​The Apostle Paul declared to the Thessalonians – “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  - 1 Thessalonians 5:21-23. Here Paul is counseling us how to prepare for the Lord’s coming.

Testing Good and Evil
​The advice Paul is giving us is to test everything to know if it is good or evil becomes a basis to prepare for Yeshua/Jesus’ return. If we ignore the Old Testament definitions of good and evil – good and evil becomes a rather fluid concept highly influenced by feelings and emotions – easily being tossed to and fro.
 
On the other hand, if we look at the definitions in the Old Testament of good and evil, good and evil becomes rather concrete – God codifies good and evil in His law to Israel – Deu. 30:15.
 
That being said, the Law has become my theological anchor, which has served me well!
 
 
Sanctification
Paul goes onto say that choosing and then living good will sanctify us and prepare us to receive the return of God’s Son.  These concepts are consistent with our process of receiving divine truth.

Malachi Chapter 4
We can see similar advice in Malachi chapter 4 where the Law becomes integral for our Endtime preparation. Notice how verse 4 becomes the context for verses 5 and 6. The use of the word curse in verse 6 also is a reference to the statutes and judgments in verse 4.
 
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2 ¶ But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 ¶ Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
5 ¶ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
 
What we should be seeing here in verses 5 and 6 is that this Elijah – God’s Endtime Servant – will turn us back to the fathers to whom God gave the Law – doing good – so that we aren’t tread down with the wicked, verse 3 and cursed with destruction – verses 1,6.


I hope that the information on this website has been a blessing to you!

​This week we’ll wrap up our discussion that started last week about setting things in order. Last week, we stepped back from the traditional view of the Bible and saw it as one expanding theology. This week, we’ll see how four keys for ordering biblical theology can deepen our understanding of the Gospel God has revealed to humanity.

​​Key #1: Isaiah’s Gospel as a Foundational Framework to Order Biblical Theology.
The next step in my faith journey was being introduced to Isaiah’s Gospel through Dr. Gileadi’s book Isaiah Decoded that setout the various categories of people we see in the Bible, which defines our spiritual status.  This system provided a foundational framework from which I could order theological concepts.

* In red, added by me.


Key #2: Isaiah’s Gospel presents a Series of Ascensions to Become Like God.
Included in Dr. Gilead’s book on Isaiah, he presents the concept that to become like God is a series of ascensions. Believers don’t go from their fallen status and overnight be like God. We saw last week that the first ascension we see is the Bible is to be “Born Again”. We can connect Isaiah’s spiritual categories with being “Born Again”.

Can you see how these concepts come together expanding our understanding!
 
These ascensions occur on each of level as we become more like God – from Zion to Servants and so on. Conversely, we can descend becoming like Lucifer.
 
 
Key #3: Seeing the Gospel as a Complex of Systems
Next, knowledge of the Gospel started to unfold to me now as I could see that the Gospel included multiple systems –
 
“A system is an organized set of doctrines, ideas, or principles usually intended to explain the arrangement or working of a systematic whole.”
 
I first identify that the Law given to Israel was a system of law with commandments, statutes, and judgements, and then Isaiah’s Gospel had a system of spiritual categories. Next, I saw two more systems –

A Culmination
All of these concepts and more came together when I wrote a study companion with Dr. Gileadi's book Isaiah Decoded, which I entitled - Ascending the Ladder to Heaven at the End of the World.

Next week will be my last post.

​This week we’ll continue with our theme of discovering your spiritual identity as I wind down this blog. Two weeks ago, I introduced my own spiritual journey to discover my spiritual identity as an example of how this could happen. First, a beginning, being born into a Christian faith system. Then, an awakening, as I came to a deeper understanding of American and her Endtime role in the millennial rule of humanity’s god. This week we’ll consider discovering our spiritual identity by understanding biblical theology as an expanding theology and not a theology that has been sliced and diced by religionists who don’t see the big picture.

​Setting Things in Order
One of the first things God told Adam was to dress and keep the Garden, or in other words man became a partner with God to create order. Arnold Hertzberg states in his book Judaism,
 
“To be like God … means to be His partner in ruling the world and in carrying forward the work of making order.”  - p 236
 
So, also, we must make order when we look at the theology God has placed in the Bible since it is a puzzle that needs to be unscrambled.
 
​
The Bible is One Expanding Theology
The first step in creating order is to see the Bible as one expanding theology – not two separate laws or two separate theologies. The early church fathers wanted to distance themselves from the Jews. So, they started replacing and changing the Gospel that Yehovah had started in the Tanach/Old Testament. Unfortunately, this error has been perpetuated until today. Hence, in America, we’ll see the Bible unified into one theology during the Endtimes as believers embrace the Law in a messianic restoration.
 
By going back to the first five books in the Bible – the Torah - God’s first order of business was to give humanity a law to overcome their fallen/carnal natures, which was expressed in the law code that Yehovah gave to Israel.
 
When Israel failed to keep the Law, God would next need to show how Israel could change their hearts so that they could keep His law and receive the Holy Spirit – Ezekiel 36:26,27.
 
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
 
God would fulfill this promise to give Israel a new heart and a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit in the New Testament with His teaching on being “Born Again” - John 3:1-5.

​"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

​When we integrate the Law in with being Born Again, we get this - 

An Endtime Application
Understanding this theology is critical so that we are not deceived by false prophets and teachers and as we look to identify God's Endtime Servant who will restore all things and execute the gathering of righteous Israel and assimilated Gentiles.
​

​This week we’ll pause our series on Discovering Your Spiritual Identity and consider what is currently happening in America and American politics. We’ll first consider how America is being unraveled and then we’ll look at a woman in travail as a  pattern for national judgement.

​An Assault on America
I thought I would never see the day when there has been such an assault on American traditional culture. The reckless spending of billions of dollars on warfare and on the invasion of unassimilated immigrants. The escalation and tragedy of human trafficking and drugs. The blatant efforts to divide America with wokeism, racism, and individualism. The calling of evil good and good evil. The meanness and hate being fomented in America reaching new highs. We should be alarmed and looking for answers.

Let's consider, again, what Judge Pirro is seeing in America with her book Crimes Against America: the Left's Takedown of our Republic.

​Many of us are hoping that the recent election of conservatives in America will assuage the assault on America, but what should we really be seeing.
 

America as a Woman in Travail
One pattern that we see in the Bible with ancient Israel is national judgment that is linked to the Apostle Paul's teaching of a woman in travail or in other words a woman in labor - 1 Thess. 5:3. We can also apply this same concept to America as a nation in covenant with God. When women reach full gestation their bodies release hormones to send them into labor – the process of delivering a baby into the world. At first the contractions are small and far apart but then the contractions intensify and are closer together.

I believe this is the pattern that we should be seeing in America today. America has been in distress these last four years, but we are hoping for relief from this distress – “contraction” – with the election of conservatives.  But don’t be fooled we need to be preparing now for the next “contraction” by getting right with God, which is a major theme here with this website. 

Essentially, these "contractions" are warnings to prepare.

Consider this video teaching on a woman in travail and national judgement in the Bible.

​I was planning to continue with reviewing The Blood Covenant by Clay Trumbull and then onto The Threshold Covenant and then perhaps The Salt Covenant and, indeed, I highly recommend those for study.  But, I’m feeling impressed that I need to wind-down my blogging and focus on other things.  I have accomplished the things that God has asked me to do -
 
Abraham Heschel in his book God in Search of Man, said that religion is supposed to answer man’s ultimate questions. So, if we look at the Bible to answer those questions, the depth of our understanding of who we are is predicated on our depth of understanding the Bible. Biblical theology is complex – it’s a huge puzzle that needs to be unscrambled. If we have a superficial understanding of the Bible then we really have a superficial view of ourselves.

​Introduction
All of humanity comes into mortality on some spiritual level. Everyone ever born is given the Light of Messiah/Christ - our conscience - to guide us in this life to choose right over wrong – John 1:9. If we remain loyal to this Light, God will give us, at some point, the opportunity to become our greatest self in becoming like Him.

Those living at the end of the world have a unique opportunity to move forward to become their greatest self as God prepares this world for the millennial rule of humanity’s god. Some of us, God has sent to facilitate this preparation for His return. Please consider the following as you seek achieving your greatest self and developing a deeper relationship with God at this unique time in the history of our world.
 

A Beginning
My beginning maybe a lot like yours. I was born into a Christian faith system. Though Mormonism has some interesting ideas about continuing earthly relationships in the forever, it has perpetuated many Christian traditions.
 
​
An Awakening
One advantage of being in America, is that America, as a nation, was formed under a covenant with God. You won’t find any other nation today, not even present-day Israel, that lives under a covenant with God. As I became involved in supporting American Constitutionalism, I realized that the Founders of America had included many biblical principles of free government in with America’s founding. At some point, I embraced the idea that American Constitutionalism is a steppingstone to a higher law that God sets out in the Torah but in a messianic context. Like ancient Egypt was a safe haven for Jacob and his family during a severe famine, America – Isaiah’s Endtime Egypt - has a divine destiny in perpetuating God’s covenant with Abraham and in the righteous restoration of the House of Israel, and for those assimilated gentiles. Cleon Skousen’s book, The Majesty of God’s Law – it’s Coming to America came into my possession that perpetuated this greater messianic restoration of God's law in America.

Watch next week for Part 2.

This week we’ll continue with our topic of Israel’s fall holy days and expand our review of Yom Teruah, Yom Kipper, and Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles, which begins today, October 17. Last week, we introduced messianic aspects of these fall feasts. This week, we’ll expand on these messianic aspects to get a more complete picture of what we can expect for an Endtime fulfillment of the fall feasts. 

God’s Endtime Servant and Yom Teruah/Trumpets
Last week, we considered Yom Teruah/Trumpets as the blowing of the shofar/trumpets to announce the return of humanity’s Redeemer – the Son of the Father. Interestingly, Dr. Gileadi connects Yom Teruah/Trumpets with the arrival of God’s Endtime Servant or Malachi’s Elijah who will turn Israel and graphed-in Gentiles back to the Law; restore all things; and as an Entime fulfillment of Yom Teruah/Trumpets.
 
“Just as in Jewish tradition the best man at a wedding blows the shofar or trumpet to herald the bridegroom’s arrival, so God’s end-time servant personifies the “trumpet” and “ensign” that heralds the coming of Jehovah and rallies God’s people to gather together for the marriage feast.” - Avraham Gileadi, PhD

​Learning God’s Ways and Yom Kippur
Another Endtime correlation we can draw from the scriptures is the Servant will restore God’s ways so that we can be properly “Born Again” and transformed into  a pure people to receive the return of the Son of God.
 
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.”  
– Matthew 17:11

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” – Malachi 4:5,6
 
“And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
 – Isaiah 2:3
 
Believers should understand that to be “Born Again” does not include overcoming the dysfunctions of trauma or those “sins” in us that were caused by others sinful actions – “Inherited Sin”. - Exodus 20:5 ; 34:7

​Yeshua/Jesus and Sukkot/Feasts of Tabernacles
Also last week, we saw that Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles represented the millennial rule of the Yehovah/Yeshua. We can see two instances in the Tanach/Old Testament that we can connect this concept of God’s presence with Sukkot/Tabernacles – the Clouds of Glory and the building of Solomon’s Temple.
 
The Cloud of Yehovah’s Presence followed Israel in the Wilderness
“I provided Sukkot for the Bnei Yisroel” — Rebbi Eliezer explained, the Sukkot of the verse were the Clouds of Hashem’s Glory. (Seven divine clouds surrounded the Bnei Yisroel [children of Israel] throughout their travels in the desert. The clouds leveled the rugged desert floor and shielded the Bnei Yisroel from the scorching sun, besides protecting them from predators and enemy ambushes — see Rashi Bamidbar 10:34, Devarim 25:18, Gemara Berachot 54b, Targum Yonatan Bamidbar 33:5. -ed.)
 
Solomon’s Temple was dedicated during Sukkot
Another example that connects God’s presence to Sukkot is noted when Solomon’s Temple, where God’s presence was to dwell, was dedicated during Sukkot – 1 Kings chapter 8.
 
New Testament and Sukkot
In the New Testament, we see two occurrences of Yeshua/Jesus and Sukkot. In the first occurrence, we see Yeshu/Jesus in John 7 teach during Sukkot that he was declaring the Father’s doctrine. And then, on the eighth day of Sukkot  - the last great day – the day that never ends –  verse 32 - Yeshua  implies that through Him humanity will live forever by partaking of the “living water” through Him.
 
Our second occurrence happens in chapter 12 of John, when Yeshua enters Jerusalem on the day of the feast.
 
 
Millennial Observance of Sukkot
Finally, we see that the righteous, who survived the Endtime destruction of the world, will observe Sukkot in the 14 chapter of Zachariah.

“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.”
- Zachariah 14:16

Observance with Rabbi Berkson and MTOI

You can access their Sukkot services online - HERE

Note: Last week MTOI cancelled their observance of Yom Kippur due to the passing of one of their members and rebroadcast last years service.

Next post will be in two weeks to observe Sukkot.

​This week we’ll pause our review of The Blood Covenant and observe the fall biblical holy days. These three times – Yom Teruah/Trumpets, Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement, and Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles – mark the climax of Israel’s relationship with Yehovah/Yeshua by symbolically realizing that relationship with His presence. Israel's holy days appear in Leviticus 23.

​
​Realizing the Presence of the Son
What believers should see in these three holy times in the fall of the year is the –

1.  Announcing of the return of humanity’s Redeemer – the Son of the Father - with the blowing of the shofar/trumpets on Yom Teruah/Trumpets. 
​
2. A final reconciliation of a community’s spiritual status on Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement. Scripturally, the Hight Priest would offer sacrifice and make atonement for his and Israel’s sins so that they could enter Yehovah/s presence. Yom Kippur is the only day that the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies – the Lord’s presence.  
​
Today, Yom Kippur is observed with the confession of sin as a community in a group response style of observance.
 
Endtime Zion and Yom Kippur
We can expect Yom Kippur at the End of the World to look differently for those who are redeemed and sanctified overcoming both universal and personal sin. At the End of the World, we should see God’s Endtime Servants reviewing the process of transformation – “Born Again” - that qualified the community to bear the presence of the Son of God.

3. Receiving Yehovah/Yeshua’s presence on Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles, which is to last a millennium. Sukkot reaches its destination on the eight day – the Last Great Day – a day that never ends symbolizing eternity with God, the Son.  


​Observance
For believers new to messianic Torah observance, I would recommend Rabbi Steven Berkson and his MTOI community. Though MTOI is not perfect, MTOI provides the structure to start living the Law. All of MTOI services are streamed online through Youtube.


MTOI website - HERE

Holy Day Schedule - HERE

Yom Teruah/Trumpets streamed October 3, 2024 - HERE

Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement October 12, 2024, 5:30 PM EST/3:30 PM MST.
Well, looks like we are going to last years service - not sure what happened.
-HERE

Sukkot/Tabernacles October 17 to 26

​Last week we saw that blood in the Bible was a representation of life. This week we’ll consider another aspect of blood used in God’s covenants. That other aspect is that blood is used in covenant making to create a relationship in an unbreakable bond of brothers or friends.

Covenants and the Bonding of Friends and Brothers
Another aspect of blood in God’s covenants is the creation of an indissoluble compact between individuals. We first see the indissoluble and everlasting nature of the Abrahamic covenant between God and Abraham when Abraham divides animals in half and it is only God who walks between the two halves with blood – Genesis 15.  We can say that it was only God making a covenant with Abraham because we see the same smoke and fire imagery for God's presence that we see at Sinai – Exodus 19:18. And then later Abraham is called the friend of God.  
 
“But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.” – Isaiah 41:8
 
The Hebrew word translated here into friend is the Hebrew word for love – so literally it could read “my beloved” – אֹהֲבִי. The use of this word could even mean an even closer relationship than a mere friend – perhaps brother – a joint-heir – Matt.12:50. We see the same Hebrew word used at 2 Chronicles 20:7.
 
This blood covenanting and enduring relationship is perpetuated with Abraham’s posterity with the practice of circumcision. Gentiles are adopted or graphed-in into Abraham’s posterity when they accept the Abrahamic covenant and are circumcised.
 
Furthermore, it is Yeshua/Jesus that admonishes us to be like Abraham by doing the works of Abraham – John 8:39.
 
We also see at Sinai with God establishing a close relationship with Israel with the sprinkling of blood – Exodus 24. Here Yehovah portraits this relationship as a marriage between Israel and Himself – Jeremiah 31:32.
 
 
Covenant Brothers: An Ancient Semitic Rite
We’ll begin our review of Dr. Trumbull’s book on The Blood Covenant with looking at his discussion on page 4 – An Ancient Semitic Rite. In the opening paragraph he states –
 
“One of these primitive rites, which is deserving of more attention than it has yet received, as throwing light on many important phases of Bible teaching, is the rite of blood-covenanting: a form of mutual covenanting, by which two persons enter into the closest, the most enduring, and the most sacred of compacts, as friends and brothers, or as more than brothers, through the inter-commingling of their blood, by means of its mutual tasting, or of its inter-transfusion.”
 
We can see here that the element of blood in covenanting is the primary focus of establishing this covenant relationship.
 
In a Syrian practice of the rite, Dr. Trumbull states –
 
“The compact thus made, is called, M’âhadat ed-Dam (معاهدة الدم), the “Covenant of Blood.” The two persons thus conjoined, are, Akhwat el-M’âhadah (اخوة المعاهدة), “Brothers of the Covenant.” The rite itself is recognized, in Syria, as one of the very old customs of the land, as ’âdah qadeemeh (عادة قديمة) “a primitive rite.” – P. 6
 
“This covenant is commonly between two persons of the same religion—Muhammadans, Druzes, or Nazarenes; yet it has been known between two persons of different religions; and in such a case it would be held as a closer tie than that of birth or sect. He who has entered into this compact with another, counts himself the possessor of a double life; for his friend, whose blood he has shared, is ready to lay down his life with him, or for him.” – P. 7
 
“There are, indeed, various evidences that the tie of blood-covenanting is reckoned, in the East, even a closer tie than that of natural descent; that a “friend” by this tie is nearer and is dearer, “sticketh closer,” than a “brother” by birth. We, in the West, are accustomed to say, that “blood is thicker than water”; but the Arabs have the idea that blood is thicker than milk, than a mother’s milk. With them, any two children nourished at the same breast are called “milk-brothers,”[9] or “sucking brothers”;[10] and the tie between such is very strong. But, the Arabs hold that brothers in the covenant of blood are closer than brothers at a common breast; that those who have tasted each other’s blood are in a surer covenant than those who have tasted the same milk together; that “blood-lickers,”[11] as the blood-brothers are sometimes called, are more truly one, than “milk-brothers,” or “sucking brothers”; that, indeed, blood is thicker than milk, as well as thicker than water.” – P. 10,11
 
“This distinction it is which seems to be referred to in a citation from the Arabic poet El A’asha, by the Arabic lexicographer Qamus, which has been a puzzle to Lane, and Freytag, and others.[12] Lane’s translation of the passage is: “Two foster-brothers by the sucking of the breast of one mother, swore together by dark blood, into which they dipped their hands, that they should not ever become separated.” In other words, two milk-brothers became blood-brothers, by interlocking their hands under their own blood, in the covenant of blood friendship. They had been closely inter-linked before; now they were as one; for blood is thicker than milk. The oneness of nature which comes of sharing the same blood, by its inter-transfusion, is rightly deemed, by the Arabs, completer than the oneness of nature which comes of sharing the same milk; or even than that which comes through having blood from a common source, by natural descent.” – P. 11,12
 
We see this type of blood-covenanting with the emblems of the Messiah/Christs sacrifice of the taking in of bread and wine.
 
​
Common Blood Forms
Another concept we see in the Bible are substitutions for blood and life with a single common form. We see this substitution with animal blood, salt, and wine. Dr. Trumbull in his book on The Salt Covenant states –
 
“As I have come to see it, as a result of my researches, the very idea of a "covenant" in primitive thought is a union of being, or of persons, in a common life, with the approval of God, or of the gods. This was primarily a sharing of blood, which is life, between two persons, through a rite which had the sanction of him who is the source of all life. In this sense "blood brotherhood" and the "threshold covenant" are but different forms of one and the same covenant. The blood of animals shared in a common sacrifice is counted as the blood which makes two one in a sacred covenant. Wine as "the blood of the grape" stands for the blood which is the life of all flesh; hence the sharing of wine stands for the sharing of blood or life. So, again, salt represents blood, or life, and the covenant of salt is simply another form of the one blood covenant.” – The Salt Covenant, Preface
 
We can also see that a Name in the Bible can form the basis of a covenant. Indeed, we see this by declaring an act “in the name of” and “taking upon us a name”
 
“Similarly the sharing of a common name, especially of the name of God, or of a god, is the claim of a divinely sanctioned covenant between those who bear it. It is another mode of claiming to be in the one vital covenant.”  – The Salt Covenant, Preface
 
 
Blood Covenanting and Oneness with God
What we should see in this discussion of the concept of blood is the coming into a oneness with God, whether God uses the blood of animals, salt, wine, or a name. We see this oneness begin in Genesis with the blood from animals and then comes into its fullness with Yeshua/Christ’s sacrifice. And His institution of a sacrament of bread and wine, symbolizing His body and blood.

Table Key: Top Row-Covenants of God. Second Row-Common Blood Covenant Type. Third Row-Who is in Covenant based on Isaiah's categories.


Fathers as Kings and Priests
As you can see, it is fathers who bears the greatest responsibility as a king and priest to establish an enduring relationship with God, and to help those to realize a relationship with God under his stewardship.

Next week we'll get back to publishing on Thursdays.

​We’ll begin our deep dive into fathers being kings and priests by unpacking the element of blood in God’s Law-Word. Both in covenant making and the expiation of sin the use of blood and its symbology plays an important aspect. In its most basic understanding, the Bible connects blood with life. Beyond that, we’ll consider some of the deeper meanings of how blood was used anciently and the implications that has for us.

Life in the Blood
The Bible connects blood with the concept of life. Blood is an important aspect of what gives mortal man life and of animals. Blood has been deemed the representative of life. The giving of blood has been counted the giving of life. The receiving of blood has been counted the receiving of life.
 
“But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” – Genesis 9:4
 
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” -Lev. 17:11
 
“Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.” – Deu 12:23
 
​
Making Covenants of Life
We can see that nearly all of God’s covenants include the element of blood. That is because God’s covenants give life to mortal man. And the shedding of blood by humanity’s Redeemer – Yeshua/Jesus – gives immortality – eternal salvation from death.
 
We see the element of blood at Israel’s first restoration when Israel’s fathers sacrificed a male lamb and applied its blood to the door frame. In so doing, the destroyer passed over Israel saving their firstborn sustaining their lives.
 
We also see that when Israel covenanted with Yehovah at Sinai that the people were sprinkled with blood - Ex. 24.  And then later God declares that the Law gives life – Deu. 30:15
 
We also see that through Yeshua’s death and His shedding of blood and His resurrection that humanity receives salvation from eternal death – the Messianic Covenant.
 
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”  – 1 Cor. 15:22
 
 
Expiation of Sin brings Life
Another concept associated with blood and life is the shedding of blood in the absolution of sin. We see this concept with the animal sacrifices and in Yeshua’s shedding of blood at Gethsemane.  Yeshua’s suffering in Gethsemane atoned for all sin reconciling all injustice even to the point of sweating blood.
 
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” -Lev. 17:11
 
“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” – Luke 22:44
 
Those who have entered into covenant to be God’s pure people can remit their sins until they have been Born of God overcoming personal sin.
 
 
Fathers role as King and Priest
What we see in the Bible is that it is the father’s role as a king and priest to his family is to administer the covenants of life and  the emblems or tokens of the Messiah/Christ’s sacrifice. But we’ll get more into this later.
 

Believers not in covenant to be God’s pure people, those who are honest, can be redeemed - saved from eternal death - by taking on Yeshua/Jesus name as the Redeemer of all humanity. Taking in the tokens of the Messiah/Christ sacrifice doesn’t really fit here because by taking in the tokens of bread and wine symbolically is taking in His character and attributes, which is associated with those who are pure - living the Law in the fullness of Messiah/Christ - but we’ll get more into this when we review Clay Trumbull’s book.

Book Review
Beyond how blood represents life, we’re going to expand our understanding with Clay Trumbull’s book on the blood covenant and see how blood covenanting relates to creating an unbreakable bond of friendship and more. So you might want to read along. You can go HERE.

​One of the most important concepts of living the Law in the fullness of Messiah/Christ is for fathers to become kings and priests of God. We see the concept of kingship portraited in Israel’s first restoration at the door threshold when Israel was passed over by the destroyer saving their firstborn. Later, God declares that He will make Israel a kingdom of priests – Ex 19:6. We can expect a general restoration of kingship and priesthood to occur at the Endtimes with the arrival of God’s Servant. That being said, we’re going to take the next few weeks making a deep dive into what the Bible is revealing to us about being kings and priests of God. Believing fathers need to have an intimate understanding of what kingship and priesthood with God means. We also see mothers/wives as queens.

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​Kings and Priests in the Bible
So we can see from Israel’s first restoration that Yehovah was intending to make fathers in Israel kings and priests but when Israel sinned with the golden calf, Yehovah withheld giving the priesthood to fathers and gave it to the Levites instead. The fathers in Israel were unqualified because of their unrighteousness to mediate their families’ transgressions and be a human proxy so Yehovah instituted animal proxies with the Levites. In fact, the whole concept of human proxy salvation was withheld from Israel but we see that human proxy salvation was restored with Messiah/Christ.
 
Here are more verses from the Bible of men being kings and priests
 
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” - Rev 1:5,6
 
“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” - Rev. 5:10
 
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal[king] priesthood[priest], an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” - 1 Peter 2:9   (you can see that this verse looks similar to Ex. 19:6)
 
 
Melchizedek as a King and Priest
When it comes to understanding being a king and priest of God, the Bible seems to steer us to the person of Melchizedek. He was both a king and a priest of God. Some believe that Melchizedek was Noah's son Shem.
 
“For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; – Hebrews 7:1-2
 
So the salient points that Paul is making here in with the Hebrews include –
 
King of Salem
As a king, Melchizedek had political authority. He was the King of Salem - ancient Jerusalem. These verses in Hebrews connects Melchizedek to be a king of peace.
 
Priest of God
We also see that Melchizedek was a priest of God. So we must consider that Melchizedek functioned as a human proxy savior/deliver.
 
King of Righteousness
Finally, as a summary title, Melchizedek’s name in Hebrew literally means “King of Righteousness”.

מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק

dek-tseh' - kee-mal
<  read from right to left  <

King (of) Righteousness
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We can see here that fathers have authority over their families and with that authority comes the rights of kingship and priesthood.
 
 
Wives as Queens of God
A final concept we’ll consider is that wives and mothers are Queens of God. Here is a verse from Isaiah that eludes to the concept of righteous queens.

“Thus says my Lord Jehovah: I will lift up my hand to the nations, raise my ensign to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosoms and carry your daughters on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, queens your nursing mothers.” – Isaiah 49:22,23