From Omer to Shavuot/Pentecost and Beyond

This Moed/Appointed time is about

receiving power from on high.

It is the 2nd impartation and infilling of

our Heavenly Fathers Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit

for a believer in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus.

The 1st impartation was when in John 20:22

Jesus breathed on them and said

Receive the Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh.

At this point in time He was resurrected the first born from the dead. The disciples were not born again until after Messiah was risen. Then He breathed into them the breath of new life/chaim in the Holy Spirit/RuachHaKodesh.

We know from scripture that the disciples/talmidim had not yet received the same fullness of power and authority Yeshua/Jesus had while on earth because He did not give it to them until Matthew 28:18.

Jesus came and said to them, “ All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

In Luke 10:19 He gave them authority
Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.

However we read in Mark 9:19- 25 that they had encountered an unclean spirit that would not obey them. Yeshua/Jesus called it a deaf and dumb spirit in verse 25.

In verse 26 it came out and in verse 28 the disciples asked why they could not cast it out and in verse 29 29 He replied to them, “This kind [of unclean spirit] cannot come out by anything but prayer [to the Father] and fasting.” This was Yeshua/Jesus’ lifestyle, He was always ready to do His Fathers will – this is why he came – 1John 3:8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 

Messiah gave them this promise in

John 14: 16,17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Verse 18 “I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you.

This was His promise, the one that would be fulfilled at Shavuot/Pentecost. The promise of

Luke 24 39 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Acts 1:4 And while they were gathered together, He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard Me discuss.

Again do we recognize that in verse 17, the Spirit of truth, cannot be received by the world, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;

but as His children/disciples, we do…

John 14:20 On that day [when that time comes] you will know for yourselves that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

This description is about the infilling/indwelling of His Holy Spirit.

That day, was the day of Pentecost/Shavuot-

pronounced Sha voo ote.

That was the day that was coming.

Then He said you will know. I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

The only way to know it, was by the infilling, by impartation of His Holy Spirit.

So, back in Mark 9:28 when they could not cast out the unclean spirit was it because Yeshua/Jesus had not yet died as the Passover/Pesach lamb?- He had not been resurrected and become as the unleavened firstfruit from the dead and the subsequent omer count was not completed. No power had been given them more than the authority we saw Yeshua/Jesus give them to use His name. in Luke 19.

At this point of their discussion, He had not died and His Fathers spirit of Holiness had not been released, as the veil in the Temple separating the Holy of Holies, had not been torn to allow His presence to be released from that sanctuary.  Recall  the fact that all the Old Testament sacrifices were in place to show the sinful Israelites how to approach a Holy God, and to teach them that only innocent sacrificial blood can pay for sin ..a life for a life.  Leviticus 23:15-17.

At that point, that year, Pentecost/Shavuot had not come and the power from on high had not yet been released as both Isaiah and Joel had prophesied.

Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Isaiah 32:15
Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest

Isaiah 44:3,4
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: …

The 49 days of counting from the Omer was still in progress…

Depending on how the counting from the omer is begun, Shavuot could occur any day between 5 and 13th days of the 3rd month. As some don’t yet accept Messiah has come, the Israelites/Jewish people associate Pentecost/Shavuot with the giving of the Torah at Sinai. This is because according to Shmot /Ex. 19 the Torah was given to Moses on the 3rd day of the 3rd month. They have fixed in their calendar to be the 6th day of the 3rd month as a remembrance of Torah and the commandments. This is one of the 3 shalosh regalim /annual feasts they are commanded to attend. The date on our calendars varies because lunar calendar does not have fixed months. The month begins with the new moon and lasts 29/30 days.

And when the prophesied day came

Acts 2:1-21
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place…

In obedience to Yeshua/Jesus command in Acts 1:4
And while they were gathered together, He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard Me discuss.

Then the power of the Fathers Spirit of Holiness was poured out onto the prepared, obedient disciples who had been counting 49 days from the Omer.

His promise was fulfilled as recorded in Acts 4:31 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

As the cloven tongues of fire like glory, baptized/immersed each one there, they became bold. Peter was now not fearful to stand up for His Lord. They were emboldened.

 The descent of the Heavenly Fathers Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit at Shavuot/Pentecost marked a pivotal shift in the lives of the disciples and apostles, equipping them with spiritual strength and courage; and an ability to speak clearly, which was needed to boldly proclaim the gospel. This divine intervention not only emboldened the apostles but also served as a catalyst for the rapid spread of what we now call the ‘Christian’ faith. Acts 2:10-21

They had a 1st infilling when Yeshua/Jesus breathed on them in John 20:22; however it was obviously not enough to continually sustain them because at Shavuot/Pentecost, they received power from on high.

A second immersion and infilling, we call it a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now they were ready to fulfill that great commission, they were equipped with His indwelling power to do what He was commanding them to do. They showed by evidence of speaking in other tongues and all the other gifts and fruit of the spirit flowing through them; that they were spiritually equipped and had received what they would need to fulfill their call. It is very clearly a separate ministration of our Heavenly Father.

Another reference of it being a separate experience is found in Acts 19:2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”. So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

It is essential for all believers to be effective and to have a completion of spiritual growth, maturity and fruitfulness.

In Acts 9:22 Paul was still being filled with more and more power; so it is an ongoing re-newing, re-energizing, a continual refilling and infilling. Just as a vehicle needs to be refilled with fuel to continue and take us on our journey, so do we.

Our Heavenly Father needs a vessel of maturity, one that He can fill, and then our testimony will be effective.

As with the apostles and disciples, the power of the indwelling RuachHaKodesh/Holy Spirit was visible and with demonstration, signs and wonders followed them.

Our Heavenly Father wants us mature so He can pour more of His power in and through us. However, power, dunamis, explosive dynamite power, must have a stable container. One with no weaknesses that might give way under pressure. The Lord can only do so much, we have to do our part, we must exert our free will to prepare ourselves spirit, soul and body to become that purified vessel of honor; we are destined to carry the glory of the Father wherever He sends us. These vessels do not have selfish, carnal desires and motives. They cannot hold the power well and any cracks or weak areas have to be healed completely, or the power will leak out.

We saw how in Acts 2 This is the day spoken of by the prophet, referring to Shavuot/Pentecost, and how cloven tongues of fire appeared, together with the mighty rushing wind which filled every room in the house. He wants to do the same with us…To clean out anything that is not of Him, anything of the old man that still remains in our lives and house.

It was a fulfillment prophetically, as are all things pertaining to the coming of Messiah. There is more to this prophetic fulfillment as when He told them to wait found in Matt. 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

He was referring to the books of Joel and Isaiah. They knew the significance of this Appointed Time, this Moed, this feast; however this particular event was a totally new experience and it initiated a spiritual harvest, the first fruits of Messiahs resurrection.

This is the 2nd of the three mandatory annual harvests/moedim they were to attend in Jerusalem. Called the shalosh regalim. Passover/Pesach, Pentecost /Shavuot and the one in the fall Sukkot/Tabernacles.

Shavuot/Pentecost marks the climax of the Pesach/Passover season and historically it commemorates the giving of the Torah, the commandments, the Word of God to Moses at Sinai.

The cloven tongues of fire and the rushing mighty wind was a similar experience that the Israelites had in the wilderness at Sinai. Exodus 19:16-25. The third morning there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

Now the disciples were receiving a new dimension of Gods power, His Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit to add to the Word which was already imparted, for this specific reason; so they were vessels that would be effective witnesses for the kingdom of God, just as Messiah, Himself the Word of God, had called them to be.

Acts 4:33 . With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And … grace was so powerfully at work in them, all the apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Messiah.

Acts 10:38 … how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went … doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with them …

Another interesting fact is that, in the wilderness 3000 died in one day according to Ex. 32:28. The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.

Whereas 3000 died at the season of the giving of the commandments, the written Word of God, we now see 3000 saved with the giving of the Holy Spirit through the Living Word of God. Shavuot /Pentecost apparently was on the exact same day of that year!

Acts 2:41 38  

The reference in Acts 2:3, With the sound of a rushing wind, and like the appearance of cloven tongues of fire dividing itself upon those in the upper room. It may have been the same upper room they shared Pesach/Passover with Messiah?

Tongues refers to the shape and

Cloven, we can find an explanation in 

Leviticus 11:3. Whatsoever parteth the hoof — That is, divides it into two parts only; or, is cloven-footed and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. It is clean for you.

Kosher is the English word for the Hebrew word kashér, which means “fit” as in clean not unclean.

This would have given them peace/shalom, that this was from God, His Holy fire was more than likely the same manifestation as Moses experienced in Ex. 3:2 ‘And, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.’ The fire of God His shekinah glory. And Heb. 12:29. Tells us, for our god is a consuming fire. Always cleansing and purifying yet not destroying.

As the fourth of the Spring Appointed Times/Moedim, Pentecost/Shavuote/Sha voo ote, is the beginning/ of the renewed covenant for all gentile nations, tribes and tongues; the genesis of the church/ecclesia, the body of Christ, and fulfilled by Messiah.

It is also called Chag haKatziyr, feast of the harvest and  Day of the first fruits/Yom ha Bikkuriym and is a one day feast of first fruits offering of the newly matured wheat crops and no regular work is done.          

Although not named as Shavuot in the gospels, there are 2 passages that could refer to it. One is Luke 6:2 when the disciples were picking grain on a Sabbath and John 5:4 when Yeshua/Jesus goes to an unnamed feast.

 

Certainly the Israelites were in the wilderness in the 3rd month and the remembrance of the 10 commandments reminds us, we should have no other gods before the Lord; and are commanded to leave all our idols and bad habits behind …Hard to do in this world of materialism and constant temptations, but we must make new habits, Godly ones, denying that flesh daily. The Israelites in the wilderness had many problems too and in our lives, we should ask ourselves, is our focus on material things instead of doing the things Yeshua/Jesus brings out in Matthew 25:35. To feed the hungry and do the works of the kingdom?

In Ex. 19:8

 And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought their words back to the LORD. It is likened to a wedding, tying His people permanently to Him with vows of a covenant. The Mosaic Covenant. For believers in Messiah, Shavuot is important because it has ties to deliverance and salvation celebrated at Passover and with Yeshua/Jesus’ crucifixion, to His resurrection on First fruits of Unleavened Bread. His ascension 40 days later and then His sending the immersion/ saturation infilling of the RuachHaKodesh/Holy Spirit on the 1st Fruits Appointed Time of Shavuot/Pentecost. This gives us the power to live victorious lives, and enables us to witness to all non believers by the way we live.

The time of waiting for the immersion of His Ruach haKodesh/Holy Spirit, parallels the counting of the Omer from the First Fruits of Unleavened Bread to the First Fruits of Shavuot. Just as the farmers could not use the wheat crop until the offering of the loaves referenced in Lev 23:17, so also, Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, as the Bread of Life, had to ascend before the rest of the grain.

A clear reference to His teaching in John 12:24 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.

Yeshua/Jesus explains that His death is necessary for His glorification and the salvation of souls, using the example of a grain of wheat that dies and bears much fruit. The first fruit harvest at Pentecost/Shavuot were the disciples plus the 3000 of the pilgrims to Jerusalem from all the nations under heaven Acts 2:5 -11.

After this baptism/immersion, they were on fire for the Lord preaching with bold confidence and Peter telling the people in verse 38.  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized/water immersion every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness /remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And in 2:43 many signs and wonders were done through them. They preached the gospel healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, raised the dead and cast out demons..

Are we doing this? Are we disciples?

Are we filled with His Spirit? Do you want to be?

If we are not doing the things Yeshua/Jesus called us to do, then we need to be baptized/immersed in His Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh.

In verse 38, Peter says Holy Spirit is a gift. Are we going to tell the one we say we love that we don’t want His gift?

If you have asked, why we need to know these things, why do we need to know the appointed times of the old testament?

Maybe we should be asking why we don’t think we need to know?

If anyone has ever fallen in love with another person, they immediately want to know all about that individual their history and background,  and all about their family. They want to spend every waking moment with them, can’t wait to be with them and talk to them. Longing to hear their voice and what makes them happy and they want to tell them how much they love them; and want to do everything and anything that pleases them and makes them happy, denying themselves in favor of them.

Are we like this with our savior Jesus/Yeshua? Shouldn’t we want to know all there is to know about Him?   He said if you love me you will keep my commandments…. Do we truly love Him?

More and more we need His power to live a Godly/Holy life before Him and be ready for that final harvest. The one which will come, just as surely as He came the first time, every prophetic Moedim/Appointed Times of The Lord is fulfilled perfectly.

For those new to the site, there are several other helpful posts on the Spring Moedim listed on Home Page under:

7 FESTIVALS/APPOINTED TIMES/FEASTS

one of several e.g.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/seasons-of-the-lord-his-rhythm-of-chaim-life/

and for Counting From the Omer click link below:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/counting-our-blessings-with-omer/

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Peace to friends and family.

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord, Deliverer and soon returning King; and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

Not sure ..you can be…

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,

SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

What Is Holiness – Kedushah?

Holy Unto The Lord

קֹ֖דֶשׁ לַֽיהוָֽה

Holy to Yahweh

qodesh Yhvh

kedushah/kadushah – Holy Unto The Lord!

Kodesh l’Adonai:

Lord in Hebrew is יהוה, YHWH,

6944 qodesh: apartness, sacredness

Original Word: קֹדֶשׁ
Transliteration: qodesh
Phonetic Spelling: ko’-desh

Holiness Unto The Lord 

written in Hebrew 

‘Kodesh L’ADONAI’

HOLINESS (holy) UNTO THE LORD;

 Sanctum Domino (Vulgate);

Ἅγιον τῷ Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι (Septuagint).

This was the inscription upon

the golden plate on the mitre of the high priest. 

Mitre in Hebrew: mitsnepheth,

something rolled round the head;

the turban or head-dress of the high priest

Exodus 28:4 Exodus 28:37

Exodus 28:39; 29:6.

Exodus 39:30 And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

Leviticus 8:9

Leviticus 19:1-2

The Israelites were commanded to be

Holy

on account of their relationship with

The Holy One of Israel

K’dosh Yisrael or Qedosh Yisra’el

הקדוש של עם ישראל

The term Holy One of Israel

is used more than 30 times in the Bible.

Bible references: 2 Kings 19:22; Ps. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18; Isa. 1:4; 17:7; 30:11; 41:14; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 54:5; Jer. 50:29; 51:5 and a total of about forty five times.

Against the Holy One of Israel!  2 Kings 19:22.

The English translation of the word, does not very clearly convey the acurate meaning, as seen in Hebrew. In the English language, the words

one and of

are added to the translation

הקדוש של ישראל,

meaning: the Holy One of Israel.

In Hebrew, it is written as:

Holy Israel –  קדוש ישראל,

and the difference is significant.

The English language conveys:

a belonging to,

but also

a distinctly separate association.

The Hebrew, however, communicates

oneness.

Indicating the Shema.

The Lord is One.

In other words, Holy Israel is another name given to Adonai.

He is Holy, and He is also Israel/Yisrael.

The implication is that Yeshua/Jesus,

Who is the Word of God revealed in the flesh,

is called Holy Israel,

and therefore it could be said,

He and Israel are inseparably one.

The Holy One –

The One set apart

as completely perfect and unique,

transcending the realm of the finite, the fallen,

and the imperfect.

Only God is worthy of worship, for He alone is Holy. 

Strong’s Hebrew: 6918. קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh) — sacred, holy

holy One, saint.

Or

qadosh {kaw-doshe’}; from qadash; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary — holy (One), saint. HEBREW qadash.

1Peter 1:13-16; 1Cor. 6:9-20.

The Torah defines a

Holiness Code

that contains more commandments for His children concerning practical ethics beginning with Lev. 19 1-2.

His Spirit is the Ruach Ha Kodesh

the Holy Spirit 

Hebrew: רוח הקודש ‎,

ruach ha-kodesh

Literally: spirit of Holiness Who will always guide us into the Truth and into the Fathers presence by WAY of  Messiah Yeshua HaMashiach.

But just what is holiness?

In Hebrew the word: kedushah

means: sanctity or set apartness.

It comes from the root word k d sh

Root: קֹ֫דֶשׁ 

qof, dalet, shin

sounds like k’desh/k’dosh

and other words that use this same root include:

kadosh – holy קדוש

Holy: kadosh, kodesh (Strong’s 69186944)

The root word kodesh actually means:

to consecrate.

So the word Holy means:

consecrated, dedicated, set apart…

קָדוֹשׁ. qadosh.

is frequently translated as holy, which is an abstract word.

When we use the word holy, as in a holy person, we usually associate this with a righteous or pious person.

If we use this concept when interpreting the word holy in the Hebrew Bible, then we are misreading the text, as this is not the meaning of the Hebrew word qadosh!

Qadosh literally means:

to be set apart for a special purpose.

A related word, qedesh,

is one who is also set apart for a special purpose

but not in the same way we think of holy. Deut 23:17.

Israel was qadosh

because they were separated from the other nations as:

servants of Elohiym.

The furnishings in the tabernacle were also qadosh, as they were not to be used for anything except for the work in the tabernacle. While we may not think of ourselves as holy, we are in fact

set apart from the world to be Elohiym’s servants

and His representatives/ambassadors. 

Holiness could be described as a:

state of consecration produced by ethical separation from profane culture when viewed in practical terms relating to human beings and their relationship to the Father.

Kadosh

encompasses the whole sphere of the sacred and

set apart things that are totally separate

from anything that is profane and sinful.

According to

Isaiah 57:15/Is 40:25

this means:

elevated and lofty and

beyond all comparison

and utterly unique, entirely righteous

Is 57:15 glorious and awesome

Ps 99:3 full of light and power

Is 10:7 and is chosen and favored as Gods own

Ezek 22:26.

Holiness is a name for the Lord Himself:

Ha kadosh barukh hu – the Holy One blessed is He.

Isa. 40:25

The idea of holy therefore suggests: separation..

meaning:

the realm of the holy

is entirely set apart from

the common, the habitual, or the profane.

The holy is singular, awe inspiring, even terrible or dreadful.

Neh 1:5 Ps 68:35

As the Holy One, God is

utterly unique, distinct, sacred and set apart as

the only One of His kind.

Only God is worthy of worship, for He alone is Holy – Kadosh.

As the Holy One ( ha’kadosh ),

the Lord of Hosts ( Adonai Tzeva’ot)

He alone is worthy of true worship and adoration, since He alone is peerless, without rival and stands in relation to the world as Creator and Lord.

Only the Lord is infinitely and eternally

known to Himself as Anochi.

Ezek. 3:15

I am that I am.

Holiness then implies more than an abstract separation as is often suggested but rather means:

separation from that which is common, mundane or evil,

(evil meaning: out of harmony with God).

In other words

holiness implies: absolute moral goodness and perfection.

God is not just Holy…

He is 

Holy, Holy, Holy!

 

Isaiah 6:1-3

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And one called out to another and said, 

Holy, Holy, Holy, is YHWH of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.”

“Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, YHWH Tsabaoth, melo kal ha’aretz ke-vodoh”

In Scripture, finding the same three words in a row is rare. Two other instances are in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

This use of this grammatical emphasis, is most often with double words and occurs frequently in the Hebrew scriptures. It is a way of emphasizing the point and by repeating the same word; it was like putting an exclamation mark today. Seeing the same three words one after the other, was like shouting.

In the B’rit Chadashah/New Testament, John/Yocahannes used this word repetition too, and he experienced a vision similar to Isaiah’s:

Revelation 4:8

And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!”

Kadosh – Holy, holy, holy As the Holy One ( ha’kadosh ), the Lord of Hosts ( Adonai Tzeva’ot) 

Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, YHWH Tsabaoth, melo kal ha’aretz  

We are to be a reflection of Our Heavenly Father God’s Holiness!

Holy is not a word that we should flippantly and disrespectfully throw around, like the terms of exclamation like: “holy cow” or “holy guacamole”.

Holy is rich in meaning and it is one of the main descriptors of Our Heavenly Father/God.  To those who have a relationship with Him, it is a descriptor of us too. WHY? Because He calls us to be Holy and because we are to be a representation of His glory on earth. That’s a great responsibility which we should not take lightly!

Leviticus 19:2-4

“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I YHWH your God am holy.

Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am YHWH your God. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am YHWH your God.”

Leviticus 20:26

‘Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I YHWH Am Holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.’

The Call to Holiness

Various practical commandments are given in the Torah through which His people were sanctified or set apart, to be kadosh/holy; and therefore prepared to enter a relationship with God.

God is not unreachable because He encompasses all of creation but those who are called into presence must be holy themselves.

Practical holiness results in sanctification which is gained through obedience to His commandments. These commandments include both those directing us to do something and those telling us to stop from doing something. In addition decrees are given that further separate the Israelites from the customs and profanity of the nations surrounding them.

The call to holiness is given

3 times in Leviticus 19:2; 20:7; 20:26.

Because the Lord is Holy, the Israelites could not be in relationship with Him if they had been involved in idolatrous or profane practices.

They were

called to be separate

from all that was unholy

Lev. 22:44-45.

The call to holiness was based on the fact that they were Gods possession because He had separated them from the Nations.

Lev. 20:26

Yes, we are to be Holy, but how do we live up to that?

Are we worthy enough to be His reflection on earth?

Messiah Yeshua/Jesus was.

He was, and is, the perfect reflection of God.

Throughout the B’rit Chadashah /New Testament, Yeshua /Jesus is referred to as the

Holy One of God,

from the very announcement of His birth:

Luke 1:28-35

“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

We are called to holiness through the letters of Shaul/Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20a

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.

and reminded of holiness once again in Revelation, where those around the throne cry

קָדוֹשׁ. Qadosh holy.

and from the prophets statements…

“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 14:20-21

קֹ֖דֶשׁ HOLY qō-ḏeš

לַֽיהוָ֑ה Yah-weh; TO YAHWEH

The word holy in the Hebrew means to set-apart or separateness. While godly behavior is the result of being made holy unto the Lord, IT IS NOT a requirement to receive salvation, we come as we are.

When we become born again by His Holy Spirit, Yeshua HaMasiach/ Jesus Christ’s righteousness and holiness is IMPUTED to us.(meaning it is accredited to our account.) 

We are set apart unto the Lord as vessels for His use, in the same way as God set apart pots and vessels under the old testament/Tanakh, to be used in his service.

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of holiness, because He is the sanctifier of all our Father’s vessels and makes them acceptable for His use by the washing of the word and regeneration of His Spirit of Holiness.

When the scriptures say:

Without holiness, no man shall see God. Heb. 12:14.

This means being born of His Holy Spirit into new life in Yeshua/Jesus. Without being born again of the Spirit of holiness one cannot be made Holy and therefore we would have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. 

God’s indwelling Spirit empowers His children to live lives that please Him. The scriptures tell us that all who seek to be justified by the law are not holy but defiled, defiled by the sinful nature whose works are as filthy rags in God’s sight

Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God IMPUTETH righteousness without works. Romans 4:6

IMPUTED: attributed/given on behalf of another. 

Yeshua/Jesus places His righteousness on our record,

when we trust upon Him for salvation

and this is what makes us holy

and not our behavior, whether we are good or bad. 

Holy is the Greek is hagios

which means:

to be in awe, venerate, regenerated.

When we are regenerated and set free from sin, we become holy vessels unto the Lord.

Faith in Yeshua/Jesus is our righteousness

and our fruit is then holy. 

Lev. 20:26 you shall be holy to me for I the lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine.

Western Christianity has sadly earned the title of being a cheap religion. For onlookers, many so called christian lifestyles do not look any different from the non believers in the world.

This world revolves around and caters to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. These things may please the flesh in the short term, but they work death. The Bible says that the pleasures of sin are only for a season. They are short lived. They do not satisfy. They do not give peace. They end in death. They fool us. Satan is the ruler of this world. The world that we are living in is his kingdom.

Keeping the 10 sayings is not impossible as the scriptures tell us the rich young ruler had kept them from his youth, and Elizabeth and Mary among others had also kept them.

Yet today so many say that we aren’t able to keep them and we are under grace not law!

We are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect and it is possible through Jesus/Yeshua,

if we will choose to follow Him.

Though many say, no one is perfect, it’s really a way out, and to condone sin and compromise away from the standard Messiah sets for all who would be His talmidim/disciples. And in His words, how are we to do greater works than these, if we are not walking as He walked? We have His spirit within us now, since Pentecost; before then all generations who kept Torah did it without His indwelling spirit… so we have little to no excuse today. Not a welcome statement for those who still choose to live their own life on their own terms and still believe they are saved in their own understanding of salvation based on their own terms.

It is impossible that the Holy One could tolerate sin since this would invalidate the distinction between the sacred and profane and thereby weaken the nature of Holiness itself. That which is Holy, is in total opposition of the profane and therefore the Lord God has to hate and oppose that which violates the sacred and holy.

Where there is no fundamental change and no sacrificial putting away of ungodly habits and behavior, there can be no holiness. Many claim salvation and holiness by grace alone; neither understanding, nor appreciating, the cost involved and the seriousness of our precarious position before a Holy God; before Whom no sin can be present. It is only through Jesus/Yeshuas’ sacrifice that we can even dare to think that we can approach the Holy Creator and King of the universe. This was only possible by way of all the statutes and ordinances in the Torah until He died and shed His blood in our place.

We take this relationship so lightly and often without the reverential respect which we should willingly show from a humble, repentant and grateful position.

We are called to holiness, just as the priest wore upon his head the band with that word inscribed upon it; we are grafted in by His mercy and grace, into the family of His chosen children. This is a Hebrew Book and He is the Hebrew Messiah. Salvation is of the Jews, it was given to them first and we are privileged to be among those gentile nations offered the gift of eternal life and restoration relationship with a Holy God.

Now as the scripture says, we are priests unto the Lord, called to minister to and for Him while we remain here on the earth.

Are we truly making ourselves able to wear the band upon our foreheads, saying, Holiness unto the Lord?

Are we doing all that we are required to do? We are not to throw out the commandments He gave, but to apply them to our lives and to walk a set apart sanctified life before Him. Don’t let’s be of those accused of following a cheap religion with no cost to ourselves. We are to lay down our life, to lose it for Him and for the gospel; and in so doing find it through a life of being

kedushah – Holy Unto The Lord!

Strong’s Hebrew: 6944. קֹ֫דֶשׁ (qodesh) — apartness, sacredness

From qara’; something called out,

מִקְרָא miqrei callings

miqra

קודש לאל

קָדוֹשׁ. Qadosh holy

kaw-doshe’

אַתָּה ʼattâh, at-taw’; 

you are holy ata kadosh

קָדוֹשׁ. Qadosh holy

Strong’s Hebrew: 5844. עָטָה (atah) — self

atah: self. Original Word: עָטָה.

Part of Speech: Verb. 

Transliteration: atah.

Phonetic Spelling: (aw-taw’)

Definition: to wrap oneself, enwrap, envelop oneself.

the word 

ata 

in the Hebrew language is

אתא

H859 – ‘atâ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)

אַתָּה ʼattâh, at-taw’; or (shortened);

אַתָּ ʼattâ at-taw’; or אַתֵּנָה 

Strong’s Concordance. atah: self.

Original Word: עָטָה. 

Phonetic Spelling: (aw-taw’)

Definition: to wrap oneself, enwrap, envelop oneself.

In the passage from 1Peter, the call to holiness is established on the hope that will be brought to us at the revelation of Messiah in the end of days and in 1Cor., Paul outlines the same moral restrictions that determine

a called out people of God.

Believers in the Jewish Mashiach/Messiah are to be free from sin that pervades surrounding culture and in particular from sexual immorality, which is idolatry. The follower of the Mashiach Yeshua/Jesus, is not exempt from

the call to personal holiness

since Messiah and His Father are the

same yesterday today and forever.

Our carnal nature always will lean to a meaning and understanding that ‘let’s us off the hook’ so to speak; one that makes it easier for us to live a compromised lifestyle and still think we can get all the blessings and benefits here and now and also eternal life in heaven.

We need to wake up toreality and count the true cost of Who and what we truly believe and follow.

As the days grow darker and the morals of the world become increasingly in complete opposition to all that our Heavenly Father requires for His family; there is a call for sobriety and being genuine, we must make the effort to be authentic in our lives and to walk in the fullness of the calling upon us.

That call is to

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week,

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily.

Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,

Savior, Lord, and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.