Watchmen

[This is the full article that was highlighted in the Temple Daily Telegram 4-1-09]
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring full message, who proclaim peace, who bring the full message, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your Elohim reigns!’
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When Yahweh returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for Yahweh has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 52:7-9)
In 1987 Alan Moore’s groundbreaking graphic novel “Watchmen” was unleashed on an unsuspecting comic book-reading public, irrevocably changing the comic book landscape. And now they’ve made it into a multi-million dollar movie released March 6th, 2009. The story follows a group of individuals who committed themselves to look out for society as “The Watchmen” against evil in any form. Ordinary citizens, not superhuman, with a strong sense of truth and justice. Ultimately society turned its back on these “Watchmen.” Passed laws to silence them and forbade their involvement in the affairs of men. They were no longer viewed as heroic. They were viewed with suspicion- “Who Watches the Watchmen?” They seemed preachy and out of date. Although the “Doomsday Clock” clicks every closer to midnight, they’re just a big, pushy, a nuisance and irrelevant. Sound familiar?
Blow the Trumpet!
We’ve been called to be “Watchmen” in these “Last Days.”
“The word of Yahweh came to me: ‘Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: “When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the House of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.”’” (Ezekiel 33:1-9)
It’s interesting to watch you as a congregation. When we have visitors come in to worship with us you are keenly aware that we must be on our best behavior. Then Rabbi Rob inadvertently begins preaching like a crazy man. Well whether we have any new people here or not – this is one of those nights.
Here, we see Yahweh speaking to Ezekiel a priest during the time when the House of Judah was removed by Yahweh from their homeland because of their sinfulness and idolatry, and were taken captive into the land of the Babylonians. Yahweh had called Ezekiel to a prophetic ministry in Babylon, and to the captive people of Judah during the dark time of their exile from their homeland. And Yahweh uses the figure of a “Watchman” to describe Ezekiel's role.
It was the task of the Watchman to position himself high on the city wall, watch carefully, see if an enemy or a band of thieves approached the land, and take up his trumpet and blow the warning to his people. This was a civil defense system. His service to his people was a matter of life-and-death importance! If he should fail to see the enemy approaching, or if he should--for whatever reason--fail to blow the warning signal, the blood of his people would be upon his hands. But if he was faithful, and if he succeeded in warning them, the lives of many of his people would be spared. The armies of his people would be able to prepare themselves in time, meet the enemy with a sufficient defensive attack, and perhaps save the city or the nation from destruction and annihilation.
The Watchman had to be a trustworthy person. He had to be faithful and alert --a person who understood the significance of his mission, and who gave himself fully to it. Yahweh calls Ezekiel to be a spiritual “Watchmen” to his people. He was called to “blow” a warning that the people didn't want to hear. The “sin of Jeroboam” – the sin of mixing the sacred with the profane – would no longer be tolerated!
“Judah kept not the commandments of Yahweh their Elohim, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight. (2 Kings 17:19-20)”
The 'House of Israel' played the 'harlot', with the false worship and so did the 'House of Judah'. Ezekiel 23 labels the two 'houses' of Israel as two-harlot sisters, one named Aholah (“she has her own tent” meaning her idolatrous sanctuary - ten tribes), and the other Aholibah (“my tent is in her” - house of Judah).
“And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Yahweh. And Yahweh said unto me, "The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. (Jeremiah 3:8)”
“And Yahweh said, I will remove Judah also out of My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, "My name shall be there." (II Kings 23:27)”
What is it that we as “Watchmen” are suppose to be crying against? We are to sound “the trumpet to warn the people!” Prophetically the danger is “Mystery Babylon.” It threatens to neutralize our “full Messianic message of the restored Kingdom.”
“I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: ‘MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.’ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to YahShua.” (Revelation 17:3-6)
Uniquely this is speaking of the Netzarim Faith: “those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for YahShua and because of the Word of Yahweh. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands.” (Revelation 20:4)
Judaism teaches “the Word of Yahweh” and Christianity teaches some version of the “testimony for YahShua” but uniquely the Netzarim teaches both the “testimony for YahShua and the Word of Yahweh.” The Prophet Isaiah proclaims: “To the Torah and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” (Isaiah 8:20)
“No light of dawn…” teaching only the Torah or only the story of YahShua – that evening has past. “Therefore, since we are the offspring of Yahweh, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance Yahweh overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising [YahShua] from the dead.” (Acts 17:29-31) A new dawn has begun – a time of preaching the בַשֵּׂר “bäsār'” – the full message (sometimes mistranslated as “good news,” “glad tidings,” or the “gospel”) which is made up of “the Torah and to the Testimony.”
The “full message” is the message of the New Covenant of which King Messiah YahShua is the “Mediator.”
“‘The time is coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘when I will make a New Covenant (Deuteronomy 29:1) with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares Yahweh.
‘This is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after that time,’ declares Yahweh. ‘I will put My ה תּוֹרָ Tōräh in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their Elohim, and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, “יָ דָ ע “yädäh'” (intimately know) Yahweh,” because they will all intimately know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares Yahweh. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
“For this reason Messiah is the mediator of a New Covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the First Covenant.” (Hebrews 9:15)
This is the Age of Redemption!
“If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold. If, however, a man has no one to redeem it for him but he himself prospers and acquires sufficient means to redeem it, he is to determine the value for the years since he sold it and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it; he can then go back to his own property. But if he does not acquire the means to repay him, what he sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and he can then go back to his property.” (Leviticus 25:25-28) Messiah YahShua is our “Kinsman Redeemer.” “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:20)
“In those days יוֹחָנָן הַמְטַבֵּל Yochänän häMətäbāl (John the immerser or baptist – an A’aronic Priest) came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying ‘The voice of one crying: In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh; make His paths straight.’ (Isaiah 40:3)” (Matthew 3:1-3)
“Now after that Yochanan was put in prison, YahShua came into Galilee, preaching the full message of the Kingdom of Yahweh, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of Yahweh is at hand: repent, and believe the full message.” (Mark 1:14, 15)
“These twelve YahShua sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans: but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 10:5-7)
“…this full Messianic message of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)
After 2,000 years, most of which were difficult and bitter, our generation like no other generation merits to hear – truly hear – the words of the צֹפַיִךְ “tzōfä’ēch,” the “Watchman” Yochänän häMətäbāl, the prophet of the proclamation: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This means, the time of redemption has arrived.
“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (Matthew 24:34)
“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:28)
This proclamation was made by the Watchman, Yochänän in no uncertain terms and was reiterated with particular enthusiasm by our Messiah YahShua at every opportunity. It became the central point around which all subsequent revelation revolved.
The announcement was very clear and unequivocal: “lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!” Look up – see it! The time of your redemption has arrived!
Every Believer – Watchman – who has discernment receives the revelation of this announcement given by Yochänän and understands by him saying this he means that this is the end of the “exile” and the beginning of the “Age of Redemption.” This proclamation is not a hope or a wish. It is quite simply a fact. It is reality! The Watchman Yochänän is informing all who are ready to hear it, that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” He is on the “Wall” and can see it coming! He is sounding the alarm! This means exile is over and redemption has begun.
If someone does not quite understand it, it doesn’t at all take away from the truth that the Kingdom is almost here. The alarm is real . He wants us to know this truth too. To live with it and do our part to sound the alarm to other, publicize this message to the nations where Israel has been scattered.
Wisdom Knowledge & Understanding
“For Yahweh gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6)
The Proclamation has three parts:
1. דַּעַת “Dä’ät” - Knowledge- בַשֵּׂר “bäsār'” The “full message” - “the Torah and … the Testimony.”
2. בִינַ ה “Biynäh” - Understanding - The details expressing our understanding of it
3. חָכְמָה “Chäkmäh” - Wisdom - The laws and instructions – Torah – of it as taught to us by King Messiah YahShua
To the Believer, that has received the revelation of the proclamation, these three parts are expressed as follows:
1. אֱמוּנָה Emünäh – simple faith in the words of Messiah
2. Learning about the details of the full message of the Kingdom letting it penetrate with understanding so one can live the redemption.
3. Working the message – proclaiming, publishing, and preaching everywhere preparing oneself and the world to receive the coming King.
Faith is the foundation, simple childlike faith in the full message of the Kingdom. A Watchman that has received the revelation of the Messianic Kingdom, by his very nature believes and when he hears the proclamation: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” – “lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near,” he believes it with absolute certainty, simplicity, without physical reason but by revelation of the “inner man.”
“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the Day of Yahweh will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
"But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For Yahweh did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our King Messiah YahShua. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)
This strong belief of the Watchman is known as הַחַיָּה אֱמוּנָה “əmünäh hächäyäm” meaning “living faith” the act of “ameining!” This living faith is enough to excite the Watchman to go out and publicly and declare in a voice that is loud and proud: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh rises upon you!” (Isaiah 60:1) Wake up! “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” – “lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!”
The True Watchman is totally involved in:
1. Working to make the message penetrate the deepest parts of himself, in his awareness and emotions, living the full message of the kingdom practically and in a tangible way.
2. Publicizing the full message of the kingdom and its meaning into every possible place.
בַשֵּׂר “Bäsār'” – The Herald of Messiah’s Coming
“Rabbi Yitzchak said: ‘In the year the King Messiah will be revealed, the kings of all the nations of the world will struggle with each other: the king of Persia will provoke the Arabian king; the Arabian king will go to Aram for advice. All the nations of the world will be in turmoil and terror; they will fall on their faces, seized by pains like the pangs of childbirth. Israel will also be in turmoil and terror, saying, ‘where shall we come and where shall we go, where shall we come and where shall we go?’ [Yahweh] will say to them, ‘My children, do not be afraid, all that I have done I have done only for your sake. Why are you afraid? Do not fear, the time for your Redemption has arrived. It will not be like the earlier Redemptions, this final Redemption, because suffering and subjection to other nations followed the earlier Redemptions. But the final Redemption will not be followed by any suffering and subjection to other nations.’
The Yalkut then continues: ‘Our Sages taught that when the King Messiah comes he will stand on the roof of the Bet HaMikdash [Holy Temple] and will proclaim to Israel, ‘Humble ones, the time for your Redemption has arrived!’ So will it be for us. From the outset there is nothing to fear, since we already have the promise, ‘Do not fear, the time of your Redemption has arrived!’ [The words "Do not fear" are an assurance that there is no reason to fear.] And so will it be for us…’” (From the talk of Rabbi Manachem Schneerson given Sabbath, August 18, 1990 on Parshas Re'eh)
“Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from Yahweh? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)
The Messiah has come to you – the Temple of the Holy Spirit – and is knocking on your door to tell you “the time for your Redemption has arrived!”
Immediately, with the beginning of the proclamation of the full message of the kingdom, begins the revelation of the existence of King Messiah by the Believer sensing in the spirit the παρουσία “pärüsē'ä” –"the arrival of the personal presence" of Messiah referred to as דָּמָּשִׁיחַ עִקְּבֵ שְׂ “Ikväsə dä'Mäshēchä”, or on the “Heels of Messiah.”
Simply put, there is no redemption without a Redeemer and that Redeemer is Messiah, the Melchizedek – the High Priest of the Zaddokite Priesthood. “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by Yahweh and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Yahweh through Messiah YahShua. …For you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, [Yahweh’s] own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of Yahweh, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:4,5, 9, 10) Even the stages of preparation for Redemption had to be done by Messiah Himself in the Heavenlies as the Melchizedek.
First we have the revelation of the existence of Messiah and the publicizing that YahShua is THE Messiah. This revelation comes out the Heavenly Tabernacle “above, downwards” and only after Messiah’s offering had been accepted by Yahweh who is sitting in the Holy of Holies. After the offering was accepted as sacrifice for the sins of the world and only then could the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Truth be dispatched to earth bringing the revelation and after this and as a continuation of Messiah’s activities in the Heavenlies could the reality of the Redemption be preached into all the world.
The Meaning of the Revelation
The preaching of the full message of the kingdom is not merely an announcement. Aside from being based on the clearly understood words of Messiah this message must come through the “wisdom, knowledge and understanding” of the Holy Spirit – causing an inward thoroughness letting the revelation permeate in the soul of man.
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” (John 14:15-21)
“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me. And you also must testify, for you have been with Me from the beginning.” (John 15:26, 27)
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:12-14)
The Spirit of Truth is in direct flow with the ministry of Messiah YahShua, the Melchizedek that is operating in the Heavenly Tabernacle.
We are living in an age like no other. In Matthew 24, Messiah our Melchizedek, revealed to us the meaning of this age we live in. He made real how the revelation of redemption influences our daily physical lives. In our age we have seen the USSR crumble in one week in a most miraculous way. This didn’t happen because Yahweh favored democracy over communism. It happened to set free 1/3 of Judah from oppression to freedom and to allow them to return to the Land of Israel. What’s amazing is that most people don’t even pay attention to such things.
Now suddenly and just as miraculously, Ephraim is waking up to his identity. People that formally thought they were Gentiles are suddenly having their hearts turned toward the Holy Land and calling it home. This is a foretaste of the “ingathering of the outcast of Israel.”
One can see in a tangible way that our preaching of the kingdom message is not merely an announcement but it is the הַמָּשִׁיחַ שֹׁפָר “Shōfär häMäshēäch”, the sounding of the Messianic trumpet! Since the day of departure of Messiah, the Believer should have been using every opportunity to reiterate the message “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” – “lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!” Messiah has commanded us to publicize and preach the full message of the kingdom. To live the message of the kingdom in our daily lives – to live with Messiah.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom is our Reasonable Service
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Yahweh, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Yahweh, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of Yahweh.” (Romans 12:1, 2)
The announcement of redemption was not made solely to energize us with joyous tidings. Rather, its purpose is primarily to direct us in our service as Watchmen in preaching the full message of the kingdom which since the first century takes on a more urgent meaning.
“For this is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: ‘At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria (Iraq) has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?’ declares Yahweh. ‘For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,’ declares Yahweh. ‘And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I Who foretold it. Yes, it is I."
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring full message, who proclaim peace, who bring the full message, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your Elohim reigns!’
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When Yahweh returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for Yahweh has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 52:7-9)
The entire service of our generation is to go into all the world and “sift Israel from the nations” (Amos 9:9), before it’s too late, from the last of the exile to the first so that they might receive the “redemption.” Therefore, “preaching the full message of the kingdom” (Matthew 24:14) takes on a special meaning as it relates to the job and ministry of every Watchmen. “I, Yahweh, will hasten it in its time.” (Isaiah 60:22)
What a mystery! “I, Yahweh, will hasten it in its time.” What does it mean? And what does it have to do with me? The meaning of this scripture has to do with our service. It is the difference between service for redemption in the manner of “in its time” and service for redemption in the matter of “I…will hasten it.”
“I…will hasten it” speaks of redemption coming miraculously, all of the sudden, supernaturally. Nature is not quite ready for it. That’s why, in order to accomplish it, extraordinary conditions are needed and an unusual sort of service is required. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)
“In its time” speaks of redemption that comes in a natural way when everything is prepared and complete. This type of redemption doe not demand special conditions in order to be realized. Rather it is a byproduct of preaching the full message. “And this full message of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)
In other words if we do our part as Watchmen preaching the full message of the kingdom redemption will come “in its time” but if we neglect our mission “Yahweh, will hasten it.”
In contrast, we now find ourselves in the Age of Redemption, where the main service of our generation ion bringing Messiah takes on a whole new and different meaning.
We no longer need the type of service whose purpose is to bring redemption as something new. All components of redemption are here in the world, ready and complete and they simply await our revealing them.
The presence of Messiah is here. Our job is to receive Him. We are to await His physical coming everyday – especially today!
It is this Age of Redemption that a curious thing happened. The Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed forcing us to depend on the ministry of the Heavenly Tabernacle. The Levitical Priesthood could not officiate without an earthly Temple so we had to rely on the Zaddokite Priesthood. And without an A’aronic Kohen HaGadol (High Priest) we had to rely on the Melchizedek (High Priest of the Zaddokite Priesthood) – Who is Messiah YahShua – in the Heavenly Tabernacle. At the same time the Torah is being ready for an eternal ministry.
“‘The time is coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘when I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares Yahweh.
‘This is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after that time,’ declares Yahweh. ‘I will put My Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their Elohim, and they will be My people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, “Know Yahweh,” because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares Yahweh. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
The heavenly Zaddokite priesthood never changed neither did the earthly priesthood which was the reflection on earth. They just could no longer minister for there is no earthly Temple. The heavenly priesthood cannot change – the Heavenly Temple always stands – it will always be in the hands of Messiah YahShua the Firstborn of Creation, the Only Begotten Son, the Melchizedek and when He comes to earth he will incorporate both priesthoods into ONE.
As there is a renewal in the priesthood there is also a renewal in the Torah. Here the author of the Book of Hebrews equates the “oath” which makes the Melchizedek “a priest forever” with the New or more correctly Renewed Covenant of Deuteronomy 29 & 30; and Jeremiah 31:31-34. The word translated “new” is א פָּ לָ וּ חְ שׁ “shüchəläpä” from the root ף שְׁ לָ “shəläq” which means to “change, transform or renew,” in this context I believe it means to renew.
“For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our King arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more clear if a different kind of priest, in the likeness of Melchizedek, arises, one Who became a priest not by virtue of law in the Torah concerning physical descent, but by virtue of the power of an indestructible life. For it is stated:’ ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ For on the one hand there is a carrying away of the former commandment because of its weakness and inefficacy, for the Torah made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to Yahweh.” (Hebrews 7:14-19)
King Messiah YahShua was from the Tribe of Judah which is not the priestly tribe but the royal tribe. So, from an earthly perspective He does not qualify for the Levitical Priesthood. So, we must go to the Zaddokite Priesthood to qualify Him as “a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The Levitical Priesthood was established by Torah, the Zaddokite Priesthood is established by an oath. The Priesthood of A’aron passed from one person to the next but ended by death and destruction, while the Zaddokite Priesthood is more Heavenly and abides forever because its High Priest – the Melchizedek - Messiah YahShua – abides forever in a Temple not manmade that it can see destruction. He does not have to transmit His Priesthood to another, thus He atones completely and to the end for those that come to Yahweh by Him, seeing that He ever lives to intercedes for them.
“What is more Yahweh swore an oath. For no oath was sworn in connection with those who become priests now (68 CE); but YahShua became a priest by the oath which Yahweh swore when He said to Him: “Yahweh has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’ This shows how much better is the Covenant of which YahShua has become the guarantor. For there are many that have become priest that could not continue in office because of death. But because He lives forever, His position as priest does not pass on to someone else, and consequently He is totally able to deliver those who approach Yahweh through Him; since He is alive forever and thus forever able to intercede on their behalf.
This is the kind of priest that meets our needs – holy, without evil, without stain, set apart from sinners and raised higher than the Heavens; one who does not have the daily necessity, like other High Priests, of offering up sacrifices first for their own sins and only afterwards those for the people ; because He offered one sacrifice, once and for all, by offering up Himself. For the Torah appoints as High Priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the Torah, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.” (Hebrews 7:20-28)
Messiah YahShua is about to take off the priestly garments and put on the clothes of a warrior as His Watchmen sound the alarm!
“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near -- a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.” (Joel 2:1, 2)
Today would rather do evil when righteousness would better suit them: “Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your Watchmen has come, the day Yahweh visits you. Now is the time of their perplexity.” (Micah 7:3, 4)
“The days of visitation are come, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac. The prophet, along with my Elohim, is the Watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the House of his Elohim.” (Hosea 9:6-8)
“But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.
Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, Yahweh is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the bloodshed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.” (Isaiah 26:19-21)
“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in Bozrah, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.” (Micah 2:12)
“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn…For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24: 30, 27, 31)
“Who is this coming from Edom, from (Petra), with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.
Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?
“Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness! Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of Yahweh is near in the valley of decision.” (Joel 3:13, 14)
"I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come.” (Isaiah 63:1-4)
“I turned around to see…one ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Revelation 1:12-16)
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of Yahweh [TORAH!]. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ () He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of El Shaddai. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.’ [YAHWEH!]” (Revelation 19:11-16)
“… ‘See, Adonai is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 1:14, 15)
“A day of Yahweh is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.
Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then Yahweh my Elohim will come, and all the holy ones with him.” (Zechariah 14:1-5)
“How beautiful is king Messiah who is to arise from among those of the house of Judah. He girds his loins and goes forth to battle against those that hate him; and he kills kings with rulers, and makes the mountains red from the blood of their slain and makes the valleys white from the fat of their warriors. His garments are rolled in blood; he is like a presser of grapes.” (Targum Neofiti Genesis 49.10-12)
“The priests shall blow the trumpets of massacre, and the Levites and all the blowers of the ram's horn shall sound a battle alarm, and the foot soldiers shall stretch out their hands against the host...and at the sound of the alarm they shall begin to bring down the slain. All the people shall cease their clamor, but the priests shall continue to blow the trumpets of massacre.” (Dead Sea Scrolls – The War Scroll)
“Behold, the Day of Yahweh is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.” (Zechariah 14:1-3)
“Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!
Yahweh is angry with all nations; His wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, He will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood.” (Isaiah 34:1-3)
“But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief… For Yahweh did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our King Messiah YahShua. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4, 9-10)
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from Yahweh’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9)
“Adonai’s message rang out from you …your faith in Yahweh has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to Yahweh from idols to serve the living and true Elohim, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—YahShua, Who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)
“For Adonai himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of Yahweh, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet Adonai in the air. And so we will be with Adonai forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your King will come…So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him…No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father…Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 24:42, 44, 36 & 25:13)
As Watchmen, we should celebrate the saving grace of Yahweh through Messiah. Let the joy that fills your soul at the mention of His return show in your life. Let it be an example that draws others in. Then sound the alarm, tell everyone you know the reason for the hope that is within you so that they too may look to the future with excitement, hope and confidence, and you will see them in your Father’s house at that great time of reunion and rejoicing. "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" (Isaiah 21:11) Watchman what time is it? Wake up! “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” – “lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!” A new day is dawning !