relationship
with God.
Messiah (Psalm 2:2): The anointed Prophet,
anointed Priest and anointed King. Messiah Himself
uniquely embodies all three offices in one Person.
He is the Prophet greater than Moses, the Priest
greater than Aaron, and the King greater than
David. He was not merely anointed with oil (a
symbol of God's presence) as were Israel's earthly
prophets, priests and kings, but He was anointed
with the Holy Spirit of God, the reality to
whom the oil points! Moses was indeed great,
having performed miracles, saved us out of Egypt,
mediated the covenant at Sinai, taught us God's
laws, and led us, but Yeshua is far greater!
He performed greater miracles, saved us from
sin and death, is the mediator of the New and
Eternal Covenant - one which saves and blesses
all the families of the Earth. Not only did
He teach us, but He Himself is the Living Torah.
He is our High Priest, who offers a better sacrifice
for us - Himself. He fully atones for us, reconciles
us to God, lives forever and intercedes for
us, and is able to save us to the ultimate by
means of His eternal, indestructible life. Yeshua
is the Anointed Ruler sent to save us, the descendant
of King David and rightful eternal heir to his
throne, who is destined to rule with perfect
justice over Israel and the nations, bringing
salvation, peace, prosperity, justice and righteousness
to every corner of the Earth.
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father
Of Eternity, Prince Of Peace (Isaiah 9:6):
Wonderful: The nature of this Son who
is given to us (the Jewish people) is above
that of any ordinary man; He is miraculous and
full of wonders.
Counselor: He is available to give us
the best counsel in every situation. His advice
is unparalleled for its depth of wisdom, and
given freely to everyone who asks Him for it.
He is our Chief Rabbi, the Supreme Teacher who
guides us into all truth.
Mighty God: This Son who is born to
the Jewish people is fully man, but also fully
God. In some miraculous way, He is Immanu-El
- God with us - the Word made flesh, the fullness
of God dwelling in humanity! Since He is fully
God and fully Man, He is the only Mediator capable
of ending the estrangement between God and man.
He is the Bridge that spans that infinite gulf,
enabling God and man to be reconciled. As the
Mighty God, He wields within Himself power so
great that He can atone for all the evil that
is or ever has been in the world, and bring
us forgiveness, reconciliation and peace with
God.
Father Of Eternity: Since He is the
Mighty God, He is also eternal. He is utterly
beyond the limits of time. A thousand years
in His sight are like yesterday when it passes
by. He is the Creator and the Possessor of eternity.
Since He is eternal, He is forever able to meet
all the needs of His people. He is the One who
enables His people to live forever. Father of
Eternity can also be translated and understood
to mean "Eternal Father," indicating
that the Son of God shares the very same name
and nature, character and essence as God the
Father.
Prince Of Peace: Yeshua has so much
power that He can restore shalom - wholeness,
completeness and peace - to a broken and shattered
universe. He is able to establish peace between
man and God, between man and his fellow man,
Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, blacks and
whites and between man and nature. The wonderful
peace that He will bring at the inauguration
of his kingdom will not be temporary, but will
last forever!
Light Of The Nations (Isaiah 42:6):
Messiah is the source of wisdom, truth, revelation,
understanding, knowledge, victory and salvation,
not only for the Jewish people, but for all
the peoples of the world!
Star (Numbers 24:17): Messiah is like
a Heavenly body - high and pure, which radiates
its own light in the vast darkness of the universe.
His light shines in the darkness of this world,
pointing us to God, and to salvation, victory
and life! As the stars declare God's intelligence,
power and glory, so does Messiah!
Cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16, Psalm 118:22):
Just as the cornerstone adds strength to the
foundation, upon which the rest of the building
is supported, so we must build our lives on
the Son of God. It is impossible to have a stable
and enduring life apart from Him.
Stone (Psalm 118:22): Just as stones
are used for building, so we must build our
lives with Messiah. Just as a stone may be used
as a weapon, so Messiah is our protector. Just
as stones are used to erect memorials, so Yeshua
is the One we should continually remember.
Branch (Zechariah 6:12): As the branch
or sprout which starts out small but grows great
and soon produces fruit, so the activity of
God's Son was to begin in a humble way, but
will increase until He accomplishes all of God's
purposes.
Scepter (Numbers 24:17): As a rod which
is used to strike one's enemies, so the Son
of God will defeat all the enemies of God. As
a royal rod in the hand of a king, which symbolizes
his authority, so the Messiah is God's authorized
ruler.
Messenger Of The Covenant (Malachi 3:1):
The Messiah was sent by God to inaugurate a
new covenant (contract, agreement) with the
Jewish people, and with the nations of the world.
The terms of this eternal covenant include knowing
and loving God, the ability to understand God’s
Word, and having all of our sins forgiven. This
covenant became effective when Messiah died
and then came back to life.
Covenant To The People (Isaiah 42:6):
Messiah Himself is the essence of this contract
that God has made available to mankind. Anyone
who rejects this Covenant remains in a state
of alienation from God. All people everywhere
must believe in Yeshua and follow Him in order
to participate in this new contractual relationship
with the God who can save us.
Shiloh (Genesis 49:10): This is a remarkable
prophecy about the coming of the Messiah, who
will descend from the tribe of Judah, and rule
over Israel and the nations. While there have
been many suggested translations for Shiloh,
the one I like best is "to be quiet, to
enjoy rest and security." I like the way
one rabbi translated Shiloh as "final tranquility."
He is the One who can give rest to the weary
and heavy-laden. Ultimately, He will bring tranquility
to the entire world.
Ruler (Micah 5:2), Prince (Daniel 9:25),
King (Jeremiah 23:5): From His throne in Jerusalem,
Messiah is destined to rule over Israel, which
will be the head of the nations. He will be
a good and fair ruler, an exceedingly capable
ruler, a firm, righteous and enlightened ruler.
There have been thousands of rulers over humanity,
but Yeshua will be the best ruler that humanity
has ever experienced! His enlightened administration
will end all war and injustice, heal the world's
wounds, extend peace and righteousness to the
farthest reaches of the Earth, and bring the
knowledge of God and salvation to all of humanity.
Arm Of The Lord (Isaiah 53:1): Just
as a man's arm does his work for Him, so the
Son of God is the Father's Executor. The Father
plans and commands, and the Son obeys and carries
out His Father's will, counsel and purposes.
It is through Messiah that the universe came
into being. It is through the Messiah, that
the great work of atonement and salvation was
accomplished.
Son Of God: In both Psalm 2:12 and Proverbs
30:4, God tells us that He has a Son. That does
not mean that God created Him, or that He is
younger than God - exactly the opposite! Just
as a son shares the same nature as his father,
so Yeshua shares the very same nature as His
Father. The Son of God is fully divine, complete
deity, eternal, uncreated, with life and being
within Himself, sharing all the attributes of
God!
Names
For The Spirit of God
That
Are Found In The Tenach
Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11): God has a
Spirit - His non-corporeal, immaterial essence,
who pervades the entire universe, but indwells
certain places and things more than others.
His Spirit is holy - infinitely pure, separate
from evil, and unique.
Spirit Of God (Genesis 1:2): The Spirit
of God has the attributes of a Person; He has
consciousness, mind, emotion and will.
The Spirit Of The Lord God (Isaiah 61:1):
the immaterial essence and mind of the One who
is Master of all things, and the Source of being.
In Isaiah 11:2, the Spirit of God, who given
a sevenfold description, is predicted to rest
on the Messiah. From the Spirit of the Lord
spreads six branches, which corresponds to the
seven branched menorah in the Temple, the seven
lamps of fire burning before the throne of God
in heaven (see Revelation 4:5), and the seven
eyes on the Lamb (see Revelation 5:6). These
sevenfold things tell us that Messiah Yeshua
has the fulness of God's Spirit abiding on Him.
The Messiah, who is a descendant of David, will
be empowered for His task of ruling and reigning
over Israel by more than merely human abilities.
Everything about His leadership will testify
to a supernatural empowerment. He will be anointed
by more than oil, but by the reality which oil
pictures, the fullness of the Spirit of God.
The Spirit Of Adonai: He is anointed
by God Himself. The whole creative Spirit of
God rests on Him. He fullness of God rests on
Him in bodily form. This is the center of this
description. From it flow six other aspects:
The Spirit Of Wisdom: Wisdom is more
than just knowledge, but how to wisely apply
knowledge to accomplish the desired goals. There
are many knowledgeable fools.
The Spirit Of Understanding: The Messiah
will be full of understanding, intelligence
and skill in any art or learning. He is quick
to understand.
The Spirit Of Counsel: He gives the
best advice and counsel. He can always and in
every situation discern what is best and give
good counsel and advice. He will be able to
perceive things correctly and will be able to
carry out correct decisions. He always forms
the right conclusions. He has no need to surround
Himself with advisors and counselors. He counsels
all that come to Him for wisdom. This term "counsel"
is used to execute a plan or purpose, and it
is used of the counsel or purpose of God. King
Messiah helps form and then puts into action
the counsels, plans and purposes of God. He
is a Wonderful Counselor. He gives wonderful,
miraculous advice, unfailing in the depths of
it wisdom. He is the supreme source of counsel
for the Jewish nation. We ought to listen very
carefully to everything that He says. It is
more important, more beneficial, than what anyone
else has said. You can listen to the foolishness
of human wisdom, or the supernatural wisdom
of the Messiah.
The Spirit Of Strength: He has the ability
to carry out all His counsels with power. He
will have God's true might and power about Him,
power so great that it can absorb all the evil
which can be hurled at it. He will be empowered
to reign justly and righteously over Israel
and all the nations of the world. This one individual
is more powerful than all the armies of the
world put together.
The Spirit Of Knowledge: intelligence,
understanding, wisdom. He is more knowledgeable
than Solomon, who knew about all manner of earthly
things, animals, creatures, they way things
worked. Someone wiser than Solomon will be with
us. Especially the knowledge of God, personal
intimate knowledge that comes from experiencing
God. He helps us to know God personally and
intimately.
The Spirit of the fear of the Lord:
He is dominated by the respect and awe of God.
He takes everything connected with God seriously
and with the utmost respect. The Lord is at
the very center of His life. Everything that
He does centers around God.
NEW
TESTAMENT NAMES, TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS
The Names, Titles and Descriptions for God
that are found in the New Testament are rich
and varied. The writers of the New Covenant
referred to God in many other ways than the
Lord Jesus Christ, or God the Father, God the
Son and God the Holy Spirit.
New
Testament Names, Titles And Descriptions
For
Messiah Yeshua
Names,
Titles and Descriptions Emphasizing Messiah’s
Deity
Son Of God (Matthew 26:63): That does
not mean that God created Messiah, or that Yeshua
is younger than God, or that Yeshua was in some
way given birth to by God the Father. It means
exactly the opposite! It means that Yeshua shares
the very same nature as God, just as a human
son shares the human nature of his human father.
Yeshua is deity, divine, eternal, uncreated,
with life within Himself, sharing all the essential
attributes of God.
The Son is equal to the Father in nature, but
the Father is superior to the Son in position
and authority. The Son sits at the right hand
of the Father. The Father sits on the main throne.
The Son does not send the Father. The Father
sends the Son. The Son is sent by the Father.
The Father commands the Son. The Son obeys the
Father. The Son never commands the Father. The
Father speaks the word, and the Son carries
out the word of the Father. The Son acknowledges
that the Father is superior in position when
He calls Him Father and God (see John 20:17).
God has many sons. Angels and human beings
are also called “sons of God.” Perhaps angels
and humans are called sons of God because God
is their Creator, and since they are intelligent
creatures, and have mind and will, and because
God loves them and provides for them, as a father
does his children, they are entitled to be called
sons of God. But there is one Son who is unique.
Therefore He is called is the Only Begotten
Son (1 John 4:9). He stands in a special
relationship of sonship to God. The Son shares
the Father’s name and nature, deity and attributes
and essence. He is very God of very God. He
is one with God in nature and substance, but
separate from the Father as to His person. The
Son is eternal and His relationship to His Father
is eternal. He always was in the eternal relationship
of Son to His Father. His relationship to God
the Father is begotten - referring to eternal
sonship. Eternally begotten - never created,
not made. However, angels and men do not share
all of God’s nature. But, there is one special
Son who does fully share God’s nature. Therefore
He is called the Son (John 8:36) and
the Son of the Father (2 John 1:3).
Only Begotten God (John 1:18): God has
many sons, but Messiah Yeshua is unique. He
is the uniquely begotten God - fully God, sharing
the nature of God, yet begotten - in the position
of eternal Son to His Father.
Because the Son shares the good and loving
and perfect nature of the Father, and obeys
the Father, and always did and always will do
what is pleasing to the Father, the Son of God
is God’s Beloved Son (Matthew 3:17) and
the Beloved (Matthew 12:18) in whom God
delights. And, we should love and delight in
Him too, above all else! Do you?
Son Of The Most High (Luke 1:32): Height
signifies superiority in power and position.
The Creator is the Most High, and the Most Powerful
One and is rightfully in the position of greatest
honor and supreme authority. He is infinitely
higher than all other beings. The Most High
God and the Son of the Most High should be highest
in our thoughts, affections, priorities and
devotion. Are they in yours?
I Am (John 8:58, see Exodus 3:14): The
Carpenter from Nazareth claimed to be the same
Supreme Being who appeared to Moses at the burning
bush - the I am who I Am, and the source of
existence and being for all else. If we believe
that Yeshua is the great I Am, then we will
be, and we will live forever. If we deny that
Yeshua is the infinite and eternal I am, then
we will die and it will be as if we will not
be. Before Abraham was, Yeshua could say “I
am.” Do you believe that?
Lord (Romans 10:9-13, see Joel 2:32):
Rabbi Paul tells Messiah’s Holy Community at
Rome: "if you confess with your mouth
Yeshua is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you shall
be saved." A few verses later, Paul
backs up this statement by quoting Joel 2:32:
"Whoever will call upon the name of
the Lord (YHVH) will be saved." Yeshua
is YHVH. This special name for God is also called
the "Tetragrammaton," which means
"The Four Letters," because it comes
from four Hebrew letters: Yud, Hay, Vav, Hay.
This special name for God comes from the Hebrew
verb "to be." He is without beginning
and without end because He always was, He is,
and He always will be. YHVH emphasizes God's
absolute being. He has life and existence inherent
in Himself. Everyone and everything else derives
its existence from Him. The same Lord who revealed
Himself as the Tetragrammaton in the Tenach
is revealed as Yeshua in the New Testament.
Confessing that Yeshua is Lord is equivalent
to calling Him YHVH. To be saved, we must believe
that Yeshua is Lord - fully divine, fully God,
equal in nature to Adonai. Do you believe that
Yeshua is Lord? Lord also means one who rules.
Yeshua is the Supreme Ruler over all the powers,
authorities, forces and laws in the universe.
Because He is Adonai, Yeshua has the right to
rule angels and men. Is He your Lord? Are you
submitted to His lordship?
God (John 1:1): Yeshua is God - fully
God, sharing all the attributes of God. Yeshua
is to be acknowledged as God, to be treated
as God, to be called God. He is to be obeyed
and along with the Father as God, worthy to
be worshiped as God.
Immanu-El [God with us] (Matthew 1:23):
Yeshua is El - The Strongest One, the Mightiest
One - God, and He is with us. The same God who
was with us in the garden of Eden, who walked
with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day; the
same One who was with us when He visited Abraham;
the same One who was with us when He wrestled
with Jacob; and was with us in the burning bush;
and was with us in the pillar of cloud by day
and the pillar of fire by night; and was with
us on Mount Sinai; and was with in the Mishkan
and the Temple, was with us in Yeshua of Nazareth!
In spite of our problems, inadequacies and challenges,
and the damage that sin has inflicted on us,
God's desire is to be with us, and so the Son
of God came from Heaven to Earth, and through
the incarnation He joined Himself to a human
body, and to human nature, so that He could
be with us, and we could be with Him. He truly
is Immanuel, God with us, the fullness of God's
desire to be with us, and dwell among us. Messiah
Yeshua is the true Temple of God, the place
where God dwells in this world. If God’s glorious
Dwelling Presence could dwell with us in the
Temple, in a building of wood and gold, silver
and stone, can’t He dwell with in a human being,
a being that is alive and made in the image
of God? Immanuel wants to be with us, and is
with us. Do you want to be with Him? Are you
with Him?
Names,
Titles and Descriptions Emphasizing Messiah’s
Humanity
Son Of Man (Matthew 26:64): The Son
of God, who is fully God as to His nature, is
also the Son Of Man. Through the incarnation
the Son of God entered into humanity and became
a real man. He is fully human, but sinless,
good, obedient, faithful, pure, holy, always
pleasing His Father, a-joy-and-a-delight-to-His-God
kind of human. And He is forever the Son of
Man. He has eternally joined Himself to humanity.
Even when He died and rose from death, He retained
His humanity - glorified humanity, but still
humanity. He still has a human nature. He still
is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh!
He is the perfect man, and our role model, our
example, the One we strive to be like, to imitate,
to follow.
The Man (John 19:5, 1 Timothy 2:5):
Yeshua is Lord, and the great I Am, and God,
but He is also man. There is one God, and
one mediator also between God and men, the Man
Messiah Jesus. Because He is fully human,
He is able to identify with humanity and thereby
save us. Only our Kinsman Redeemer, who is one
of us, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh,
could save us. Angels are different from us,
and could not be our redeemers. The blood of
bulls and goats, rams and lambs and pigeons
could not save us because they are worth less
than us. Because the Son of God was willing
to become the Son of Man, human beings can be
saved and humanity is forever exalted. Behold
the Man!
Yeshua (Matthew 1:21): This is the name
that the angel instructed Joseph to name the
Son of God when He came into this world. “You
are to give him the name Yeshua because He will
save His people from their sins.” Yeshua
means “salvation” or “the Lord saves.” The Messiah
was given this name because it tells us the
essence of what He came to accomplish. Fallen
humanity’s greatest need is not salvation from
political or economic injustice, or salvation
from problems in the environment, but salvation
from our sins. We are so fallen, so sinful,
so pathetically weak, so spiritually dead, that
we are utterly incapable of extracting ourselves
from this disaster that we brought upon ourselves.
Only the Lord can save us the way we need to
be saved, and this salvation He makes possible
through Yeshua, and no one else.
Yeshua Of Nazareth (Matthew 26:71):
The eternal Son of God came from Heaven to Earth
and through the incarnation He became a real
human being. He was a real man. He had a real
body and a genuine human nature. He lived in
time. He lived in history. He lived in a location.
He lived in the nation of Israel. He grew up
in the city of Nazareth. Matthew 2:23 tells
us that Yeshua’s family “came and lived in
a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill
what was spoken through the prophets: ‘He shall
be called a Nazarene.’” In Yeshua’s time
Nazareth was a small town that had a reputation
for being rustic, backward, insignificant (see
John 1:46). It was looked down upon. Calling
someone a Nazarene expressed derision. Someone
commented that these words: “He shall be called
a Nazarene” are found nowhere in specific in
the Scriptures, yet the thought is contained
everywhere in Bible. The Messiah was to be despised,
afflicted and rejected. “Nazarene” was one of
the names used to refer to Messianic Jews in
the early centuries. They were identified as
followers of Yeshua of Nazareth. Following Messiah
will cost you something in status and prestige
in acceptability in the sight of the world.
Are you willing to be identified with the Nazarene?
Are you willing to be treated like a Nazarene?
Son Of Abraham (Matthew 1:1) and Abraham's
Seed (Galatians 3:16): Yeshua is a direct
descendant of Abraham, the father of Israel.
Abraham becomes the spiritual father of all
who have saving faith. God made a covenant with
Abraham, promising him that through him and
his descendants the world would be blessed.
The Jewish people have indeed brought many great
things to the world (the knowledge of the One
True and Only God, the Holy Scriptures which
can lead us to salvation and successful living,
intellectual and scientific discoveries, artistic
contributions), but the primary way that God
blesses the world is through Yeshua, the Son
of Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant, and all
the promises and blessings and good things that
God has for Jews and Gentile get condensed and
focused into one of Abraham’s descendants -
Yeshua, Abraham’s Seed. When we are connected
to the Son of Abraham, by knowing Him and placing
our confidence in Him, Jews become acceptable
sons of Abraham, and Gentiles become the blessed
spiritual sons of Abraham. Are you a genuine
son of Abraham because you are in a right relationship
with Abraham’s Seed?
Son Of David (Matthew 1:1): The Lord
made a covenant with David that his descendants
would have the right to be the kings of the
Chosen Nation. Yeshua is a direct descendant
of David, both on His father’s side and His
mother’s side. He was born in the city of David.
He is the ultimate heir of the Davidic dynasty,
and by covenant has the right to rule over the
Jewish people and the nations of the world.
The Root And Offspring Of David (Revelation
22:16): Yeshua is the Root of David. He preceded
David. David came from Him. He is David's Lord.
He is also the Offspring of David. He is David's
son, David’s heir, the Davidic Messiah. He is
David's Lord and David's son. He is fully God
and He is fully man. This is the last title
for Yeshua in the New Testament, and reminds
us that Yeshua is forever connected to Israel,
David, Jerusalem and the Jewish people! Do you
like that and accept that, or do you resent
that?
Son Of Joseph (John 1:45): Joseph was
a righteous man and a descendant of David. Joseph
was in the line of Jeconiah. The problem is
that Jeconiah’s line was cursed so that his
descendants couldn’t rule on David’s throne
(see Jeremiah 22:24-30). It seems to me that
in the time of Zarubbabel, some generations
later, that curse was removed (see Haggai 2:23).
As the adopted son of Joseph, and also as a
descendant of David through Mary, Yeshua has
the right to rule on David’s throne. Do you
acknowledge Him as your King? Is He ruling on
the throne over your life?
The Last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45):
The Scriptures refer to the first Adam and the
last Adam - the first man and the Last Man.
First came the natural man - Adam, then came
the Spiritual Man - Yeshua. First came the man
of Earth, then came the Man from Heaven. First
came the one made from Earth, who yielded to
sin, and whose body returned to the Earth. Then
came the man filled with the Spirit, who resisted
sin, whose body was in the Earth for three days,
but whose glorified body then returned to Heaven.
First we are like Adam, of the Earth, subject
to sin and death; then if we are born by the
Spirit of God we will become like the Last Adam,
the man of the Spirit, overcoming sin and death,
destined to live forever. All of us were connected
to the first Adam, but if we want to live forever
we must be joined to the Last Adam. Have you
joined yourself to the Last Adam? Have you made
the transition from the first, the natural,
the physical, to the Last Adam, the spiritual,
the heavenly, the victorious, the eternal Man?
Names,
Titles and Descriptions Emphasizing Messiah’s
Functions
The Word (John 1:1): In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with
God. The Word existed in the beginning.
Yeshua is eternal. The Word was with God. The
Father and Son eternally co-existed, eternal
in their association, distinct in their persons.
The Word was God. Yeshua is God - fully divine,
very God of very God. And yet, the Word is distinct
from God. It can be said that He was with God,
and yet He was God - a distinction of Persons,
with a oneness of nature. Without words, we
are unable to fully communicate with one another.
Words enable us to fully communicate. Words
enable us to reveal more of ourselves to others.
Word enable us to exchange information. Words
enable us to bring clarity to complex situations.
Yeshua is the way that the infinite, invisible
God, whom no man has ever fully seen, is able
to fully and clearly communicate to mankind,
and sufficiently reveal Himself and His ways
to us. Words bring meaning. Words can bring
order. God’s words can create. In the beginning
the Creator’s words brought the universe into
existence. Yeshua is the One through whom God
brought the universe into existence. He brings
meaning and order to a chaotic world. Is He
bringing meaning and order to your life?
He is the Word Of God (Revelation 19:13):
He is the personification of all that God wants
to say to mankind. Yeshua is the final communication
of God to mankind. He Himself is an essential
part of the message that God wants us to understand.
He is the ultimate communicator of truth, the
final Prophet, God’s Messenger and Message,
the Torah of God in living form. Are you listening
to Him above everyone and everything else?
He is the Word Of Life (1 John 1:1):
That which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked at and our hands have touched
- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
The same eternal Word that gave life to the
universe, came among us in Yeshua of Nazareth.
Yeshua is God’s ultimate Messenger and is Himself
the Message. This Messenger and Message that
is life, and gives life, came so very close
to us, so that we could readily grasp the Message.
The eternal Word left Heaven, and became incarnated,
and revealed Himself to us, and was seen and
touched by John and others. To know that Yeshua
is God’s Messenger and Message, and to trust
in and welcome Messiah is to receive life -
meaningful life, abundant life, life with God,
eternal life. Have you?
The Life (John 11:25, 14:6): Yeshua
said: “Just as the Father has life in Himself,
even so He gave to the Son also to have life
in Himself.” Yeshua’s Father is Adonai -
the One who is who He is, and who will be who
He will be, the One who has being, existence,
reality, and life in Himself. The life of every
creature is given by God. But even though Yeshua
was a true man, He is no mere creature. He is
the divine Son of God, and the life that Yeshua
possesses is the same kind of independent, self-existent,
eternal life that God the Father has.
Life is good. It is good to be alive. Normal
human beings want to live. We have a very strong
desire to live. If we could live in a perfect
place, and if we could be perfect, and if we
could live there forever, most sane people would
want eternal life. But, because we have crossed
moral and spiritual boundaries that should not
have been crossed, we are dead in our trespasses
and sins. We are not fully alive. We are not
headed to eternal life but to death. We are
in the most desperate need of God’s kind of
life. We can’t give this kind of life to ourselves.
Many have claimed: “follow what I say and you
will have a better life.” Yeshua claimed something
greater - that He is the Source of Life, and
is able to give eternal life. Yeshua didn’t
so much offer religious ideas as He offers Himself.
Yeshua is exclusively the Life. Gordon Ainsworth
made this observation: By saying “I am the Life,”
Yeshua was saying that every other way leads
to death.” Rejection of Yeshua is rejection
of life. Do you have the Messiah? Do you have
the Life?
Prince Of Life (Acts 3:15): A prince
is a leader who has great authority. The Son
of God has all authority over matters of life
and death. He has authority over own life and
death, and He has authority over our life and
death. The Prince Of Life has the power and
authority to give life to others - and He willingly
does so for those who know Him and follow Him.
Do you?
Living One (Luke 24:5): Yeshua has eternal
life in Himself. In Him was and is life. He
was always alive. He will always be alive. Even
though the Living One died on the cross, death
was no match for Him! Death could not keep Him.
The grave could not hold Him. He came back to
life, never to die again, and able to give eternal
life to those who love Him. Do you?
The Resurrection (John 11:25): God has
placed within us the desire to survive. We want
to live. Death seems unnatural. Because of the
Fall, and sin, and our continued rebellion against
the King of the universe, death dominates humanity.
Death is not good. It is frightening. It is
unpleasant. It is an adversary to be overcome.
The good news is we can have victory over this
great adversary! Those who die in a right relationship
with God, having atonement based on their faith
in God the Father and Messiah the Son, will
be brought back to life! They will live again!
They will be resurrected and live forever! Without
the resurrection, life is shallow and ultimately
meaningless. Without the resurrection, life
is unfair. Often the wicked are left unpunished,
and the innocent and righteous are persecuted,
oppressed and never vindicated. For justice
to prevail, for the righteous to be vindicated
and the wicked punished, we need to be raised
back to life!
Yeshua said to Martha, "I am the resurrection
and the life.” Yeshua claimed to be able
to raise all of the dead - the God-fearers and
the God-ignorers, good and the wicked, to life
on the Last Day. And, since He is One who will
resurrect the dead, and give eternal life to
the righteous, we must place our confidence
in Him. He who believes in Me will live even
if he dies. Those who place their trust
in Him, even if they do die, will be resurrected
from death. He continued his words to Martha:
And everyone who lives and believes in Me
will never die. Every human being - Jew
or Gentile, man or woman, who comes to understand
that Yeshua is the Messiah, and the Son of God,
and the only Savior that God has sent to rescue
mankind, will not experience death - not physical
death, but the Second Death - Gehenna, Hell,
the Lake of Fire, the ultimate separation from
God, who is the Source of Life. Yeshua asked
Martha, “Do you believe this?” Do you?
Messiah (John 1:41): In ancient Israel
there were three ruling offices - prophet, priest
and king. Often prophets, priests and kings
were anointed with oil when they began their
office. This was a sign of God’s approval and
blessing on them and their work. Yeshua is the
Anointed One. Yeshua uniquely embodies and combines
and fulfills all three offices in one Person.
He is the anointed Prophet, anointed Priest
and anointed King. He is the greatest of the
prophets, the Priest greater than Aaron and
the high priests that came from Aaron, and the
King greater than David and the other kings
of Israel. He was not merely anointed with oil
(a symbol of God's Spirit and God’s presence)
as were Israel's earthly prophets, priests and
kings, but He was anointed with the Holy Spirit
of God, the reality to whom the oil points!
He is the greatest of the prophets, God’s ultimate
and supremely authoritative spokesman. We must
listen to Him. He is our High Priest, the one
and only mediator between God and man, who bring
God closer to us, and us closer to God. Our
High Priest offers a better sacrifice for us
- Himself. He fully and completely atones for
us, and perfectly reconciles us to God, and
enables us to live forever. He continually and
forever intercedes for us, and is able to save
us by means of His eternal, indestructible life.
Yeshua is the Anointed Ruler sent by God, the
descendant of King David and rightful eternal
heir to his throne, who is destined to rule
with perfect justice over Israel and the nations,
bringing salvation, peace, prosperity and righteousness
to this Earth, and then to the new Heavens and
new Earth. Is He your Messiah? Do you acknowledge
that God sent Him and filled Him with the Spirit
of God? Is He your prophet? Is God speaking
authoritatively through Him to you? Is He your
Priest, who brings God closer to you, and you
closer to God. Is He your King?
King Of Israel (Mark 15:32) and the
King Of The Jews (Matthew 27:37): The
kings of Egypt, Assyria, Syria, Babylon, Persia,
Greece and Rome controlled the Jewish people
at various times, but they were not the rightful
kings of Israel.
The Lord did not want the political life of
Israel to be like the other nations. He wanted
to be the King of Israel. Priests would be in
charge of the religious life. Prophets would
be raised up as needed to call the people and
priests to repent, or to bring a new message
from the Lord. If a leader was needed in a crisis,
God would raise up a leader. When the people
demanded a king, the Lord allowed it, and ultimately
chose David and his descendants to be the kings
of Israel. As the One who is fully God, Yeshua
is the rightful King of Israel. As the Messianic
heir of David, Yeshua is also the rightful King
of Israel. If you are Jewish, is He your King?
Are you His loyal subject?
There is an inherent connection between the
King of Israel and the Nation of Israel. Like
Israel, Yeshua lived in Egypt and was called
out of Egypt. Like Israel, He was tested in
the wildness. He is the true Israel. Israel
is called God's vine. Messiah is the true vine.
Israel was the light to the Nations. Messiah
is the Light of the World. Israel is God's son
in Torah. Messiah is God's ultimate Son. Israel
was God's witness. Yeshua is the ultimate Witness.
Israel is God’s Servant. Yeshua is God’s perfect
Servant. But the King of Israel, the perfect
Israeli, gloriously succeeded where the nation
of Israel failed. If you are Jewish, is Yeshua
your King?
King Of Kings And Lord Of Lords (Revelation
19:16): Yeshua is not just the King of Israel
and the King of the Jews, but the ruler over
all the leaders and nations of the world. From
Jerusalem He will take over the administration
of every nation. He will rule the nations firmly,
so that He will be in complete control and His
will and His laws will be followed. He will
rule with a rod of iron and yet with perfect
fairness and justice.
Prince (Acts 5:31) and Master
(Luke 8:24): Both prince and master refer to
one who wields authority over others. Our Prince
leads by right of His position at the right
hand of God, and He leads by example. Our Prince
is not just a political leader, but a moral
and religious and spiritual leader who leads
us to repentance and salvation. Is He your prince?
Are you following the Master, receiving His
orders, following Him where He directs, even
if He commands us to go into battle, or experience
hardship?
The Head Of The Body, The Church (Colossians
1:18) and Head Over All Things To The Church
(Ephesians 1:22): The Son of God is ruler over
all things to the called out ones, those men
and women, those Jews and Gentiles, who are
taken from a dying world and placed into a united
and living and eternal community headed by our
loving and powerful and glorious Messiah Himself.
As the Head Over All Things To The Church we
follow Him. We embrace His ways. We study and
implement His teachings, He make His will our
will. We obey His commands. Just as a head and
body are connected, and together form a living
being, so Messiah is the head and we are the
body. Just as a body can’t live without being
securely attached to its head, we can’t live
without the living Messiah who is connected
to the Living Father. We must make sure that
we are always properly and securely connected
to Him - by drawing near directly to Him by
faith - not to intermediaries like angels, popes
and saints and icons and sacraments.
Rabbi (Matthew 23:8): Rabbi means teacher
and Yeshua is the Supreme Rabbi of Israel, and
Israel is the teacher of mankind. We need a
supreme teacher because we are in deep spiritual
darkness. We are confused about reality, truth,
salvation and the way to attain eternal life.
He taught with beauty, with simplicity and with
originality. Yeshua taught with authority. He
never quoted other rabbis. Instead He said,
"I say unto you," because there was
no higher authority to which He could refer!
The multitudes were amazed at His teaching,
for He taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes who quoted some other
rabbi who depended some other rabbi for his
authority.
Our Supreme Teacher turned the world’s values
upside down, teaching us: "blessed are
the poor," not "blessed are the rich;"
"blessed are the gentle" not "blessed
are the aggressive and the powerful;" "blessed
are the merciful" not "blessed
are the conquerors;" and “blessed are those
who mourn” over their own sins, who grieve that
humanity is so broken, who are saddened by our
alienation from God, and our loss of eternal
life - not blessed are those who seek their
own personal happiness.
Yeshua is the Supreme Authority on all religious
matters. His teaching is the final authority.
There is no other religious leader, authority,
prophet within Israel or outside of Israel whose
teachings supercede His. There is no legitimate
church Council whose decrees contradict His.
His teaching is in keeping with the prophets
of Israel who came before Him, but His teaching
surpasses the other prophets of Israel as the
light of the sun surpasses the light of the
moon in radiant power. Therefore we must learn
His teachings, and study them and implement
them and give His teachings the highest respect
and listen more carefully to Him than to any
other human being or institution. Do you?
The Prophet (John 1:25, see Deuteronomy
18:15): A prophet is one who hears clearly from
God, and then communicates what he has heard
to the rest of us. He is the Lord’s spokesperson.
The Lord, speaking to Moses, promised: I
will raise up for the Jewish people a prophet
like you from among their brothers; I will put
My words in his mouth, and he will tell them
everything I command him. If anyone does not
listen to My words that the prophet speaks in
My name, I myself will call him to account.
The Lord promised to speak to the Jewish people
though human beings - and specifically through
Jewish prophets. From this Torah promise, some
Jewish people in the first century were expecting
one special prophet - the Prophet, as is seen
by this question directed to John from a delegation
of priests and Levites sent by the leaders in
Jerusalem. They asked him, and said to him,
"Why then are you baptizing, if you are
not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
There have been many great prophets in Israel’s
long history, like Moses, David, Jeremiah and
Elijah, but there is one prophet - Yeshua, who
excels them all! Adolph Saphir, one of the best
Messianic Jewish preachers from years past,
commenting on Hebrews 1:1-2, wrote the following:
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers
in the prophets in many portions and in many
ways, in these last days has spoken to us in
His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Yeshua is greater than all of the prophets
because He is the prophet in whom is the perfect
revelation of God. The ministry of the prophets
was a great blessing to mankind, a wonderful
gift. Yet let us consider some of the imperfections
of these messengers.
The first imperfection of the prophets was
that they were sinful men. The prophets were
not merely finite and limited in their abilities
and their understanding, but they were sinful
and fallen. When one of the greatest of the
prophets, Isaiah, saw the glory of the Lord,
he said: woe is me, for I am undone. I am a
man of unclean lips. When the prophet Daniel,
a man who was greatly loved by God, prayed to
God, he confessed that he had sinned and transgressed
and acted wickedly. All of the prophets, from
the greatest on down, were men full of weaknesses
and sin.
Another imperfection of the prophets was that
they did not possess the Spirit of God on a
continual basis. King David had to pray: take
not your Holy Spirit from me. Suddenly, after
a long time, the Spirit of God would come upon
them and they would prophecy. The Spirit of
God did not flow out of them live a continuous
river. The word of God came to them from time
to time and then left.
Another imperfection of the prophets was that
they did not always understand the word of God
that they were given! Their own words were often
a mystery to them. Their own prophecies were
often closed to their understanding. Sometimes
they had to search diligently and investigate
what the Spirit that was speaking through them
meant. They did not fully understand the sufferings
and the glory of the Messiah who was to come.
Another imperfection of the prophets was that
they were varied in their abilities and gifts.
Each prophet had his unique capacities. The
manner in which the word of God was given to
them was varied. To some God spoke in dreams,
to another in visions, to another He spoke in
symbols. In the highest position stands Moses.
God spoke to him not by dreams or visions or
dark speeches, but directly (Numbers 12:6-8).
Another imperfection was that none of them
was the goal of the prophecies. All of them,
like John the Baptist would testify that "they
are not the light." They were only sign
posts pointing the way, directing us not to
themselves, but to Anointed One who was to come.
They could make known to man the will of God,
they could give us God's holy commandments,
like Moses did, they could bring us prophecies
that fill us with the hope of redemption, but
they themselves could not redeem us. None but
the Most High can save. God alone is our light
and our salvation. The Lord alone is our Redeemer!
Another imperfection of the prophets was that
there were many of them. One succeeded another.
No one prophet was able to contain the whole
message that God needed to communicate. Each
one had to be supplemented by the revelation
given to another.
Abel shows us that a righteous shepherd was
to suffer and die. Enoch shows us that the Messiah
would walk with God and would be lifted up to
the Heavens. Noah shows us that there will be
a Comforter who will save not only Himself,
but many others, out of the judgment and destruction
which sin calls down from a holy God. Moses
shows us that Messiah will be a prophet like
he was, a leader who was prophet, priest and
king. But Moses must be combined with Joshua,
for Moses was not able to lead the people of
God into the Promised Land. It was Joshua who
brought us in and gave us victory. David was
a great prophet and king, but we must combine
him with Solomon to get the full picture of
kingship, of gentleness, sympathy, suffering,
glory and extensiveness. Mal-kee-tze-dek was
both a priest and a king, but we must combine
him with Aaron in order to have the idea of
atonement and intercession, as well as blessing
and rule.
For more than 4000 years, from Adam to John
the Baptist, the prophets spoke for God to man.
But their revelation of God was only partial.
God spoke through dreams and visions, proverbs
and poetry, rituals, laws, tabernacle and temple,
objects in the temple, sacrifices and ceremonies
and holidays, through kings, judges, patriarch
and prophets. God used all these ways and some
45 people, but wherever we go, we find the revelation
in fragments. No one prophet was able to contain
it all. The revelation in all the ages prior
to the coming of the Messiah, who came in the
fullness of times, was imperfect. Everything
was a fragment that contained an aspect of the
truth, some part of the treasure, but we must
combine them all to see the full and blessed
truth to which they pointed - the final prophet
- Messiah.
The revelation that comes through the prophets
is wonderful. It is true. It is accurate. It
reveals many things about God and creation and
what He is doing. But the time for fragmentary
imperfect revelation had to come to an end.
God wanted to speak to us in an ever greater
and more wonderful way. To fully express His
heart, His mind, His will, His love, His hatred
of sin, His mercy, His nature to us the Lord
had to come to us Himself. In the person of
Yeshua the Messiah, God found a perfect way
to communicate Himself, His heart and mind and
message, to mankind.
When you read the Tenach you are reading the
Word of God. God did communicate through the
prophets. They are a great blessing. Knowing
their writings brings great advantages. But
God wanted to be able to say even more. After
4000 years of prophets and 400 years of silence,
in the fulness of time, God sent forth His Son,
and in that Son the revelation of God is perfect.
The revelation of God is filled up, fulfilled,
reaching its perfection and climax. The word
which now comes to us by the Son of God, by
means of what Yeshua said and did and who He
was, is a stronger and more inclusive message
than God ever was able to speak through any
or all of the prophets.
God has spoken to us by means of His Son. Many
people think that when we say that Yeshua is
the Son of God it means that He is not God.
There is God and there someone else, the Son
of God, but not God. Nothing could be further
from the truth! When the Scriptures declare
that Yeshua is the Son of God, what they are
trying to tell us is Messiah is just like His
Father. He shares the same nature as God. He
shares the same essence as God. He shares the
same attributes as God. He is His Father's Son.
He is just like His Father.
When the Scriptures teach that Yeshua is God's
Son, it means that Yeshua has a special closeness
and love with the Father that no one else has.
The Son has always been in the heart of the
Father. He has always been the special delight
and treasure of the Father. He has always been
the infinite object of the Father's love. From
all eternity the Father has rejoiced and delighted
in the Son and shared with Him all His counsel.
This beloved One of the Father - He is the true
messenger who alone can reveal all the secrets
of the Father's heart, who alone tells us all
the fullness of the Father's counsels, and who
alone reveals all the purposes of the Father's
plan.
God has spoken to us by means of His Son. Who
is there who knows the mind of God, or is equal
to Him? No man knows the Father except for the
Son. No man has ever seen the Father at any
time. The Only begotten Son of the Father, He
is the only one who has fully revealed Him.
The Son is the eternal uncreated Word of God
who was with the Father before the foundation
of the universe. Yeshua is able to speak the
words of God and is the goal of the Word of
God because He is the eternal uncreated Word
of God. There was from all eternity perfect
communication between the Father and the Son.
Whether the Father speaks or Yeshua speaks,
it is the same voice, it is the same mind. The
Son is the true and faithful witness. He speaks
about that which He has seen and testifies about
what He knows firsthand. He is the prophet who
was to come whose mind was adequate to understand
and reveal the mind of the Father. He spoke
nothing except what He first heard the Father
speak.
God has spoken to us by means of His Son. The
prophets were many - the Son is one. The prophets
were servants - the Son is their Lord. The prophets
were created in time. The Son existed from eternity
before the creation of the world. The prophets
were temporary - the Son lives forever. The
Spirit came upon the prophets and then left
- the Spirit was always in the Son and He possessed
the Spirit without measure. The prophets were
imperfect - the Son is perfect, just as the
Father is perfect. The prophets were guilty
of committing sin. The Son is not merely pure,
but able to perfectly cleanse every human being
who is guilty of sin. The prophets said: thus
says the Lord - Yeshua said: Truly truly I say
to you.
The prophets testified that Messiah was coming.
Yeshua testified that He was the Messiah and
the Kingdom of God was at hand. The prophets
pointed to Messiah. Yeshua pointed to Himself.
He said about Himself: I am the bread of life.
I am the resurrection and the life. I am the
way, the truth and the life. I will give everyone
that comes to Me rest and eternal life. The
Son of God not only perfectly declared to us
the message of God, He is the message. He is
the Light, He is the Truth, He is the Life,
He is the Way, He is the Goal. The most important
things that God has to say to us are found in
Yeshua.
God has spoken to us by means of His Son. God,
by speaking to us through His Son, shows us
how we can become sons of God. The one who receives
a prophet in the name of a prophet receives
a prophet's reward. The one who receives a righteous
man in the name of a righteous man receives
a righteous man's reward.
The one who receives the Son of God as the
Son of God will become a son of God himself!
In knowing the Son we receive the adoption as
sons. We receive eternal sonship. In the Son
we know and have the Father. In the Son we are
also the children of God.
The apostle John declared that whoever confesses
that Yeshua is the Son of God, God abides in
Him, and he in God (1 John 4:15). You are
the Messiah, the Son of the living God was the
thrilling confession of Simon Peter. Yeshua
replied to him: flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven.
So great a thing is it for a sinful human being
to come to this understanding, that the unique
Son of the Father was made flesh and blood and
dwelt among us, and died for our salvation,
that whenever anyone said: I believe that Yeshua
is the Messiah and the Son of God, the apostles
said: Come, let us immerse him. What more do
we need? He has discovered the secret. God has
revealed the life saving secret to his soul.
God has come to him. God lives him, and he lives
in God. Let us baptize him. Do you know that
Yeshua is the Prophet, the Lord’s supreme and
final spokesperson? Are you listening to Him?
Are you paying attention not only to His words,
but also to Him, and His actions?
The Deliverer (Romans 11:26): We are
able to get ourselves out of some problems.
Sometimes other agents, like animals, human
beings and angels can help us overcome various
problems. But neither we ourselves, nor any
other agent, can deliver us from our greatest
problems - sin and death. To extricate ourselves
from those problems we need the help of the
Deliverer! We need Messiah to get us out of
the Satanic slave-market of sin and death. He
alone is able to redeem us from the control
of the god of this world, from sin and death,
from condemnation and judgment and punishment
in the Lake of Fire. And how did the Deliver
redeem us? Not with money, not with the blood
of animals, but with His very own efforts, His
own rejection, suffering, blood and death. Each
human being desperately needs deliverance. Is
Yeshua your Deliverer?
Savior Of The World (John 4:42): The
world, which is made up of fallen men and women,
is alienated from our wonderful Creator, who
is the Source of life and goodness and blessing.
The world of human sinners is lost, ruined,
destroyed and headed to death and Hell. It has
no hope. The world of sinful human beings is
in the most desperate need of deliverance from
this deathly dilemma. The world is so fallen,
so dead in trespasses and sins, so pathetically
weak, that it is totally incapable of saving
itself. No ordinary human being - no prophet,
no king, no politician, no economist or philosopher,
no scientist, and no group of human beings,
can rescue us from this disaster. The prophets,
priests and kings of Israel could not be the
Savior Of The World. Buddha, Mohammed, the great
political and economic thinkers, scientists
and political leaders could not be our Savior.
Yeshua, whose very name means salvation, is
the only One who can solve the world’s greatest
problems. He alone makes reconciliation with
God, peace with God, atonement, deliverance
from sin and death, possible. He alone can reconcile
the world to the God from whom the world is
estranged. He alone can reverse the curse brought
about by sin. Only He can triumph over sin,
sickness, Satan, death and Hell. He is the only
One who can end our alienation and bring us
peace - peace with God, peace with one another,
peace with nature and creation, and peace within
ourselves. He truly is the Savior Of The World!
Is He your Savior?
Savior Of All Men (1 Timothy 4:10):
It was too small a thing for the Son of God
to be only the Savior of little Israel. He also
is the Savior Of All Men. He is the Savior Of
All Men in the sense that He makes salvation
available to human beings, but each man, each
woman, by personal faith and repentance, must
individually act on that offer of salvation.
Have you?
Horn Of Salvation (Luke 1:69): Powerful
animals like bulls had horns, so “Horn” became
a symbol for power. Messiah, the Horn Of Salvation,
is able to save not just little, not with a
meager amount of saving ability, but abundantly
and powerfully! He is able to help us now, with
all the various problems we face in this life
- problems with people, with relationships,
marital problems, problems at work, financial
pressures, money problems, problems with the
kids. He can help us deal with mental and emotional
problems. He can save us not just now, but forever,
with an eternal salvation! He is able to save
not just Israel, but the whole world! His saving
power is so great that He will save not only
men and women, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor,
those who had faith before the Cross and those
who believed after the cross, but this world,
and eventually the entire broken universe! He
will end the curse on nature, and one day will
create a new and perfect universe, where only
the righteous and redeemed live! His saving
ability is great! It is infinite! It is eternal!
Have you availed yourself of it? Of Him?
Sheep
and Shepherd - Sacrifice and Leader
The Lamb (Revelation 5) and the Lamb
of God (John 1:36): The greatest of the
prophets, John, saw Yeshua coming to him and
said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world!” The greatest
need of fallen, corrupt, headed-towards-the-First-Death-and-the
Second-Death-mankind, is to overcome sin and
death. To be reconciled to God, receive forgiveness,
find atonement, and be restored to real life,
God’s life, meaningful life, lasting life, eternal
life, it is not enough to simply say, “I am
sorry.” It is not enough to try and live a better
life, because the quality of your life can never
be good enough. It is not enough to try and
be a good person. It is not enough to follow
a man-made religious system. The Word of the
Lord is clear: without genuine faith in God
(a close personal relationship with the Living
God), and the shedding of blood of a sacrificial
animal at the Temple in Jerusalem, supervised
by a descendant of Aaron the brother of Moses,
there can be no atonement, no forgiveness and
no restoration to life.
According to the Torah, being forgiven was
a complicated procedure. If you sinned, first
you had to go to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Then, you had to find a priest. Then, a bull,
goat, lamb, ram or dove had to be killed. The
priest had to sprinkle the blood on the bronze
altar. Part of the animal's body was then burned.
Then, if the sacrifice was done by one who had
genuine faith in God, these sacrifices and the
shedding of blood brought a measure of atonement
- not full and final atonement, but a temporary
covering for our sins. Under the Mosaic covenant,
with its constantly repeated sacrifices by the
priests, there was no ultimate and final forgiveness
for sin - only a temporary covering. Aaron and
all the priests that descended from him stood
before the bronze altar and repeated the same
sacrifices, day after day, Sabbath after Sabbath,
month after month, holiday after holiday, year
after year, century after century. But these
continually repeated sacrifices could not fully
atone for our sins. If they had completely atoned
for our sins, we would have stopped offering
them, because they would have done the job.
Israel could never say, "It is finished!"
From the time of Moses until 70 AD, when the
sacrifices stopped, there was a continual shedding
of the blood of bulls, goats, lambs and rams,
day after day, Sabbath after Sabbath, month
after month, holiday after holiday, year after
year, century after century - millions upon
millions of animals were slaughtered and burned,
rivers and rivers of blood were spilled that
did not permanently take away our sins. I once
calculated the number of animals that were required
to be killed, and the total is astounding: 171,000
bulls, 48,000 goats, 55,500 rams, 301,639,500
lambs.
Why couldn't the blood of bulls, goats, lambs,
rams and pigeons fully take away our sins? Animal
are lower on the Scale of Being. On the Scale
of Being, the eternal Creator is the most valuable,
followed by man, then animals, then plants,
then followed by the inorganic. Therefore one
man is more valuable than all the animals in
the world, and all the animals in the world
could not fully atone for even one human being.
But that’s OK, because God had a better plan.
The Mosaic Covenant, and the Levitical priests,
and the Temple in Jerusalem, and the bulls,
goats, rams, lambs and pigeons were temporary
measures designed to enable God to temporarily
cover our sins, until a better solution would
come, that would provide perfect and final and
full atonement, grant us complete forgiveness
of all of our sins, forever reconcile us to
God, and bring us eternal life!
There have been, and are, many lambs, but Yeshua
is the unique Lamb that was slain, the Lamb
of God and God’s Lamb - the special sacrificial
victim who God provided to meet our greatest
need - overcoming sin and death, who alone can
take away the sin of the world. The sacrifice
offered by Yeshua is so much better than all
of the millions of animals that died because
the sacrifice offered by the Messiah was a willing
sacrifice. The sacrifices of the animals weren’t
voluntary. The animals were killed against their
wills to obtain their blood. But Yeshua died
willingly and voluntarily. The One who was perfect,
and needed no sacrifice for Himself, was willing
to give His life that we might live - live with
Him, live with His Father, live with each other,
forever! The sacrifice of Yeshua is so much
better because He became one of us. As a man,
He can help man. He became a man - a perfect
and sinless man, who was always pleasing to
His Father. As a man, He is our equal. Therefore
He can be our kinsman redeemer. But, Messiah
is not only a man who is equal to us, but He
is also Immanuel - God with us, and infinitely
superior to us. As the One who is fully man
and fully God, He is at the very top of the
Scale of Being. He is of infinite worth. His
sacrifice is of infinite worth.
So, the sacrifice of the One who is fully God
and fully Man is infinitely more valuable than
all the millions of animals ever slaughtered.
Therefor His sacrifice possesses absolute perfection,
and never ceasing effectiveness. His sacrifice
is eternally powerful and is sufficient for
all human beings. His sacrifice accomplished
infinite redemption, perfect and full and final
and eternal atonement. Almost-sacrificed-Isaac
was not God’s Lamb. The prophets of Israel were
not qualified to be the Lamb of God; the rabbis
who created non-Messianic Judaism, Buddha, Mohammed,
Marx or anyone else were not and could not be
the Lamb. Do you consider Messiah, the Lamb
that was slain, worthy to receive power and
riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory
and blessing? Are you praising Him, blessing
Him, honoring Him, following Him, obeying Him?
Behold, take a good very look, pay the closest
attention to Yeshua of Nazareth, the Lamb of
God, who alone can take away the sin of the
world! Your life, your salvation, depends on
it!
Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:6-7):
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know
that a little leaven leavens the whole lump
of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you
may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.
For Messiah our Passover Lamb also has been
sacrificed. Passover is a wonderful and
true account of the miraculous rescue of the
Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. The Lord
had to pressure Pharaoh to let Israel go with
ten terrible plagues. The tenth plague was the
most severe of all - death of all first-born
sons living in the land of Egypt, both the first-born
of man and of animals. The Lord made it possible
for the first-born sons to survive that first
Passover. He instructed us to take an unblemished,
year-old lamb. We were to kill the lamb and
pour its blood into a bowl. Then we applied
the blood to the two doorposts and the top of
the door of the house where the Passover lamb
was to be eaten. God promised that He would
go through the land that night, striking all
the houses of Egypt. But God would pass over
any house where He saw the blood of a spotless
lamb applied by faith to the door. The first-born
son would be spared from death, and the next
day the Jewish people would be redeemed out
of Egypt. Then God led us through the wilderness
to the promised Land of Israel.
Passover was a prophecy of a greater redemption,
a more profound Exodus, and a more excellent
Lamb who was to come. Passover was a prediction
that God would one day send His Son into the
world to be the ultimate sacrifice, to shed
His blood on a cross, so that God may "pass
over" the sins of those who believe in
Messiah. God's plan to redeem not only the Jewish
people, but all peoples, is again through a
Lamb - the ultimate Sacrifice - the Messiah
of Israel, and our Passover Lamb! It’s no coincidence
that Messiah Yeshua died on Passover. His last
supper was a Passover Seder and He died the
next day, the first day of Passover - in fulfillment
of Passover.
Just as the Jewish people in Egypt applied
the blood of a spotless lamb to our doors, we
must keep the Passover today by acknowledging
our sin and guilt and our inability to save
ourselves, and by placing our full confidence
in Messiah Yeshua. Each one of us must apply
the blood of Yeshua to the doors of our hearts.
Then God will pass over our sins and bring us
from our Egypts, our bondage to the world, our
slavery to sin, our captivity to the flesh and
our slavery to the adversary. The Lord will
take us by the hand, lead us through the wilderness
of this world, to the New Jerusalem. Can you
say, “Messiah is my Passover Lamb? Even now
He is delivering me from sin and death and leading
me to the New Jerusalem”?
Good Shepherd (John 10:11): A shepherd
is one who cares for domestic animals, particularly
cows, sheep and goats. He protects the animals
and provides for all of their needs. Human beings
are like domestic animals - especially sheep.
Like sheep, we are stubborn, weak, timid, foolish,
pathetic, need endless attention and cause a
lot of trouble. There are good shepherds and
bad shepherds, good religious leaders and bad
religious leaders. Bad religious leaders, who
are not fit for their positions of spiritual
authority; or who are not morally, spiritually
or theologically qualified; or who are in their
position for the wrong reasons (they want to
take from you, not give to you), can do so much
damage. A good leader is like a good shepherd.
A good shepherd is gentle and kind, yet strong
and brave, intelligent and selfless in his devotion
to his sheep. A good leader knows his people,
and is intimately involved with them. A good
leader knows the needs of his people, and does
everything to meet their needs. A good leader
feeds his people with truth. A good leader corrects
his people when stray or fight. A good leader
will go after one of his people who is wandering
away, and try to bring him home. A good leader
leads with courage. He goes in front where the
danger is the greatest. He leads the people
himself. He doesn't drive the people in front
of himself. A good leader will not abandon his
position in times of trouble. He is willing
to lay down his life for his people. Messiah
is this kind of Good Shepherd. Is He your Leader?
Sheep are stupid creatures, but they are smart
enough to distinguish their shepherd’s voice
from that of others. Can you? Do you know that
Yeshua is the Messiah? Do you hear Him speaking
to you through the Holy Scriptures? Can you
hear His still, quiet voice speaking to you?
Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4): The Good
Shepherd has appointed human leaders - pastors,
teachers, rabbis, to take care of us - to feed
us with truth, to lead us, to correct us. We
need to be able to recognize them, and then
submit to their leadership, and follow them.
That is part of our duty to the Chief Shepherd
who has appointed them. Above them all, leading
each one of the sons and daughters of God, is
the Chief Shepherd Himself, who is gentle and
kind, yet firm and selfless in His devotion
to us; providing for all of our needs.
Shepherd And Guardian Of Our Souls (1
Peter 2:25): For you were continually straying
like sheep, but now you have returned to the
Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. In
the time of Yeshua, most of the Jewish people,
even though we were raised with the knowledge
of God and Torah, had been continually straying
from God, like sheep wandering away from their
Shepherd. We went after man-made teachings,
false rabbinic theological systems and materialism.
But, the Shepherd And Guardian Of Our Souls
went after us. He sought us out! He came from
Heaven and lead us back to God, to salvation,
to faithfulness to the Scriptures. He taught
us the truth. He opened for us the Scriptures,
so that we could understand where we were misunderstanding
them. He then died to ensure that our lives,
our souls, would be kept forever safe. Is Yeshua
shepherding and guarding your soul? Have you
placed your life into His most able care? If
you do, you will find that He will protect your
life in this world, and your soul in the Life
To Come!
Stone (Matthew 21:42-44): Yeshua
said to them, "Did you never read in the
Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected,
this became the chief corner stone; this came
about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in
our eyes'?"... he who falls on this stone
will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it
falls, it will scatter him like dust."
Stone is a material that is solid, heavy and
enduring. Stones are used to build houses. Stones
are used to erect memorials. Stones are used
as weapons. Stones are used to punish serious
criminals. Stones are used to bring beauty.
Stone - big stone, in the form of hills or mountains,
symbolize government.
Just as stones are used for building, so we
must build our lives with Messiah. We must get
to know Him and His character, values, priorities,
will and ways. We must commit ourselves to wholeheartedly
follow Him. If we do, our lives will have strength,
stability and endurance. They will have the
strength to endure in this world, survive in
the World To Come! and If we don’t build our
lives with the Stone, they will be chaotic,
confused, unstable and impermanent.
Just as stones may be used as weapons, to protect
and to attack, so Messiah is our protector.
With all authority given to Him in Heaven and
on Earth, He will defend us from all that is
truly evil. We need to get close to Him so we
can avail ourselves of the maximum amount of
the protection He offers. In ancient days, stones
were used to punish. The Torah permits death
by stoning for the most serious offenses. Messiah
will judge and destroy those who deny Him and
refuse His gracious offer of salvation. He will
attack all that is opposed to the will of God,
to righteousness, to us. This Stone will eventually
shatter everyone who opposes Him. Every human
being, no matter how strong, how rich, how successful,
how powerful he thinks he is, if he opposes
Yeshua, if he doesn’t submit to Messiah, if
he doesn’t acknowledge and believe that Yeshua
of Nazareth is the Messiah that God sent; each
human being, if he doesn’t serve, follow, obey
Yeshua, will fall and be broken to pieces; every
human being - Jew or Gentile, who rejects, ignores,
opposes or betrays this Stone, will be completely
and totally destroyed by Messiah, so that it
is if he is scattered like dust with nothing
remaining.
Stones were used to make idols, but Yeshua
is the unique Son of the true God who will destroy
all false religion and those who are engaged
in any religion other than the Faith that was
once and for all delivered to the saints. Are
you part of the true Faith?
Big visible formation of stones are called
hills or mountains, and they represent government.
Daniel 2 records a vision which Daniel interpreted.
A stone that was cut without human hands - no
ordinary ruler, but someone uniquely sent by
God, destroyed the statue that represents human
government. Then this special stone grew and
became a great mountain that filled the whole
Earth. That means that a day is coming when
the Son of God, sent by God, whose came the
first time with humility, will come again with
power and honor and destroy all the governments
of the world, and take control of the administration
of planet Earth.
Just as stones are used to erect memorials,
and placed on graves to remember the dead, so
Yeshua is the One we should continually remember.
He must constantly be in our thoughts. We should
continually remember His coming from Heaven;
and His amazing life; and His great teachings;
and His miracles; and His rejection and death
which atones for sin; and His resurrection;
and His coming again; and His eternal saving
power, and His love for us.
Some stones are rare and very beautiful. Think
of all of the precious and semi-precious gem
stones - beautiful diamonds or red rubies, purple
amethysts, red garnets, blue topazes and aquamarines,
multi-colored opals. Messiah is exceedingly
rare, precious and beautiful - in character,
in love, in faithfulness, because of His amazing
grace. We should always find Him beautiful,
alluring, interesting, fascinating, attractive.
Do you?
Chief Cornerstone: The cornerstone is
large well-shaped stone that is put at the bottom
of a building and gives strength to the foundation.
Yeshua is the Stone that the builders - the
leaders of Israel, tragically rejected. But,
God the Supreme Builder, God the Father, overruled
their rejection, and made His Son the Chief
Cornerstone! Just as the cornerstone gives strength
to the foundation and supports the building,
it is essential that we build our lives on the
reality of the Son of God. It is impossible
to have a stable and enduring life apart from
Him. It is impossible for eternal life to be
established apart from Him. Yeshua is the cornerstone,
not just of our own individual lives, but He
is the foundation for everything that God is
building throughout eternity! The new Heavens
and new Earth are built on His reality, His
redemption, His salvation, His presence, His
leadership, His will, His ways. Are you building
your life in this world, and your life in the
World To Come, on Yeshua, the Chief Cornerstone?
Firstborn (Hebrews 1:6) and Firstborn
Of All Creation (Colossians 1:15) and Beginning
Of The Creation Of God (Revelation 3:14):
This does not mean that Yeshua had a beginning
or is a created being. The Son is eternal. He
never had a beginning. He was in the beginning
with God. He preceded the creation of the universe.
According to Biblical law, the firstborn is
the eldest son. He has a special place and special
privileges in the family. He becomes the head
of the family. He becomes the main heir. The
Firstborn and the Firstborn Of All Creation
means that Yeshua is older than anything in
creation. He is the eldest. He is older than
the first Jew. He could truthfully say, “Before
Abraham was, I am.” He is older than humanity.
He preceded Adam. He is older than all things.
He is older than the primordial waters which
were created on the first day. He is older than
the first angelic being who came into being
and served the eternal God. God has a family.
As the Firstborn, Yeshua is our eldest brother.
He is in the place of prominence among all the
sons and daughter of God. He is the leader of
the family of God. Is He your brother? Is He
your leader? Really? Truly? As the Firstborn
Of All Creation, Yeshua is to be preeminent
over all created things - especially those with
the ability to think and choose, like angels
and men. Is He preeminent over your thoughts,
your will?
Heir Of All Things (Hebrews 1:2): As
the Firstborn, Yeshua is God’s primary heir.
Because He is the Son of God, and the Son of
Man; because He is the Creator and the Redeemer
of all things, Messiah is the inheritor of an
everlasting kingdom that encompasses all things.
Because of His divine nature, and His perfection
and His redemptive sufferings, He is worthy
to receive all things. When someone you love
receives a nice inheritance, you are happy for
him. We will be delighted that Messiah, our
Lord and Savior and Elder Brother, will receive
all things! When someone receives a generous
inheritance, it is nice when he in turn is generous
with others, and this is what will happen to
us. Out the generosity and the grace of the
Father and the Son, the redeemed will share
in that kingdom, that blessedness, life, wealth,
happiness and authority that Messiah will receive!
We become God’s heirs and fellow heirs with
Messiah! We will receive a real and amazing
inheritance - eternal life in the glorious New
Jerusalem; a fabulously rich inheritance, that
will make us far wealthier than the richest
man who ever lived on Earth; an incorruptible
and undefiled inheritance; a lasting inheritance
that won’t fade away or be used up which we
can enjoy forever; a glorious inheritance that
is reserved for us to enjoy in perfect health;
an inheritance that we will enjoy in the presence
of God the Father and Messiah the Son, with
the saints and angels. Normally, human beings
receive their inheritance when a death takes
place. Our inheritance is made possible and
comes to us because of the sacrificial and all-sufficient
for atonement death of the sinless and perfect
Messiah. Are you sure that you are one of God’s
heirs, and will share in this amazing inheritance,
because you will share it with Messiah, the
Heir Of All Things?
Firstborn From The Dead (Revelation
1:5): A few human beings, like Lazarus, have
been temporarily raised from the dead, only
to die again, but the Man, Messiah Yeshua was
the first human being to be raised from the
dead and given an immortal body. The Righteous
One conquered sin and death. Death could not
hold Him! As the Firstborn From The Dead, He
is preeminent over the rest of the dead who
will be raised. Because He was raised from
the dead, those of us who believe in Him and
join ourselves to Him by placing our faith in
Him, will also be raised from the dead, and
receive body that is no longer capable of dying.
Do you know that Yeshua is the Firstborn from
the dead? Do you believe that He has overcome
death, is alive now? Do you have the happiness
that comes from knowing that you will be raised
from the dead? If you know that Messiah is the
Firstborn From The Dead, and that you too will
be raised from the dead to be alive forever,
are you living your life for life in this world,
or for eternal life in the World To Come?
Not only is He preeminent among those who will
be raised from the dead, He is in the position
of authority over all of the dead. He is the
Judge Of The Living And The Dead (Acts 10:42).
A time is coming when the Carpenter-Turned-Miracle-Working-Rabbi
will raise the dead. At the Time of the End,
those who are still alive, and every human being
who has ever died - Jew and Gentile, man and
woman, good and bad, will hear His voice. The
dead will come back to life, and receive a new
body. Those who truly loved the God of Israel
and were loyal to Him and proved it by consistently
doing the right things will receive a glorified
body and live forever. But those who ignored
the Lord, and didn’t serve Him, honor Him or
love Him, will appear before the Son of God,
the Judge Of The Living And The Dead, at the
Great White Throne judgment, where He will call
them to account for what they believed and how
they acted, and send them to Gehenna - the Lake
of Fire.
The Faithful Witness (Revelation 1:5):
A witness is one who is called upon to declare
what he has seen or heard or knows. For various
reasons, not all witnesses are faithful witnesses.
Some may not come forward and give the necessary
information; if they do come forward, some may
withhold information; some may distort the facts
or lie. Messiah Yeshua is the faithful witness.
He always, in every circumstance, told human
beings what is true. He always gave us accurate
and reliable information. His information can
be completely trusted. When He spoke about the
utter lostness of mankind, and His mission to
rescue humans beings who believe in Him, and
the realities of Heaven and Hell, and His eternal
relationship to His Father, and His death to
atone for sin, and Himself being the only way
to everlasting life, and the peace that comes
to those who follow Him, and the certainty of
resurrection from the dead for those who follow
Him, and the sure hope of eternal life for those
who follow Him, we can rely on the truthfulness
and the accuracy of what He said.
There can be unpleasant consequences for being
a faithful witness. There are situations when
people do not want the information of the witness
to be revealed. Pressure and threats are applied
to intimidate the witness from testifying fully
and honestly. In these circumstances, it takes
courage to be a faithful witness. It takes love
for the truth, and for doing what is right,
and for justice. It takes a willingness to be
inconvenienced or to suffer. Messiah Yeshua
is the Faithful Witness. He never stopped declaring
the truth, even when facing powerful opposition.
He never gave in to intimidation. He never toned
down the message. Each child of God is called
upon to be faithful witnesses. What God tells
us in a whisper, we are to shout. We are to
declare to the world the things we know about
the God of Israel, the reliability of the Holy
Scriptures, the way of righteousness, the path
of salvation through Messiah, the realities
of Heaven and Hell and eternal life. May we
be faithful witnesses, willing to be inconvenienced,
suffer, even die, in order to be like the Faithful
Witness!
The Apostle (Hebrews 3:1): Therefore,
holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling,
fix your thoughts on Yeshua, the Apostle and
High Priest whom we confess. An apostle
is someone who is sent on a mission to accomplish
one or more tasks. Yeshua is the Apostle. That
means that the He was sent by the Father on
a great mission. He was entrusted to accomplish
various tasks - the salvation of ruined humans,
which He did by dying; clarification of the
Scriptures, which He did by His great teachings;
enlarging our understanding of God, which He
did by teaching and by His life and death; overcoming
sin and death, which He accomplished by dying
on the cross and coming back to life; the salvation
of Israel; extending the offer of salvation
to the Gentiles; ultimately restoring a broken
universe and ruling over it. We must faithfully
respond to the mission of the Apostle. We must
recognize that Yeshua is the Messiah, indeed
sent by the Father. To ignore the sentness of
the Son is to insult the One who sent Him -
the Father. To deny the mission of the Son is
to reject the gracious plans of the Father.
We must fix our thoughts, focus them, continually
attach them to this great Apostle. And, not
only His Person, but we must also fix ourselves
to His mission. His mission becomes our mission.
As the Father sends Him, the Son now sends us
to help fulfill His mission. His purposes, His
goals, His agenda, must become ours. We are
not to fix our thoughts on money, power, fame,
success in this world, as the world values success;
we are to keep Yeshua constantly in our thoughts,
and His mission, and what we are to do to fulfill
it.
Servant (Acts 4:27): Shortly after Messiah
died and rose again, the apostles gathered together
and prayed this prayer to God the Father: For
truly in this city there were gathered together
against Your holy servant Yeshua, whom You anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the
Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever
Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
A servant has limited freedom. He is not independent.
He can’t do what he wants when he wants. He
must do the desires, wishes, wants, will of
the one in whose service he is. In His Sonship,
Messiah is equal to the Father in nature. In
His humanity, He was servant to God the Father.
Yeshua was and is always God’s Son, but while
He was on Earth He was also God’s holy, anointed,
willing, suffering servant. Some are forced
to be servants, but Messiah willingly volunteered
to be a servant. He continually submitted Himself
to serve God. He continually submitted His will
to the will of the Father. He always obeyed
His Father’s commands, submitted to His will,
took instructions from, even if it mean deprivation
and suffering, even a painful death. Even though
He is the Lord of Glory, and the King of kings,
Yeshua did not came to Earth to be served, but
to serve God, and to serve us! Think of that!
And, He tells us that we must be like Him. We
are to seek power to rule over others, and to
be served by others, but to serve one another.
If the Greatest One humbled Himself and washed
the feet of the disciples, so can we!
Light,
Stars, Planets
The Light (John 1:5). Because of the
Fall of Man, darkness covers the Earth, and
a deep darkness overshadows humanity. Darkness
is a symbol for spiritual confusion and chaos,
alienation from God, sin and death. We do not
want to remain in the dark! Light is a symbol
of revelation, truth and knowledge, wisdom and
understanding, victory and salvation and life
and happiness! Messiah is the Light.
Yeshua is Pure Wisdom, the Highest Truth, the
Source of Victory, Eternal Salvation, and Unending
Happiness!
He is the True Light (John 1:9) in contrast
to the weaker lights - like the prophets of
Israel. The truth that emanates from Yeshua
is superior to the prophets of Israel like the
light of the sun surpasses the light of the
moon in radiant power. The sun shines because
of its own radiant energy, while the moon merely
reflects the light from the sun. The King of
the Jews is the True Light as contrasted
to the many false lights that come from the
other world religions. The light that they offer
is a mixture of truth and error, which in reality
makes them part of the darkness.
Messiah is the True Light that gives
light to every man. Whatever truth any human
being has ultimately comes from Him. But knowing
partial truth about God is not enough. Every
human being needs to know the pure truth about
the Savior that God has sent us, and learn about
Yeshua in order to get truth, victory, success
and happiness. Whoever knows Him, and believes
in Him, and follows Him will never walk in darkness,
but will have enough truth that will result
in a whole new quality of life now, and everlasting
life in the World To Come!
The Jewish Messiah is not just the light of
Israel, but is also the Light Of The World
(John 8:12). Messiah is the source of wisdom,
truth, revelation, understanding, knowledge,
victory and salvation, not only for the Jewish
people, but for all the peoples of the world!
At first, the holy people of Israel were chosen
to be a light to the nations. Sadly, all too
often, not only did we not shine truth to the
world, but we fell into darkness. At the time
of the coming of the Light Of The World,
we were living in darkness and the shadow of
death. We were the first to be blessed the rising
of this great light, but that light was intended
to spread all the nations of the world. So,
if anyone from any nation - Israel or Arabia
or India, wants wisdom, truth, victory, salvation,
everlasting life, genuine happiness, they must
come to Yeshua, believe in Him, trust Him, be
confident about who He is and join themself
by their faith to the Son of God. Have you?
Have you ever been through a long and difficult
night? You worked the graveyard shift, or pulled
guard duty, and you were tired? Or, you had
to stay up all night with a sick child, or had
nightmares? When you have a night that is difficult
and frightening, you long for sunrise, because
you know things will be better in the light
of day. You look forward the light that comes
from the rising of the sun, and the dawn of
a new day - with the hope of better things?
That’s what the coming of the Messiah was like!
After centuries spent in chaotic darkness, the
King’s arrival was like a glorious, magnificent
Sunrise From On High (Luke 1:78). Zechariah
said the Messiah is like the rising sun who
came to us from Heaven to shine on those living
in darkness and in the shadow of death, to bring
us peace.
Are you experiencing that peace? That sense
of well-being between you and your Creator?
Even though you sin from time to time, you love
the Lord, because of His grace and Messiah’s
atonement, and you know that the Father loves
and accepts you? Are you experiencing peace
in your soul? Is He shining hope and happiness
into you? Do you know Him? Are you committed
to following Him for better or for worse?
Messiah is like the sun, which is powerful
and beneficial. Without the light of the sun
our planet would be a frozen speck in the coldness
of space. Without the sun sight would not be
possible. Is Messiah giving you life and enabling
you to see your way safely to the goal? An eclipse
of the sun took place during Messiah’s death
on the cross. Why? Maybe because the powers
of darkness were doing their worst; maybe because
the pure and holy Son of God was taking upon
Himself the sin of the world; and maybe because
the light of the sun was diminished because
during that time of suffering, the greatness
of the Son of God made its light seem weak by
comparison to the eternal magnificence shining
for the Sacrificed One! In order to experience
eternal life in the New Jerusalem, where the
glory of God the Father illumines that great
city, and the source of its light is the Messiah
who died for us, a person must welcome the Sunrise
From On High in this life. Have you?
Messiah is like the sun that shines during
the day. He is also the Bright Morning Star
(Revelation 2:28 and 22:16, also 2 Peter 1:19)
which shines at night. The Morning Star
is not actually a star, but a planet - Venus.
Except for the sun and the moon, the second
planet from the sun shines brighter than any
other object in the sky. For three hours after
sunset and three hours before sunrise, Venus
stands out in the darkness of the night sky.
Before the dawning of a new day, Venus is one
of the last things visible in the night sky.
The Son of God is like the brightness emanating
from the second planet. Messiah is like that
light that is shining in the dark. Before the
dawning of a new day of light and hope and happiness,
while it is still dark, Messiah is already visible,
and shining brightly, letting us know that even
in the night, there is light and truth and salvation;
letting us know that even more light - day -
is about to arrive, because He is about to return.
Messiah is visible and accessible for those
with the ability to see spiritual truth, night
or day!
A star was associated with His arrival. Around
the time of His birth, a special star appeared
and wise men from the east had the wisdom to
understand that the Prince of Heaven had come
to Earth. They kept their eyes on that special
star, and it lead them to Bethlehem, the House
of Bread, and the city of David, and stopped
over the place where the child Yeshua was, directing
those wise men to the one who is the Light of
the World. Wise men still seek Him. Do you?
Ruler Of God’s Creation (Revelation
3:14):
The Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14):
The Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5):
The Author And Perfecter Of Faith (Hebrews
12:2):
The Chosen One (Luke 9:35):
The Way, The Truth, And The Life (John
14:6):
The Door (John 10:7):
Advocate, Counsel For The Defense (1
John 2:1):
Lion Of Judah (Revelation 5:5):
The Bridegroom (John 3:29):
The Bread Of God (John 6:33):
The Bread Out Of Heaven (John 6:32):
The Bread Of Life (John 6:35):
The True Vine (John 15:1):
The Expected One (Luke 7:19):
God's Mystery (Colossians 2:2):
King Of Kings And Lord Of Lords (Revelation
19:16):
The Way, The Truth, And The Life (John
14:6):
The Image Of The Invisible God (Colossians
1:15):
Holy One (Acts 3:14):
Righteous One (Acts 3:14):
The Faithful And True One (Revelation
19:11):
The Amen (Revelation 3:14):
The Alpha And The Omega (Revelation
22:13):
The First And The Last (Revelation 22:13):
The Beginning And The End (Revelation
22:13):
The Power Of God (1 Corinthians 1:24):
The Wisdom Of God (1 Corinthians 1:24):
NEW
TESTAMENT NAMES, TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS FOR
GOD THE FATHER
Father (Matthew 6:9):
Abba: [Daddy] (Romans 8:15):
God The Father (2 Timothy 1:2):
Father Of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah (Colossians
1:3):
The Father Of Lights (James 1:17):
The Father Of Glory (Ephesians 1:17):
The Father Of Spirits (Hebrews 12:9):
Father of Mercies (2 Corinthians 1:3):
God (Elohim) (2 Corinthians 9:7):
The God Of Our Fathers [Elohay Avotaynu] (Acts
7:32):
The God Of Abraham, Isaac And Jacob [Elohay
Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov] (Acts 7:32):
God Of All Comfort [Elohay Kol HaNechamah]
(2 Corinthians 1:3):
God Of Peace [Elohay Shalom] (Hebrews 13:20):
The God Of Glory [Elohay Kavod] (Acts 7:2):
The Living God [Elohay Chaiyim] (2 Corinthians
3:3, 6:16):
The God Of Israel [Elohay Yisrael] (Matthew
15:31):
Lord God [YHVH Elohim] (Acts 3:22):
Lord God of Israel [YHVH Elohay Yisrael] (Luke
1:68):
Lord Almighty [YHVH Shaddai] (2 Corinthians
6:18):
The Almighty [Shaddai] (Revelation 1:8):
Power [Ha Gevurah] (Mark 14:62):
The Creator [HaBoray] (Romans 1:25, 1 Peter
4:19):
The Most High God [El Elyon] (Hebrews 7:1):
The Divine Nature (Romans 1:20, 2 Peter 1:4):
Lord Of Armies: [YHVH Tz'vaot] (James 5:4):
The Majestic Glory (2 Peter 1:17):
The Majesty (Hebrews 1:3):
The King Of The Nations (Revelation 15:3):
The Lawgiver And Judge (James 4:12):
The Eternal Immortal Invisible King (1 Timothy
1:17):
Sovereign (1 Timothy 6:15):
Heaven (Matthew 21:25):
A Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29):
NEW
TESTAMENT NAMES, TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS
FOR
THE SPIRIT OF GOD
The Spirit (Romans 2:29):
The Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16):
The Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30):
The Holy Spirit Of Promise (Ephesians 1:13):
The Spirit of the Living God (2 Corinthians
3:3):
The Spirit Of The Lord (Luke 4:18):
The Eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:14):
The Spirit Of Truth (John 15:26):
The Spirit Of Yeshua (Acts 16:7):
The Spirit Of Yeshua The Messiah (Philippians
1:19):
The Spirit Of Messiah (Romans 8:9):
The Spirit Of God (Romans 8:9):
Helper or Comforter (John 14:26):
The Holy Spirit is compared to:
Clothing (Luke 24:49): Because He clothes us
with power from on high.
A Dove (Matthew 3:16): Because the dove is
a symbol of purity, peace, and flies in the
heavens and was used as a sacrifice for the
poor.
A Pledge, Earnest Money (2 Corinthians 1:22):
Because He is the pledge and the downpayment
of our inheritance.
A Seal (Ephesians 1:13): Because a seal protects,
makes secure, and demonstrates ownership.
Fire (Acts 2:3): Because fire separates the
impure from the pure, it cleanses and purifies.
Oil (Acts 10:38): Because oil was used for
anointing, for healing, for nourishment and
burned to give light.
Water (John 7:38): Because water is simple
yet mysterious. It is tasteless, formless, colorless,
transparent, and buoyant. It can hold up a huge
ship. It is used for transportation. The Holy
Spirit holds us up and transports us through
this world to the World To Come. Water cleanses
and refreshes. With water there is life, growth,
and fruitfulness. Without water there are deserts.
Wind (John 3:8): Because we can't see the wind
but we can see its results. Just as the winds
blows wherever it wants, so God's Spirit is
sovereign. He gives gifts as He wills. Wind
can be powerful like a tornado or hurricane,
or be a cool refreshing breeze.
Breath: (John 20:22). Without breath we die.
God's Breath gives us life. We have life and
intimacy with God due to His indwelling Spirit.
Wine: Because we are not to be drunk with wine,
but be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18).
Written
by
Rabbi Loren Jacobs
Congregation Shema Yisrael
P.O. Box 804
Southfield MI 48037
248-593-5150
www.shema.com
Shema777@aol.com