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““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 NASB95
God’s relationship with Israel and the tabernacle.
We see clues of the similarities and the differences between the tabernacle of God and those of the nations, repeated in several Torah portions.
† God forbad the Israelites from fashioning images (20:4; 34:17).
† God did not need to be sanctified by human ritual; he consecrated his own tabernacle, as well as his priests (29:43–44; 40:9–15).
† He did not need to be provided with food or clothing; rather, he cared for his people’s needs (Dt 29:5).
† He chose to dwell among his people (Ex 29:45–46). He did not ask or need to be enticed—he both pronounced his own coming and made his presence known in the tabernacle (25:8; 40:34–38). (Archeological Study Bible note on Ex. 34)
The Lord has desired to dwell with His people since the foundation of the world and has taken steps to establish that relationship through Israel, the tabernacle and the Messiah and plans to bring this to its ultimate reality in the New Jerusalem.
The commonwealth of Israel is made up of “ambassadors of the Messiah” who help bring the world closer to Heaven.
Seeing God’s glory and cleansing for spiritual growth.
The tabernacle was made so the people could enter His presence and see a glimpse of His glory. The construction of the tabernacle emphasizes how holy God is, yet how people can, by His invitation, come closer. People cannot just stroll in as they are to visit with God. We are allow to see a portion of His glory, as much as we can see and not die in the process. Every rapprochement was done in a very careful and controlled way.
The first stage is cleansing, where the olah offerings are presented and where the washings take place. The second stage is empowering and enlightening where people can bask in the glory of the menorah and see the bread of the presence. The third stage is where there’s shrouding and covering.
There is no space suit or hazmat suit that can protect us from the glory of God. The High Priest’s garment which included the names of the tribes of Israel inscribed on the stones of his garment to bear God’s people on his shoulders was a holy garment, but even this garment would not provide protection from God’s glory if he were to ignore God’s instructions on how and when to approach.
The fact that God established the tabernacle shows His desire to live with HIs people but the issues is with humanity and not with God. Thus, ever since Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, humans have been hugging the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because we prefer the darkness to the light.
Why is there a gate? Separation and purity in approaching God
All who wanted to approach the LORD must do so through the door He designated. The witness to the world is there is a living Tabernacle/Temple (John 1:14). There is one Door to approach the Presence (John 10:7–10) which is Messiah Yeshua. How much more are the “living stones” of the Presence to maintain this separation (2Cor. 6:13–7:1; Gal. 3:17–18; 1Tim. 1:3–11)
The Apostle Paul warns us not to fellowship with unbelievers and to come out from the world and be separate from the world. This is how we show that we fear God.
For those of us who are “living stones” of the tabernacle need to be cognizant of not fellowshipping with unbelievers in the ways that unbelievers fellowship with each other, and to separate ourselves from those things that defile the flesh and spirit.
We are told in 1 Timothy 1:3-11 that there are “house rules” that God expects His people to follow. We are to refrain from following foreign rules and to follow the native rules, which are recorded in the Torah, the Law and Prophets.
The role of the law in defining sin and separation from God
“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God….What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet” [Ex 20:17; Deut 5:21]. But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. … I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (Romans 7:4, 7-12 NASB)
The way the conversation usually goes is that the Law is God’s weapon of execution against humanity. The Torah is a beacon telling us that we are lost and far from home. It is sin that is evil, not the Torah.
The Apostle James calls the Torah the “perfect law of liberty.” Yet, Christians teach that the same law that James calls perfect was given by God to enslave and chain us down. The truth of the matter is the law is the mirror that allows us to see ourselves as we really are and many Christians feel uncomfortable when the Torah calls out their sin so they prefer to discard it and create their own law that they call the “Law of Christ” but Christ was the one who gave the Torah to Moses. They prefer to break the mirror into pieces than to admit that the reflection it creates of us is accurate because it shows us how we fall short.
Humanity is ignorant of its separation from God, because it’s been suppressed in unrighteousness.
The role of law in Christianity and Judaism
The Apostle Paul tells us why in Romans 1:16-20. God’s promise to Eve that her seed would save the world and that Abraham’s seed would be a blessing to the world came to fruition in Messiah Yeshua. This promise is available to both Jew and Greek. The covenant with Eve, Noach and Abraham given before a single Jewish person was born. These covenants were elaborated on with Moses, and David and we reap the benefit of these covenants to this day.
Just as Mt. St. Helena is a landmark that we can use to orient ourselves and know where we are, God’s law is also a landmark for us so we can know where we are.
God gave humanity hints and clues about Himself in the created order but those who were given that knowledge either ignored it or hid it, either from a position of malevolence or apathy, they treated the knowledge of God casually. They didn’t guard the knowledge of God to pass it on.
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill [πληρόω pleroo, G4137]. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20, NASB 1995)
One of the key teachings of the pharisees was the teaching of separation between the sacred and the secular. Separation is not in and of itself a bad thing but if those dividing walls are too high, that is a problem. We should not take upon ourselves traditions that contradict the word of God but we should also be careful to not elevate traditions to the status of God’s word.
Our Need for Salvation: Yeshua Alone Saves Us from Sin and Death
One function of the law is to show us our need for the Messiah. Anything that shows us our need for the Messiah cannot be evil. Our way into the Kingdom is only through the Messiah.
“Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.” (Hebrews 8:1-2 NASB 1995)
This high priest is the Messiah Yeshua, who was holy, separate, innocent and undefiled. He is separated from sinners and exalted in heaven. He does not need anyone to make sacrifices for His sins, for He has no sin. Yeshua’s one and only sacrifice surpasses every sacrifice ever made by Aaron or any of his descendants.
There is a growing problem within the bodies of Messiah and our fellow brothers and sisters, who are in the Torah movement. They claim to be Messianics yet they throwing stones at Yeshua as Messiah, throwing stones at the Apostles, throwing stones one after another. Rather than standing firm on the truth of Messiah Yeshua’s divinity, they prefer to resurrect old heresies, even creating their own translations of the scriptures to support their errors. They are utterly ignorant of the Greek language and Greek grammar.
They gleefully resurrect Jewish anti-Christian polemic writings, and use them to denigrate Yeshua and His Apostles and the Scriptures they have given us, to call Messianics away from Messiah Yeshua and convincing them to convert to Judaism. They find Rabbi Google or Rabbi YouTube who craft fully regurgitate ancient heresies and make them palatable for the 21st century. They don’t answer to a local congregation. They sit behind their cameras without a care in the world, lobbing grenades of heresy into local Messianic congregations and blow them up.
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:26–31 NAS95)
If you reject Yeshua, there is no other sacrifice for you. Yom Kippur won’t save you, because it is a pattern of the real sacrifice. The tabernacle will not save you, because it’s a pattern after the heavenly worship in the presence of God.
If you know of any brothers or sisters in our community who are struggling with these kinds of questions, we need to address them. The Apostle Paul said that the gospel of Yeshua is the greatest news that’s come upon the world, because the world has been living in darkness. People either through malevolence towards the truth or through apathy have neglected to pass the gospel on from generation to generation. The knowledge of where our help truly comes from and where the course of history is actually heading is all in the Scriptures that Yeshua’s disciples recorded for us.