Merry Messiah-Mas (Christmas) from Tov Roe

Shalom Dear Friend!

I want to thank you for taking the time to open this letter and read along. Michelle and I understand how important your time is and we’re very thankful for your using some of yours to bless us and share in our lives. Don't forget to look at the article I am including at the end of this email!

There have been a lot of activity and change in our lives over the last six months. After nearly three years of looking for work, I finally found a job that I love. I get to help people with physical and mental disabilities find work and/or start their own micro-businesses. Several of the people I work with have been living normally for most of the lives, but because of life, accident, or illness have ended up relying on the state, or the federal government for their existence. For many, there are levels of shame, victimization, and other negatives and stereotypes to overcome in their own minds and the minds of others. Considering what Michelle and I have been through over the last twelve years, I can perfectly understand where these people are in their spiritual walks and physical realities. God has prepared me to be in their lives.

In other news, God still has an open door for me to host a local radio program here in Minneapolis. The program manager is still considering our proposal. Minneapolis is the 16^th largest media market in the country, which is significant. We've have been dedicating a lot of prayer to this opportunity and would be grateful if you would join us for God to open doors as only He can.

Finally,  on 12/19 Wednesday, my wife, Michelle, will have surgery. We’d appreciate your continued prayer for her recovery.

Blessings in Yeshua (Jesus)!

-TOV

Excerpt from The New Messianic Version of the Bible

ET

The First and the Last[1]

By TOV Rose

Although this edition will not incorporate notations for the ET in the Bible, I do feel is critical to comment on it.

The Hebrew language is read from right to left. The most common word in the Hebrew Bible is the t' (et). The first letter אis called an Aleph, which also begins the Hebrew Alpha-Bet. The second letter in the word t' (et) is ת (Tav),which is the last letter of the Hebrew Alpha-Bet. These two letters are the “first and the last,” the “beginning and the end” and the “Alephand the Tav” which is translated into Greek as the Alpha and the Omega — the first and last letters of the Greek AlphaBet. Jesus uses this as a term for himself several times in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:8 ~ ”I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

t' is used over 7,000 times in the Hebrew scriptures and beginning with the very first verse of the Bible. This brings us back to why the ancient Rabbis translated the Aramaic Targumim in such a manner as they did.

`#r,a'(h' taeîw> ~yIm:ßV'h; taeî ~yhi_l{a/ ar'äB' tyviÞareB. Genesis 1:1

B’rasheet bara Elōhim et HaShamayim v’et HaEretz

“In the beginning God created taeî the heaven and taeî the earth.”

An ancient reading of this text, blended with the knowledge that Jesus revealed himself as the two letters of this very word, which previously had no definition; would render the translation as:

“Everything that exists was created in the beginnings by though and for (Elōhim) [The Living Word], the tae[First & the Last] created the Heaven and the tae [First & the Last] created the Earth.”

Does this sound familiar? John 1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness compre-hended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:1-14)

Our Messiah Jesus is the tae Aleph and Tav in Hebrew[2], the Alpha and Omega in Greek and A to Z in English. Although much more could be said on this subject, I will point only to one more observation concerning the t' (et). It appears quite often that t' (et) seems to act as a sort of bookend around important words or phrases in Scripture, acting as more than just a notation pointing to the direct object of a sentence. It is as if the word has an implied meaning such as, “Author and Finisher accomplished what was described.”

Exodus 14:30 Thus the LORD saved ta,-Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw theta,-Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

dY:åmi laeÞr'f.yI-ta, aWh±h; ~AYðB; hw”÷hy> [v;AY”w:

`~Y”)h; tp;îf.-l[; tmeÞ ~yIr;êc.mi-ta, ‘laer'f.yI ar.Y:Üw: ~yIr”+c.mi

In other words, the Book of Revelation is aptly named for both New Testament believers and his Old Testament covenant Jewish people. The Bible from start to finish is the Revelation to the world of the One whose name means, Behold My Hands Are Pierced, The God of Israel[3].

The Rabbis have a very interesting saying that seems to apply here: Shiv’im Panim la’Torah: “The Torah has 70 faces[4].”

Want to read more? Follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/Tov-Rose/e/B004WLJN1K

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[1] Isaiah 44:6; 48:12

[2] Talmud: Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 17, 4: Adam transgressed the entirety of God from aleph to tav; i.e., from the beginning to the end. Abraham observed the entirety of God, from aleph to tav; i.e., he kept it entirely, from beginning to end. When the holy blessed God pronounced a blessing on the Israelites, he did it from aleph to tav; i.e., he did it perfectly.

[3] See 1 Peter 1:19-20 and Rev. 13:8

[4] Talmud: Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15

The Baptism of John from a Jewish Perspective, Part 3

Isaac & Jesus

As mentioned previously, Isaac the son of Abraham nearly died at the hand of his father, Abraham in Genesis 22:

⁶And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

 ⁷And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

 ⁸And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

 ⁹And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

 ¹⁰And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

 ¹¹And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

 ¹²And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

 ¹³And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

 ¹⁴And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

 ¹⁵And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

 ¹⁶And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

 ¹⁷That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

 ¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (KJV)

Isaac was spared, but God always intended someone to take his place. Jesus was a direct descendent of Abraham through King David, on his mother’s side. The father of Jesus is God himself, Abraham’s best friend. This would be the same God who orchestrated the promise of Genesis 22, which means that one day, God would provide a way for the promise to ultimately come to fruition. This meant that someone was going to have to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah.

Before that could happen that someone, Jesus, had to be anointed in such a way that he could take Isaac’s place as the firstborn son of Abraham. And guess what? That’s what John did!

What was the baptism of John? What was it specifically that he was doing at the Jordan River?

Next time...when Pagans convert to Judaism...

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The Baptism of John from a Jewish Perspective, Part 2

And in case you didn’t know it, there were three doors to the Temple and each of them had a name. As the priest entered the Temple he entered them in succession:

1.       The Way

2.       The Truth

3.       The Life

Zechariah had entered “The Way” and was considered righteous along with his wife. He had also passed through the door known as “The Truth” and was considered blameless. Now he was standing before the door known as “The Life.” Zechariah was told that his son would prepare the Way of the Lord, which is exactly what his “fruit” later did according to Mark 1:3, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!” In other words, John would prepare a people to enter the gate known as “The Way” which would later be revealed to be belief in the person of Jesus himself.

Until John as the Legitimate High Priest of Israel, baptized Jesus, no man or woman ever born was able to enter through the door known as “The Life,” except for the High Priest of Israel. Once baptized and then anointed (the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, Luke 3:22), Jesus was the only person in history authorized to enter that door without the fear and very real threat of death.

But there is more…

The Parallels and Counterpoints Between Abraham & Zechariah, Sarah & Elizabeth, John & Jesus

Abraham & Sarah were old and unable to have children. The first child they did have was the one through whom the promise of redemption would ultimately come. Zechariah & Elizabeth’s were likewise unable to have children, but when they finally did that son was to be the one by whom Messiah would be revealed to the world. Abraham was tasked to pass a test of faith by offering his son Isaac to God as a sacrifice (Genesis 22). Isaac was spared death by Abraham’s faith. Sarah laughed at the idea of having a son as an old woman. Elizabeth hid from sight at her pregnancy and John was filled with the Spirit of Life from conception. Elizabeth was also filled with the Spirit of God upon the arrival of Mary, mother of Jesus to her home.

John, inheritor of his father’s Priestly Office and runner-up to the High Priest, had the authority of the High Priest’s office, but more than that, he was also a Prophet. As Jesus stated it, “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28)

What Jesus was explaining is that John is an Old Testament Prophet and in fact the very last of those Prophets, yet the greatest of all of them. The phrase Jesus used can also mean that the power and authority of all the Old Testament Prophets from Enoch to Elijah, David to Zechariah and Daniel to Malachi was upon John! This is why Jesus could say, “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” (Matthew 11:14)

Jesus took this a step further; stating that even so, “even the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.” Meaning that believers in Jesus, who follow Messiah through the door known as “The Life” are greater than John!
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The Baptism of John from a Jewish Perspective, Part 1

The Baptism of John

By Tov Rose

Why was John considered a prophet and what does this have to do with Baptism?

There are many misconceptions about Baptism of the believer. Some teach that Baptism is simply and outward expression of the internal spiritual commitment. Others teach that it is a requirement, a sacrament. While all of these may be true, there is a background story that is rarely taught, understood and mostly unknown to most pastors.

You may have heard that John’s baptism was for repentance alone, and this is true. However, what is missing from this simple description is the purpose and history of that specific form of baptism John was practicing and the authority, which he carried in Israel.

John’s Father

You might be familiar with his father’s story in Luke 1:5 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.”

There are some very important points expressed in this rather short verse!

1.       The name and location of the king give us the general time period

2.       It specifically notes that Zechariah was a priest, which is an inherited office from father to son

3.       The Course of Aviah is mentioned, which tells us specifically what time of year Zechariah was required to serve as priest in the Temple and for how long.

4.       His wife is listed as also being a daughter of Aaron (Zechariah had to be a son of Aaron, or he couldn’t be a priest).

The next verse states something very unusual in scripture, “⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless,” reflecting the theme of Matthew -7:17-18 that they were good trees producing good fruit at a time when the High Priesthood was literally bought and paid for, or appointed by the pagan king.

In Luke 1:8-10 it further says, “Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.”

Combined with Luke 1:5, this tells us specifically which day of the year Zechariah was in the Temple: The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It was the one day of the year that the High Priest of Israel entered the Holy of Holies in the Temple to offer the sin sacrifice for all of the people of Israel. Zechariah was preparing the Holy of Holies, filling it with Incense prior to the High Priest’s entering in!

Yet there is even more to the story…

In those days the High Priest was appointed as a political office. Another way of saying this is that God did not recognize the political office as being legitimate, because he was not selected in the way prescribed by God in the Bible. How can I say this? What I mean is that there was an appointed High Priest, and then there was the one who was supposed to have been God’s High Priest.

If the succession for the High Priest office was unclear it was the tradition to cast lots (throw the dice), to see whom God wanted to take the office. The disciples of Jesus followed the same tradition in Acts 1:15-26 in choosing a replacement for Judas who had betrayed Jesus to the illegitimate High Priest.

According to Luke 1:8-10 this is precisely what happened with Zechariah: He was chosen by lot. To put this another way, if the Illegitimate High Priest died in the presence of God, Zechariah was runner up to take his place and offer the sacrifice in the Holy of Holies before God. Or, to put it yet another way, Zechariah was chosen by God to be the Legitimate High Priest of Israel. This is confirmed by the simple fact of an Angel actually showing up and speaking to him about his future son, the future legitimate High Priest of Israel—John the Baptist. 

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