The Mystery of the Mt. of Olives

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The Mystery of the Mt. of Olives

Introduction: As we draw near to the Celebration of Passover I desire that we understand that the real struggle that Yahshua faced, began and was won not when he was nailed to the Tree as the perfect sacrificial Lamb of YHWH but was in the Garden called Gethsemane. This garden was situated on what is called the Mount of Olives so today as a preparation for Passover I wish to explore why this mount was and is so significant and what it represents.

The Place of the Master’s greatest Test:

Yahshua often spoke to his Talmidim (Disciples) of the purpose he was sent into the World but since he had come in the form of human flesh he still faced a great struggle in the Garden that is known as Gethsemane or in Hebrew Gat Sh’manim meaning “Oil Press” on the Mount of Olives. We read in Luke 22:39 that Yahshua often went to this garden with his disciples to pray. This night however was unique and painful as we read:

Mark 14: 33 And Yahshua took Kepha (Peter), Ya’acov (James) and Yochanan (John) with him and he began to be troubled and deeply distressed.34 Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death.  

The anguish of Yahshua had nothing to do with fear of men or the physical torments of the execution tree because we read at the last Supper the desire he had to fulfil his purpose for coming in accord with the will of his Father so when they are at table for the last Supper he declares his intent as we read in:

Luke 22:14 When the hour had come he sat down and the twelve emissaries with him. 15 And he said to them, with fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 

The great anguish that he came to experience in the Gardenwas that within hours the full cup of Divine fury against sin would be his to drink and his anguish reflected the extreme bitterness of the cup of wrath he was given. Nothing exemplifies this better than the words he cries out from the tree:

MattithYahu (Matthew) 27: 46 And about the ninth hour Yahshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Ĕli, Ĕli, lemah sheḇaqtani)?” that is, “My Ĕl, My Ĕl, why have You forsaken Me?” 

 (In Hebrew- Eli Eli asav rachoq yeshuah (why are you far from rescuing me) 

It is however in Gethsemane that the struggle with his human will takes place. This is the real test as we read. In his prayer to the Father that came from a desperate soul we see his progressive defeat of his will and his total submission to the Fathers will:

MattithYahu (Matthew) 26:39 And he went a little further and fell on his face and petitioned saying, “O my Av (Father) if it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will but as you will.”

The second time he goes to pray we see a greater resolve in accepting that it is the Father’s will:

MattithYahu (Matthew) 26: 42 And he went away again the second time and petitioned, saying “O my Av (Father) if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, your will be done.”

Finally after the third time we see the Master with absolute resolve ready to do the will of the Father:

MattithYahu (Matthew) 26:45- 46 Then he came to his disciples and said to them, “are you still sleeping and resting, behold the hour is at hand and look the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of transgressors. 46 Rise let us be going: 

At the arrest however we see Kepha (Peter) so passionate to prevent the capture of his master who then tries to lop off the head of the servant of the Kohen Ha Gadol (the High Priest) but only succeeding in cutting off his ear and as Yahshua heals this man he says something that reveals what he knows of the Father for he says:

MattithYahu ( Matthew) 26: 53 Think not that I cannot petition to my Father and he shall immediately give me more than twelve legions of Malakhim (Angels).54 But how then shall the Scrolls be fulfilled that say thus it must be. 

Yahshua knew the great love of the Father that would never make him take this cup of suffering even at the expense of his own word but that great love also rested in Yahshua and therefore compelled him to go through this suffering that what was written would be fulfilled and would bring salvation to the world.

This whole episode was a prelude to his suffering but was so essential to give him the strength to go through it all for us. 

What I would now like to also investigate is whether this place, the Garden and the Mount of Olives was more than just a customary place for prayer or whether it had much greater significance.

Subtle pointing’s to the Mount of Olives  

We have a reference to this mount in Bereshith (Genesis) when Abraham built an Altar:

Bereshith (Genesis) 12:8 And he moved from there to the Mountain east of Bethel and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an Altar to YHWH and called on the name of YHWH. 

It is evident that Abraham returned to this altar on the Mount of Olives at the time Yahweh made a covenant with him in Bereshith (Genesis) 15. “This covenant (promise) was sealed by the blood sacrifice of animals and was symbolic of the greater covenant to come -- the covenant sealed by the blood sacrifice of [YahShua] the Messiah that is available to all who put their trust in him. In making His covenant with Abraham, [Yahweh] revealed significant details of His redemptive plan for humankind, including the PLACE where the ultimate sacrifice would take place.”

The Camp of Israel’s limits had been set by the Bet Din as being an imaginary circle around the Sanctuary with a radius of 2000 cubits (Roshanah 2:5; Sanhedrin 1:5 and Shebuoth 2:2). The summit of the Mt of Olives equates to being outside this radius.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 24:14 “Take OUTSIDE THE CAMP him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him 

The first time we see the Mount of Olives mentioned by name in the Scriptures is when David had to flee Yerushalayim for his life because of his son Absalom. 

The High Priest Zadok moved the Ark over the Kidron because David had taken the Rod of Aaron up to the Mount of Olives to pray for deliverance. David reassured Zadok that he would keep the Rod within the 2000 cubit radius considered inside the camp (Torah Anthology Joshua pgs. 75-76).

David wept as he crossed over the Mount of Olives & While David is walking up the Summit he has an Epiphany which we read in the following:  

Tehillim (Psalms) 22 “My Elohim, My Elohim, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My Elohim, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent… I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, "He trusted in Yahweh, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"… They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots…

David was given a vision of these events and then directed by Yahweh to plant the rod, knowing it would become the instrument of redemption for all humankind. He begins to transcend time and feel the agony that will take place 1,000 years later.  Then he understands as he thrusts the Rod into the ground on the Mount of Olives just a stone’s throw away from what would be the Third Altar. 

After crossing the Kidron Bridge, David followed this pathway which ascended the Mount of Olives “to ha Rosh where Yahweh was worshiped. (II Samuel 15:32)” The Hebrew words “ha Rosh” translate in most Scripture translations as “the summit.” However, these words can also be translated as “the head” or “the skull.” That Adam’s skull was buried at Gulgolet on the Mount of Olives was common knowledge. Origen speaks of it as a well-known fact in his time; and St. Augustine wrote: 

“The ancients hold that because Adam was the first man, and was buried there [at Golgotha], therefore it holds the HEAD of the human race”

Gulgolet is named from Adam’s skull, the summit of the Mount of Olives, the site of the Red Heifer altar, “the place where Yahweh was worshiped”!

Hebrews 13:11-13

 11 For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the Kohen Ha Gadol (the High Priest) for transgression are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Yahshua also that he might set-apart the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore to him outside the camp bearing his reproach. 

The Tabernacle and Temple was made up of three main sections, the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place, and the Court.  It also had three altars, the Altar of Incense, the Brazen Alter of Burnt Offerings, and a third altar outside the camp.

The third Altar was located directly outside the Golden Eastern Gate over a ravine called the Wadi Kidron. Another reference pointing towards the place of Yahshua’s sacrifice comes from the Prophet who is given a word from YHWH:

YermeYahu (Jeremiah) 1:11-12…the word of Yahweh came to YermeYahu [Jeremiah], saying, "YermeYahu, what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree." Then Yahweh said to me, "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word. 

In the Time of Rebbe YahShua, there was an arched bridge called the “Bridge of the Parah Adamah (Red Heifer) that lead from the Golden Eastern Gate across the Wadi Kidron up to the third Altar on the summit of the Mount of Olives. This causeway was called “the descent of the Mount of the Olives (Luke 19:37).”

There is no doubt that YahShua was led, like the Red Heifer, from the Temple through the Eastern gate, across the Kidron Bridge and up the ascent of the Mount of Olives to the summit. 

Hebrews 13:10 “We have an altar from which those who minister at the Tabernacle have no right to eat.”

In the Presence of YAHWEH

Now since, in the Torah, a person accused of the sin of blasphemy had to be tried, convicted, and killed in the presence of Yahweh, the only appropriate execution place was the summit of the Mount of Olives. Since Yahweh’s presence (Shekinah) resided in the Holy of Holies of the Temple, the condemned man had a clear, unobstructed view of the ONLY entrance to the Temple on its EASTERN side. Therefore, the Messiah died on the Mount of Olives facing the Temple and “in the presence of Yahweh.”

The Significance of the Mt. of Olives

Rebbe YahShua was proclaimed king [HIS CRIME] on the Mount of Olives and arrested at the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives was the place of his arrest. Golgotha (the place of the head) was on the Mount of Olives near the place where the bodies of sacrificed Temple animals were burned. This steep slope on the Mount of Olives east of the Temple was outside the east gate of the city of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and fits all Scriptural evidence for the location of the crucifixion. It must be noted that all the Temple walls were high except the eastern wall because the High Priest that burns the Red Heifer and stands on the top of the Mount of Olives should be able to look directly into the entrance of the Sanctuary when the blood of the heifer is sprinkled. (Talmud Middot 2:4)”

     It was here at the summit of the Mount of Olives that stood a miraculously budding branch of an almond tree, called A’aron's rod, planted on the Mount of Olives by David and grew into the crucifixion tree.  It was here that our Messiah was nailed on a cross beam in the midst of two Zealots.  King Messiah YahShua became the fruit of the Tree of Life.

We also know that according to Scripture that the Mount of Olives plays a major role in the Return of Yahshua as the coming Moshiach (Messiah since we read in:

Ma’esah Ha Sh’lichiym (Acts of the Apostles) 1:10 And while they (the Disciples) looked steadfastly towards the Shamayim (heavens) as he he went up, behold two men stood by them in white clothing; 11 They said, you men of Galil, why do you stand gazing up into the Shamayim (Heavens)? This same Yahshua who is taken up from you into the Shamayim shall return in the same manner as you have seen him go into the Shamayim. 

A further quote revealing the significance of the Mount of Olives is given through the Prophet ZekarYah (Zechariah) showing just how central to the theme of Scripture is this Mount:

ZekarYah (Zechariah) 14:4 And in that day His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives which faces Yerushalayim on the east and the Mount of Olives shall split in two from east to west, a very great valley and half of the mountain shall move towards the north and half of it towards the south.

Summary Points

When looking into the Mystery of the Mount of Olives we find its significance through much of Scripture so we need to consider how it played and will play a great role until Yahshua’s return as the ruling King so we need to draw some point of significance:

1. Gethsemane which means “the Oil Press” on the Mount of Olives was the place where the Master was greatly pressed but chose to submit to the Father’s will.

2. The great anguish that Yahshua felt that caused his sweat to be like drops of blood were not the result of the fear of men but over the Cup of Divine Wrath that he endured for our sins and that of all mankind.

3. In Yahshua’s petitions we see him progressively overcoming his human will and strengthening his confidence to submit totally to the Father’s will & purpose.

4. We also have discovered that the Mount of Olives was revealed as a place of sacrifices from early times. Abraham built an Altar there and called on the Name of YHWH.

5. Sources reveal that King David planted A’aron’s staff on the Mount of Olives that would later be the tree upon which the Saviour would be impaled on a crossbeam.

6. Finally Scripture reveals that Yahshua will return to the Mount of Olives which will split in two so he can enter Yerushalayim through the Eastern gate as the Messiah and Ruling King.

Conclusion:

As we consider & celebrate Passover I pray we consider the extreme Cup that the Saviour took for us and all those who would come to receive his promise and that we would begin to see how undeserving we really are. When we humble ourselves in considering his suffering it is an opportunity for us to consider if our life was worthy of the great suffering that he received for us.

Ibrim (Hebrews) 12:3-4 For consider him who endured such opposition from transgressors against himself lest you be wearied and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

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The Counting of the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer)

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The Counting of the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer)

Walking from  Glory to Glory

Before we get started I want to explain why we commence the counting of the Omer and subsequently observe Shavuot on a different day than Orthodox Jews. This might surprise some people considering how much we align with many other rabbinical perspectives. 

I want to assure everyone who might be wrestling with this subject, that I am open to discussion, as I want to find the truth rather than have my way or win a debate. Now many of you are new to the Counting of the Omer and have never observed Shavuot before, so I’ll explain this only briefly and am happy to discuss the subject further at the end of this lecture. I want to cover some deeper aspects about Counting the Omer, not just lecture on when it starts (though that’s important). I want to inspire people to count and get as much out of it as possible and I don’t think either observance times will condemn anyone as they both have solid arguments. 

There has been a controversy that goes all the way back to ancient times to today. It surrounds the commencement of the Counting of the Omer. It’s over how to interpret the command to begin the count on “the day after the Shabbat” (Leviticus 23:11) One view, is that it refers to the weekly Shabbat and the other view is that it refers to the First day of Unleavened Bread (Bikkurim). 

If we say the verse speaks of the weekly Shabbat, then the waving of the First Fruits will always be on a Sunday and Shavuot will always fall on a Sunday – exactly seven Shabbatot plus one day, or 50 days later. The Hebrew word used is Shabbat, the same word used for the weekly Shabbat and the Hebrew word used to describe feast days is Shabbaton. The only exception is Yom Kippurim and the weekly Shabbat is sometimes called Shabbat Shabbaton. 

What’s an Omer Anyway?

Between Bikkurim (meaning “the Feast of First Fruits”) and Shavuot שבועות (meaning “weeks” A.K.A. Pentecost πεντηκοστή meaning “to count 50”]) we enter a strange time. It is a time when we are instructed to “count.”  

“And you shall count (סְפַרְ sefirah) for yourselves from the day after the Shabbat, from the day that you brought the sheaf (עֹמֶר Omer) of the wave offering: seven Shabbatot shall be completed. (Leviticus 23:15)” Notice the expressions “for yourselves” and “that you brought.” Keep that in mind as I want to look into this later. 

Count to what? We are to count to the 50th day, which is called Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks. It’s a Holiday given a name that comprises the days that proceed it, the completion of seven Shabbatot. Also interesting is the fact that it’s the only Feast that is never plainly given a date for its observance in the Torah. 

As with many of the Hebrew High Holidays, it was an agricultural festival. 

When the Temple was standing, barley was the first agricultural crop in Israel to be ready for harvest in the early spring. During Scriptural times, a sheaf of barley (known as the Omer), selected from the choicest of the barley grown within the land of Israel, was brought to the Kohanim as an offering (Leviticus 23:10-12). The process of harvesting this barley offering involved an elaborate ceremony, described in detail in the Mishnah, which is an early rabbinic commentary on the Torah.

The people would choose the most select first-cut barley, harvest it carefully, and bring it to the Temple as an offering to Yahweh. The Priests would wave this sheaf of barley, the Omer, in the six directions, North, East, South, West, Up and Down. (This waving process is similar to the formula still used today for shaking the lulav on Succoth). Only after that ceremony, called the wave offering, was completed, was the rest of the community permitted to enjoy the barley crop or any new produce from the spring harvest. In this way, the people acknowledged the role of the Divine in creating the grain.

The Omer was brought to the Temple each day for the next 49 days, during which time the next and most important grain, the wheat, was ripening. Counting these 49 days is known as Counting the Omer. These 49 days of the counting of the Omer culminate on the 50th day, the first day of Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks. In Hebrew, shavuah means week -- shavuot is plural. Shavuot originally marked the end of the seven weeks of counting the harvest season between the first harvest, the barley, through the growth of the wheat crop and culminating in the harvest of the wheat. Another name for the Festival of Shavuot is Hag HaKatzir, translated as the Holiday of Harvest. 

So now we don’t have a Temple, a Priesthood, or any unifying Sanhedrin authority and the fact that most believers aren’t farmers anyway, why do we need to pay the Omer any attention at all? Let’s just count off 50 days from the closing of Pesach and come together on the 6th of Sivan or if you follow the alternative method, and count after the next weekly Shabbat after Pesach, find the appropriate date, and just meet then? 

Since the destruction of the Temple, this offering is brought in word rather than deed. Now, it’s not a tradition or simply a memorial of an old commandment we are unable to do anymore, because the Torah says principally to “count” and then mentions to do it in step with the bringing in of the sheaf of the wave offering. 

Yahweh always commands outward ritual actions to provoke inner refinement and improvement in behaviour.

Yahweh wants you to absorb each day as you journey from Bikkurim (First Fruits) to Shavuot (Pentecost). 

When we do an outward ritual action that Yahweh commands, but do not allow them to see how they can improve our behaviour, He despises when we do them.  

So do we simply shout “Today is day 1 of the Omer” every day until Shavuot? Kind of. In fact, we do so by acknowledging the day and the week as they accrue.  We do it at sundown each night, because Scripturally a day starts at sundown. 

Now, the idea of counting is to build anticipation for the giving of the Torah! We count up as opposed to count down, because we are wanting to get a sense of ascending not descending. 

“For those blessed by [You] shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by [You] shall be cut off.  The steps of a righteous man are ordered by Yahweh, and [You] delight in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for Yahweh upholds him with His hand.” (Psalm 37:22-24)

The overriding principle in the mind of a Torah observant believer who has come to it through faith in Yahshua HaMoshiach should be to continue to strive to make him the sovereign of his entire life. If that is truly the goal, then that should be achieved by striving to attain knowledge and understanding and implementation of the Creator’s Divine wisdom. Yahweh’s chochmah (wisdom) is symbolically assigned a female gender in Sefer Mishlei (The Book of Proverbs) and reads, “Blessed are those who find chochmah (wisdom), those who gain da’at (understanding), for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are shalom. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.” (Proverbs 3:13-18)

If the Torah, Yahweh’s Divine Wisdom arranged in a counselling form peculiar to the needs of individuals in this sphere of his creation, were to be arrayed in tangible picture graph, it would look somewhat like a tree. This tree is the product of the infinite, piercing into a finite realm and manifesting itself in a tangible and ordered way. Appendages of this tree are exhibited in the Torah.

“For Yahweh gives wisdom (Chochmah): out of his mouth comes knowledge (da’at) and understanding (Binah).” (Proverbs 2:6)

"Blessed are You, Yahweh, Elohim of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Yahweh, is the greatness (yesod), the power (geverah) and the glory (hod), the victory (netzach) and the majesty (tiferet); for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom (malkut), O Yahweh, and You are exalted as head over all (keter). (1 Chronicles 29:11,12)”

“Yahweh is good to all: and his tender mercies (chesed) are over all his works. (Psalm 145:9)”

If we were to map these attributes out we would get a pattern that looks something like this. 

These are all what’s called, the Emanations, and they are the 10 attributes through, which Yahweh, whose enormity is incomprehensible, chooses to reveal Himself to mankind.

This graph is known as the Tree of Life, the sefirot, and is the ten-faceted glory of Yahweh. That’s why it’s called sefirah. It’s where we get the name “sapphire.” 

Unfortunately, the dark forces have hijacked this concept, and is the reason some of you are thinking to yourself, ‘isn’t this new age nonsense?’ 

Here is a short video that describes the sefirot. 

Short Youtube video from My Jewish Learning Institute on the 10 Sefirot
www.myjli.com

Have you ever sat down by yourself, having come from a social event, and really cringed and travailed over something you thought, said or even did and you say, ‘I wish I was a little more tactful’ or ‘I wish I was a little more respectful’ or ‘I wish I was a little more modest’ or ‘thoughtful’ or ‘caring.’ Perhaps you’ve felt fed up by having a bigmouth, a negative attitude or a selfish trait. You sit in sorrow and wish you could change. We are followers of the Messiah and yet so often we find ourselves not reflecting this same love that he has in our own nature.

At times, you might have thought, ‘If only the Scriptures would micro-manage me sometimes. If only the Torah could get into the small moments in my life and give me guidance as I go through life.’

Everyone who seriously wants to carry the same yoke as Moshiach must go through a time of trial and preparation. That is why Shavuot is named after its preceding days. It’s not called the Day of the Giving of the Torah. It’s literally called, The Preparation Weeks!

Each day of the Omer is a step through the wilderness as we leave our own personal Egypt. Each one of us have a personal pharaoh that we need to flee from. We gain our physical freedom at Pesach and we gain our spiritual freedom at Shavuot. Pesach speaks of individual atonement, while Shavuot speaks of a spiritually unified embodiment. The entire nation of Yisrael is referred to being as a single man by the time they reach their destination at Mt Sinai. The Ruach HaKodesh only fell on the disciples when they were unified, together in one spirit and in one accord!” Stop thinking that being committed to a community of Yahweh is optional, it’s not! If you don’t do this, you can’t do anything!

You’re not making Yahshua the sovereign of your life if you’re not prepared to externally do what Yahweh tells you to do and you’re not making Yahshua the sovereign of your life if you’re not prepared to allow what Yahweh asks you to do externally to change you internally.

Each day of Counting the Omer, we are to stop, and proclaim, “Baruch Atah Yahweh Elo-hai-nu Melech Ha-Olam, Asher kid’shanu B’Mitzvatov V’tzi-vanu al Sefirat Ha-Omer.” 

“Blessed are you Yahweh our Elohim, King of the Universe, Who has made us holy with his Commandments, and commanded us concerning the Counting of the Omer.” 

“Today is day one of Counting the Omer.” And so on. When we get to a week, we say, “Today is week one of Counting the Omer” and the next day we say, “Today is week one and day one of Counting the Omer” and so on. 

Thus for 49 days we are given the opportunity to climb, one step at a time, up the Ya’avok’s ladder of personal growth and refinement. In particular, this is the ladder of emotional growth.

On each day of Sefiros HaOmer, we focus on one of our seven basic graces, and over seven weeks (49 days) cover each grace in combination with itself and every other (7 times 7 equals 49). At the end of this period, we celebrate the receiving of the Torah (Matan Torah), having fully achieved the refinement of all of our spiritual faculties.

Week one is Chesed (Loving Kindness).

Day 1 is Chesed of Chesed (Loving-kindness in loving-kindness), which is Yahweh’s mercy acting upon our attribute of mercy. 

Day 2 is Gevurah of Chesed (Discipline in Loving-kindness), which is Yahweh’s judgment acting on our attribute of mercy. 

Day 3 is Tiferet of Chesed (Compassion, Harmony in Loving-kindness), which is Yahweh’s beauty acting upon our attribute of mercy.

Day 4 is Netzach of Chesed (Endurance in Loving Kindness), which is Yahweh’s victory or endurance acting on our sense of mercy. 

Day 5 is Hod of Chesed (Humility in Loving-kindness), which is Yahweh’s glory acting upon our attribute of mercy. 

Day 6 is Yesod of Chesed (Bonding in Loving-kindness) is Yahweh building His foundation with which to support our attribute of mercy. 

Day 7 is Malchut of Chesed (Nobility in Loving-kindness), which is Yahweh teaching us Kingdom principles to act on our attribute of mercy. 

…And so on to Gevurah in week 2, Tiferet in week 3, Netzach in week 4, Hod in week 5, Yesod in week 6 and Malkut in week 7. 

So we treat each day like a devotional reading, dealing with each aspect of our attributes all together in unison, one step at a time.  At the end Yahshua will Tabernacle with us on Shavuot, but only if we make the effort to walk there as a body, every step of the way, not wasting our days, but imbuing them with profound meaning and value. 

This is why it says in Genesis 25:7, “these are the days of the years of Avraham's life. . .” - that is, that he lived with all of his days intact. Similarly, of about Sarah it is said [in Genesis 23:1]: “the years of the life of Sarah”- that all of her years were years of life. 

This is spiritual accounting. If you count the Omer, you won’t just be counting the Omer. You will be making the Omer count. The Torah is a Torah you can count on, so start counting on it. Quit mucking around! Counting the Omer is like pruning your own spiritual tree. If you keep a tree pruned, it will stay healthy. Pruning by definition cuts away dead things. “For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people.” (Isaiah 65:22)

“He will be like a tree planted near water...” (Jeremiah 17:8)

“Happy is the man . . . who delights in the Torah of Elohim, and in his Torah he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in season; his leaf shall not wither, and in whatever he does he shall prosper.” (Psalms 1)

“(Yahshua) took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, YahShua asked, ‘Do you see anything?’ He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around.’” (Mark 8:23-24)

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2017 Pesach Message - Revelation Meal

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2017 Pesach Message

Here is a picture of what’s called “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci. This image, like many others has crept into your subconscious and it’s lodged in there. Translators, scribes, pasters, priests, reformed rabbis, teachers, government agencies as well as artists and even film makers have misdirected, manipulated, distorted and reinvented Scripture for a long time. The situation is so bad, that it takes only a few seconds to begin sharing truth that even a veteran Nazarene has never heard before. 

There is no such term, “The Last Supper” used to describe this well-known seder in Scripture. In fact, this was not the last meal that Yahshua had with his Talmidim. The last meal he had was a breakfast beside the shores of Galilee in his third official appearance after his resurrection. “Yahshua said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was Adonai. Yahshua came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Yahshua appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.” (John 21:12-13)

The majority of religious world applies Scripture like a general practitioner using plastic toy medical tools and sugar tablets to treat patients with genuine illnesses. 

(Slide) The meal Yahshua had with his Talmidim more than likely looked like this.  

Most people think that Yahshua’s last meal was a Pesach Seder? Certainly, you’d be forgiven for thinking that when we read,

(Slide) “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Pesach lamb had to be killed. Yahshua sent Kepha and Yochannan, saying, ‘Go and make preparations for Passover so we may eat (it).’” (Luke 22:7-8) 

“On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Yahshua’s disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” (Mark 14:12)

“On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Yahshua and asked, ‘Where do you want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?’” (Matthew 26:17)

(Slide) But on the following day, after Yahshua’s capture and when the Jewish leaders took Yahshua to see Pilate, they remained outside of his palace for fear of defiling themselves and making them ineligible “to eat the Passover” (John 18:28)

(Slide) Furthermore, Yahshua is presented by Pilate to the Jews on “…the day of Preparation of the Passover; (when) it was about noon (and Pilate said to the Jews) ‘Here is your king.’” (John 19:14)

(Slide) Even the Talmud, a most unlikely source, attests that Yahshua was put to death on Erev Pesach:

“Yahshua was hanged on Erev Pesach. Forty days previously the herald had cried, “He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Yisrael astray and enticed them into apostasy. Whosoever has anything to say in his defense, let him come and declare it.” As nothing was brought forward in his defense, he was hanged on Erev Pesach.” Tractate Sanhedrin (43a) 

The stoning is mentioned here, because according to Torah he should have been stoned, but the Roman occupation forbade Jews from enacting Capital Punishment according to their laws. So too, Yahshua had to die in some fashion involving the profuse loss of blood. Crucifixion accommodated that requirement much more effectively than stoning. So the Jewish writings provide an unintended confirmation of this event.

The eating of the Pesach commences at sundown on Abib or Nissan 15.  Yahshua was crucified on Erev Pesach, the 14th of Nissan (Wednesday afternoon) between the 6th hour and the 9th hour (He was probably hung at around 11pm and died at 3pm, though Mark 15:25 say between the 3rd and 9th hour making it much earlier [9am]). 

Yahshua’s so-called “Last Supper” was on Tuesday night (the Erev of the Preparation Day of Pesach).

(Slide) Exodus 12 tells us the timing of the slaughter of the lambs. “Take care of (the first-born lambs) until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Yisrael must slaughter them at twilight.  Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.” (Exodus 12:6-7)

The “Last Supper” was not a Pesach Seder. It was a meal that took place on the eve of the Preparation Day for Pesach. Just because Yahshua said for his talmidim to go and make preparations for Pesach, does not mean that he ate the actual Pesach or celebrated the actual Pesach that year. To do so would have caused him to miss arguably one of his most important prophetic appointments and in so doing endanger all of creation. 

So what was this meal? 

(Slide) This meal closed Ta'anit B'khorot (the Fast of the First-Born). Traditionally, the fast was broken by observing a siyum, a traditional meal that celebrates a completion of a unit of Torah learning. Siyum means “completion” or “finished.” 

Ta’anit B’khorot is reserved for the first born only. It commemorates the salvation of the Yisraelite firstborns during the Plague of the Firstborn, the tenth of the ten plagues which were wrought upon Ancient Egypt prior to the Exodus of the Children of Yisrael, when, according to Exodus (12:29): "...Elohim struck every firstborn in the Land of Mitzrayim…”

Furthermore, it was forbidden to partake of leavened bread so close to Pesach and it was also forbidden to partake of matzah at this time as well. All ancient kosher bake houses would have been well cleared of all leaven by then and it would have been impossible to acquire it at this time. What kosher bakery would have been operating to make leavened bread so close to Pesach? Also the partaking of matzah right before the Pesach Seder was forbidden, because it would make one less desirous for it, when the time came to perform the mitzvah. So, was it week-old stale kosher bread or bread acquired from a goy? Heaven forbid, it was neither.

So what bread did Yahshua use?

(Click) The bread Yahshua broke was called matzah ashirah. It was a matzah made from flour mixed with fruit juice or with eggs, which cannot be used to fulfill the obligation of eating matzah at the Seder. Today, you can still buy matzah made with egg, but this is invalid if consumed by a healthy adult on Pesach, even though it’s kosher to possess it then and throughout Unleavened Bread. It can be eaten at the pre-Passover meal and during the week of Unleavened Bread. However, it is permissible for a child or an elderly person to eat it for Pesach, because it is milder on the digestive system than straight matzah. 

Did Yahshua Even Eat at the Seder? 

Some Hebrew scholars go so far as to say that Yahshua didn’t broke the Fast of the First Born at all during the so-called “Last Supper.” 

(Slide) But what about when Yahshua said, “I have greatly desired to eat this Pesach with you before I suffer. For I say to you that from now on I will not eat until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of Elohim.” (Luke 22:15-16) 

Answer: Yahshua makes his vow before he actual eats anything by saying “…from now on I will not eat until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of Elohim.”

And what about later, when Yahshua said, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.” (Matthew 26:23)

Answer: He dipped his fingers in the bowl, because he handled the matzah ashirah. 

What about Mark 14:20? “It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me.”

Answer: The original Greek doesn’t have the word for bread. Just “dip” and the translators have assumed it’s bread and not fingers, despite fingers corresponding to Matthew’s account. 

Furthermore, Yahshua says, “While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me--one who is eating with me.’” (Mark 14:18)

Answer: “…one who is eating with me” The word for with is the Greek word Meta, which also mean behind or beside Yahshua, which makes more sense, because all the talmidim were eating with him. 

Yahshua announces his intention to eat when he directs His Talmidim to explain to the owner of the residence “…where (he) may eat the Passover with my disciples?” (Luke 22:11)

Answer: Yahshua and his talmidim didn’t observe a Pesach Seder and yet Yahshua calls it Pesach and so too he announces his intention to eat, yet does not eat. 

Yahshua uses the siyum as a demonstration to share the midrashim, the deeper meaning of Pesach’s elements. He uses the bread and wine to his talmidim as a symbol of his body and blood. The matzah was made without ego (puffiness), it was lean, striped, pierced and bruised, and mid-way through the seder it is broken, wrapped in cloth, hidden, retrieved and then shared around for everyone to eat. (Slide) This is called, the Afikomen. Afikomen is Greek and means, “that which comes after.” It is a broken piece of matzah that is eaten after the main meal during the Pesach Seder. Interestingly, there is no other more obvious symbolism as the Afikomen anywhere in the Pesach Seder that points to Yahshua’s suffering, death and resurrection than this and it is a 100% rabbinical tradition. I don’t know what type of whacky Pesach that lady attended!

The matzah and wine, the singing of the Hallel, the reclining diners are all elements that were observed in the Last Supper. This meal followed much of the same order of a Pesach Seder described in the Mishnah.  In the Netzarim Ketuvim synoptic Gospel accounts, we find reference to the First Cup, also known as the Cup of Blessing (Luke 22:17); to the breaking of the matzah (Luke 22:19); to the Third Cup, the Cup of Redemption (Luke 22:20); to reclining (Luke 22:14); to the charoseth or the maror (Matthew 26:23), and to the Hallel (Matthew 26:30).  

What is more, just as Jews at the seder discuss the symbolism of the Pesach Seder, Yahshua at his siyum discussed the symbolism of the wine and bread in light of his own imminent death.

Pesach’s Evolution 

Years ago I read a message by a woman on-line who attended Pesach Seder and said that she had a great time at the Seder, because there was nothing rabbinical observed. I nearly fell out of my chair!

(Slide) There is perhaps no other High Holiday that has been so woven together with rabbinic tradition than the observance of Pesach. The custom of reading through the Pesach Haggadah (the telling) is a booklet of information compiled by rabbis that sets out the order of service that accompanies the meal. I have never been to a Messianic Passover Seder that operates without one. There are almost as many varieties of Pesach Haggadot as there are stars in the sky and all of them are sourced from rabbinic texts. In Biblical times, no-one relied on a written document to power the Seder, because everything was clearly in the minds of those leading it.  

Once the Yisraelites were settled in Yisrael, and once a Temple was built in Yerushalayim, the original Pesach Korban described in Exodus 12 changed dramatically. Pesach became one of the Jewish Pilgrimage festivals, and Yisraelites were expected to travel to Yerushalayim to offer a Passover lamb at the Temple during the afternoon of the 14th day, and then consume the Pesach Korban once the sun had set, with the festival formally beginning on the 15th of Nissan. This kind of celebration is described as having taken place during the reigns of Kings Hezekiah and Josiah (2 Chronicles 30 and 35).

Order of Service

As time passed, the practice continued to evolve. Eventually, a number of customs, recorded in rabbinic literature, began to accumulate around the meal, which became so highly ritualised that it developed into what was known as a Pesach Seder. The word Seder means “arrangement” or “order” and shares the same Hebrew root as siddur, usually denoting a prayer book. The Pesach Seder refers to the arrangement and order of breaking unleavened bread, drinking wine, reclining and singing nigunim (melodies). Furthermore, during the meal, the Exodus story was retold and the significance of the unleavened bread, bitter herbs and wine was explained. 

Reclining

(Slide) “So the disciples did as YahShua had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, YahShua was reclining at the table with the Twelve.” (Matthew 26:19, 20)

Reclining was standard practice in large official royal meals. Rashbam explains the reason we recline altogether is because such was the manner of kings and that the aristocrats reclined on the left so as to leave the right hand free for eating purposes. 

Leaning on the left side represents the fact that on the night of Passover, even the “left side,” which is associated with darkness and death, can be elevated. (This idea is stated regarding the fact that the Menorah is lit on the left side of the door and that the Tefillin are worn on the left arm.) 

The Mishnah in Berakhot makes that very clear from its distinction between people who “happen to sit down to eat” a meal (hayu yoshebhin leekhol), who make the benediction individually and those who “recline” (hesebhu) who are required to have one make the benediction for the rest (Berakhoth 6:6). Thus, the injunction to recline should not be seen as the ad-hoc creation of a practice in order to demonstrate freemen, upperclass behavior. Rather it’s taking a practice that already commonly exists and instructing that on the night of Passover even the poor man should recline himself while eating, as if he were a rich man (Pesachim 10:1). 

In his commentary to the Mishnah in Pesachim, Maimonides adds: In the manner that kings and important people eat.

When reclining, one should lean to the left, eating and drinking with the right hand. Even one who is left-handed should follow this practice.

Leaven in the Camp

Now, not long after Yahshua makes his declaration of his desire to eat the Pesach, there appears to be a tense disagreement among his Talmidim.

(Slide) “And there was also a strife among them, who of them should be accounted the greatest. (Luke 22:24) 

This tells us that there was still leaven present within Yahshua’s inner circle, there was still a puffiness in the attitude of his talmidim. Now, be careful not to judge them. Yahshua had taken them through many strange encounters and emerged triumphantly each time, vanquishing the dark forces wherever they reared up. It would have been extremely difficult to not let some of Yahshua’s notoriety and their association with him to go a little bit to their heads.  

We see that this wasn’t the first time that a disagreement about this subject had occurred. “An argument started among the talmidim as to which of them would be the greatest. Yahshua knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” (Luke 9: 46-48)

HaSatan uses this to whisper accusations to Yahshua against all his 12 companions. ‘They hear but never learn, You told them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and yet they carry on like them. Test, what I’m saying, leave them alone, but for a moment and they will all sleep! I have every legal right to sift them like wheat!

Here is a depiction of Yahshua’s great faith. In the natural, here was a guy with his own problems, he was about to get tortured, beaten, humiliated and slowly killed and he had to quell the egos of his talmidim. How does he do this? “And (Yahshua) said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those who exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But you shall not be so: but he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he who is chief, as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at meat, or he who serves? Is not he who sits at meat? But I am among you as he who serves. You are those who have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint to you a kingdom, as my Father has appointed to me; That you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:25-30)

Netilat Reglayim (Washing of Feet)

Then Yahshua proceeds to wash his talmidim’s feet, despite the fact that the verse says, “the supper being ended.” This is because the correct rendering should be the supper “being born” or “come into existence.” 

(Slide) Since the Yisraelites wore sandals instead of shoes, and as they usually went barefoot in the house, frequent washing of the feet was a necessity. Hence among the Yisraelites it was the first duty of the host to give his guest water for the washing of feet “Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.’” (Luke 7:44) Washing of feet for guests is also mentioned in Genesis 18:4 & 19:2, Judges 19:21, and 1st Samuel 25:41. 

In fact, everyone at the seder would have already washed their own feet before they reclined. Rebbe Yahshua instituted this custom of washing feet as an act of humility. The washing of feet for Pesach was not formerly a tradition. Yahshua instituted this as an illustration of removing leaven from the soul. “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and rabbi; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your rabbi and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:12-17)

(Slide) In the Divine Emanation of the Attributes of Yahweh (The Sefirot [The Tree of Life]), the Netzach and Hod are likened to the two feet of a person i.e. the right and left foot. The feet are usually only the means for a person's activity. 

Chasidic Judaism’s view of Hod is that it is connected with Jewish prayer. Prayer is seen as form of "submission"; Hod is explained as an analogy - that instead of "conquering" an obstacle in one's way, (which is the idea of Netzach), subduing oneself to that "obstacle" is related to the quality of Hod. By washing both Hod and Nezach, which means “victory,” Yahshua is demonstrating that humility leads one to victory. 

(Slide) Next up is the betrayal. A betrayal is defined as an act of deliberate disloyalty. “…the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Yahshua, for they were afraid of the people. Then HaSatan (The Accuser) entered Y’hudah, called the Ishcariot (“the man who readers the written word only”), one of the Twelve. And Y’hudah went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Yahshua. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.” (Luke 22:2-6)

Unfortunately, the Scriptures are rife with acts of betrayal. In fact, when someone sins in a way that comes from anger of disillusionment toward Elohim, this is an act of betrayal. 

Turning on one another is one of the most loathsome sins imaginable.  

Today, if a community had a Pesach Seder with all the elements of the pre-Pesach Seder of Yahshua and his talmidim, it would be hands down considered a complete disaster of a night. Why? Because the house seemed to be commandeered at the last minute, the talmidim argued about who was better, the host identifies the man who would lead him to be killed the following day and also predicts another’s denial of him during the ordeal. The host also commands that his talmidim to arm themselves with weapons and at key points in the night Yahshua’s followers are largely offended and confused. 

Okay, there are many other things about this event I wish to share, but they will have to be for another time. I will end with this. 

The Hallel

Toward the end of the seder Yahshua and his talmidim sing a hymn. “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Matthew 26:30) Many Christian scholars have deliberated over the song that was sung, but there is no mystery to one who is familiar with the custom of the Jews. 

It was the Hallel (meaning “jubilation”) which is comprised of Psalms 113 to 118. We know this, because the Levitical Choir sang the Hallel during the Pesach Korban.  Also, the Talmud, which teaches extensively about Jewish life and customs in the first century, states that during the Pesach Seder, four cups of wine would be drunk, and the singing of the Hallel would begin after the second cup, with Psalm 113 being the first hymn sung followed by Psalm 114. After the fourth and final cup of wine had been drunk, the remaining psalms of the Hallel – 115, 116, 117, and 118 – were then sung. 

The Hallel was to be recited at the Pesach Seder in honour of Divine Deliverance or which the seder is a 100% deliverance-based meal.

By knowing that the Hallel was song between cups at the seder and that Moshiach and his Talmidim departed immediately after singing, we can surmise that they certainly sang the last part of the Hallel, chapter 118. This is significant, because Yahshua had to be offered up at the same time as the first-born lambs in the Temple in the 9th hour, which would have been 2 to 3pm the following day. So the same hour Yahshua died, the Levitical Choir’s rendition of Hallel could be heard for miles around Yerushalayim and on the concluding section, Psalm 118, he gave us his life. 

If you were to go back in time to see Yahshua’s crucifixion, you’d have seen the Levi’im on special platforms singing the Hillel and playing instruments as lambs were being slaughtered in front of them in the inner court. There were 12 singers and more than 160 musicians gathered as orderly rows of people came forward with their lambs. Out of the Eastern Gate of the Beit HaMikdash and straight up to the top of the Mount of Olives in a place called Skull Hill, a rabbi and two Jewish Zealots were being hung.  

Just as Yahshua was dying, chapter 118 of Psalms, the last stanza, was being sung by twelve powerfully voiced singers accompanied by 160 instruments and these words echoed in the hauntingly distance:

“Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear Yahweh say: “His love endures forever.” When hard pressed, I cried to Yahweh; he brought me into a spacious place. Yahweh is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Yahweh is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust in princes.  All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of Yahweh I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of Yahweh I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of Yahweh I cut them down.  I was pushed back and about to fall, but Yahweh helped me. Yahweh is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: Yahweh’s right hand has done mighty things! Yahweh’s right hand is lifted high; Yahweh’s right hand has done mighty things!” I will not die but live, and will proclaim what Yahweh has done. Yahweh has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to Yahweh. This is the gate of Yahweh through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; Yahweh has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Yahweh has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Yahweh, save us! Yahweh, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh. From the house of Yahweh we bless you. Yahweh is Elohim,
and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar. You are my Elohim, and I will praise you; you are my Elohim, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

 “…Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast.”  (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) 

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