Returns

Abraham: Our most holy and loving Father in Heaven,

We join together here before you in the blessed name of Yahshua. We thank you once more for this special time of blessing for again coming to hear thoughts you have for us at this time of purification; to receive from you words of wisdom or correction as you in your wisdom shall guide.

And we thank you for your Holy Spirit that will open our minds to understand. In Yahshua's name I pray, Amen

Daphna: Amen.
Naraiel: Amen.
Barb: Amen.
100thSheep: Amen.
Zahakiel: Amen.
Crystle: Amen.
Qinael: Amen.

Zahakiel: I do not think that this is going to be a very long study, as the idea at its core is a rather simple one, although of course there are always new things to be learned from even the most basic-seeming of topics we encounters as servants of Yahweh. The topic of today’s New Moon study is “Returns,” and it is actually sparked by something that Brother Abraham said in a Sermon he gave during this recently past Feast of Tabernacles. He was reading from this verse:

“And they sent out unto [Yahshua] their disciples with the Herodians, saying, ‘Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man; for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?’

“But Yahshua perceived their wickedness, and said, ‘Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money.’ And they brought unto him a penny. And He saith unto them, ‘Whose is this image and superscription?’

“They say unto him, ‘Caesar's.’ Then saith he unto them, ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.’ When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left Him, and went their way.” (Mat 22:16-22)

The point was made that the currency bore the “image” of Caesar, and was to be returned unto him whose image it was. Going, then, to Genesis, we read:

“And Elohim said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of the Almighty created He him; male and female created He them.” (Gen 1:26, 27)

If the same principle holds true, we see that we are to render unto Caesar the things of the earth, for the earth’s image is upon them. But unto Yahweh we are to render our very selves, with no limitations, for we were created in His image, and restored unto His image by the sacrifice of Yahshua. This is a unique way of looking at the Gospel, through the concept of “images,” but it occurs to me that there are broader applications that can be made with this concept of returning the images to the image-makers.

This ties in, in a very general way, to the concept of cause and effect.

We are told: “Be not deceived; Elohim is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal 6:7)

The Book of Revelation has this verse to that effect also: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” (Rev 13:10)

And from a more positive angle: “But this I say: he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” (2Cor 9:6)

Yahweh declares this of Himself, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isa 55:11)

And we know from the Parable of the Talents, that I won’t recount here, but is found in Matthew 25, that human beings are called to cooperate in this process of ensuring that Yahweh’s Word returns to Him full. The Word Itself, or rather, the Word Himself, gave unto His disciples a commission that extends down through the ages to this final generation:

“And He said unto them, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’” (Mark 16:15)

The amazing thing about this, at least to me, is this, the Gospel imprints the “image” of Yahweh on mankind, and restores their minds to freedom, and purity, and Agape-love, and because of this, the image and those who bear it return to Yahweh in the judgment.

Does everyone understand how that works?

Barb: Yes.
Naraiel: Yes.
Abraham: Yes.
Qinael: <nods.>
100thSheep: Yes.
Crystle: Yes.
Daphna: Yes.

Zahakiel: Just yesterday I gave a sermon about, among other things – the concept of foot-washing as a spiritual symbol of a commitment to individual reformation. And by this symbol we see that we are rejecting the influence of the world upon our souls.

Seen in this way, the foot-washing is a purifying of the surface of the individual, a polishing of the “coin,” in a sense, that bears the image of Yah. In Revelation 7 we read of an angel ascending from the east with the “seal” of Yahweh, and this seal-placed in our foreheads, marks us permanently as members of the divine family. This is not coincidental – we are given a spiritual “mark of approval” on the character that represents Christ perfectly, as His image.

And it is easy enough to verify that “character” is the image of Yahweh to which we are restored by our acceptance of the Gospel. We read of the Father that none may look upon Him and live. (Exo 33:20) And yet, many looked upon the Son and were not consumed; though it is written that Yahshua is “the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person.” (Heb 1:3) It is clearly not speaking of physical appearance here, or any kind of power as most humans would consider it. This is about the inner personality, the way of thinking; and in fact the word “person” there, where it says that Yahshua is the express image of His “person,” is the Greek word hypostasis. This means “of like substance, the same in essential nature.” Interestingly, according to Strong’s Concordance, it also has the meaning, “the steadfastness of mind, firmness, courage, resolution.”

And we receive, when we turn to Yahweh, not the body of Christ in a physical sense, or the memories of Christ, or the history of Christ; rather, we receive the “mind” of Christ, that which determines our choices, and our outlook.

One of the reasons why the Israelites were forbidden to have any “images” used for religious purposes was because nothing could properly represent the glory of Yahweh. If the Israelites thought that they could conceive of Yahweh as some created object, they would have developed a very limited view of the Almighty, and attempted to emulate, or become like, only that which they could grasp readily in their own minds. We read in Romans of those who worshipped false gods:

“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” (Rom1:22, 23) Paul then lists the various abominations into which the idolaters naturally fell. But it needs to be understood that while the apostle is describing a worst-case scenario, concerning those who take a statue of a bird, or a man, or an animal and worship it as Yahweh, even worshipping something that you might think would more closely represent Yahweh still has the same effect.

Anything that man can devise about Yahweh is bound to fall infinitely short. Throughout the ages of eternity, we will be finding deeper and more beautiful aspects of Yahweh’s character, and we will be rejoicing that we are sharing in that divine character. Those who are closest to the Throne, the Living Creatures mentioned in Isaiah and again in Revelation, are continually overwhelmed by the glory of the Most High, to the degree that they never tire of saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” If you think of the most beautiful thing you have ever seen on this earth, the most moving song you have ever heard, the most glorious sunset. If you think even of human infatuation, that so easily captivates the hearts and minds of men and women… these things can leave you overwhelmed, breathless… for a time.

But what manner of thing, what level of understanding, can keep supremely powerful and intelligent creatures such as the Cherubim and Seraphim astonished moment-by-moment throughout eternity?

And understand something amazing; it is we human beings, and not the angels, or any other creature, that have received the image within ourselves of this great glory. When the angels look upon us in service to the Almighty, they are educated. They perceive in the relationship between Yahweh and human beings something about the divine character, as both Paul and Peter tell us in their letters.

Are there any questions at this point?

Qinael: No.
Naraiel: No.
Barb: None here.
Abraham: I am rejoicing.
Crystle: No.
100thSheep: Just that this is absolutely beautiful!
Daphna: No.
Guerline: No...
Naraiel: Amen.

Zahakiel: Yahweh’s Word will not return unto Him void. Though He paid an infinite price in the sacrifice of His Son to redeem us, His Word will not return to Him empty. We read:

“Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief. When thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of Yahweh shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.” (Isa 53:10, 11)

He shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. And that word, “travail,” is often used in the Scriptures of the birth pains a woman undergoes in labor, to give you some conception of the intimate meaning these verses convey.

I have said before that while there is a law of cause and effect that is in place because of the way Yahweh established the universe, those who are His friends are in a unique position to maximize our benefit from this system. It’s sort of like a “cause-and-effect plus,” because while we can expect to reap what we sow, and to see the effort we put into things rewarded with a corresponding level of success, those who are in covenant with the Almighty may also expect miracles.

We, who bear the image of Yahweh, are the ones to whom the promises are made. Other humans who do not worship Yah, but follow good principles, are blessed because of natural order, but we who partake of His Divine nature are also the recipients of supernatural blessings, those of healing, of unexpected success in our endeavors, of providential protection, and of course the resurrection or translation of our bodies upon the return of the Savior.

But what it means to us while we are laboring to save the lost is this: We should have no fear, no hesitation, to commit all that we are, and all that we have, to the service of the Almighty no matter what the cost to us – and although we have not yet been called upon to surrender our lives for this faith, our characters are such that we would be willing to do so for the sake of others.

The more we come to bear the image of Yahweh, in our actions, our words, our thoughts, the closer we are to “returning” to Him, as a coin returns to Caesar, and there will come a day when, like Enoch, Elijah, and a few others, there is no barrier remaining between us and the Heavenly Inheritance.

But as has been said about martyrs… death does not create martyrs, it merely reveals them. And so for us, the translation of our bodies to the new and incorruptible ones does not make us saints, does not make us sons of Yahweh. These are things we are already, things we are now, but they are merely revealed in the last day.

All that we are and have are surrendered. All that would cause us to doubt or even fear the Almighty has been swallowed up in love; for although eye cannot see, nor mind conceive, of the things He has prepared for us, our trust in Him is such that these strange new things we are promised are known to be the fulfillment of greater desires than we could even have entertained. Things there are better than things here could possibly be, and as long as this is in our minds, we will count the “light afflictions” here, as Paul terms them, nothing at all compared to the fulfillment of the promises.

This, then, is the time when the image of Yahweh must be formed fully within us.

Any questions or comments at this point?

Qinael: No.
Crystle: No.
Naraiel: No.
Abraham: Amen.
Barb: No.
100thSheep: Amen.
Peterson: No.
Daphna: No.
Happy Rock: No.
Guerline: No.

Zahakiel: We speak often of the Mark of the Beast and the Seal of Yahweh as being opposites, but what is it that is the holy counterpart to the “Image of The Beast?” We have not spoken often of that. But the answer should be simple enough to discover. What is the image of the beast?

Pastor “Chick”: The character of the enemy of Yahweh.

Zahakiel: That is where it will end up, yes, but more simply than that for now….

Qinael: A Church relying on man for protection, power, etc.

Zahakiel: Right. Essentially, it is a union. In this case, it is a union of an apostate Church with a secular power. The opposite of that would be this, and obviously: a union of a holy Church with a divine power.

100thSheep: Amen!

Zahakiel: And there is much there that can be considered relevant, such as the fact that while we are saved as individuals, the image of Christ, just like (and inverse to) the image of the Beast, it cannot be properly formed in isolation. There is a corporate blessing upon Yahweh’s united people, and we see that the angel who ascends from the East in Revelation 7 seals us by our Tribes, not by our individual selves or by our households.

But what it means to us as individuals is that in order to reject one image, the image of the beast, we must accept another, the image of Yahshua. And while there is a corporate blessing, and there are people who provide discipleship in the obtaining of this image, it remains an individual choice for everyone to accept. And this is where the part about character comes in... In accepting the image of Yahshua, we are saying, “Yahweh’s word concerning me will not return unto Him void.” We are saying, “I am that which will return unto Yahweh,” and this begins not when the Son of Man returns to gather us home, but the moment we truly commit to those words of acceptance.

And if we are on that course, if we are on that path to Yahweh, what can be withheld from Him? Yah, as the Scriptures record, specifies a seventh of our time, and a tenth of our increase as His – but this should never be taken to mean that this is all we return to Him. The Sabbath, the Seventh day, is but a symbol of the fact that we are in a state of rest every single day of our lives. If that is so, then the tenth of our increase also is merely a symbol that all we obtain or receive is Yahweh’s also, but merely placed in our care for His own purposes.

This also is an element of Yahweh’s image formed within us. Are there any questions?

Barb: No.
100thSheep: No.
Qinael: No.
Abraham: No.
Guerline: No.
Happy Rock: No.
Naraiel: No.
Daphna: No.
Crystle: No.
Peterson: No.

Zahakiel: Then as we conclude (as I mentioned, this is a relatively short study), let me just make one last point, and it is about free will. When Yahweh said to the darkness, “Let there be light,” there was light immediately, and all were blessed by the presence of the light. When Yahshua said to the very illness in the human beings He healed, there was relief immediately, and the patient was blessed by that healing. Yahweh can, by His voice, command even the inanimate objects, the dumb animals, the very void of darkness, and these things obey, and the universe is blessed by their obedience. But mankind is unique in that we are given the freedom to choose to serve Yahweh willingly, or to resist His voice. And yet, if we by observation and reading of the Scriptures, come to understand that obedience leads to blessings, and resistance to curses, then we – more so than the darkness and the sicknesses, which have no mind – ought to willingly choose obedience to Yahweh’s instructions, that the universe may be blessed by that obedience, and that we also, by choosing, gain the likeness, the image, of the divine character.

Guerline: Amen.

Zahakiel: Bro. Luke, will you close the meeting with a prayer?

Qinael: Our most holy and loving Father,

We thank you for the great honor you have given to humanity in bearing your image to the universe. We thank you for a choice in this matter - for we understand that by doing so, the blessing we share is even greater than from those things that cannot make that choice. And we thank you for the blessing we find in obeying your word, letting it form us in the way you would have us made.

As we depart from this meeting into the rest of the sacred New Moon hours, we pray that this is ever in our minds - the reforming of ourselves into that perfect image by your Word. For this is the very purpose you have given us this time of cleansing and examination. In the name of Yahshua we give you thanks, knowing you have heard us already.

Amen.

Crystle: Amen.
Barb: Amen.
Peterson: Amen!
Naraiel: Amen
Abraham: Amen.
Zahakiel: Amen.
Happy Rock: Amen.
100thSheep: Amen.
Daphna: Amen.
Guerline: Amen.