Rabbi’s Reflections – Monday, December 20, 2021
Shalom,
Rabbi Trail: I’m on vacation this week, so I’ve asked some friends to write as my guests. Eddie Hart is writing today (below). His submission was long enough to be divided into two parts (today and Wednesday). Mark Smith has written on Tuesday and Doug Kimball on Thursday. I’ll write something myself for Friday with David Harwood and Dr. Raymond Finney as usual on Saturday and Sunday. Lastly, we had a sweet service this past Saturday. Here is the link if you would like to watch any part of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9JtlqK7yN8 End RT.
Synagogues of the Righteous Light by Eddie Hart (guest writer) – Part 1
Part 2 will be continued on Wednesday.
Rev. 2:1 begins by addressing the Church in Ephesus, and Yeshua describing himself as, “…the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and he who walks in the midst of the seven golden menorahs.” The vision of Yeshua holding seven stars for seven angels each for a congregation of Messianic believers is out of this world (so to speak), but it’s a great symbol for the authority and power of Yeshua, and to know a healthy congregation has an angel. (I didn’t know that.)
It also reminds me how angels have power to move about and be seen as a bright light. Yeshua was on occasion a bright light, a guiding light, through the wilderness, and the All-Mighty Shekinah Glory over the Ark of the Covenant was a brilliant bright light. In fact, light is the common thread from YHVH out of the darkness of the universe into our hearts. Even secular science defines light as the greatest universal indicator of power.
Scientists love to study and divide the light beyond the visible limits using Spectrometry, Radiometry and Quantum limits in their efforts to understand the invisible. It is hard to believe Scientists are by-and-large not believers in Adonai, the creator Who is God of the universe. A 2009 USA Pew survey found 17% of general public tended toward dis-belief in God while 48% of scientists tended toward dis-belief in God. Of these 17 % were hard core atheists. This makes me wonder…if Satan might be a driving force behind their work. It may well be Satan who is providing the bias toward anti-God theories and research.
Of no small coincidence, our scriptures often talk about light and darkness (the absence of light) just as contemporary science (and pop culture) are fascinated by the now infamous Black Holes in outer space. One can’t help but wonder about whole planets being sucked in the mouth of a giant black hole as if it were some type of parallel Hell. It goes like this, for some reason (unexplained) a planet, that once obeyed the rules of its own galaxy, “slips” away from its natural orbit. At first it slowly moves away, but as time goes by it moves faster and faster as the natural attraction of home loses its grasp, until only the black horizon remains. Then, lost and alone, it just vanishes into the darkness forever.
This is the sad parallel for many of God’s people creation known as “mankind.” Our neighbors and former family just slip away into the abyss. We live in the most marvelous, beautiful, planet in the universe, created by the greatest artistic genius of the universe, our Lord, Adonai, Yeshua HaMassiach. In Adonai’s perfect plan he freely offers eternal life to mankind. He even lived with us and died for us to prove to us it was real love. All he wanted was for us to love him like he loved us…steadfast and sincere, through good times and bad. To make it easy he gave us his book and showed us the way, his yoke is light and his burden easy.
For those like me who are slow to understand, and for our own sakes, he locked away the fallen angels, but left Ha Satan and his demons (and mosquitoes) free to roam earth, with some limitations (just to make it fair), as if to separate the goats from the sheep. The evil one fights on to distract God’s people from their duty, and to attract us away from “proper orbit” with Yeshua by the weakness of our flesh. Praise God, we have an advantage. We know the end of the book – we win and Satan looses.
The beauty of God’s universal creation is revealed by the Hubble Telescope. All of science has been shaken by the photos of marvelous wonder, as if God is poking them in the eye…”if this doesn’t wake you up to whom I am, I may have to… but I don’t want to…let you go.”
Consider the immense Hubble images beyond belief, our wonderfully made Milky Way 100,000 light years in diameter (made visible from earth in a day), one of millions of galaxies; 440 LY(light years)–the beautiful delicate Pleiades star cluster (Job 9:9-10); 1000 LY -The amazing Vella Pulsar neutron star and listen to its’ song; 8,000 LY- the unbelievable Hourglass Nebula eyeball; 28,000,000 LY the stunning light of the Sombero Gallaxy; 31,000,000 LY- the graceful lace of the Whirlpool Galaxy, grand design, with star forming incubators, and the X structure.
From the galactic distances between giant planets and masses, to the smallest distances between matter in nanoscience. Now we also have mysterious discoveries in quantum physics, dealing with time and atomic particles and unknown forces that defy modern science. Yet the creation parallels between mega and nano science; human life and animal life; physical universe and spiritual universe were all created by hand and voice, our glorious El Shaddai. (Photos of all above upon request 2.harts@comcast.net)
Back from my rabbit trail, I have heard it said, and I see in some versions like the KJV and ASV the translation of the Greek, “Luchnia”, is “candlestick”, but my source (Strong’s) says it means, “lamp stand”. As if regarding the lamp stand, each congregation was like a spiritual Tabernacle of David. This would imply the lampstand would be a Menorah with seven lights. Each congregation would have its own Menorah. In this way we recognize the individual lights as many unique members who together represent the total light of the congregation. Yeshua said, He was the One, “…Who walks in the midst of the seven golden menorahs (the seven congregations)”. In this sense He walks in the midst of our personal lives and ministry. Each individual light is fueled by a Spiritual Holy Oil. Without this oil we can do nothing. When we minister to others (those who are sick or mourning, in sorrow, depression, disbelief, addictions, or in need of salvation, healing, repentance, and prayer, etc.) we minister as representatives of Yeshua and our Congregation. This is only possible with the spiritual olive oil that comes with us from the root of Jesse, the Holy Spirit of Yeshua, Ben David. Hallaluyah! When we minister in Yeshua’s name our spiritual light shines, and Yeshua’s Spirit walks in the midst of the light, and glory comes forth. (… to be continued on Wednesday.)
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Mon 20-Dec-2021 16th of Tevet, 5782
Ex 1:18-2:10 2 Sa 3 Ps 72 Lk 4:1-21 (2 Co 13)
Week 52
Memory Verse: Revelation 21:3 I also heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. 4 He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away.”
256 12/20 Monday: Revelation 2
257 12/21 Tuesday: Revelation 3
258 12/22 Wednesday: Revelation 19:6-20
259 12/23 Thursday: Revelation 21
260 12/24 Friday: Revelation 22