The Concealment and Revelation of Mashiach and The Good News

After that Yehoshua made atonement for his own people Israel who did not receive him, he was taken up into heaven and concealed there from the world.  This concealment is the aspect of the grace which is created through his sacrificial death, in his offering for Israel and now continues on through his concealment above.

This grace is G-d's way of taking responsibility for Israel's sin, according to the covenant He made with Avraham. And this is what he began to do by setting apart unto Himself Avraham and his seed. He did this in order that He might take responsibility for Israel in its captivity to the sin in Adam and to redeem her from that slavery.

When G-d identifies himself in the first commandment as "Hashem Elohika, the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," he is commanding Israel to have faith in him as the covenant G-d, who sets Avraham and his seed apart unto himself. The full obedience of faith in this commandment has always meant hope in the Good News of Israel and her Messiah.

For it is by this, His covenant of Good News, which He made with Avraham, Isaac and Jacob in the beginning, that G-d reveals to all nations who He is. This is the promised salvation unto the ends of the earth, which shall come with the revelation of the beloved Mashiach of Israel, who now is concealed in gentleness and graciousness toward her, toward Jerusalem his beloved, until the hour when her heart is strengthened to know and believe that he has kept His promise to her, and all Israel is saved.

את and אמת

Truth and Avraham.jpg

את and אמת

#1.

From the Beginning of Creation there was and is the את Aleph-Tav of Creation, of the heavens and of the earth. This is design and purpose. There was a linchpin letter made to keep the wheel of this design of purpose on its axle, the letter Mem, to be found between the aleph and the tav, Amet, אמת, Truth.

COMMENT: The aleph-tav of the heavens and the aleph-tav of the earth are one and yet begin as two, because the heavens and the earth are created distinctly in the beginning. We are told that the earth was without form and void, but we're the heavens also without form and void in the beginning in the same sense that the earth was? We are told that darkness was upon the face of the deep. The heavens are being referred to here as the deep, does this darkness have application in the same direct sense upon the unformed and empty earth, as it does upon the heavens? There is a face of the heavens already given. Is there a face of the earth yet? It would seem that the difference in the quality and nature of the heavens and the earth also cause a distinction in how their completion unfolds, so that as soon as a "line", a "firmament" is drawn between them the primary focus is shifted in and down toward the completion of the earth, wherein all hangs on the linchpin of truth in Adam.

#2.

There was a linchpin letter made to keep the wheel of this design of purpose on its axle, the letter Mem, to be found between the aleph and the tav, Amet, Truth, and at the end of the words, Dam, Blood, and Adam. When the linchpin was lost from Adam it was lost...

COMMENT: It cannot be said that when the blood was lost from Adam it was as if there was only the potential of Adam left, the aleph, that because the linchpin of truth, the mem, was lost from Adam, that the Truth itself was lost in some absolute sense. But there is the aspect of revelation where G-d is heard saying that he cast Truth to the ground. To say, however that Creation is lost or that truth is lost from Creation, is not to say that Truth is lost from G-d, which is a false thought that cannot be thought of as if it were a true thought, even by the accuser.  Therefore, while we can say that Truth is lost from Creation and that Creation is therefore lost, we can also say that Creation can be found.  Truth can be found in Creation again. At the same time, because it is evident that G-d can raise Truth from the ground it does not mean that it can be just assumed by the arrogance of human self-love that he will do so for our sakes.  For indeed it is only where truth is cast to the ground, where we are dust and return to dust, that we are able to hear the revelation that truth is cast to the ground.  But this very position makes us unable even to dream that truth is lost to G-d, even if we are able to pretend in our foolish hearts that there is no G-d long enough for us to commit our sins.

#3

When the מ, (mem), the linchpin, was lost from Adam it was lost from Truth and the wheel came off its axle. This wheel was the soul of Adam, which they lost. Then they were dead while they were living.  For this lost soul was in their blood. Even so, the את, (aleph-tav), the design of G-d's purpose in Creation, still remained, even though Adam sinned.  As the design of purpose for all Creation was pinned on Adam, so the את, (aleph-tav), of Adam, the design of purpose of Adam was the very seed-source of Adam, which preceded Adam...  For the את, (aleph-tav), preceded Adam in being the design source of the first day in the creation of the heavens and the earth, which lead to the creation of Adam on the sixth day. Thus, as Creation was lost but could be found, so Adam was lost but could be found.  For the את, (aleph-tav), the seed which came to be the design-source of Adam and therefore the seed of Adam remained with G-d and was not lost.

COMMENT: It cannot be thought that G-d's glory itself, in his crafting of Creation, could be overcome by Adam's rebellion and dishonour.  Rather, it was G-d's free and generous graciousness which created a tolerance for Adam's fall, and therefore  Adam's redemption would magnify G-d's glory as the wondrous Creator all the more!  Thus, in creating the universe of the heavens and the earth with a tolerance built in for Adam's potential and then actual fall, G-d designed the universe from the beginning with an aspect of weakness, an aspect of potential corruptibility, not possessing already eternal incorruptibility. The first expression of this weakness was that heaven and earth are made at the beginning without complete unity.  There is a distinction made between the-את-heavens and the-את-earth.  And, due to the weakness indicated, the Creation does not immediately shine with love and thankfulness toward its Creator.  Indeed, the Creator must subsequently assist the Creation in the expression of its radiance of the joy of thankfulness by expressing the imperative: "Let there be light!"  Accordingly also, the series of stages and steps, or days, that come forth from G-d's word to finish his work are expressions of his tolerance, graceful action, all leading toward Adam.  And all of these elements are embedded in the potential of Adam, which is the potential for actualization and/or redemption, which is to say, embedded in the prepared seed of Adam, which is the seed of the woman.

#4

The את, the design of purpose, still remained, even though Adam sinned. As the design of purpose for all Creation was pinned on Adam, so the את of Adam, the design of purpose of Adam was the seed of Adam, which preceded Adam and was culminated as the seed of the woman.

COMMENT: The prophecy of the seed of the woman unfolds at three points of time.  First, it is overheard in the Garden of Eden after the sin of Adam, when it is spoken to the serpent as the prophecy of an end being put to the serpent. Next it is given to Avraham, Isaac and Jacob in a partially concealed way and partially revealed way as a promise of blessing.  This promise of blessing embedded in the seed of which G-d spoke is a promise that was made to Avraham directly in the face of G-d's sentence of death passed upon all the family of Adam and the curse upon Adam, both the man and the woman, that came with that sentence of death and would be the form of its application. Coming in the face of the universal curse of G-d, this promise of blessing, now embedded by the word of G-d in Avraham and his seed, was a promise of G-d's blessing overcoming all of the curse. Finally, the prophecy of the seed of the woman will be fully unfolded and  revealed as a fulfilled prophecy in the end of time.  And this shall be when the now hidden Anointed One of Israel who was raised eternal from the dead will be openly revealed to all the heavens and all the earth as that promised seed of the woman.  It will be then that the design of purpose for all creation will be known in all the world and every soul will know the meaning of the word, את, (the seed word of Creation), and the word, אמת, (Truth), as well as they know the word, אדמ, (Adam).

#5

When Adam's soul was lost, it remained that the designed purpose could be and would be realized only through the seed of Adam — that the wheel would be put back on its axle and held in place through the linchpin to be found at the centre of the seed of Adam. Since the seed of Adam is still Adam, though in reflection of both Adam's source and outcome, Adam's soul could be and would be saved.

COMMENT: There are two mysteries that surround the seed of Adam, just as there are two aspects to the seed, that of the man and that of the woman.  One mystery is how Adam, through the seed design and spiritual source of Adam is the core source of the design of the heavens and the earth.  The other mystery is how the seed of Adam, which is embodied in Adam, is both directly and indirectly the source of Adam.  That is, the seed design of Adam is the source of Adam yet also the reflection of the source that is heard, by the voice of the word of G-d, to create the seed of Adam in Adam, even as the same word creates Adam.  In the end, the two aspects of the seed, the male and the female, will explain both of these mysteries.

#6

Adam's soul would/will then be a redeemed soul, not simply the natural soul that it was. And the seed of Adam would be — and could be only — realized as the Son of Adam...

COMMENT: When all is said and done, is the seed of Adam seen to be Adam's source or outcome? Religious thought comes with all its power to argue over whether Mashiach is divine or human.  When G-d fashioned Adam from the earth in order to breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, did he not use a seed design in doing so?  Has this question, as such, even been asked before, as such? Clearly, Adam's body was composed according to what today we call DNA.  Why is a seed, any and every seed, more than DNA? A seed is a design, a design not only for a body but for the Torah that governs the relations of reproduction and life lived in that body.  Such a Torah design was inherent in the DNA of Adam being fashioned from the ground. This, the seed of Adam, which is the outcome of Adam is also the source of Adam.  As such, the Seed of the Woman stands firmly and distinctly by the Torah as the seed of Adam, the prophetic Son of Adam.  We may understand that we should see him as the source of all Creation, but we will not and cannot know him as this source except by our obedience of faith in him as the outcome of Adam, our own personal outcome, if we are to have any outcome in אמת, Truth.

#7

Adam would be — and could be only — realized as the Son of Adam, the personal soul of the redeemer of the redeemed corporate soul of Adam.  In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth. But in the end G-d redeemed the earth and the heavens. The את of the earth became the את of the heavens.  For the את of the earth is the את that redeems אמת , truth in Adam.  And this את of the earth, the Anointed Seed, is the King of Eternal Jerusalem, in heaven and on earth.  For he is the Redeemer of Adam, chosen by G-d in the form of blessed Israel.

COMMENT: The Truth is known only through faith.  For G-d alone knows the truth of the את of the heavens and the את of the earth, the truth of the beginning and the truth of the end.  The whole Talmud is based on the suspension of all knowledge. If so, if the Talmud is based on the truth of faith, the suspension of all knowledge, the rectification of the sin in the Garden, why did Yehoshua have a dispute with certain teachers of the Oral Torah concerning the tithing of mint?  Why was the question of how to fulfill the commandment of tithing mint being given more attention than the question how to fulfill the commandment of the love of G-d raised as an issue by Yehoshua? In Rabbi Akiva's lesson about Bar Kokhba was a Talmudic lesson about how Mashiach suspends all knowledge.  Indeed, Yehoshua HaMashiach did suspend all knowledge, which also was that which "forced the hand" of Rabbi Akiva when the time came. Thus the Talmud came in galut/exile, when its very principle, in being recorded in writing, was the principle of the Oral Torah to suspend all knowledge, not refine it by technical method to the over sharpening of the edge. For the writing down of the Oral Torah, even at one point in time, puts a limit to the sharpening of its edge.  For example, as where the commandment of the tithing of mint becomes more of a focus than the commandment of the love of G-d.  Such an over-sharpness of the edge of the Torah was no longer possible once the Shikhinah together with the Oral Torah was in full exile, whence it became necessary that at that point of time the Oral Torah begin to be written down. Therefore, when the Oral Torah began to be written down it began to become subject to Messianic corrections, because its potential to be ever sharpened, even until over-sharpened, began to be corrected.  In this way the Oral Torah became subject to Yehoshua HaMashiach.  May G-d forgive us when we imagine that either the Oral Torah or Yehoshua HaMashiach can be subjected to our opinion. Thus it is the Oral Torah itself that now leads back and forward to the testimony of Yehoshua HaMashiach in his offering up of himself in love of G-d for Jerusalem and all Israel for the sake of repentance for the sin of Adam, when they sinned in seeking that knowledge that was not hers or his. For there is no perfect faith without the obedient suspension of all knowledge. This is the testimony given to Avraham and to his seed.

Abraham’s Accomplishments

This post begins with  an excerpt from - JewishAnswers.org

See MY COMMENTS BELOW

See the following at JewishAnswers.org

Question: Can you give me a quick overview of the accomplishments of Avraham (Abraham)?

Answer: Avraham was the first Jew.

He was born in the Jewish Year 1948 (that’s 1,948 years after G-d created Adam & Eve, corresponding to the secular year 1813 BCE: almost 4000 years ago!).

Avraham’s life is described in the Torah in the book of Genesis, 11:26-25:18. That’s really not such long reading. Torah chapters are short, averaging only about 25 sentences per chapter. And it’s good reading!

Avraham was raised in a world of idol worshipers, which had forgotten the one true G-d who had created them. Avraham was an amazing truth seeker who tried out every form of idolatry until he realized that none of them really answered the big questions about the universe. Eventually, through observation and philosophical reasoning, Avraham realized that there must be one true G-d that is the source of everything in the universe. We see that everything in the universe is caused by something greater than it and everything in the universe works together. There must be one first cause from which everything came, Avraham reasoned. Further, G-d must want something from His creation, otherwise why would He have bothered to create such an intricate system? (This is an ultra-simplified version of Avraham’s spiritual journey).

But Avraham was not only the world’s greatest thinker; he was also the world’s greatest doer. Avraham cared about every person in the world and wanted to help each individual to live a better life. Thus Avraham and his wife, Sarah, began to teach the world about G-d and the moral system of kindness and responsibility He demands every person to follow.

Although Avraham’s life was threatened constantly by the masses that clung to idolatry, because of Avraham’s bravery and perseverance, the whole world learned about this most revolutionary concept: G-d. Even though most people did not change their lifestyles, Avraham and Sarah succeeded planting and spreading the knowledge of G-d throughout the world. It is only because of Avraham that the world today knows about G-d.

G-d first spoke directly to Avraham when Avraham was already 75 years old, even though he had already “discovered” G-d much earlier. G-d first told Avraham to leave his homeland (in what is today Iraq) and travel to the Land of Israel, which G-d would give to the Jewish People as their homeland. There, G-d made an everlasting covenant with Avraham, stating that Avraham’s descendants, who would follow in his ways, would have a special relationship with G-d, being required to live up to a higher standard (related in the Torah) so that they would be a light to all the other nations how to serve G-d and how to be giving to other people.

Avraham experienced many trials in his life (including ten major ones), but also experienced many miracles. One miracle was when G-d granted Avraham and Sarah a son, Isaac, when they were 100 and 90 years old respectively. The final trial was when Avraham was commanded to sacrifice that very special son, Isaac, 37 years later. At the last moment, G-d told Avraham to put down his knife, sparing Isaac. This had all been a test to demonstrate that Avraham was completely faithful to G-d, 100%, which Avraham passed with flying colors.

MCK NOTES

Direct revelation of Hashem began with Hashem saying to Avraham, "Lekh Lekha..." which can be literally translated:

"Go to yourself!" that is, to Avraham, to yourself, as the father of many nations and not Noah and not Adam.  This is what Avraham would learn through the direct revelation of Hashem.  As did Avraham, we also must learn what this means.  What then is the relationship between Avraham's reasoning about G-d and G-d's direct Self-revelation to Avraham?

If Avraham "discovered" monotheism and taught it to the world, then the knowledge of G-d possessed by a repentant Adam and Noah must have been lost somewhere between the end of the flood and Avraham's youth.

Jacques Ellul's comments in "The Meaning of The City" are helpful here:

"Revelation enlightens, brings together, and explains what our reason and experience discover.  Without revelation all our reasoning is doubtless useful, but does not view reality in true perspective."

Ellul uses the illustration of how it might be possible to have studied colours scientifically without ever having seen light in the form of colours.  In Avraham's case, until Hashem said to him, "Go to yourself," and until he did this he could not see "monotheism" in true perspective, that is, the perspective of the promise of his seed, of the justification of life, of the resurrection of the dead and a new heaven and an new earth wherein righteousness dwells.

In the account of Avraham's accomplishments given above and of many like it, there is a very strong emphasis on Avraham's spiritual reasoning and a lack of elucidation as to the revelation of Hashem that came to Avraham to redeem his reasoning and bring it to true perspective.  This imbalance is always going to be present until a knowledge of the corporate election of Adam is taught and redeemed by revelation, which is the knowledge of Torah Israel and Her Mashiach.

The imbalance is the foundation of Islam, which is the "Ishmael" of theology, which is to say, the error in the knowledge of faith.  It is in the rectification of this error that Jacob becomes Israel.

It is not, then, that the knowledge of the true God possessed by the repentant Adam and Noah was lost but the mystery of iniquity which blinded people to that knowledge could be defeated in the world. This is the hope and faith that Avraham brought forth. Yet he could not succeed in this until that hope was realized in revelation. 

Take comfort, My people