Sanctuary / Stone

"But the L-RD of Hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken. Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. I will wait for the L-RD, Who is hiding His Face from the house of Yakov, and I will hope in Him." ~ Isaiah 8:13-17

Isaiah revealed that Adonai would become a sanctuary to some of Israel, and a stone of offense to others. Is that not perfectly clear - and clearly seen today? This is the plan of G-d. It is glorious, but sometimes difficult for us to understand. The struggle does not belong to us. It is His alone - and He alone will triumph. B"H!

DSS: Suffering Messiah

A respected Israeli scholar and professor at Hebrew University is making an intriguing and compelling case that it is a distinctly Jewish notion to expect the Messiah to come, die as a “suffering servant” as an atonement for sins and the redemption of Israel, and then to rise from the dead on the third day. Based on his many years of research, and fairly recently analyzed archaeological evidence — including a previously unstudied Dead Sea Scroll – the scholar is also arguing that this notion of the Messiah rising on the third day is a pre-Christian concept that dates back to before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem Ephratah. The case made by Dr. Israel Knohl has attracted significant attention, including a major article in the New York Times and several articles in Biblical Archaeology Review — see here, and here, and here.

The Times story, which ran under the headline, Ancient Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection, begins as follows: “A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days. If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time. The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era — in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.” The tablet has been named by scholars as “Gabriel’s Revelation” because it suggests that the angel Gabriel was instructed by God to direct that the Messiah be raised from the dead on the third day.

No Evidence.

Renowned Talmudic scholar, Daniel Boyarin, in his latest book, The Jewish Gospels (speaking of Isaiah 53, on pg.152) states:

"I cannot overstate the extent to which the interpretation of this passage has anchored the conventional view of Judaism's relationship to Messianism. It has been generally assumed by modern folks that Jews have always given the passage a metaphorical reading, understanding the suffering servant to refer to the People of Israel, and that it was the Christians who changed and distorted its meaning to make it refer to Jesus. Quite to the contrary, we now know that many Jewish authorities, maybe even most, until nearly the modern period have read Isaiah 53 as being about the Messiah; until the last few centuries, the allegorical reading was a minority position." He continues, "Aside from one very important - but absolutely unique - notice in Origen's Contra Celsum, there is no evidence at all that any late ancient Jews read Isaiah 52-53 as referring to anyone but the Messiah."

Purchase Daniel Boyarin's The Jewish Gospels here.
Read the 53rd chapter of Isaiah here.
Watch The Mysterious Prophecy of Isaiah 53 video here.

Vehi Sheamda

Good Mourning!

Talmud - Mas. Sukkah 52a (excerpt) & [emphasis mine]

And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart. 1 Is it not, they said, an a fortiori argument? If in the future 2 when they will be engaged in mourning and the Evil Inclination will have no power over them, 3 the Torah 4 nevertheless says, men separately and women separately, how much more so now 5 when they are engaged in rejoicing and the Evil Inclination has sway over them. 6

What is the cause of the mourning [mentioned in the last cited verse]? 1 — R. Dosa and the Rabbis differ on the point. One explained, The cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, 7 and the other explained, The cause is the slaying of the Evil Inclination.

It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, And they shall look upon me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son; 8 but according to him who explains the cause to be the slaying of the Evil Inclination, is this [it may be objected] an occasion for mourning? Is it not rather an occasion for rejoicing? Why then should they weep? — [The explanation is] as R. Judah expounded: In the time to come 9 the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring the Evil Inclination and slay it in the presence of the righteous and the wicked. To the righteous it will have the appearance of a towering hill, and to the wicked it will have the appearance of a hair thread. Both the former and the latter will weep; the righteous will weep saying, ‘How were we able to overcome such a towering hill!’ The wicked also will weep saying, ‘How is it that we were unable to conquer this hair thread!’ And the Holy One, blessed be He, will also marvel together with them, as it is said, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, it shall 10 also be marvellous in My eyes.11

Forest for the trees

When all your attempts and effort at patiently explaining the mystery of Yeshua (in light of the Oneness of HaShem) are met with the distractions of Christmas, Easter and other pagan/Christian silliness, it's easy to feel as though you're wasting your time. While I, of course, take tremendous issue with the vestigial, Roman distortions of G-d's plan of redemption - and, obviously, there are plenty of them alive and well in today's Christianity - it's really too bad that so many others are unable to look past all of that garbage to see the truth. Though, to be honest, the more falsehood I see myself, the more difficult it becomes to debate the detractors. I'm, honestly, not trying to "convert" anyone, though. That's the major misunderstanding. The last thing I'd ever want to do is "convert" anyone to anything, much less the many-headed "Jesus" monster running rampant today. My earnest desire is to direct others toward HaShem - to introduce them to His method for bringing us salvation and deliverance. It stands to reason that approaching a mysterious G-d requires pondering some mysterious things - Yeshua is one of those inescapable and mysterious issues.

Obviously, if we were to worship fire, it would be blasphemous - but that's how HaShem chose to appear. If we bowed down to a fiery bush, or a watery rock, it would be idolatry, but G-d works in mysterious ways, no? If we looked to a serpent on a pole for healing, we'd be labeled insane, charismatic - or both! But Israel trusted G-d, and all that looked upon it were healed. Not because of the serpent, itself, but because of their faith in G-d - directed toward something that certainly would have seemed pagan and absurd at the time. Should G-d do anything He like, who are we to question it? As we know, "It is the glory of G-d to conceal a matter, but the honor of kings to search out a truth" ~ Proverbs 25:2. It's enough for me to have humble faith in G-d. That wasn't the case immediately, though, and it took years for me to realize that my reasoning was nothing at all in the presence of His glory. I'm reminded of the quote by Ian Young that says, "The greatest obstacle to understanding the Bible is thinking that you already do."

From Heaven?

This article, by Giulio Meotti, is absolutely essential reading. I can’t believe we’re actually seeing things this clearly already. Though, this is only the beginning.

It’s as though Christianity and Islam are two circles in a Venn Diagram of ignorance. Where they overlap, Israel is portrayed as a ravenous monster that must be usurped, dethroned and destroyed by any means necessary. And, somehow, with each passing day, latest headline, and conference aim, it appears that these circles are steadily drawing closer to each other - signaling a near, if not complete, alignment at some point.

For years, I didn’t see it coming to this, and now I can see no other way. The hour is fast approaching, and in many ways is already upon us, when those within Messianic Judaism, and all other like-minded communities, will be required to draw very clear and solid distinctions between themselves and these others that, through their sheer blindness, only facilitate the aspirations of our adversary. The true disciples of Yeshua will treasure the opportunity to stand firmly with their Jewish brothers and sisters – against all of our common foes. Though our enemies are certainly numerous, G-d stands with us.

“And it will happen in that day that I will make Yerushalayim a very heavy stone for all people; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” ~ Zechariah 12:3

Remain

“For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they will come and shall see My glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard My fame or seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the L-RD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to My Holy Mountain, Yerushalayim, says the L-RD, just as Israel brings its grain offerings in clean vessels to the house of the L-RD. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the L-RD."

“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before Me, says the L-RD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. " 

~ Yeshayahu 66:18-22

Q&A

Q: Are you here, G-d?

A: I AM.

Q: Where?! I can't see You...

A: Where I told you I would be. Look directly in front of you.

Q: But I still don’t see You!

A: You’re looking right at Me.

Tikkun

KOEOY Media - Tikkun Poster

UPDATE: Tikkun prints are now available in 16x20 format.
They're full color on matte paper and turned out beautifully.
Mail me (koeoy.blog[at]gmail[dt]com) for details if you'd like to purchase one.

On that Day

"Behold, I am about to make Yerushalayim a cup of stumbling to all the surrounding people. The siege of Yerushalayim will also be against Yehudah. On that day, I will make Yerushalayim a heavy stone for all the nations. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves - though, all the nations of the earth will gather against it... On that day, the L-RD will protect the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, so that the feeblest among them, on that day, shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like G-d, like the angel of the L-RD, going before them. And on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Yerushalayim.

Pure

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called sons of G-d! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are sons of G-d; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. ~ 1 John 3:1-3

Dwell

"And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a briar to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the L-rd G-D. Thus says the L-rd G-D: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Yakov. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I Am the L-RD their G-d." ~ Yehezkel 28:24-26

Hold fast.

Thus says the L-RD: "Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon My salvation will come, and My deliverance be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil." Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the L-RD say, "The L-RD will surely separate me from His people"; and let not the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus says the L-RD: "To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose the things that please Me and hold fast My covenant, I will give in My house and within My walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. "And the foreigners who join themselves to the L-RD, to minister to Him, to love the Name of the L-RD, and to be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast My covenant, these I will bring to My Holy Mountain, and make them joyful in My House of Prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a House of Prayer for All Peoples." The L-rd G-D, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, "I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered." ~ Yeshayahu 56:1-8

His Face

"For just a moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid My Face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the L-RD, your Redeemer. "This is like the days of Noach to Me: as I swore that the waters of Noach should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and My covenant of peace shall not be removed," says the L-RD, having compassion on you. ~ Yeshayahu 54:7-10

In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. If anyone gathers against you, it is not from Me; whoever stirs up strife and attacks you shall fall because of you. ~ Yeshayahu 54:14,15

The Forest Lion

"But you, Beit-Lechem near Efrat, so small among the clans of Y'hudah, out of you will come forth to me the future ruler of Isra'el, whose origins are far in the past, back in ancient times.  Therefore he will give up Isra'el only until she who is in labor gives birth. Then the rest of his kinsmen will return to the people of Isra'el.  He will stand and feed his flock in the strength of ADONAI, in the majesty of the name of ADONAI his G-d; and they will stay put, as he grows great to the very ends of the earth; ... Then the remnant of Ya'akov, surrounded by many peoples, will be like dew from ADONAI, like showers on the grass, which doesn't wait for a man or expect anything from mortals.  The remnant of Ya'akov among the nations, surrounded by many peoples, will be like a lion among forest animals, like a young lion among flocks of sheep - if it passes through, tramples and tears to pieces, there is no one to rescue them.  Your hand will be raised over your enemies; all your adversaries will be destroyed."

Many refer to this passage from Micah 5 for it's indication of the birthplace of Mashiach, Bethlehem, and rightly so, but there is so much more contained within it. 

Now!

"Yonah the Prophet had to suffer a tempest at sea and three subsequent days in the belly of a whale before he woke up and returned to Hashem with all his heart. Must we also, Heaven forbid?

As I'm writing this article, flood waters are rising in New York City despite the fact that Hurricane Irene has been degraded to a tropical storm. And, on the other side of the Atlantic, rockets fired from Gaza are still falling in the South of Israel, despite the fact that there's supposed to be a ceasefire.

Despite the fact... Are we starting to understand that we don't run the show? Is anyone foolish enough to see that our fate is not in our own hands?"

Raise Your Hand.

This is what the L-RD G-D said, "Look, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles and raise my sign to all the people. They will bring your sons, carrying them close and they will lift up your daughters upon their shoulders and carry them. Kings will be your caring fathers and queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down their faces at the sight of you and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will all know that I AM the L-RD. Those who wait for Me will not be ashamed." ~ Isaiah 49:22-23

Yeshayahu 49:22,23 graphically illustrates how the nations will, because of a miracle (nes) that is raised before them by the hand of G-d, carry Israel back to her land – and humbly nurture the People of G-d in that place. Then, and this is important, "you will all know that I Am the L-RD”. Who is “you”? “You” refers to Israel, of course. When will Israel know who the L-rd is? We can see from the sequence - only after this event takes place is His identity revealed. After G-d raises a miracle in the sight of the nations, they will be motivated to care for the Jewish People, carrying them back to their land. After which, they, Israel, will know who the L-rd truly is. Since the nations have, in effect, been carrying Israel back to her land for decades, are we to believe that the sign raised by the hand of G-d to the nations is Messiah Yeshua? I certainly believe so. But is there more to this prophecy? The humility described here on the part of the nations is rarely seen today. Is there yet another miracle G-d will work before gentile eyes? One that will humble them even more? One that will make the truth of G-d's plan for world redemption an inescapable reality for all? Or have the nations simply missed what was already shown to them? I believe that there may be more shown to the nations. With the current state of world markets and global turmoil, it would be absolutely nothing for G-d to raise His hand and unleash a series of eye-opening events. Perhaps this "hand raising" is a multi-faceted revelation spanning an unknown number of years. At any rate, there are already gentiles who would love nothing more than to humble themselves and assist Am Yisrael any way that they could. Many have been for decades.

Five

"Five things brought about the redemption of the Israelites from Egypt: 
(1) The sufferings of the people 
(2) their repentance; 
(3) the merits of their ancestors 
(4) the expiration of the time fixed for their captivity 
(5) the mercy of their G-d. 
These same causes will operate towards the realization of Israel's Messianic hopes and lead to the last redemption through Messiah." ~ Deuteronomy Rabba 2

Cute Future