Last week we were dealing with the question of effectual prayer and gave the example of how the Tabernacle was set up and how this teaches us about how to approach God for effectual prayer. The Tabernacle is called the Mishkan in Hebrew. It means the "dwelling" and it was were the Shekinah, Kivod and the Ruach Ha Kodesh manifested. You can see the root for "shki'nah" (shekinah as most say it, but it's "shki'nah") in the word "Mishkan" (tabernacle). It was called the House of Prayer, as was the succeeding Temples. In Exodus 25.8 God showed Moses the "tavnit" or pattern of the Mishkan and that was where He would dwell. He goes on and gives Moses the pattern for everything connected with the Mishkan and its construction. Then in Exodus 40 He tells Moses to set up the Mishkan, and then tells him how to do it. In a way, that is how the Lord see's us. If He is in the Holy of Holies looking out, that is how it was set up, from the inside out. That is how He sets up His "mishkan" in us, from the inside first, working outward. But, when we approach the Lord in prayer it is just the opposite. Coming into his presence (shki'nah), the first thing you encounter is the veil at the door and an anointed priest (Yeshua) and then we come to the Altar (cross). Then we come to the Laver that held water (the Word of God). Moving past that Laver we enter the Mishkan and on the north side ( north speaks of intellect) we have the Table of Bread ( which speaks of provision not only spiritually but physically). On the south side (south is the direction of faith) we have the Menorah (speaks of bearing the light). In the middle, before the veil we have the Altar of Incense (speaking of prayer) . Then we have the veil (speaks of a barrier of space or understanding) and then the Ark of the Covenant (God's commandments await you). All of these speak of the Messiah also and this is not the time to go into all the pictures we have of these articles but there is something being said here. This is how we come to the Lord, not only in salvation but daily. Most believers have no problem coming in, encountering the priest and the Altar. They have no problem with the Laver which symbolizes the Word. They have no problem moving on with the idea of God's provision of "bread" (altar of Bread) or understanding, the"light" of the Menorah or even prayer (altar of incense) but many stop right there. They have a problem with that "servant" business. They say "All I need is Jesus" (the priest) or "All I need is back out there on the Altar." They will say "I want the mercy (mercy seat on the Ark) but I don't want what's down there in that box!" But in the New Covenant, the Torah will be written on our heart's (Ark) as God builds us into His Mishkan. For effectual prayer, we must ask "Are we following the pattern He gave us to "approach" Him? Will you follow the pattern given to Moses? Many believers say that following the pattern given to Moses is "legalism" but Moses had effectual prayers. Yeshua followed Moses and His prayers were effectual. The apostles followed Moses and they had effectual prayer. What some call legalism, God calls obedience. So, for effectual prayer ask yourself "How is my Tabernacle set up?" When things don't go right we need to make sure things are "set up" according to the pattern. That is, in order and everything in the right place, nothing missing. Ask yourself, "Have I got water (word of God) in the Laver?" "Have I got bread on the table?" "Have I got the commandments in the Ark (my heart)?" For effectual prayer, start looking at these things and see if you are approaching the Lord according to the pattern He has set up. If everything is in order, then wait and the Lord promised that He would speak to you "between the wings of the Cherubim" of the Ark of the Covenant. I hope this helps you with your question about effectual prayer.

Q James 5.16 talks about "effective prayer." What is that?

A. The followers of Yeshua asked Him to teach them to pray because they saw that He had results, so He goes into what has been called "The Lord's Prayer." This prayer is not "original" and it was a very typical Jewish prayer. It was a model prayer and that means we should pray as the Scriptures teach us. This prayer sums up the major themes of what true prayer is. This also shows us, contrary to what many teach today, that Jews were not hypocrites because "they did not know what to say." Their prayers were fine. Yeshua used them in His "model prayer." The problem was not with the words, the form, the content or the petitions. All of that was how it should have been. The problem was that did not pray with sincerity and truth. There was no repentance or faith. The best prayer is useless if it doesn't express the true intentions of the heart. The Lord looks on the heart and judges any prayer by the faith with which it was offered. Any Jewish person who heard Yeshua this model prayer would have agreed with its contents and found it acceptable. However, there is a warning to praying the same words over and over again thinking repetition will gain favor. This was the mentality of many people in book called "The Didache" that "The Lord's Prayer" should be said three times a day like Jewish prayers. This carries a fatal tendency to turn prayer into a performance instead of the language of faith, love and gratitude. Prayer is a real dependance on the Lord. That is the true essence of prayer, but the form and content, no matter how orthodox, is worthless if the heart is not humble before the Lord and if the prayer is not the true utterance and expression of the heart. Yeshua's prayers were effective and that is why His followers asked Him to "teach us to pray." Look at how the Tabernacle was constructed. It starts with the Ark and works its way outward (Exodus 40). This is how God see's us. It is as if He is in the Holy of Holies looking "out" if you will. Now, the Tabernacle was a House of Prayer and how it was constructed gives us a clue to effective prayer. But, when you approach the Tabernacle from the outside going in, the Lord gives us a lesson on how to approach Him. Next week we will discuss this teaching in Exodus and give some insights into effective prayer.

This week we are going to conclude our look into the question about the Image of God. As we talked about before, the ultimate plan of God is the "unification of His Name" (Zech 14.9) and there are many teachings out there on this subject. This has been symbolized in such ways as the union of the heavens and the earth in which the "evil or mixed realm" is removed, Ezekiel's Temple is established, the Messiah has returned and the marriage of the Messiah to his bride. If we understand this concept of the "unification of His Name" we will better understand prophecy and the Book of Revelation. In short, Satan's plan is to thwart this "unification" and establish his own name. We see from Scripture that he has had many attempts to stop what God was trying to do and become " like the Most High" (Isa 14.14) and "displaying himself as God"(2 Thes 2.4). In warfare, strategy is how you win a war, tactics is how you win battles. We know Satan's strategy is to stop God from the unification of His Name and all that it implies. His tactics are lying, cheating, stealing, counterfeiting and overall psychological warfare. But, whatever Satan does serves God's purpose so we should take heart that the Lord is in control and His ultimate plan to conform us into His image will not fail.
At this time, however, God's "shekinah" (God's presence in the world) can be "separated" or in "exile" in a way because man disregards the Torah. This is especially true with Israel. The tactics and what Satan really does can be seen in the historical enemies of Israel from Amalek to the enemies of Israel today (Ecc 1.9). We see God's Shekinah, Kivod, and Ruach departing at various times due to the people and their apostasy. The result is greater power to Satan to deceive many and many hearts to fail. But, in the end all this will be positive in that the Messiah arrives. A picture of this can be seen in many parts of Scripture but one of the most important ones is Leviticus 13 and the teaching about a leper. Biblical leprosy is not what people think it is today. This was an affliction sent by God called "tzara"at" so the person with this skin disease was called a "metzora" and he was to see a priest, not a doctor and was not treated with medicine. Tzara'at could also come upon houses and clothing as well. We know that a metzora is ritually unclean and was not to have contact with others, was put out of the camp and so on. But, when the tzara'at covered his whole body he is declared clean. This teaches that when Israel is in a similar state of uncleanliness (whole) another "priest" (Messiah) will come and declare them clean due to their faith in Yeshua. In the same way, any sinner who knows that he is completely lost can come to the Lord and be declared "clean" but we must acknowledge we are a complete sinner. If we make excuses or blame others for our sins then we we are not "clean", just like the metzora is not clean if he has some tzara'at on him. Only when he is completely covered (or completely admits his own guilt) can he be declared clean. Then we are ready to be conformed into His own image, unity is achieved and we can help bring "tikkun olam" (repair to the world).

Q. What does it mean in Gen 1.27 when it says that man was made in the image of God?
A. Gen 1.27 says "So God made man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Now, there is much to be said about this verse, so let's rule out a few things first. He is not talking about the physical because he is Spirit. He doesn't have flesh and blood or even looks like us. The Bible uses terminology that says God has hands and feet, a mouth and so on but that is so we can understand him better. Being in the image of God is not physical so that leaves the spiritual so we are going to concentrate on that aspect. Unity is an important subject in the Scriptures. When God created the heavens and the earth, including man, everything was in union with God but that is not the state the creation is in right now. This union is what the redemption is all about and it will be brought about as the Kingdom progresses. Until that time, those who follow God are to work towards what is called the "tikkun olam" or the repairing of the world. This includes bringing peace and healing into the lives of people. This is a very difficult task today because many have their own ideas about God and the truth, but we are to strive to bring the truth, thus unity, where possible. The mitzvot, or commandments of God as given in the Torah are structured to bring about "tikkun" (repair) in both the physical and spiritual levels. Things like divorce goes against the concept of tikkun therefore it is not the will of God except that he permitted it because of the hardness of people's hearts (Mt19.8) but from the beginning it was not so, or his intention. Even God himself divorced himself from Israel and Judah. But, that brings up the question that if divorce is wrong in the sight of the Lord, why did he allow it? It's Scripture and a part of his revelation to us. Someone could say, why did God allow for multiple wives? Why did he allow slavery? Why did he allow for war? We are going to be confronted by some very interesting things here.
Although the Scriptures does not speak in favor of divorce, polygamy, slavery or war it does set up "rules" for how to deal with such issues. When God created the universe and man, it was in a perfect state but sin entered the world and this brought disunity in every area. The Torah was given because of sin. It identifies the problem and the sin situation that has been in effect since that time. God knows that man is going to sin and if there is a right way or a wrong way to do something, we tend to look at the wrong way a long time. The commandments of God, on a most basic level, helps keep man "in the corral" so he doesn't go too far from God's ways. God understands that we are weak and knows that an outright "no" can stir up our desires and Paul talks about this in Romans 7. As a result, the Torah commands regulating certain issues like divorce, polygamy, slavery and war. As one studies deeper into the things of God, the Scriptures will show that although God allows certain things they do not represent his perfect character. One of the things that Messiah is doing and will do is to reveal the deeper meanings of his Word so that man can better conform themselves to the image of God, his character, and work with him towards "tikkun olam" or the repairing of the world. There is a biblical term for working towards this "repair" and it is called "halachah" which means to walk in God's ways. Let me give you a small example of this "repair" in the life of Paul. In Acts 21 he is coming to Jerusalem to keep a festival and he was going to give alms and sacrifices (Acts 24.17). A rumor was being circulated that Paul was teaching people to forsake Moses (Acts 21.21) and of course Paul denied this to James, the "nasi" or president of the sect called the "the Way" (to walk=halachah). So James asked Paul to pay the expenses for the animal sacrifices of four other believers so that "all will know that there is nothing to the things which have been said about you, but that you yourself also walk (halachah) orderly, keeping the Torah" (Acts 21.24). You see, walking orderly in the things of God brought unity to the believers but it stirred up Satan, whose job is to bring disunity, and he stirred up those opposed to walking orderly in the things of God and they arrested Paul.
And that brings up another subject, but we will continue with that next week as we talk about the nature and tactics of Satan in his opposition to God's unity and the "tikkun olam", the repairing of the world and being made in the image of God.

Q. How can Yeshua be High Priest if he isn't descended from Aaron? Wouldn't that prove that the Torah is not for today?

A. The verse you are referring to is Heb 7.12-14. The covenants were for the "natural" children of Israel, that is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Non-Jews were once "cut off" from these covenants. Yeshua directed his earthly ministry to the "lost sheep" of the House of Israel, not Gentiles, but things were changing. After the resurrection the good news was to go to "all nations" and that was predicated on faith. Gentiles are brought near to the covenants by the blood of Yeshua (Eph 2.11-22) and are in union with Jewish believers. In Mt 5.17-19 Yeshua did say that the Law and the Prophets would not pass away, but what did he mean. He is talking about the entire Torah and Prophets. Laws are valid but change in application and administration. Laws concerning the Temple, priests, sacrifices are valid but can change in application and who it applies to. For instance, the High Priesthood changed from Abiathar to Zadok, Eli's son's were cut off, Passover changed, all meat was to go to the door of the Tabernacle (Lev 17.3-4) but later it didn't have to be brought there, but to your gates (Dt 12.20-26), the Tamid offering will only be offered in the morning, not the afternoon as before (Ezek 46.13-15), the first Temple was different than the Tabernacle, the second Temple different from the first, Ezekiels Temple is not like any previous Temple, priests can't marry a widow in Ezekiels Temple, Ezekiels Temple will not be in Jerusalem and eventually there will be no Temple at all. There are hundreds of other examples of how things have changed and how things will change. Laws are valid in purpose, but change in administration and application. The Torah is eternal, as Yeshua said in Matt 5.17-19, as the whole, revealed revelation from Genesis to Revelation. None of it will be "discarded" until all is fulfilled but some of it does change in application and administration. In Jer 31 circumcision of the heart is done by God and it is the circumcision required and is the "New Covenant." The problem is that people think the terms Torah and Law mean the same thing, but they don't. Torah is not equated with "law." Torah means "teaching, guidance, instruction." It is the revelation of God's will and intent. The Greek word used for Torah is "nomos" which means law and it is not a correct rendering of Torah. A "law" may not have to be in force at all for it to be still considered Torah (instruction). We can learn and be instructed by the story of Noah's Ark but we don't have to build another one. Torah reveals the heart and character of God as a guide on how to think and act. The Torah had history and genealogies so that's why Torah is not equated with law. So, an eternal Torah would not require a set of eternally set "in force" or continually binding regulations.
God's will is the rule of justice and goodness. Whatever he requires is just and good. Although his creatures are bound by his laws, he himself is not. He is the giver and maintains them. He has a right to dispose of what he wants, when he wants and how he wants by any means he thinks fit, or as I like to put it, it's "his ball." So Heb 7.12-14 does not mean that the Torah has been done away with for all of the above reasons. The Torah is eternal but the "law" on that particular point has changed, as other laws have changed since creation. But, there is scriptural precedent for this change and the change itself is written into the scriptures. It would not be wise to change other laws God has given without it being written by God himself. We are not to add to or detract from that which is written.

Q. When Paul talks about people being "weak" in the Book of Romans is he talking about those who continued to follow the Torah?

A. That is the traditional interpretation and you will hear it taught that way but that is not what Paul is meaning. The Roman congregation was not a "Christian" church because there was no such thing at the time. That would not have been allowed under Roman law and this congregation was obviously flourishing and a viable entity right there in Rome itself. Paul was writing to a Messianic congregation still meeting under the oversight of a traditional synagogue. This includes any meetings held outside of the synagogue building. Gentiles were coming to faith in Yeshua and were attending traditional synagogues on Holy Days, including the Sabbath in order to be participants in the faith. Their behavior was the subject of much discussion as seen in Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council. Certain minimal standards were required so that these gentiles could participate in synagogue activities which included not only messianic believers in Yeshua but also with the greater body of Jewish people who did not believe in Yeshua. The responsibility was on the gentiles to modify their behavior in Acts 15, not the other way around. They did not have to become Jews through circumcision and ritual conversion and practicing all of Torah but they had minimum standards to follow, with the intention they would continue to learn and observe what applied to them as found in the Torah (Acts 15.21). As they exposed themselves to what they heard in the synagogue, they would comply and observe what which was applicable. In Romans, Paul teaches that the responsibility for this change was upon the gentiles who attended. In the first 12 chapters of Romans Paul dealt with two groups of people, gentiles who believed in Yeshua and Jewish people who did not believe. Both groups were to remain Torah observant however. Paul was not introducing conflicting issues that would have led to contention between these groups. Where Paul brought up critical matters concerning Torah, he was addressing the Jewish believers who did not follow Yeshua, not Jewish believers who followed the Torah. In chapters 9-11 Paul deals with his Jewish brethren who did not follow Yeshua yet and the arrogance of some gentile believers who thought that they replaced Israel. He also deals with how these gentiles were to behave towards these Jews who did not accept Yeshua. The idea that someone who followed the Torah was "weak" is completely foreign to what Paul actually believed and taught. He said that the Torah is confirmed by our faith (Rom 3.31). The concept of "weak" faith is not to be looked at on some sort of measuring line but those "weak" in faith were those Jews who did not believe that Yeshua was the Messiah. What makes a believer strong is the knowledge and acceptance of Yeshua. Paul continued to see the faith of his Jewish brethren who had not yet accepted Yeshua as a valid faith. What they observed biblically was given by God and approved by Him. The "strong" in the Book of Romans are not to judged by the "weak," but they are are to accommodate them in practice. These Jews are the ones who are "weak" because they are lacking the knowledge that Yeshua was the Messiah, not because they are Torah observant.

Q. What is the "mark of the Beast?"

A. The "mark of the Beast" comes out of Revelation 13.16-18 where it says "he (the false prophet) causes all (a lot of people but not all) the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on the forehead and that no one would be able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of man and his number is 666." Many have the belief that this will be some mark, tattoo or a bio-chip that will be placed under the skin in the right hand or forehead and this will allow financial transactions and so on. To get this "mark" you must accept the false messiah. The Bible says that anyone who does this will suffer eternal damnation ( Rev 14.9-10). On the other hand there are those who believe that this mark is "spiritual" in that God marks those who are His and those who are not. There are several Scriptures that seem to support this view so let's look at those. In Ezekiel 9.4 God tells his "executioners", probably angels, to go through the city of Jerusalem and put a "mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst." He then tells them to slay everyone who does not have the "mark", starting with the elders. No particular mark is specified and it could not be seen by anyone with the natural eye but the angels knew who they were. In Revelation 14.1 it says that the 144,000 will have God's name and the name of the Messiah "written on their foreheads."So, here are two examples where believers are "marked" by God in their foreheads because they follow the Lord. This was not a physical mark, but spiritual. Now, the forehead was used to indicate comprehension or a mental assent to something. With believers, it was to indicate their faith in the Lord and a desire to follow Him. In Psa 37.37 it says that we should "mark the blameless man and behold the upright." But, Rom 16.17 it says to "mark those who cause division" or in other words, take notice of them. There are many other verses which convey the same idea In Revelation 13 it seems to indicate that unbelievers will be "marked" by their behavior. It "marks" those who do not believe and they have a comprehension or a mental assent to follow the false messiah and the false prophet. Now, it says that the 144,00 have God's name on their foreheads and in Hebrew, the letter "shin" stands for God. It is the first letter for the name "shaddai" and "shalom", both names of God. The letter shin is also the first letter in the name "satan" in Hebrew. This letter has three heads when you write it. Now, in Rev 13.18 it says that this mark of the beast is his name or number and that number is 666. The number six in Hebrew is the letter "vav" and it looks like an upright snake. The number 6 is the number of man and the three 6's in our numerics would look like 3 vavs in Hebrew, with three heads. If you put 3 vavs together (name of the beast) you can make it look like the letter shin (God's name). In other words unless you have understanding from God you can be deceived into thinking that you are following the Messiah. when you are following a false messiah and that is the idea being conveyed here in Revelation. It is possible that the mark of the beast has to do more with a mental assent or a comprehension in line with the false teachings of the false prophet in regards to who the false messiah is and those who follow him. It could involve a physical mark but doesn't have to. Part of the deception is to get people looking for a physical mark when in reality they already have it by what they believe, comprehend or mentally assent to. But, it says you won't be able to buy or sell without the mark and if it isn't a physical thing, how can that be possible? Well, nations have been able to control buying and selling without computers for centuries. Rome did it, Spain, England and the United States did it with blue laws and rationing, the Nazi's did it buy marking Jewish stores and vendors and warning people to avoid them. You are also "marked" by your behavior. If one doesn't buy or sell on the Sabbath it will become known very quickly, especially in an atmosphere of persecution which will be the norm in the realm of the false messiah (Rev 12.17, Dan 7.25). One other point needs to be brought out here. The false messiah will not control the whole world nor will he control the economy of the world with this mark. This will only be imposed in his kingdom. There are many nations that will oppose him such as Russia, Kings of the East and the Kings of the South and he will be at war with these nations during the Tribulation, so this is not worldwide and seems to confined to Europe for the most part. There is so much more to this subject but this should give you some other things to think about and investigate as far as the mark, and it may not be what has been traditionally taught. A delusion is when you believe something that isn't true and an illusion is seeing something when in fact it isn't there. Both could be at play here and it is all a part of the deception of the last days.