Finding Your Identity in Y’shua

Every group who seeks to establish another gospel invariantly starts with a failure to understand their identity without and within the body of Messiah, as firlmly established in the scriptures. This article will attempt to show both from the agreement of Tanakh (the Old Testament) and the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) pf who we are by nature and why we need salvation and what the nature of salvation is. This should be obvious to any believer in Messiah but surprisingly, a failure to understand this precept is the core deception behind almost any cult.
Before we can properly understand the our identity in Y'shua we need to understand our identity outside of Y'shua, our fallen nature and why re need redemption.
The Fallen Nature
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

G-d told Adam that on the day he ate of the fruit of the tree he would surely die. The serpents lie was that he would not die. Obviously Adam did not physically drop dead when he ate of the tree. But just as obviously G-d did not lie and haSatan did not tell the truth. Now those who want to preach a different gospel will invent all sort of machinations to get away from this concept of spiritual death. The most common one is that a thousand years with the L-rd is as a day and Adam lived for over 900 years. There are numerous problems with this... the obvious one is it makes haSatan to be a truth sayer and we know that he is the father of lies.
So if Adam died on the very day he sinned, what was it in him that died? Obviously not his body. Adam was made in the image of G-d and the scriptures tell us plainly that G-d is Spirit. But Adam had a body of flesh and blood, he also had Nephesh or breath, which is a soul. His phyical body did not die that day. His breathe did not cease, therefore the only part of Adam which could have died was his Spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Adam was made as a Nephech Chayee - a living soul, but he was made in the image of G-d who is Ruach (Spirit). When something is quickened it is made alive again from the dead. Therefore we can only assume that that men after Adam were spiritually dead and that the work of Y'shua was to bring that dead Spirit to life within them. Is it any wonder that he told Nicodemus that "ye must be born again"?
So the fallen nature of man is spiritual death. Man being born of Adam has a living body, a living soul, and a dead spirit. All born dead in Adam.
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all , then were all dead:

The Nature of Salvation
Y'shua said "Ye must be born again", but how can a man born dead be born again to life?
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

It is a common misconception perpetrated by the psuedo-messianic cults and the antimissionaries, that Original Sin is not found in the Scriptures. That this foundational doctrine is a creation of Roman Catholicism. Yet as we can plainly see from Sha'uls Epistle to the Romans this was a concept that far predates Constantine. The precept is not a purely Pauline one either. For Isaiah tells us "We all like sheep have gone astray, every one to his own way, but G-d has laid the iniquity ('Avon or sin nature) of us all on Him." So we all have sinned and we are all dead in sin. If this was the message of the gospel then we would be the sorriest of men. But Rabbi Shaul tells us that there is more to this.
Romans 5:14-15 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Though the context here is the failure of the law to provide salvation, the gem hidden within this passage is that if by this one man Adam, death and sin entered into the world, so then also by one man's obedience sin was atoned.
But could any man have atoned for all sin?
Since the sin nature or 'Avon is passed from Adam to his descendants then all men who are of Adam are stained by sin and born with a dead spirit. This is why the concept of the virgin birth is so important and so scorned by many of the cults. Y'shua was not born of the union between a man and a woman. He was the seed of the Woman, born of a virgin overshadowed by Ruach haKodesh. He did not inherit the original sin nature of Adam, and so was able to fulfill the promise and become an atoning sacrifice for sin.
Hebrews 9:13-14 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.  The sin of a perfect man, made in the image of G-d brought sin and death into the world and the blood of a sinless man atoned for that sin.  but how does this fit into the nature of our identity?
In Messiah we are no longer Sons of Adam, we have become the sons of G-d.
Romans 8:14-1 6 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.or ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

The Spirit of Adoption is the key to understanding this.  When a son is adopted he gains all the rights and responsibilities of a natural son.  He must agree to respect and obey the new father and that father must agree to protect and disciple his new son.  The Covenant of Y'shua is a covenant of adoption... which is by faith.
Psalms 98:2 The LORD hath made known his salvation : his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

G-d always had a plan for salvation and that plan was always by faith in the work of Y'shua.  No one gets into the kingdom based on family or tribe or even race.  Y'shua is the only way.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness ; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation .

What was is that Avraham believed in Bersehit (Genesis 15? He believed the promise that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. If Righteousness is of faith then it must be of a faith in that which saves. Doctrine can not save you... Only Y'shua saves and by him we have been grafted in to salvation and been made sons of G-d!
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness

Believing the promise of G-d is thus the heart of righteousness!

The Last ADAM

1Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a QUICKENING spirit.

The name ADAM (actually pronounced Ah-DAM) is not only the name of the first man, whom G-d had created by His own hand, but it is one of the Hebrew words for MAN. In a previous issue we discussed how ADAM was the name for perfect man, as he was created by G-d and different from ENOS or mortal man, as we have become.

1 Corinthians builds on that subject by telling us that there are two men called ADAM. Paul was most certainly speaking from his own knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures, for he understood that ADAM is the both the name and the word ascribed to a man created without sin.

Can their be a better word to describe both our Father, Adam, and our Savior, Y'shua. Like Y'shua, Adam was created sinless. Since we also know from Paul that the Law brings the knowledge of sin, the first Adam knew only one law� that he might not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. How easy was the burden of law upon the first Adam? He could spend his days tending G-d�s garden, and his evening walking with his creator in the garden, or resting in the arms of his loving wife. The only knowledge of sin was that he would die if ate the fruit of one special tree. He was tested� and he failed.

The last ADAM was Y'shua haMoshiach, and unlike the first, he was under the full bondage of the law. Yet the scriptures tell us:

1Peter 2:21-22 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

It is not just that Y'shua was born without sin, but that he kept himself from all sin. Since the knowledge of sin itself comes from the law this must mean that Y'shua kept the whole of the law.

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

But how could Y'shua be born sinless? And how could anyone keep the whole of the law?

On the day that Adam sinned something within him died. How do we know that? Because G-d promised him that on the day he ate of the fruit he would die. Yet, Adam lived to be over 900 years old. How can this be? Obviously, the body did not die� nor did his soul, therefore it can only be the spirit that haShem created within him, in the image of G-d, that died when Adam sinned. Adam passed his flesh on to his progeny, and they like him inherited a living soul� but a dead spirit!

1Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

How then wasY'shua born without sin? Because he was not of Adam�s seed� he was born of the seed of the woman, born to a virgin. Y'shua was truly like Adam, for he had not inherited the sin nature of Adam�. He was a second ADAM� a second chance for man to demonstrate his obedience to the commandment of his creator.

But wasn�t he G-d? Why does it matter if he was born without sin? If Y'shua was G-d, incarnate, then he would by necessity be without sin� for G-d is Holy and can not sin.

If only it were that simple. This is where this whole discourse is heading. For so long I have struggled with the mocking of skeptics who argue that Y'shua could not have been G-d because:

1. You can not kill G-d.
2. You can not tempt G-d, because G-d can not sin.

Yet we know that Y'shua was tempted in all ways just as we are� and that he most certainly was killed and then raised from the dead.

These seeming inconsistencies have been used by Rabinnic Jews, the Watchtower, the Way International, and even knowledgeable atheists to block the truth of the gospel and to lead people away from the truth.

We know that he was G-dï and we know that he was manï¿ How then can we rectify these seemingly impossible contradictions?

First let us quickly review the appearances of Y'shua in the Old Testament:

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.

The Old Testament is filled with appearances of G-d as a man. Adam walked with him in the garden, Abraham ate supper with him and two angels on the plains of Mamre. Joshua met him as the Captain of haShem�s Host outside of Jericho, just to name a few. Y'shua, himself referred to this when talking to the Pharisees, which are the ancestors of the modern Rabinnic Jews:

John 8:56-58 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad.

Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Y'shua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Y'shua not only said that the man which Abraham met was Y'shua but he then issued the incredible statement of John 8:58. Does it not seem odd that he would say "I AM"� this sounds strange in the King James and is even stranger in the Greek where it is EGO EIMIï¿ 1^st person singular masculine, perfect tense = I AM! The proper context would have been "I WAS" or even "I EXISTED" but instead Y'shua used this phase to draw attention to the name of G-d, YHVH = I AM THAT I AM! No wonder the Jews sought to kill him!

If Abraham met YHVH, and that is the name by which the person that he ate with on the plains of Mamre is called (Genesis 18), and Y'shua wasthat man (John 8) and was also called "I AM" (verse 58), then how can Y'shua be called the LAST ADAM and how can the skeptics who say that G-d can not die or be tempted be satisfied?

Philipians 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Y'shua haMoshiach:

Who, being in the form of G-d, thought it not robbery to be equal with G-d:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Y'shua was made in the likeness of men, he put off his divinity to be born of a VIRGIN While he walked amongst us in the flesh he was a true man. The Spirit within him was the same Spirit that had appeared throughout the Old Covenant scriptures, but the body and soul was pure man, THE LAST ADAM.

This is the only explanation that fits the facts. This is the only reason that Y'shua told u.s that he could do nothing of himself, but only that which he saw the Father doing. This was the only way man could be saved!

Through the FIRST ADAM came disobedience and sin, and through him to his descendants. But the LAST ADAM was born just as sinless as the FIRST. Only man could undo the trespass that man had wrought, but all the sons of Adam were contaminated with the sin of Adam. Therefore, G-d, the Son, became flesh and dwelt amongst us. But he had to be man in order to pass the test that he himself had set for the FIRST ADAM, obedience to the commandment of haShem. So he put off his divinity and became a man just like usï¿ then he could be tempted, then he could be sacrificed, then he could be obedient to his own commandments.

Count it all joy, that he understands your trials, that he comprehends your temptations. He has passed that test that our father Adam could not. He was obedient even unto death, and the death of the cross. Oh, what a friend we have in Y'shua!

Who sealed the covenant with Avraham?

We know that Abraham was a man of great faith. By faith he left his home and family and traveled into a strange country which haShem had said would be his inheritance. By faith, he being so old that he was a good as dead produced a son in a woman who was long past the age of child bearing. By faith, he was willing to obey G-d in offering up that very son of promise, believing that G-d would raise him from the dead. Such faith was counted to him as righteousness because without faith it is impossible to please G-d.

How did Abraham become such a man of faith? Well, first and foremost, he believed G-d. Secondly he acted on that faith in obedience. But most importantly, he was in covenant with haShem!

Genesis 15 tells us the details of that covenant. Abraham had received the call to travel into Canaan. He had just overthrown the kings of the cities of the plain. And he had just met with and tithed to Melchizadek. G-d had already promised him a son, and had in fact told him that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. In this context, haShem visited him once again:

After these things the word of haShem came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
And Abram said, Adonai Elohim, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
And, behold, the word of haShem came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

Our father Abraham seemed to be having a late life crisis. He was looking at the circumstances instead of the ability of the Creator and King of the universe. He had begun to progress along the road that leads to unbelief. But the Holy One, Blessed be He, was there to give him the strength to persevere. When we are in relationship with G-d, He is able to speak to us and strengthen our faith. The true sign of a man of G-d is the ability and willingness to enter into relationship with the Creator, and thus open that doorway into our lives that He can minister to us and correct our unbelief.

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
And he believed in haShem; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Rhema (Spoken Word) of G-d. Abraham believed what he heard and in G-d’s eyes that was righteousness.

But who are the seed of Abraham that haShem was referring to? It is not just Israel. It is not just the church. It is both the Jews who believe the promise of Messiah, and the gentiles that have embraced that promise. It is the tree of G-d, planted in Abraham’s flesh through Isaac and Jacob, and the tree, which was grafted in through faith, the gentile church. Jew and Gentile made as one. Truly that is as the stars of heaven, and that from a man as good as dead.

And he said unto him, I am haShem that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
And he said, Adonai Elohim, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

Despite the fact that Abraham had believed G-d, there was still a seed of unbelief manifesting in his life. The natural man can not accept by faith alone. G-d understands that, He who created us realizes that we are flesh which by its nature can not believe. He is prepared to offer signs to men of faith that their faith might be strengthened. But there must first be faith, even the size of a mustard seed that G-d can build on!

And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

HaShem told Abram to prepare a traditional Mesopotamian covenant sacrifice. It was a tradition of the ancient Mideast to prepare a line of animal sacrifices and for the parties who were forming the covenant to then walk through those sacrificed animals to seal the covenant. Many cultures have this concept of blood covenant. The Native American have a blood covenant that involves the sharing of blood but slicing and then joining hands. Many African cultures practice the walking through of sacrificed animals to seal covenant. In the more primitive Asian cultures the drinking of mingled blood from the parties is part of the ceremony. All of these cultures share a common concept: Covenant is sealed by blood. Why? Because covenant is a commitment to give one’s life for the other, and the life is in the blood!

How excited our father Abraham must have been. He stood patiently waiting for G-d, Himself, to come and walk through the sacrifice with him. Truly this would have been the sign Abram had asked for. A covenant promise that the land of Canaan would be his, that his seed would number as the stars, and that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. He know that once G-d had sealed this covenant, that the promises would be fulfilled, for G-d would have pledged His life towards it.

But for some reason haShem was delayed. Abram waited patiently, though the vultures were not so patient.

And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

Finally, just as the sun was setting, Abram fell asleep. Now as a desert dweller, I doubt that Abram was either a late riser or a late sleeper. But the sun had not even set, it was setting. This was not the sleep of exhaustion, nor was it the normal sleep of night. This was an unnatural, and perhaps an almost anesthetic sleep that came upon him.

The word horror is ‘eymah a word that is usually translated terror. From the Hebrew this would be batter translated as "Horror! A deep sleep and a great darkness descended upon him.". And in this sleep Abram had a vision, where a smouldering furnace and a burning torch passed through the sacrifice.  Abram had been waiting for the Most High to sppear and walk through the sacrifice sealing the covenant with him.  But, the covenwnt of promise eas not between Abram and G-d but between the smouldering furnace and the burning torch!  These ate the two parties of the covenant, our G-d is a consuming fire and Y'shua is the light of the world!  The father and the son sealed the covenant because only the Son could filfill the covenant!  Baruch hashem Y'shua has truely blessed all the families of the earth!

A Religion of Peace?

Barak O'bama claims that Islam is a rrligion of Peacr.... Perhaps he should read the Quran?

Mohammed did not write of peace!  He was a man of war who wrote of war.  Only a fool would think this is a relogion of peace.  The word Islam is best translated as submission for Islam require the world to submit to the will of Allah.  And according to Mohammad, the will of Allah is MURDER!

What hope is there for the Moslem?  The hope of all the ages, who being without sin became sin for all men and died a horrific death at the he hands of pagans (infidels) to pay for all sin even the sins of Ishmael and his children!  As people of the book we can no longer abide the lie that Islam is a religion of peace... Certsinly not from an illegal alien, raised in moslem indonesia!

This is a Christian nation not a Caiaphet under Sheik Obama!  The truth is right before your eyes and the Meccan antichrists are coming with a sword for your neck.  To whom will you submit, the living Messiah or the demon Allah and his pedophile false prophet, Mohammed?

Yes, these are not words of peace and love, but these cultists want to cut off your head!  Only the truth can set them free.  Mohammed married Aisha, his 7th wife, when she was 7 years old.  That is not a prophet but a pedophile.  His words are lies straight from the father of lies.  Allah the moon god is no more than the Caananite Baal, another name for SATAN!

This is not a religion of peace, it is a cult of DEATH!

3000 Years of Mideast Politics

3000 years of Mideast Politics
Most of us know that all the main mideast religions claim to descend from Avraham, but the family tree is much more than religion.  To begin with both the Arabs and the Jews are desceded from Avraham, the Jews from Itzak (Isaac) and the arabs from Ishmael. So the oldest fight on earth is between two sons of a faithful man.  But sons have always fought.  Consider for a second Cain and Abel... Or Joseph and his brothers!  Sibling rivalry is the oldest story of man.
Yet with G-d it is not as it is with man.  Heritage and common sense tells us the paternal blessing flows to the first born son.  Sexism aside its always been that way.  Yakov and Esau both worked hard to get Itzaks blessing.  It was important to them in that it not only represented property but also authority.  Avrahams first born was Ishmael... But G-d called Itzak his only son, totally rejecting Ishmael.  The rivalry that resulted bore fruit in Mohammed who started His own religion based on the blessing flowing to Ishmael!
The solution to this cult of Ishmael is in the promise of scripture... 2000 years before Mohammed, G-d told Avtaham that in Itzak shall your seed be called!  The mystery is in the word seed, zera is masculine and singular.  So this seed can not be the Jewish people or even some hypothetical lost tribe.  As the context was a son so is the object of this zera.  Could this be the same zera of the woman found in Bereshit (Genesis) 3:15?  To understand these prophecies one must understand the precept of the first born... As Avraham had two sons, so did the Most High!
What?  Am I crazy?  No more than Dr. Lucas (Luke), who tells us in his geneology that Adam was the son of G-d!!!  Ok then you tell me who was Adam's Father?  Eh? (I sound like a Canadian). 
Adam was a disappointment to his father and recieved a curse and not a blessing.  But the zera of a faithful man, Avraham,  through the zera of a woman (Miriam), fulfilled his fathers will and made a sacrifice (chahtah'ah) for sin (a'von).  Thus redeeming us from ADAMS CURSE!
So the real solution to mideast sibling rivalry is Y'shua!
The cult of Mohammed must be challenged with the truth... They must submit to King Moshiach and be set free!  This can not be done with some goyishke cult of Roman paganism!  This must be done with Torah, Nava'im,, v'Brit Chadahshah.  The whole Word of G-d!
It sounds impossible but with G-d nothing is impossible!
Messianic Jews have a resposibility to proclaim Moshiach's redemption to all the sons of Adam and are particularly well placed to preach to their brother Ishmael.  We tend to make our faith a bless me club and try to convert christians and jews, while we ignore the Moslem who is our brother!  Perhaps we should reconsider our attitude!

The War on Terror

The War on Terror

One can not fight a war on terror if one argues the religion of the terrorists is a religion of peace.
Mohammed taught that the servant of Allah should make no freinds with Jews and Christians that the "People of the Book were ememies of Allah and the faithful."  This proves the identity of Mohamhead's Allah.... to be none other than Satan the adversary of the true G-d and His people.  How then should we treat the moslem?  Like any other cultist!  Joseph Smith Jr., Charles Taze Russel, Herbert W. Armstrong, Mary Baker Eddy, and Mohammed all serve the same master, the father of lies!
While America faught a long drawn out war against Al Quida, ISIS brewed in IRAQ and Syria, and converted westerners to its cult of death.  This methodology does not work.  What will work.... evangelists trained in disputing the lies of Mohammed and preach Y'shua to the Moslem.... will many be killed?  of course!  Ishmael is a wild ass whose hand is against every man.  Well Y'shua died for that curse too.  The natives of Papua New Guenie boiled many missionaries in oil but still thay came and now have many Christian communities and churches.
We think that war means killing but biblical Christianity is death to Islam.
Kill their death with love.
That would be a real war on terror!