We in the west are conditioned to be convinced of everything. We have no concept of authority, let alone the authority we will be under in the kingdom of Yahweh. Are you willing to shed your liberty for salvation or are you in the “You can’t tell me what to do!” camp?
Audio only belowUS society is based on individual liberty. Without a lengthy civics lesson, that I would need to refresh on anyhow, this nation was founded as a clean break from the feudal systems of Europe and residents of this new country became citizens instead of subjects. It’s not the first time in History that this happened. Rome had citizens and not subjects, for instance. In general, a citizen has a say in how they are governed while a subject does not. A subject is someone who is ruled by a monarch, where the only sovereign individual in that government/country would be the king and all others subjected to his rule. The residents of western countries that retained their monarchies while adopting parliamentarian democracies have mostly become citizens because their monarchies have either restrained themselves or have become ceremonial offices. Becoming a citizen of the United States culminates in swearing an oath to our constitution, a document that was ratified by the people as an agreed foundation of governance. In a pure monarchy, becoming a subject would be to swear allegiance to a crown and the wearer of that crown. Britain is the country we most relate to in this regard and you can see that even though they use the word citizen in their oath of citizenship, the reality is that those become British citizens literally become subjects. For reference Citizenship ceremonies: guidance notes (English and Welsh) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Are we subjects or citizens?
I’m bringing this up to discuss a practical and a theological point of view. In our faith, we are looking forward to being in the Kingdom of Yahweh, where we will be subjects. Being raised in the United States, or most anywhere in the west, we largely have no idea how to be ruled. In fact, we are conditioned from birth to not be ruled and that we can ultimately do whatever we wish. We are raised that we must be convinced of everything. This is by design. Our country elects representatives who represent either a set population of a state or entire states, who then have to be convinced to pass laws and spend money. We lobby our representatives to support or oppose issues. So this idea of being convinced of things is foundational to our upbringing. Our president is the commander in chief of the military, but we are not supposed to go to war without the consent of Congress. In history and in the bible, kings were the leaders of the militaries, and they answered to nobody but God. I refer you to King David being a brutal military commander and his heirs were expected to be the same. Hence why the disciples were so ready to take up arms for Yeshua, being He is the Son of David as well as the Son of Yahweh.
With the only possible exception I can think of being those who have served in the military, we find ourselves in a place where we are almost completely ignorant of how to be subjects. We’re supposed to have some reverence for the elected offices, not necessarily the people who hold them, but with the advent of social media, we don’t even do that anymore. We’ve arrived at a place where not only do we not respect offices, but we also often believe the opposite of what a person in authority says just because we figure they are all either wrong, lying, or both.
Slide 2 “And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Mat 24:10-14)
We are in a very strange place today because of a lack of authority, or rather, a lack of respect for authority. Just ten years ago, could you imagine there being even one drag show at an elementary school, let alone a controversy about this being appropriate? Could you ever imagine men pretending to be women so they could win trophies in women’s sports and even force young ladies to allow these men into their locker rooms? We even have men who protect others from violent criminals being arrested and the violent criminals being protected by the law. This present state of lawlessness has come about because we don’t have anybody willing to say “no”. This has gotten to the point where states are making drugs legal that are federally illegal and nobody is willing to say “no” or, gasp, change the federal law. Brothers and sisters, for most of my time in this walk I was told that the Sabbath was the commandment of lawlessness. That the Sunday keepers purposely breaking that one commandment was the sign of lawlessness. That is because for most of our lives, for most of the last 1500 years, the other 9 commandments were a given. Today, most recoil at the word commandment at all, because Jesus set us free, don’t you know, so nobody can tell us what to do!
Last week, the Torah portion brought us to a pretty obscure passage for most believers that I really like to use to illustrate the problem we have with authority. Check it out.
Slide 3 YHVH spoke further to Moses, saying, “Make yourself two trumpets of silver, you shall make them of hammered work; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and breaking camp. Now when both are blown, all the congregation shall meet you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. But if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall meet you. And when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched on the east side shall set out. Then when you sound an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be sounded for them to break camp. When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow the trumpets without sounding an alarm. The sons of Aaron, moreover, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be a permanent statute for you throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you will be thought of by YHVH your Elohim, and be saved from your enemies. Also on the day of your joy and at your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your Elohim. I am YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 10:1-10)
Chatsoserah not shofrot. These are very special metallic trumpets. Only two people could blow them and then their descendants. This is part of the kingdom/authority stuff I’m talking about today. The trumpeters were the trumpeters, and nobody else’s lips would ever touch those special trumpets. Ever. Shofrot are animal horns that all of us can have. They are common, not holy, but could be used for holy purposes. YHVH took the Levites to be set apart and gave them sets of specific tasks, to the point of specific descendants doing very specific tasks. That’s how a kingdom works. They were subjects and YHVH was the King. Only the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest could say when these trumpets were blown and for what purpose. If they were blown to move out, out they moved. If they were blown for a new moon, it was the new moon. What somebody in the camp thought about a sliver or whatnot meant nothing. The Kohen Gadol determined the new moon and that was that. These metallic trumpets were a reminder of who was in charge and that was YHVH. By respecting the Levitical priesthood, the people were showing reverence and respect to Yahweh who set that system up.
Guess what? We’re going back to something like this when Yeshua returns.
Slide 4 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1Co 15:50-52)
The last trumpet is something we have likely never heard in our lifetimes, but I bet you it’s something made of a metal we have never seen before. Paul is telling us the kingdom of God begins with the sound of a trumpet. From Revelation, it seems there will be a series of trumpet blasts leading up to it. When these sounds happen, will we be ready? Will we be ready to submit to our king, Yeshua, who is coming back with legions of angels? Are we going to submit to His rule and be ready to serve however He commands? Because that’s how it works in a kingdom. There will be one last choice for us, which will be very similar to this one:
Slide 5 “Now, therefore, fear YHVH and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve YHVH. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve YHVH, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve YHVH.” (Jos 24:14-15)
Joshua is using monarchy language here. Serving Yahweh as the King of the Universe that He is. He is Melech ha olam, but also Melech ha ba, which is the world to come. He is asking the people if they will put away their gods and submit to Yahweh. The choice at the return of Yeshua will be similar, but with worse consequences for failure.
The sound of Yeshua’s return will begin with the blast of a Trumpet. Will that be a welcome sound to us or will it bring terror?
How will we know if it’s really Him or some imposter? Through study and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach Ha Kodesh.
The real Messiah is coming back and will usher in a 1000 year reign of Torah with Him ruling from Jerusalem. And mankind will have one last chance to say “you can’t tell me what to do”. For most of us, the time to choose is right now. To become a subject in the kingdom of Yahweh, you have to submit to Him and acknowledge that He, and His Son, can indeed tell you what to do. And you’re going to do it. And you learn what they want us to do by reading their Word, the Bible, from cover to cover.
Putting this off this submission until the end is the worst decision a person could make. Those who choose “you can’t tell me what to do” will not like the consequences. But as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh and His Son, Yeshua.