It was right after Messiah asked that question of His disciples and Peter gave the famous answer, "You are the Messiah. The Son of the living Elohim.",1 that He began to prepare them for the coming sacrifice of His death.
We are entering the time of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread and I have come to understand that it is most fitting that He would bring this message now because He is asking the same question all over again to every one of us, "Who do you say that I am?"
When Messiah entered into the city of Jerusalem before the Feast of Passover, He chose to ride upon a donkey's colt. In doing so, He fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah which stated,
"9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth."
Zechariah 9:9-10
He rode into the city at the time when lambs are being inspected for Passover. After the selection, lambs were to be brought into homes of the people for four days. Exodus 12:3-6. The people cared for them and bonded with them - a very easy thing to do where lambs are concerned. When the time of the sacrifice was made, the entire assembly, including women and children were present. It was done this way to reveal to them the cost of their sins.
Yeshua was their spotless lamb. As He approached Jerusalem, Luke tells us, "And when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept." 2
He wept.
He wept not only because He foresaw the destruction of the Temple, but because He knew what lay ahead in the coming moments ...and in the coming days. He had left heaven and was always about His Father's business and for three concentrated years of ministry was in their very midst, and they still didn't know Him or love Him for who He was. He watched as the crowds were gathering, waving palm branches and laying down their cloaks. He heard them shouting, "Hosanna, to the son of David: Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Matthew 21:9 Hosanna means "Save us! Help us, we pray!"
King David they knew. He was a mighty warrior made a king. These people were under the hand of Roman rule and they believed that this rabbi descendant of King David would deliver them as evidenced by the fact that four days later, when He didn't fulfill their expectations, they cried out for His death.3
They didn't know who He was or understand what He came to do and He wept because of it.
They didn't know His Father, either.
As I was praying two nights ago, I drifted off to sleep and as I did so, the Father awakened me, saying, "A branch to the nose." I knew the Bible story in which that phrase is referenced and found that it is in Ezekiel chapter eight. When you turn there to read the entire chapter, you will find that Ezekiel was in his house before the elders of Judah when the hand of the Lord God fell upon him.
"2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.
3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy."
Ezekiel 8:2-3
We are shown in this chapter through Ezekiel's vision what the abominations of YHVH's people look like to Him. In verse 14 we see women weeping for Tammuz who was born Nimrod, son of Ishtar/Easter and Noah's grandson, Cush. After Cush died, Tammuz and his evil mother married and began organized Baal worship. Tammuz was also called Molech and was the first to be called Baal.
http://suebendorf.blogspot.com/2013/12/ho-ho-ho-beginning-part-1.html?m=1
The women of Israel were so caught up in their idolatry that they mourned for forty days (where Lent comes from) prior to the anniversary of Tammuz's death by a wild boar. His death was commemorated by the eating of, yes, Easter ham. THIS is the person whose death they wept for and it doesn't stop there!
Ezekiel was also shown what the men of Israel were doing. They were holding Barsom branches to their noses, a pagan practice given to the worship of false gods. With their backs to the Temple, they were bowing down to worship the sunrise. Yes, that practice is where Easter sunrise services came from! If there was any remaining doubt as to whether or not I should celebrate the pagan practice of Easter, this chapter would be enough to answer it for me!
What did YHVH do about their idolatry? His fury began to be clearly seen in verses 17 and 18 of chapter eight, but go with me into chapter nine.
"1 HE CRIED also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; an one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen alter.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereov.
5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. ..."
Ezekiel 9:1-6a
By Ezekiel 11:23, because the abominations did not cease and the people did not repent, the Glory of YHVH had literally moved away from Israel and they were sent into exile for seventy years. Judah alone returned. The ten northern tribes are still scattered across the earth.
You might ask, "What does this have to do with us? What they did and our innocent practices are two different things! He knows our hearts! He knows we love Him! We are honoring Him!" I lay weeping on the floor in the middle of the night telling Him that some of you would think that. That because of the accumulated centuries of indoctrination you wouldn't see it as spiritual adultery. As though Ezekiel eight and nine were not enough, He instantly brought to mind the image of a man telling his wife that he loved her and kissing her good night; but then he turns to leave, his back to their marriage bed which YHVH calls sacred,4 in order to bow down to computer images of other women. And then He said, "Speak to that wife and tell her heart that what her husband is doing isn't adultery!" How DARE WE continue to justify our abominations calling them HOLY! Answer me this, who were the ones who were spared YHVH's righteous judgment? The ones with His mark on their foreheads. And what characteristics did they have? What set them apart? Reflect on that.
In the last post I put up, I wrote that history repeats itself. Ecclesiastes tells us in 1:9 that there is nothing new under the sun; that what has gone before will be done again. So be not surprised when His judgment falls! The book of Revelation tells us that those who are among His numbered 144,000 have HIS mark on their foreheads 4:9, 14:1. They are not defiled with falsehood. His witnesses will proclaim HIS TRUTH to the nations! Great exploits will accompany them because they honor His character, His teachings, and commands! Nothing has changed in that regard since His obedient ones of old! And be assured of this, no lies, no paganism will have any part of their message as they exclaim, "REPENT for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!" John 3:2
This post began with telling the story about how the Messiah wept over Jerusalem, in part because they didn't know Him for who He was. It continued with telling how they didn't know who His Father was either, as evidenced by their refusal to honor his heart and obey His commands. Commands that were given for their own good, because He loved them and wanted them to be well, blessed and protected from the bitter results of sin! "Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God." Deuteronomy 12:28
In conclusion, "Who do you say that I am?" is just as relevant for us today because evangelicals are greatly confused. We have despised His Torah so much that we don't know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so when the wolves come in to lead us astray, we are proving to be easy prey. I will end with an example of the point being made.
A friend sent me a video of something last week that I never thought I would see. The video contained footage from Kenneth Copeland's annual evangelical minister's conference. An attractive and charismatic, middle-aged Episcopal bishop stood before them and said that he had come in the spirit of Elijah and John the Baptist to bring the hearts of the children back to their fathers (priests) and the hearts of the fathers (priests) back to their children. He went on to tell them that the Catholic church was where it all started and that the protest (Luther's) was over and they should come back to their beginnings. Did people stand up in protest? No. The sheep gone astray, led by blind guides, stood to their feet and cheered in standing ovation to the lies that he proclaimed!
The roots of our faith are NOT in the Catholic Church!
"4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:"
Deuteronomy 6:4-6
"4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
Ephesians 4:4-6
True believers belong to the YHVH of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The roots are the patriarchs of that faith. The Vine is the Messiah, Yeshua Ha 'Machiach. The branches are the children of Israel and wild shoots, the Gentiles, are grafted in.5 There is only one covenant that the Father made with His people. The only covenant that He made with Gentiles is that He would never flood the earth again. Genesis 9:11 Gentile means, a foreigner, stranger, pagan, out of covenant. To be grafted in means that we are in covenant with YHVH through the atoning blood of His Son. So either we are in covenant with THE ONE TRUE ELOHIM, or we are not! If we are His, then we had better learn to live like it! It's His house! It is time to return to our First Love, remember the heights from which we have fallen, and do the things that believers did at the beginning of the Christian faith!6
Please, I implore you to pull off the veil of pride. The door of grace is closing and judgment comes. To those in the clergy, "God takes the deception of His people personally."7
References used and for further study:
John chapter 8
1. Matthew 16:15, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20
2. Luke 19:41
3. Mark 15:13, Luke 23:21
4. Hebrews 13:4
5. Romans 11-12:5
6. Revelation 2:4-5
7. "God takes the deception of His people personally." Taken from www.theberean.org Archive. Devotion from April 11, 2014 - Jude 1:3 www.theberean.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Home.showBerean/BereanID/2119/Jude-1-13.htm
8. http://standupforthetruth.com/2014/02/pope-to-copeland-catholics-and-charismatics-must-spiritually-unite/
9. For a look at the life and teachings of the apostle Paul, plus concise information about Replacement Theology, Separation Theology, and Remnant Theology: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Israel/israel.html
10. For an additional look at the teachings and life of Paul, please consider reading, The Letter Writer: Paul's Background and Torah Perspective by Tim Hegg
11. Barsom branches: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/barsom-av
12. http://womanassigned.blogspot.com/2014/04/his-still-small-voice-one-year-ago.html?m=1
