Post by Paddy by Grace on Mar 14, 2010 20:25:02 GMT -7
The Stumbling Stone That Will Become the Precious Corner Stone! Part 4
"Haven't you read this scripture: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?'" (Mk 12:10-11)
In Part 3 in this series we mentioned that God is first of all the Creator of all things. The Scriptures make it very clear that God created all things by His Word. This Word later became flesh in Yeshua. We read about him: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Col 1:17)
Not only have all things been made through Yeshua. Today he is seated at the right hand of Majesty and "upholds all things by the word of His power." (Heb 1:3) This is a job reserved for God alone. Yeshua is part of God's own identity. He is part of who God is.
This does not mean that Yeshua is the same as the Father. They are one, but they are obviously not the same. The Father did not leave his throne in heaven when Yeshua was born. In order to understand who God is, we need to look at the Hebrew word that is used to describe God as one.
God is echad not yachid
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." (De 6:4) According to our Master, this is the most important command of all in the Scriptures. It is an absolutely foundational statement of faith in the God of Israel. In Hebrew this confession is called the Sh'ma.
"One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, 'Which commandment is the greatest of all?' Yeshua answered, 'The greatest is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.'"
(Mk 12:28-30)
“It is significant that yachid, is not used in the confession of God's oneness, the Sh'ma”
The Hebrew word for "one" used in the Sh'ma is the word echad. Just like in English echad can both mean one singular, undivided unit but also a composed unit like, for instance, in Gen 2:24 where it talks about husband and wife being one. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." It is with this meaning that the word echad is used the first time it appears in the Bible. The literal translation of Genesis 1:5 says, "And there was evening, and there was morning — one day." Evening and morning together make up one, echad, day.
In contrast to echad, the Hebrew language has another word for one, that means an undivided unit. It is the word yachid. In the Torah the word yachid is only used in Gen 22 about Isaac, Abraham's only son, a powerful picture of the promised Messiah, God's only Son. It is significant that this word for one, yachid, is not used in the confession of God's oneness, the Sh'ma. God is not yachid. He is echad.
This is very important, because it solves the mystery of how the Father and the Son both can be God, and God still be one. Together they are echad, just like husband and wife are echad. But the Father and the Son are not the same any more than husband and wife are the same, even though they are one.
God's plurality in the Tenach
The most common Hebrew word for God is elohim. It is a plural word, even though it is normally not viewed as referring to plurality. The exact same word is also sometimes used in a strictly singular sense.
Jewish rabbis are very reluctant to say that God is to be understood as anything but singular. The ArtScroll commentary on the Book of Daniel mentions, however, two places in the Bible, where according to Midrash Tanchuma God is referred to in the plural. The first instance is in Gen 1:26 and the second is in Josh 24:19, where it literally says in the Hebrew text, "Then Joshua said to the people, 'You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is holy Gods. He is a jealous God.'"
Let's look at the first example in the Book of Genesis. This is in the creation story, where we find that both God and man clearly are mentioned in both singular, and in plural.
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. …When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them 'man.'" (Gen 1:26-27; 5:1-2)
First it says "Let us make man in our image." Then it says "So God created man in his own image." Clearly God is referred to in this passage both in the plural and in singular. We find the same switch between singular and plural in this passage about man. It says, "God created man" and "he made him," and then "He created them" and "called them." The last sentence says, "…he called them [plural] 'man [singular].'"
Just like God is both singular and plural, so also is man, because man is created in God's image. Just like husband and wife, have different roles to play, even though they are echad and are both called man, so the Father and the Son have different roles to play, even though they echad and both make up who God is. The husband is the head of the wife. Likewise God the Father is the head of Messiah, see 1 Cor 11:3. The Messiah is often referred to as "the Servant of YHWH." Yeshua is completely submitted to the Father, just as the wife is called to be submitted to her husband.
In Part 3 we quoted Psalm 33:6, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." Three things are mentioned here: YHWH, his Word and his breath. The Hebrew language has the same word for breath and spirit. So we see in this verse, that the heavens were made by YHWH, his Word and his Spirit, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Likewise, the first three verses in the Bible immediately introduce us to the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Word (the Son). All three are part of God's eternal being, who God is.
"1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, 'Let there be light," and there was light.'" (Gen 1:1-3)
God is eternal
When God called Moses to bring Israel out from Egypt, Moses asked God about his name. In the Scriptures a name indicates character. Moses wanted to know who God is.
"Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Ex 3:13-14)
God's personal name is "I AM WHO I AM," which can also be translated "I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE." God is unique. He is the only one who is eternal. Has existed before all things and will forever be. In John 8:58 we read, "'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'"
It is impossible to understand Yeshua's statement here, in any other way than that he also is claiming to be eternal. He not only says that he was before Abraham, but that he is before Abraham. He existed before Abraham or any other human being was born, just like we also read in John 1:15, "John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, 'This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.''"
Once again we see in John 8, that the reaction to Yeshua's statement that he is before Abraham was immediate. The following verse says, "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." (Jn 8:59) No one but God is eternal! Yeshua's statement was therefore an obvious blasphemy in their ears and since the punishment for blasphemy in the Torah is stoning, they immediately picked up stones to kill him.
Earlier in the text Jesus himself had underscored the seriousness of the issue by stating, "if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins." (Jn 8:24) Claiming to be eternal, truly is a claim to be like God. This is an incredibly serious matter. Either Yeshua's claim is true, or he is a liar. There is no middle ground here. If we do not believe that he is who he said he is, we will die in our sins.
God is holy
The most important attribute about God, is that he is holy. Holy is a religious term that is obscure for many Christians. The word simply means "set apart." That God is holy means that no one is like him. There is no one beside him. No one can be compared to him. He is set apart from everything else and everyone else. This is extremely important in order to understand who Yeshua is.
Let us look at several statements about God's holiness in the Book of Isaiah.
"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?" (Isa 40:25-26)
"This is what God the LORD says — he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: …I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another." (Isa 42:5,8)
"I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior." (Is 43:11)
"I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself." (Isa 44:24)
"I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isa 45:5-6)
“Pagans often have a supreme God ruling over a pantheon of "lesser" or "smaller gods"”
"For this is what the LORD says — he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited — he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isa 45:18)
"To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?" (Isa 46:5)
"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me." (Isa 46:9)
"For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another." (Isa 48:11)
Over and over it is repeated that there is no God, no Creator and no Savior except YHWH. Unlike in Greek thinking and pagan mythology, the Jewish people only have one God. Whereas there are no "halfgods" or "intermediary gods" in the Scriptures, pagans often have a supreme God ruling over a pantheon of "lesser" or "smaller gods." This is absolutely foreign to the Bible and to Hebrew thinking.
We can se very clearly from numerous Scriptures that Yeshua/Jesus is more than just a man. The Church Father Origen was trained in Greek philosophy. Based on his Greek mindset he tried to explain that Jesus is God, however, not in the same way that God the Father is God. Jesus is God, but to a lesser extent than the Father. This idea is pagan and not in line with the Scriptures.
“In Yeshua the Messiah it is God's own life, his very own eternal life and nature that has appeared in human form.”
In Hebrew thinking, which is based on the Scriptures, there are only two possibilities: either Yeshua is just a man, which makes his many statements to be like God to be blasphemy. Or, Yeshua is part of God's own identity in the form of His Word, who took on human flesh. Hebrew thinking leaves no room for anything in between God and his creation!
Some claim that Yeshua's oneness with the Father is a oneness in will and purpose only, and not in essence and that being the Son of God is only a title for the Messiah. As we have stated earlier, the Bible has very little to say about God's essence or substance. However, one thing we can be very clear about. In Yeshua the Messiah it is God's own life, his very own eternal life and nature that has appeared in human form.
"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 life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us." (1 Jn 1:1-3)
Being the Son of God is certainly not just a title. As we read here, it was God's own life that took on flesh and blood and appeared through His Son, Yeshua of Nazareth.
"'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins.' 'Who are you?' they asked. 'Just what I have been claiming all along,' Jesus replied." (Jn 8:23-25)
"No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1 Jn 2:23)
Yeshua is the stumbling stone that will one day become the chief cornerstone. On his last visit to the Temple he said to the Jewish leadership, "Haven't you read this scripture: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?'" (Mk 12:10-11) The Hebrew word for chief corner stone is even rosh pinah, which can also be translated as "capstone." It can both refer to a foundation corner stone but also to the top, final stone as in an arch, that keeps the whole structure together.
The capstone was rejected. The building can neither be completed nor hold together until it has been put in place. We are praying and waiting for that day when Jerusalem will say to Yeshua of Nazareth, "O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD." (Ps 118:25-26)
"Amen! Yes, come, Lord Yeshua." (Rev 22:20)
• The Battle for Jerusalem
Here are the prayer points from last week. (See Prayer Alert 10-04!)
• Pray for the peace, unity and well being of Jerusalem!
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.' For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, 'Peace be within you.' For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity." (Ps 122:6-9)
• Pray for wisdom for Prime Minister Netanyahu to stand strong against international threats and pressure to divide Jerusalem!
"Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid." (Ps 35:1-2)
• Pray that world leaders will be warned to not turn against Jerusalem!
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. …The One enthroned in heaven …rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.' …Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." (Ps 2:1-2,4,6,10-12)
• Pray that God will do a miracle and turn the hearts of the Arabs in Silwan to continue to be friendly towards Israel and support the project! Pray for salvation and revival!
"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" (Jer 32:27)
• Pray for the return of the Jewish people to their God, their Torah and their Land!
"When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers." (Deut 30:1-5)
• Pray for the re-grafting of the Jewish people back into their own tree through faith in Messiah Yeshua!
"The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today." (Deut 30:6-8)
• Pray that God's angels will protect Israel and Jerusalem!
"For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!'" (Isa 37:32,35)
• Pray for God's grace and mercy upon Israel to reveal the Messiah to them!
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." (Zech 12:10)
God bless you as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem!
Lars and Harriet Enarson
"Haven't you read this scripture: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?'" (Mk 12:10-11)
In Part 3 in this series we mentioned that God is first of all the Creator of all things. The Scriptures make it very clear that God created all things by His Word. This Word later became flesh in Yeshua. We read about him: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Col 1:17)
Not only have all things been made through Yeshua. Today he is seated at the right hand of Majesty and "upholds all things by the word of His power." (Heb 1:3) This is a job reserved for God alone. Yeshua is part of God's own identity. He is part of who God is.
This does not mean that Yeshua is the same as the Father. They are one, but they are obviously not the same. The Father did not leave his throne in heaven when Yeshua was born. In order to understand who God is, we need to look at the Hebrew word that is used to describe God as one.
God is echad not yachid
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." (De 6:4) According to our Master, this is the most important command of all in the Scriptures. It is an absolutely foundational statement of faith in the God of Israel. In Hebrew this confession is called the Sh'ma.
"One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, 'Which commandment is the greatest of all?' Yeshua answered, 'The greatest is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.'"
(Mk 12:28-30)
“It is significant that yachid, is not used in the confession of God's oneness, the Sh'ma”
The Hebrew word for "one" used in the Sh'ma is the word echad. Just like in English echad can both mean one singular, undivided unit but also a composed unit like, for instance, in Gen 2:24 where it talks about husband and wife being one. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." It is with this meaning that the word echad is used the first time it appears in the Bible. The literal translation of Genesis 1:5 says, "And there was evening, and there was morning — one day." Evening and morning together make up one, echad, day.
In contrast to echad, the Hebrew language has another word for one, that means an undivided unit. It is the word yachid. In the Torah the word yachid is only used in Gen 22 about Isaac, Abraham's only son, a powerful picture of the promised Messiah, God's only Son. It is significant that this word for one, yachid, is not used in the confession of God's oneness, the Sh'ma. God is not yachid. He is echad.
This is very important, because it solves the mystery of how the Father and the Son both can be God, and God still be one. Together they are echad, just like husband and wife are echad. But the Father and the Son are not the same any more than husband and wife are the same, even though they are one.
God's plurality in the Tenach
The most common Hebrew word for God is elohim. It is a plural word, even though it is normally not viewed as referring to plurality. The exact same word is also sometimes used in a strictly singular sense.
Jewish rabbis are very reluctant to say that God is to be understood as anything but singular. The ArtScroll commentary on the Book of Daniel mentions, however, two places in the Bible, where according to Midrash Tanchuma God is referred to in the plural. The first instance is in Gen 1:26 and the second is in Josh 24:19, where it literally says in the Hebrew text, "Then Joshua said to the people, 'You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is holy Gods. He is a jealous God.'"
Let's look at the first example in the Book of Genesis. This is in the creation story, where we find that both God and man clearly are mentioned in both singular, and in plural.
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. …When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them 'man.'" (Gen 1:26-27; 5:1-2)
First it says "Let us make man in our image." Then it says "So God created man in his own image." Clearly God is referred to in this passage both in the plural and in singular. We find the same switch between singular and plural in this passage about man. It says, "God created man" and "he made him," and then "He created them" and "called them." The last sentence says, "…he called them [plural] 'man [singular].'"
Just like God is both singular and plural, so also is man, because man is created in God's image. Just like husband and wife, have different roles to play, even though they are echad and are both called man, so the Father and the Son have different roles to play, even though they echad and both make up who God is. The husband is the head of the wife. Likewise God the Father is the head of Messiah, see 1 Cor 11:3. The Messiah is often referred to as "the Servant of YHWH." Yeshua is completely submitted to the Father, just as the wife is called to be submitted to her husband.
In Part 3 we quoted Psalm 33:6, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." Three things are mentioned here: YHWH, his Word and his breath. The Hebrew language has the same word for breath and spirit. So we see in this verse, that the heavens were made by YHWH, his Word and his Spirit, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Likewise, the first three verses in the Bible immediately introduce us to the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Word (the Son). All three are part of God's eternal being, who God is.
"1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, 'Let there be light," and there was light.'" (Gen 1:1-3)
God is eternal
When God called Moses to bring Israel out from Egypt, Moses asked God about his name. In the Scriptures a name indicates character. Moses wanted to know who God is.
"Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Ex 3:13-14)
God's personal name is "I AM WHO I AM," which can also be translated "I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE." God is unique. He is the only one who is eternal. Has existed before all things and will forever be. In John 8:58 we read, "'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'"
It is impossible to understand Yeshua's statement here, in any other way than that he also is claiming to be eternal. He not only says that he was before Abraham, but that he is before Abraham. He existed before Abraham or any other human being was born, just like we also read in John 1:15, "John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, 'This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.''"
Once again we see in John 8, that the reaction to Yeshua's statement that he is before Abraham was immediate. The following verse says, "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." (Jn 8:59) No one but God is eternal! Yeshua's statement was therefore an obvious blasphemy in their ears and since the punishment for blasphemy in the Torah is stoning, they immediately picked up stones to kill him.
Earlier in the text Jesus himself had underscored the seriousness of the issue by stating, "if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins." (Jn 8:24) Claiming to be eternal, truly is a claim to be like God. This is an incredibly serious matter. Either Yeshua's claim is true, or he is a liar. There is no middle ground here. If we do not believe that he is who he said he is, we will die in our sins.
God is holy
The most important attribute about God, is that he is holy. Holy is a religious term that is obscure for many Christians. The word simply means "set apart." That God is holy means that no one is like him. There is no one beside him. No one can be compared to him. He is set apart from everything else and everyone else. This is extremely important in order to understand who Yeshua is.
Let us look at several statements about God's holiness in the Book of Isaiah.
"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?" (Isa 40:25-26)
"This is what God the LORD says — he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: …I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another." (Isa 42:5,8)
"I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior." (Is 43:11)
"I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself." (Isa 44:24)
"I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isa 45:5-6)
“Pagans often have a supreme God ruling over a pantheon of "lesser" or "smaller gods"”
"For this is what the LORD says — he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited — he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isa 45:18)
"To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?" (Isa 46:5)
"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me." (Isa 46:9)
"For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another." (Isa 48:11)
Over and over it is repeated that there is no God, no Creator and no Savior except YHWH. Unlike in Greek thinking and pagan mythology, the Jewish people only have one God. Whereas there are no "halfgods" or "intermediary gods" in the Scriptures, pagans often have a supreme God ruling over a pantheon of "lesser" or "smaller gods." This is absolutely foreign to the Bible and to Hebrew thinking.
We can se very clearly from numerous Scriptures that Yeshua/Jesus is more than just a man. The Church Father Origen was trained in Greek philosophy. Based on his Greek mindset he tried to explain that Jesus is God, however, not in the same way that God the Father is God. Jesus is God, but to a lesser extent than the Father. This idea is pagan and not in line with the Scriptures.
“In Yeshua the Messiah it is God's own life, his very own eternal life and nature that has appeared in human form.”
In Hebrew thinking, which is based on the Scriptures, there are only two possibilities: either Yeshua is just a man, which makes his many statements to be like God to be blasphemy. Or, Yeshua is part of God's own identity in the form of His Word, who took on human flesh. Hebrew thinking leaves no room for anything in between God and his creation!
Some claim that Yeshua's oneness with the Father is a oneness in will and purpose only, and not in essence and that being the Son of God is only a title for the Messiah. As we have stated earlier, the Bible has very little to say about God's essence or substance. However, one thing we can be very clear about. In Yeshua the Messiah it is God's own life, his very own eternal life and nature that has appeared in human form.
"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 life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us." (1 Jn 1:1-3)
Being the Son of God is certainly not just a title. As we read here, it was God's own life that took on flesh and blood and appeared through His Son, Yeshua of Nazareth.
"'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins.' 'Who are you?' they asked. 'Just what I have been claiming all along,' Jesus replied." (Jn 8:23-25)
"No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1 Jn 2:23)
Yeshua is the stumbling stone that will one day become the chief cornerstone. On his last visit to the Temple he said to the Jewish leadership, "Haven't you read this scripture: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?'" (Mk 12:10-11) The Hebrew word for chief corner stone is even rosh pinah, which can also be translated as "capstone." It can both refer to a foundation corner stone but also to the top, final stone as in an arch, that keeps the whole structure together.
The capstone was rejected. The building can neither be completed nor hold together until it has been put in place. We are praying and waiting for that day when Jerusalem will say to Yeshua of Nazareth, "O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD." (Ps 118:25-26)
"Amen! Yes, come, Lord Yeshua." (Rev 22:20)
• The Battle for Jerusalem
Here are the prayer points from last week. (See Prayer Alert 10-04!)
• Pray for the peace, unity and well being of Jerusalem!
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.' For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, 'Peace be within you.' For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity." (Ps 122:6-9)
• Pray for wisdom for Prime Minister Netanyahu to stand strong against international threats and pressure to divide Jerusalem!
"Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid." (Ps 35:1-2)
• Pray that world leaders will be warned to not turn against Jerusalem!
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. …The One enthroned in heaven …rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.' …Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." (Ps 2:1-2,4,6,10-12)
• Pray that God will do a miracle and turn the hearts of the Arabs in Silwan to continue to be friendly towards Israel and support the project! Pray for salvation and revival!
"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" (Jer 32:27)
• Pray for the return of the Jewish people to their God, their Torah and their Land!
"When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers." (Deut 30:1-5)
• Pray for the re-grafting of the Jewish people back into their own tree through faith in Messiah Yeshua!
"The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today." (Deut 30:6-8)
• Pray that God's angels will protect Israel and Jerusalem!
"For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!'" (Isa 37:32,35)
• Pray for God's grace and mercy upon Israel to reveal the Messiah to them!
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." (Zech 12:10)
God bless you as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem!
Lars and Harriet Enarson