“Attribute to HaShem honor worthy of His Name, take an offering and come to His courtyards. Prostrate before HaShem in His intensely holy place, tremble before Him, everyone on earth. Declare among the peoples, ‘HaShem reigns!’ Indeed, the world is fixed so that it cannot falter, He will judge the nations with equity.” Psalms 96:8-10
My goodness it has been far too long since posting my last Op! Lot’s happening both in the world and in my personal life as of late! There can be no denying it anymore, the world is very rapidly spiraling towards the appointed times in which all the prophecies we have read for decades are swiftly coming to pass right in front of our very eyes! Baruch HaShem!
Just today, 4 Feb 2022, the news is showing the leaders of Russia and China meeting to discuss their joint efforts and alliance to combat and destroy the United States in what is now expected to be a very real shooting war in the coming days and weeks. It is Gog and Magog (Russia and her allies) being drawn out by HaShem to wage war against Assyria (Europe) and Babylon (America)! We are even seeing Russia moving its forces into position in the Middle East with the expressed purpose of engaging Israel and to defend its ally i.e. Iran! Point is, its all coming together very, very rapidly just as HaShem told us it would!
One of the critical components of the End of Days Prophecies is that of the Third Temple in Jerusalem! To this day most people either have very little biblical understanding of the Temple of HaShem or have been taught very, very bad and blasphemous teaching of the Temple of HaShem all based upon the lying doctrine of Replacement Theology!
This is why I find it very interesting in this weeks Torah portion i.e. ‘Terumah’ which is found in Shemot (Exodus) 25:1-27:19 with the Haftarah readings found in I Kings 5:26-6:13, HaShem gives us His command to build the Beis HaMikdash (The Temple) to include all of the required utensils in order for the Temple Services to be performed!
Remember from my past Ops, HaShem commands all of us, you and I, in Ezekiel 43:10-11, to study and learn EVERYTHING concerning His House i.e. His Temple, the layout of His Temple to include every gate, every room, every utensil, every offering, every garment, every aspect of each Temple Service as well as the liturgy which are recited each and every day and why? Because HaShem reveals Himself in His House and in His Temple Services which He gave to Moshe in Shemot (Exodus) 25 and to David in I Chronicles 28 by His Ruach (Spirit)! In doing so, we grow in our relationship to HaShem and also will recognize His real Messiah and not fall for the counterfeit one!
This all said thus far, there is an account in HaShem’s Word concerning the End of Days Third Temple in which we read of the Messiah Who comes as both King and Kohen (Priest) and He offers up a bull as a Chatat (Sin) Korbonot (Offering) on behalf of Himself and Israel to HaShem! This is usually either completely ignored or is twisted up to render the meaning of the verses to mean something entirely else…….all done out of a complete lack of understanding of HaShem’s House and why? Because Replacement Theology has constantly and continues to teach today the Temple of HaShem has been completely rendered irrelevant! This is what I wish to discuss in this Op, however, before we can jump into this, always consider the following eternal, unchanging characteristics of HaShem:
- HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
- His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
- He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
- He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
- He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
- He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
- He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
- He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
- He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
- He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
- He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
- He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
- He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
- He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
- He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
- He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
- He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
- He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
- He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
- He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
- He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
- He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
- He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
- He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
- He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
- He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
- He says Messiah Yeshua is the GOAL of His Torah, meaning without His Torah, Messiah cannot be known per Romans 10:4
- He says if we had believed Moshe/Torah, we would have believed Messiah per John 5:46
- He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
- He says His salvation is far from the wicked for they sought not His Torah per Psalms 119:155
- He says to hold fast to and guard His Torah, for it is our life per Proverbs 4:13
HaShem commands in Shemot (Exodus) 25:8 “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.” There are two Hebrew words which apply to the House of HaShem i.e. Beis HaMikdash and Beis HaMishkan. Beis HaMishkan is the Tabernacle in which Moshe and Aaron built in the Wilderness and was portable. The Beis HaMikdash is the Temple in which David and later his son Solomon built in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount and was a permanent structure built upon the exact spot HaShem chose and placed His Name there. The laws, rules and ordinances apply equally to each and are incredible teaching tools HaShem uses to teach us to understand and walk in kedusha (Holiness). The closer one draws towards HaShem, the higher level of kedusha is required. Sadly because of our current sin nature and impure states, we cannot just enter into His House. There are very important protocols which must be adhered too and to ignore those protocols can bring about absolute catastrophe for all of Israel!
Mitzvah #95 from the Book of the Mitzvot is “The obligation to build the Holy Temple.” An excerpt from this entry says “We are commanded to construct a Temple that is dedicated to the Name of HaShem, that is to say, dedicated as the place where we shall bring our sacrificial offerings before Him, on the three pilgrimage festivals in which all of Israel is required to come up to Jerusalem to the Temple (Pesach, Shavuos and Succos i.e. Passover, Feast of Weeks and Tabernacles). In addition, this mitzvah includes an obligation to construct the utensils that are needed in the Temple for the Avodah (Service), for example, the Menorah, the Table, the Altar, and all the other utensils.”
The command here by HaShem to build the Holy Temple has the Hebrew letter ‘Vav’ in it, which changes the tense of this command to being ‘Present Tense’ meaning this command applies to every single generation, to include you and I today in 2022!! Keep this in mind as we proceed!
Consider, the Temple of HaShem in Jerusalem is literally man being able to go into the Garden of Eden once again! How is this accomplished? The Kohen HaGadol (High Priest) can enter only one time a year into the Most Holy Place i.e. where the Ark stood, and this could only be done on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). If he were to enter into the Most Holy Place outside of Yom Kippur, it would result in the immediate death of the Kohen HaGadol. The point is, before man sinned, man could walk with HaShem in the Garden with nothing to separate the two. Then man sinned, and he was expelled out of the garden and ever since then HaShem has been restoring the breach in the relationship with the Temple and the korbonot (Offerings) being the place where man could on only one day a year enter into the Presence of HaShem i.e. the Garden. The restoration and renewal of this relationship has begun i.e. Yeshua and His death and resurrection, but sadly it is still not completely restored as of yet, but hopefully very, very soon, HaShem will completely restore this relationship to its fullness once again!
The Temple of HaShem is the Place where He has set His Name and is where Israel and the nations will all come up on His three Pilgrimage Feasts to bring our korbonot and bring our tithes as well as the Place where we can go to dwell with our Master! Remember, the task He gave to Israel is to be a light to the nations i.e. bring the Torah to the world and in doing so draw the people to HaShem per Isaiah 42:6-7 which says “I am HaShem; I have called you (Israel) with righteousness; I will strengthen your hand; I will protect you; I will set you for a covenant to the people, for a LIGHT TO THE NATIONS; to open blind eyes; to remove a prisoner from confinement, dwellers in darkness from a dungeon.” In order to be a light to the nations, requires Israel live and walk out the Torah of HaShem as an example of the goodness of HaShem and in so doing will inspire the nations to dump their pagan gods and idolatrous ways and embrace HaShem. Another reinforcement as to why the real Messiah of HaShem MUST be completely and perfectly Torah observant. Then after the Birth Pains and Yeshua is ruling and reigning from the Temple in Jerusalem, all the nations will see the goodness of HaShem and ALL will come and walk in His righteousness i.e. His Torah, but I am getting ahead of myself!
The prophecy HaShem gave stating His Messiah will be BOTH King and Kohen HaGadol (High Priest) is recorded in Zechariah 6:9-15 which states “The Word of HaShem came to me saying, ‘Take from the exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah. Come on that day; come to the household of Josiah son of Zephaniah, who have from from Babylonia, and take silver and gold and make crowns, and place one of them on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak the Kohen Gadol. Say to him, ‘Thus said HaShem, Master of Legions: Behold, there is a man, his name is Zemah (Branch), and he will flourish in his place; HE WILL BUILD THE SANCTUARY OF HASHEM. He will build the Sanctuary of HaShem; he will bear majesty, and he will sit and rule upon his throne. The Kohen will be upon his own throne, and there will be a disposition of peace between the two of them. The crowns will be a remembrance for Helem, for Tobijah, and for Jedaiah, and for Hen son of Zephaniah in the Sanctuary of HaShem.’ People from far away will come and build the Sanctuary of HaShem and then you will know that HaShem, Master of Legions, has sent me to you. This will happen if you truly listen to the voice of HaShem your Elohim.” It is from this prophecy in Zechariah we know the real Messiah of HaShem is a man and His Name is Yeshua (Joshua).
Another prophecy HaShem gave is recorded in Psalms 110:4 which says “HaShem has sworn and will not relent, ‘You (Messiah) shall be a Kohen (Priest) forever, because you are a KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!'” Remember HaShem reveals the end out of the beginning per Isaiah 46:10 and as such He gave us a picture in the account of what we read in Genesis 14 concerning Malchizedek. What is very important to understand, the Hebrew term ‘Malchizedek’ is in fact two Hebrew words i.e. Malchi (King) and Zedek (Righteousness) = King of Righteousness. What is more important is not only is this term a title but its specific to a specific location in Israel! Malchizedek is the title of the King OVER the Place of Righteousness i.e. the Temple of HaShem in Jerusalem!
So, we see Yeshua, must be from the line of Judah but it is also possible Levy as well and we can prove this is the case via His mother i.e. Mariam! She had a cousin i.e. Elisheva (Elizabeth) who was married to Zechariah, a Kohen (Priest) from the order of Abiyah who served in the Temple. A Kohen could only marry another Kohen, which means Elisheva was a Kohen from the line of Levy (She just couldn’t serve in the Temple). This means Mariam had to be from Levy as well in order to be blood relatives of Elisheva! Keep this in mind!
In addition to this, when we read in the Apostolic Writings how Yeshua and Joseph were ‘Carpenters’ it has a much more important meaning when we learn to understand this from the Jewish perspective and I will quickly explain. Per Tractate Shabbos 114a from the Talmud Bavli, a ‘Carpenter’ or otherwise known as a ‘Builder’ was a Torah scholar who engaged themselves in ‘Building the world all their days’ i.e. learning and teaching others how to walk in the Torah of HaShem! In my opinion, this would make much more sense that Yeshua, the Messiah of HaShem and Joseph were Torah scholars! Again, keep this in mind.
With all this said, let’s now address the topic at hand. Ezekiel 40-48 discusses the construction of the Rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem i.e. the Third Temple. Ezekiel 45:22 is the verse to discuss which says “The Prince shall make on that day, for himself and for the entire population, a bull for a sin offering.” There is much to unpack in this verse so be ready!
In Hebrew the term ‘The Prince’ is the Hebrew word ‘Nasi’. This is a very well known term used in the Temple of HaShem. The definition of this word ‘Nasi’ from the Dictionary of the Talmud describes it as: ‘Prince, chief, ruler, officer.’
So how do we know this Prince is the Messiah? The text in Ezekiel will tell us so. Ezekiel 37:23-25 says “And they will no longer be contaminated with their idols and their abhorrent things and with all their sins; and I shall save them from all their habitations in which they sinned, and I shall purify them, and they shall be a nation for Me, and I will be Elohim for them, with MY SERVANT DAVID KING OVER THEM, and a single shepherd will be for all of them. In My ordinance they will go and in My decrees they will guard, and perform them, and they shall dwell on the land which I gave to My servant Jacob within which your fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell upon it, they, their children and their children’s children forever, and MY SERVANT DAVID WILL BE PRINCE FOR THEM FOREVER.“ So, we see from the text Yeshua, the Servant of HaShem and descendant of David will be Prince i.e. King over Israel forever and will rule from the Temple of HaShem as both King and Kohen Gadol!
Tractate Horayos 10a from the Talmud Bavli says concerning Ezekiel 45:22 “Who is the Nasi? This is the King!” Reaffirming here in Ezekiel 45 the Nasi can be none other than Yeshua!
With this stated, when we read it is this Prince Who offers up a bull as a Chatat (Sin) korbonot on behalf of Himself and all of Israel, we need to understand what is going on here! Did Yeshua sin? Nope! We have to understand the consecration/inauguration ritual to install a new Kohen HaGadol into service in the Temple! Further, we have to understand the significance of why a bull is being offered here and not a sheep or a goat!
First and foremost we must understand there are FOUR vestments which comprise an ordinary Kohen’s Temple Service garments while for the Kohen HaGadol (High Priest) he wears EIGHT vestments which comprise the garments of the Kohen HaGadol! During the Yom Kippur Temple Service, the Kohen HaGadol changes out of his garments and puts on the ordinary garments several times throughout the service! And it is only here on Yom Kippur the Kohen HaGadol is allowed to enter the Most Holy Place!
Further, per Shemot (Exodus) 29:30 there is a SEVEN day consecration/inauguration period in which the new Kohen Gadol goes through several rituals in order to be consecrated into the position as Kohen HaGadol before HaShem! What is extremely important to understand is the anointing oil used in this consecration ceremony, which we will discuss shortly!
Vayikra (Leviticus) 8:10 shows us Moshe used a specific mixture of ingredients as the ‘Shemen HaMishchah’ i.e. the Anointing Oil to anoint the Mishkan/Mikdash/All the utensils. Verse 12 shows us this Anointing Oil was poured onto the head of Aharon to install him as the Kohen HaGadol (High Priest) setting the precedent for all the future Kohanim.
Now what is interesting to note is this Prince, Who has brought a bull as a Chatat (Sin) Korbonot, can only bring a bull if He has been anointed by the Shemen HaMishchah! We see this in Tractate Horayos 11b from the Talmud Bavli which says “There is no difference between a Kohen Gadol anointed with the anointing oil and a Kohen Gadol of additional vestments EXCEPT THE BULL THAT COMES FOR ALL THE COMMANDMENTS.” Now let me quickly explain: If the Shemen HaMishchah anointing oil is not available, a new Kohen HaGadol can be installed by putting on all the vestments of the Kohen HaGadol each day for seven straight days as the inauguration process. If he is installed by putting on these vestments, then he cannot bring a bull as a Chatat! He can only bring a female sheep or male goat. Why is this important you may ask? Because as it pertains to Ezekiel 45:22 and here is the crux of this Op, the Prince has brought a bull therefore He, per Torah requirements He must have been anointed by the newly restored and produced Shemen HaMishchah, meaning once more we see HaShem has restored everything in His Temple even down to the Shemen HaMishchah! Again, it exposes Replacement Theology as being the garbage doctrine it so often tries to teach!
Some have objected to the idea of the Messiah bringing a Chatat (Sin) Korbonot and further state those who teach He will do so is teaching the epitome of blasphemy. I would point out Yeshua, in order to perform and function as the Messiah of HaShem, MUST do ALL of the Torah! We see Yeshua Himself state this in Matthew 3:14-15, when John is immersing folks and he see’s Yeshua and objects to immersing Yeshua and tells Him it is Yeshua Who should immerse him and Yeshua replies by telling John, He (Messiah), MUST DO AND ADHERE TO ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS i.e. keep and do all the Torah! Again it reiterates nothing of what HaShem established can be changed or tossed out!
Replacement Theology Christendom would teach Yeshua kept the Torah in order to toss it aside and render it irrelevant, but this does not in any way, shape or form match up with what HaShem said in His Word! If one simple Hebrew letter of the Torah is changed or removed, as Christendom teaches, then Yeshua is immediately disqualified as being the Messiah of HaShem. It is the False Messiah who changes and removes the Torah of HaShem as described in the Tanakh and Apostolic Writings.
I just wanted to cite this in a short Op to hopefully inspire people to see just how intricate and detailed HaShem and His Temple truly is and how so much we, myself included, have to yet learn per His command in Ezekiel 43! Everything in His Word is there for a reason and He is teaching us something. We just need to take the time to go and learn and embark on this amazing journey to grow closer to HaShem especially now in these very grim, dark and difficult days we live in! May it be so very, very soon in our days!
Something to consider. Shabbat Shalom 🙂
SOURCE MATERIALS:
- The Scriptures by the Institute for Scripture Research
- The Chumash by Artscroll
- The Twelve Prophets by Artscroll
- Isaiah Milstein Edition by Artscroll
- Tractate Horayos Talmud Bavli by Artscroll
- Tractate Yoma Talmud Bavli by Artscroll
- Ezekiel Artscroll Tanach Series by Artscroll