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Salvation
The time has come, for the sake of the Kingdom of YHWH, to open a big can of worms: Salvation.
Exod 14:13
13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of YHWH, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
What an interesting passage. Moshe tells the people to just relax and YHWH will bring salvation. “Do not be afraid” is sound advice, but YHWH took exception to “stand still”, asking, “why do you cry to Me”, and answering Moshe with the command to “tell the Children of Israel to go forward.” Standing still was not what YHWH had in mind. They were to take part in their salvation, although it was clearly from YHWH.
The word in the previous passage, translated as “salvation”, is yeshuwah. It means “something saved, i.e. (abstractly) deliverance; hence, aid, victory, prosperity.” It is clear from the context that this was a physical salvation of the Children of Israel taking place. This word is next used here:
Exod 15:1-2
1 Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang this song to YHWH, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to YHWH, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea!
2 YHWH is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; he is my Elohim, and I will praise Him; my father's Elohim, and I will exalt Him.
This is, of course, after the deliverance has taken place. The Children of Israel sing that YHWH “has become my salvation.”
Let us consider what is being said. These people are praising YHWH for bringing them out of bondage in a foreign land. They are recognizing YHWH’s responsibility for their national salvation. You see, this rescue was not about the individual. It was about the nation, the people, the Children of Israel. YHWH heard THEIR cries. YHWH remembered THEM. Of course Israel was, and is, made up of individuals, but it was for the sake of the nation that the rescue came.
Eccl 1:9
9 That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
What took place before will take place again. YHWH’s plan is National Salvation for Israel. Now things get touchy.
In the church system, the focus is “personal salvation”, the redemption of the individual: Do you know JC as your “personal savior?”
In Israel the focus is National Salvation, the redemption of the nation. This has always been and continues to be among pious Jews today. This was the expected role of Mashiach at the time of Yahshua. Consider the question of Yahshua’s followers:
Acts 1:6
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Master, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
They knew that He is Mashiach. He was already resurrected when they asked the question. Death was defeated, accomplishing “personal” salvation, and still his loyal students asked about the salvation of the nation. They didn’t ask, “what must we do to be saved?” They were a part of the salvation plan. Yahshua told them:
Acts 1:8
8 "But you shall receive power when the Ruach HaQodesh has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
He said, “You shall be witnesses to Me.” This was His answer to their question of NATIONAL salvation.
I am not saying that the individual doesn’t need to be rescued. We have need of individual redemption. We are individually steeped in sin and rebellion. We need the miraculous intervention to turn us back to truth. We, as individuals, need to be rescued from our sin and perversions and the death that accompanies it, but this is not the end of the story. It is merely the start.
Yahshua purchased the whole lot. He did not buy you or me. He bought US. He collects one at a time, but He has purchased a people. He has saved you and me so that WE may be saved. I’m not talking about saved in our minds or knowing in our hearts, but about an actual, physical deliverance.
When Yahshua said, “and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth", He was referring to this passage:
Isa 45:22
22 "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am Elohim, and there is no other.
Just before this YHWH says,
Isa 45:20
20 "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, who carry the wood of their carved image, and pray to an Elohim that cannot save.
These “ends of the earth” are those who have “escaped from the nations.” A few verses later, He clarifies who these people are:
Isa 45:25
25 In YHWH all the descendants of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.'"
These are the people that received the first salvation from Egypt! These are the Nation of Israel and the prophecy is of the physical redemption and return to the homeland of those who have been held captive in the nations!
This is the context of the entire Word of YHWH. A people united with their Elohim in the place He chooses. It is not a book for YOU, it is a book for US! Notice the letters of the Brit Chadashah. They are addressed to “all of you”, “the gathering at”, “to the scattered exiles”, etc. This is not a message that is meant to end with the individual. Show me the term “personal salvation” in the Word. It isn’t there. The purpose of our “salvation experiences” is that we might “escape the nations and draw near together.”
1 Pet 2:4-10
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by YHWH and precious,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to YHWH through Yahshua HaMashiach.
6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Tzion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,"
8 and "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people (lo ammi) but are now the people of YHWH, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
This is about a PEOPLE obtaining mercy. Not a descendant, but a generation. Not a priest, but a priesthood. Not an individual, but a nation. Not a special person, but a special people!
Acts 4:10-12
10 "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Yahshua HaMashiach of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom YHWH raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11 "This is the ‘stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'
12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Why doesn’t it say, “a man must be saved” rather than “WE must be saved?”
Matt 1:21
21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Yahshua, for He will save His people from their sins."
Let’s look at the process and I’ll make it simple for you:
Rom 5:10-19
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to YHWH through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be (future tense) saved by His life.
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in YHWH through our Adon Yahshua HaMashiach, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned--
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moshe, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of YHWH and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Yahshua HaMashiach, abounded to many.
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Yahshua HaMashiach.)
18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
Verse 10 has the answer. Through Yahshua’s death we were individually reconciled with Abba YHWH. Our condemnation as descendants of Adam was removed, bringing our “spiritual salvation.” But we still have a problem. We are in exile. But verse 10 says that this will also end, not through His death, but through His life. We shall be saved by His life.
So, why does our exile continue? Because we don’t live his life. How did Yahshua live His life? As a fully Torah observant Yisraelite. Finally, forsaking His life for the sake of His Brethren. Forsaking His life for the sake of His Brethren. And who are His brethren? Yisrael, those called to hear and do the will of Abba YHWH! You have accepted and received personal reconciliation to YHWH through the blood of Yahshua. Don’t stop there! Move on and participate in OUR National salvation!
Step 1:
Study! Know YHWH’s instruction in its intended Hebraic context. Know it forward and backward so that it doesn’t depart from your mouth day or night.
Step 2:
Become attached to a committed people. By no means are you to forsake the gathering. And this must be more than a once-a-week pep rally. You must be involved with these people. You must share in their burdens, their sorrow and their joy. You must put them ahead of yourself, and you must submit yourself to authority. If there is no one where you live, move! You cannot lay down your life for Yisrael over the internet, you cannot do it with tapes and books. You must do it face to face with full accountability to the congregation.
Step 3:
Understand that we have been reconciled to YHWH, but that we are still in exile and must now be delivered to our inheritance. National Salvation is our priority and we have a role to play in it. Nobody was saved from Egypt that didn’t get up and walk. Yahshua is our Melekh, our King. Our job is to live like Israelites, being ready to move and not set in our ways. Understanding that we will soon be called upon to be a part of a Nation ruled over by Mashiach and being willing to do our part in bringing that to pass. Yisrael is not some abstract idea. We may say, “We are Yisrael. We have a Magen David and a Menorah and new Hebrew names.” Yisrael is not about the symbols and ideas that represent us. Yisrael is what we do! If we are not “doing Yisrael”, we are not Yisrael!
Step 4:
Stress National Salvation. Move on to maturity. Leaders, if you think that you are preaching to the choir or converting the converted, it is because you are preaching the wrong things. Returning Yisrael is still taking baby steps. Teach them to run. YHWH has people to gather in the lost and misinformed, but if He has you over a group of people that nave already chosen the True Path, your job is to prepare them to be a unified people. Don’t be afraid to turn inward and concentrate on bringing a greater maturity to the few who are truly committed. Yahshua did it. Yahshua was not an evangelist. He handpicked the twelve. The others came on their own, but most of them left when things got too real. He concentrated on the twelve. What was their focus? National Salvation. Gather the few in tight and protect them from the wolves. Prepare them for citizenship in the Nation.
Isa 64:1-7
1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence--
2 As fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil-- to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome things for which we did not look, you came down, the mountains shook at Your presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any Elohim besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned-- in these ways we continue; and we need to be saved.
Selah.
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