Resurrection Priest

The New Jerusalem is 345 miles on each side (depending on translation), so the New Jerusalem, when it descends will cover the entire land area promised to "the Seed of Abraham". If "THE Seed" - one Seed, is Yeshua Messiah, that fits. He was the ONLY "seed" of Abraham to fulfill all the terms of the Sinai Covenant, therefore He will inherit "the land". We then inherit - "in Him". He extends His inheritance to us. We get to live in His New Jerusalem and His Kingdom, in His land. Galatians 3:29 "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (NIV) The promise Covenant to Abraham was a prophecy of Yeshua the Christ. Big IF there. If the "Olive Tree" of Romans Eleven represents "Israel", then some are "broken off" (cut off) for unbelief, and some Gentiles are grafted into that tree because of their belief in Jesus as Messiah. And yes the newly grafted Gentiles should not get proud because they can be "broken off" too. When Paul said, "all Israel will be saved", that "Israel" will consist of those who "belong to Christ" by faith. He could just as easily have said, "only Israel will be saved". One either belongs to Christ, or doesn't. The "Root" of the Olive Tree "is holy". We draw life from that Root. That Root is Yeshua Messiah.

I was thinking about the numbers. Israel was a small nation. The tribe of Levi would be 1/12th of that number - roughly speaking. The family of Aaron 1/3rd of that, and male descendants only half of that. That number would be significantly less, when you realize that only those faithful "in heart" (circumcised in heart) will be saved into the Kingdom of Messiah. Not very many to serve the large population of the "saved" from the entire history of earth. (I personally do not believe there will be marriage or reproduction after the Glorious Return, so the numbers would not change.) But if "the priesthood" were indeed changed back to "the firstborn" - the order of Melchizedek, then you would have a much larger number of priests to serve at Ezekiel's Temple. The sacrifice of animals is a separate issue.

Hi BibleGuy. Wasn't the whole Tabernacle/Priesthood/Feasts a prophecy, and wasn't it all symbolic of Christ to come? The "lamb" symbolized Christ. Every priest symbolized Christ, in the way that the priest "made atonement" for the sinner, etc. etc. Every Feast was a prophecy of what Messiah would do. It was all symbolism. QUESTION: How long do you believe the Aaronic priesthood order will continue? Til the Glorious Return of Messiah? Through the Millennium? Forever? John said he "saw no Temple" in the New Jerusalem. It does seem that - at some point, the Temple on earth will be no more. Personally, I believe "heaven and earth will pass away" at the Glorious Return. I believe the 7 last plagues will destroy all life on planet earth, and possibly our solar system as well. The earth with all its works "will be burned up" which means the cycle of day/night will end - at least for some period of time, until Yeshua heals/restores it (or even creates it new again). Hebrews 1:10-12 [God the Father speaking to His Son] “You Lord, In the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.” So this cannot be just "the land" promised to Abraham. This is "the earth, and the heavens" that were the work of the LORD "in the beginning". QUESTION: Are you one of the folks who say the Letter to the Hebrews should not be included with the Apostolic writings? “The sky receded as a scroll which is rolled up” (Rev.6:14). (This is at the 7th Trumpet of Revelation.) 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, . . .” (Lk 21:33, Matt. 24:36).

I can see by responses in this thread, that I can look forward to dialog with some great Bible students. I like good discussion. If I just wanted something canned, I wouldn't come to a forum like this one. Discussion makes me stretch and think and dig deeper. Thanks much.

I don't personally use the word "prove" much, especially when discussing prophecy. I prefer the word "support". I quote verses which I think "support" a certain view or interpretation. I also try to use the words "I believe", to show that it's my own personal belief, and I'm not dissing anyone for holding a different belief. It will take awhile to go through all your "proof" texts, but I can say that I have personally looked at all of them. While I agree that Ezekiel's vision of a Temple and a City, was a prophecy of a future time for Israel, I believe that prophecy was given in symbols and types. I do not believe the entire vision was a literal view of a future Jerusalem. The "stream" for instance, that flowed from the Temple and became a "river" to wide to cross - I believe that river represented the Spirit of the LORD, which flows from the throne of the Father and His Son. Water in the Scriptures often represents the Spirit. It comes down as "the latter rain". We are sprinkled with water, and baptized in water. We receive the "water of life". In Ezekiel's vision, that water brings everything back to life. Same is true of the Spirit. "The Spirit is life." The vision was given before Jews were released from Babylon, and given permission to rebuild their City and their Temple. Messiah had not yet died to fulfill the sacrificial types. If the LORD had given Ezekiel a vision without animal sacrifices, the people might misunderstood the message and abandoned the sacrifice of animals before it was time. In verse one, where Peter addresses his Epistle to "the pilgrims of the Dispersion", I don't believe he is speaking just to Jews. He is speaking to all the "grafted" in Gentiles as well - to every believer, to Israel redeemed. He calls them "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation His own special people . . . who once were not a people but are now the people of God. Where does Peter say this "royal priesthood" is the "SAME LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD". I don't see that. I believe Peter is speaking of the Melchizedek priesthood of "the firstborn" of God. This priesthood is NOT exclusively Aaronic. In support, I would site the song of the 24 Elders (Revelation 5:9-10). The Elders sing they have been redeemed to God by the blood of Christ out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have been made "kings and priests" (or are being made - depending on your interpretation of Greek tense) and will reign on the earth." If they are to be kings as well as priests, then these are Melchizedek priests, not exclusively Levite priests. Also Isaiah 61:3-9 "To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." 4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. 5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. 8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed." (NKJ) Levite priests had NO INHERITANCE in the land. They did not "possess double" (the inheritance of "the firstborn"). These priests do. These are Melchizedek priests. I believe that faithful Levite priests WILL become priests in the coming Kingdom of Messiah - Melchizedek priests - "kings and priests" - "priests of God and of Christ". There will no longer be an exclusive Aaronic priesthood. PS: It is doubtful there are only 24 individual Elders (Rev. 5). More likely 24 "courses" of Elders. Illustrated by King David's division of the priests into 24 courses, whose service at the Temple was rotated on a schedule (See 1Chron Cpt 24-25).

I luv a lot of the Hebrew Roots teaching. Can't say I like singing every song in Hebrew, or in a minor key. I love old Christian songs like "The Old Rugged Cross". (Guess I'm showing my age.) If it's about understanding Scripture better, then we should also study Greek. I do not believe that the Hebrew language is "holy" or will be the new universal language in the kingdom. I don't see that. The "Torah Readings" each week focus on a portion of Torah. As an aside, a small portion of the Prophets or Psalms is brought into the study. In Hebrew Roots studies, a small portion of the Gospels is also read. At the end of the year, the readings start all over again for another year. The problem I see with this, is that the Prophets, Psalms, the entire "New Testament" is somewhat neglected - so far as an in-depth study. They just keep repeating the Torah studies. Please know, I'm not against studying Torah. It's just that we can gain a lot by focused study into other books also. I do not say that I "keep" the Feasts. We do commemorate them, in my home, because of what they teach us. We also "rest" on the Sabbath. I don't see where the LORD declared any other day "holy". He "hallowed" the 7th day at creation - long before Sinai. To "hallow" something is to declare it holy. The word "holy" means "belonging to the LORD". That day has belonged to HIM since the beginning. It still belongs to Him. It always will belong to HIM. The heaviest "problem" I have with the Hebrew Roots teaching, is the teaching that the Aaronic priesthood and the sacrifice of animals will continue in the Kingdom of Messiah. I just don't believe that. Already posted why. "They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain" (Isa. 11:9, Isa. 65:25).

A "new" Covenant allows for changes. The only thing I see changed was "the priesthood" (Heb 7:12). But if the Aaronic priesthood was changed, then the system of animal sacrifices was changed also. The Torah required that every sacrifice be taken to the Temple at Jerusalem, to a priest of the Aaronic order. I've heard all the arguments for a "parallel priesthood". They say that Christ cannot be a priest on the earth. Well - if He has been made a priest after the order of Melchizedek, wasn't Melchizedek a priest, as well as a king on the earth? If Christ as been made "a priest forever" wouldn't the "forever" have to include the time when He rules on the earth as king? At Mount Sinai the priesthood was changed FROM "the firstborn" of family or clan or tribe TO Aaron and his sons. That was a "change". Numbers 8:17-18 “I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel.” When Messiah died, His death wiped out the sins of Israel, including the sin of the golden calf rebellion - for those who repented. Which means that He could then CHANGE the priesthood BACK to "the firstborn". And who is "the firstborn over all creation" (Eph 1:15). Yeshua! That is why He can legally be High Priest over the House of God. In Him we will become priests (Rev 20:1) because we are Israel - the LORD's "firstborn". Exodus 4:22 [The LORD said to Moses] “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn”’”.

A renewed marriage covenant was illegal. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house . . . then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD . . .” Jesus cannot re-marry the "wife" He divorced. But if He died, then the record is wiped clean. The He becomes "another man" (as Paul wrote). His death was the only way for Jesus can "marry" Israel again. And I might add: If the "husband" of the Sinai Covenant, and the "husband" of the new marriage Covenant, is the same Son of God - why would He want something different from His new betrothed wife - something different from what He wanted from His "first" wife? That is why I believe the 10 Commands (all 10 of them) are included in the New Covenant. They were after all, termed "the Covenant". Most Christians cannot tell me what is included in the New Covenant - what are the terms, or where the New Covenant is found in the Bible. They get rather amazed when I show them that under the New Covenant, God promised to "write My law on your hearts". Exodus 34:28 “So he [Moses] was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” Deuteronomy 4:13 “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.” Paul called the Ten Commandments a "ministry of death written and engraved on stones" (2 Cor 3:7). Why would he say that! Reason: Because they could not keep that covenant - not in their own strength. Under the New Covenant, with the infilling of His Spirit, we can keep that Covenant. When we read the TenCs as something we must do for God, we are carrying a bolder between our shoulders. The TenCs are what He will do - in us.

On the idea of two covenants - the "first" and the "new". I personally believe there had to be a "new covenant" because the betrothed "husband" of the first covenant (the Sinai Covenant) died. Paul says we are "betrothed" to "another man" to the one who rose from the dead (Romans . Paul makes the point that a woman is only under "the law of her husband" so long as her husband lives. The Sinai Covenant was a marriage covenant. That is why idolatry was termed "adultery". This was the legal basis for the LORD's "bill of divorcement" from Israel. Here are three verses. There are others. Isaiah 54:5 “For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.” Jeremiah 3:14 “Return, O backsliding children,’ says the LORD; ‘for I am married to you.” Jeremiah 2:1-3 “Thus says the LORD: I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness . . .” THE LORD DIVORCED ISRAEL [the 10 Northern Tribes] FOR HARLOTRY Jeremiah 3:8 “Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.” Isaiah 50:1 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? . . . And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.’” Hosea 2:2 “Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!” JUDAH BECAME A "WIDOW" when her "Husband" died on a cross. Every believer in Christ Jesus is now "betrothed" to Him, by a NEW marriage covenant. The "marriage feast" will take place at the coming of the kingdom. 2 Corinthians 11:2 [Paul] “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” Romans 7:1 “Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? 2 For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 3 So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ (through His death), that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead” (NAS). The first marriage covenant - the Sinai Covenant - really is “obsolete”. It was rendered obsolete when the “husband” of Israel died. IMPORTANT: If the LORD had “divorced” all 12 tribes, then Yeshua the Messiah could not have been “born under the law” - born under the Sinai Covenant (Galatians 4:4). Instead, the LORD saved “a remnant” of Judah called the “good figs”. From this remnant came Yeshua the Messiah. Christ was “born under” the first blood covenant - the Sinai Covenant - which He never broke. He fulfilled every condition of that covenant. He kept “the Law” perfectly - therefore God His Father can give to Him all of the promises of that first covenant - which included possession of “the land”. We who belong to Christ by faith, will partake of His promised “inheritance”, because we are “betrothed to Him” by a New Covenant. Hope all that wasn't too long. Complicated concepts take some space to explain.

I'm new to this forum. Thought I might share a little. I've read through the posts in this thread. All very good discussion. I've read that in the Hebrew "believe" is an action word, not just something that happens in the mind. Belief always includes the actions resulting from that belief. A belief that does not encompass actions resulting from that belief, is not really belief. It is counterfeit. A mob boss may wear a shiny cross on a chain around his neck, but that doesn't make him a "Christian", filled with spirit of Christ. He may just be buying "fire insurance", or trying to deceive others into thinking he is Christian.