More than 900 Hebrew and Aramaic writings dating from 350 BC - 70 AD discovered in 11 caves near the Dead Sea in 1947, some of which have been published from 1950 to 2016. They can be divided into three categories: biblical, non-biblical, and sectarian.
The scrolls contain the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish documents. They are believed to be the library of a Jewish religious group that lived in Qumran from 150 BC to 68 AD. There are various theories about which group they were: Essenes, Sadducees, Hasidics, Pharisees, or a mixture of these. It cannot be ruled out that Christians may have been residents around the end of the period.
According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Jews of Qumran were simply called "the Community," or "the Many," or "the Way." Members who joined the Community were said to "enter into the Covenant," and it is written that by being chosen by God, they became the remnant of Israel, the new Temple, the new plantation, the new God's people, with whom God made a "new covenant" (see Jer 31:31). They retreated into the wilderness "to prepare the way of the Lord," as Isaiah 40:3 says. These expressions indicate that the Jews of that time had strong expectations of the Messiah.
Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran Ruins
The Dead Sea Scrolls contain the 39 books of what is known today as the Hebrew Bible, from Genesis to Malachi, as well as non-cannonical books which have been translated into Greek and Ethiopian from ancient time such as the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilee, and the Book of Tobit.When the Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered, the Book of Esther was not included in the biblical inventory, but in 2018 a paper was published confirming that the previously indecipherable wine-soaked scroll was the Book of Esther.
The Dead Sea Scrolls prove that a complete inventory (39 books) of the Hebrew Bible existed in the 2nd century BC and that its contents were accurately transmitted without discrepancy to later manuscripts separated by over 1,000 years.
The apocryphal books of Enoch and Jubilees are also worth reading. The reason is that their contents are generally in harmony with the Bible and they are useful as additional information for understanding the Bible.
In addition, there are the sectarian documents of the Qumran community that give us a lot of information about the nature of the community at Qumran. Although much of it is fragmentary and difficult to read, it contains a wide variety of texts, from Torah to hymns and prayers, Biblical commentaries and translations, proverbs, and texts about the last days. Two important sectarian texts, the "Community Rule" and the "Commentary on Habakkuk," were found in jars in Cave 1 and were well preserved.
Originally called the "Manual of Discipline", the "Community Rule" was one of the first texts taken from Cave 1, but several other copies have been found in Cave 4, including some variations showing editing work. Written around 100 BC, the manuscript likely served as a constitution for the community, providing the basis for the group's hierarchical structure and regulating the behavior of its members. The text is divided into three main sections: a description of the initiation rites, a set of laws governing conduct, and instructions for the master, who is presumed to be a priest.
One theory is that the head of the community was a high priest of the Zadok's famil line who was exiled being usurped the priesthood by the Hasmoneans. The organizational structure of the community gave the leaders, the Sons of Zadok, complete authority to decide doctrine, property matters, and justice. It is shown that each member must swear before the community to return to the Law of Moses as interpreted by the God-inspired "Teacher of Righteousness" and separate himself from all unjust people and all members must subject to their superior rank which ranked according to their wisdom and understanding. Murmuring against the authority of the community carries a penalty of expulsion from the community.
The "Commentary on Habakkuk" depicts a conflict between the "Teacher of Righteousness" and the "Wicked Priest". And in one interpretation, it is said that the "Teacher of Righteousness" was the founder of the Qumran community, and the "Wicked Priest" was Jonathan (152 BC-42 BC) of the Hasmonean dynasty who ruled Jerusalem as king and priest.
There are various interpretations of the "Commentary on Habakkuk", including one regarding future messianic prophecies.
The Dead Sea Scrolls contain the entire Hebrew Bible, as well as the Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees, and can be considered a library well organized by a devout Jewish sect. The size of the Qumran community can be guessed from the ruins of Qumran.
from wiki
Qumran (Hebrew: קומראן; Arabic: خربة قمران Khirbet Qumran) is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about 1.5 km (1 mi) from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about 10 km (6 mi) south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjacent to the modern Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalya.
It was occupied most of the time until 68 CE and was destroyed by the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War, possibly as late as 73 CE. It was later used by Jewish rebels during the Bar Kokhba revolt. Today, the Qumran site is best known as the settlement nearest to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden, caves in the sheer desert cliffs and beneath, in the marl terrace. The principal excavations at Qumran were conducted by Roland de Vaux in the 1950s, and several later digs have been carried out.
Excavations at Qumran
from wiki History
Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947–1956, extensive excavations have taken place in Qumran. Nearly 900 scrolls were discovered. Most were written on parchment and some on papyrus. Cisterns, Jewish ritual baths, and cemeteries have been found, along with a dining or assembly room and debris from an upper story alleged by some to have been a scriptorium as well as pottery kilns and a tower.
Many scholars believe the location was home to a Jewish sect, probably the Essenes. But, according to Lawrence Schiffman, the rules of the community, its heavy stress on priesthood and the Zadokite legacy, and other details indicate a Sadducean-oriented sect either distinct from or one of the various Essene groupings. Others propose non-sectarian interpretations, some of these starting with the notion that it was a Hasmonean fort that was later transformed into a villa for a wealthy family, or a production center, perhaps a pottery factory or something similar.
The scrolls were found in a series of eleven (11) caves around the settlement, some accessible only through the settlement. Some scholars have claimed that the caves were the permanent libraries of the sect, due to the presence of the remains of a shelving system. Other scholars believe that some caves also served as domestic shelters for those living in the area. Many of the texts found in the caves appear to represent widely accepted Jewish beliefs and practices, while other texts appear to speak of divergent, unique, or minority interpretations and practices. Some scholars believe that some of these texts describe the beliefs of the inhabitants of Qumran, who may have been Essenes, or the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A literary epistle published in the 1990s expresses reasons for creating a community, some of which resemble Sadducean arguments in the Talmud. Most of the scrolls seem to have been hidden in the caves during the turmoil of the First Jewish-Roman War (66-73 CE), although some of them may have been deposited earlier.
from wiki Discovery and excavation
19th century excavations at Qumran
The site of Khirbet Qumran had been known to European explorers since the 19th century. The initial attention of the early explorers was focused on the cemetery, beginning with de Saulcy in 1851. In fact, the first excavations at Qumran (prior to the development of modern methodology) were of burials in the cemetery, conducted by Henry Poole in 1855 followed by Charles Clermont-Ganneau in 1873.
Early 20th century excavations
The British scholar Ernest William Gurney Masterman visited Qumran on several occasions between 1900 and 1901. After observing the positioning of Qumran atop a plateau overlooking the ‘Ein Feshkha Springs, he concluded the ruins "may have very well been once a small fortress". Masterman also questioned why a small fort would require a graveyard of over one thousand tombs.
Gustaf Dalman visited Qumran in 1914, and explicitly identified Qumran as a burg, or fort. Archaeologist Michael Avi-Yonah agreed with Dalman's identification of Qumran as a fort and published a map that identified the remains at Qumran as part of a string of fortresses along the southeastern Judean border.
1949
Full-scale work at the site began after Catholic Priest Roland de Vaux and Gerald Lankester Harding in 1949 excavated what became known as Cave 1, the first scroll-bearing cave. A cursory surface survey that year produced nothing of interest, but continued interest in the scrolls led to a more substantial analysis of the ruins at Qumran in 1951. This analysis yielded traces of pottery closely related to that found in Cave 1. This discovery led to intensive excavations at the site over a period of six seasons (1951-1956) under the direction of De Vaux. The most-prized find at Qumran up to this time were three small juglets containing over five-hundred silver coins, which were found in a room on the west side of the monastery. They consisted of tetradrachmae that had been minted in Tyre at various times in the first-century BCE
The Iron Age remains at the site, which were modest but included a LMLK seal (ancient Hebrew seals stamped on the handles of large storage jars first issued in the reign of King Hezekiah circa 700 BC and discovered mostly in and around Jerusalem.), led de Vaux to identify Qumran as the City of Salt listed in Josh 15:62. The site, however, may be identified with Secacah, which is referenced in the same area as the City of Salt in the Book of Joshua 15:61. Secacah is mentioned in the Copper Scroll, and the water works of Secacah that are described in this source are consistent with those of Qumran. The excavations revealed that after the Iron Age, Qumran was principally in use from the Hasmonean times until some time after the destruction of the temple by Titus in 70 CE.
The site that de Vaux uncovered divides into two main sections: a main building, a squarish structure of two stories featuring a central courtyard and a defensive tower on its north-western corner; and a secondary building to the west. The excavation revealed a complex water system that had supplied water to several stepped cisterns, some quite large, located in various parts of the site. Two of these cisterns were within the walls of the main building.
De Vaux discovered three inkwells at Qumran, and over the years more inkwells from Qumran have been found, more than at any other site from the Second Temple period, providing important evidence of writing at Qumran. A scriptorium, where Bible manuscripts may have been made, has also been excavated.
Roland de Vaux died in 1971 without providing a complete report on his excavations at Qumran. In 1986, the French School of Biblical Archaeology, Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, appointed Belgian archaeologist Robert Donceel to the task of publishing the final results of de Vaux's excavations. Preliminary findings were presented at a conference in New York in 1992, but no final report was produced.
According to Pauline Donceel-Voute, it was impossible to write a final report, as many artifacts had been lost or destroyed, in particular, according to the Donceels, some of the coins de Vaux excavated from Qumran. To fill this gap, the Ecole Biblique compiled de Vaux's field notes, published in 1994. This volume contained hundreds of photographs, 48 pages of measurements, and a summary description of the field diary. An English translation of the field notes was published in 2003.
According to Pauline Donceel-Voute, many artifacts were lost or damaged, so it was impossible to write a definitive report, especially since two later books of interpretations of Donceel-Voute's excavations were published by Jean-Baptiste Humbert in 2003 and 2016. However, all of de Vaux's archaeological finds from Qumran, preserved at the Rockefeller Museum, have not yet been published, and some are inaccessible to scholars and the general public.
The bronze coins identified from Qumran, some dating to the second and third years of the Jewish War, indicate that the site was still in use in 68 CE and only destroyed after 70, perhaps as late as 73. The coins from Qumran of this period end with a peculiar series of bronze coins minted in 72/73 at Ascalon, which sent auxiliary troops to assist the Roman army in the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73).
In 73 the Romans stormed the mountain fortress of Masada, which also was located on the western bank of the Dead Sea. It is more than likely that Qumran was destroyed this same time, as the coin finds from Qumran end with the same peculiar bronze coins minted at Ascalon.
Delay in Release of Dead Sea Scrolls
The scrolls in Cave 1 were discovered by Bedouins (nomadic shepherds) in 1946-47, just before the end of the British Mandate in Palestine.from encyclopedia.com The Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran
The discovery of the scrolls initiated a frenzy of excitement among scholars certain that these manuscripts would mark a major turning point in our understanding of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. The authenticity and antiquity of the scrolls was established originally by handwriting analysis, which was later corroborated by carbon-14 dating. Very early in the post-discovery period, scholars posited the theory connecting the Qumran community with the Essenes, which has since been modified but not discarded.
Of the 11 caves found containing scrolls, Cave 1 and Cave 11 contained the longest and best preserved texts. Cave 4 held by far the greatest number of manuscripts, but they were badly preserved and very fragmentary. The other caves produced relatively small fragments of relatively few texts. The texts from Cave 1 were all published within ten years or so, and the texts from the minor Caves 2-3 and 5-10 were also published quickly in the official series Discoveries in the judaean Desert (vols. 1-3, 1955-62). The Cave 4 texts, and a few of the Cave 11 texts, however, remained unpublished and unavailable to the public. These texts numbered more than 600 and were very fragmentary and difficult to assemble. A team of seven scholars was given the daunting task of preparing them for publication. This work proved to be so slow that very few texts were published over the next 20 years.
Increased impatience and frustration led to public outcry for the release of the manuscripts. The mysterious delay of the publication of the texts opened the door for all kinds of sensationalized claims regarding the contents of those unpublished texts. The team of scholars was accused of either purposely covering up, on behalf of the Vatican, findings that would undermine Christianity or withholding evidence that the manuscripts were in fact Christian texts themselves. In the early 1990s, unauthorized editions began to appear based on computer reconstructions and on photographs released by the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Many scholars were therefore added to the official team to speed along publication. Since 1990, more than 20 additional volumes of the official DJD (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert) series, covering the rest of the Cave 4 texts, have been published, and photographs of all the texts are readily available to all. The discovery and publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls has by all accounts been a major turning point in the study of the Bible, Second Temple Judaism, and early Christianity.
Scholars in these fields now have abundant evidence of the variety of beliefs and religious practices behind the emergence of Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. This variety provides a context for understanding as Jewish many elements of early Christianity that had previously been considered non-Jewish in origin. The rise and success of rabbinic Judaism has also come to be regarded as a much more complex process than previously seen.
Although the Dead Sea Scrolls have provided much new information in the fields of the biblical text and canon, and early Jewish and Christian history, their publication and ongoing research is seriously hindered by the lack of a comprehensive inventory of all the texts and manuscript photographs. An inventory is currently underway.
Antiques Dealers and the Dead Sea Scrolls
from Dead Sea Scroll fragments to hit the auction block
The world of Holy Land antiquities is rife with theft, deception, and geopolitics, and the Dead Sea Scrolls are no exception. Written mostly on animal skin parchment about 2,000 years ago, the manuscripts are the earliest copies of the Hebrew Bible ever found, and the oldest written evidence of the roots of Judaism and Christianity in the Holy Land.
A bedouin shepherd who cast a stone inside a dark cave and heard the sound of something breaking. He found clay jars, some with rolled-up scrolls inside. After a return visit, he and his Bedouin companions had found a total of seven scrolls.
They sold three of them through an antiquities dealer to a Hebrew University professor, and four to William Kando’s father, a Christian cobbler in Bethlehem who in turn sold them to the archbishop of the Assyrian Orthodox church.
On the eve of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the archbishop smuggled the scrolls to the U.S. and advertised them in a Wall Street Journal classifieds ad. Yigael Yadin, Israeli war hero and later one of Israel’s pre-eminent archaeologists, bought them through a front man.
For the next decade, archaeologists dug up thousands more scroll fragments in Dead Sea area caves and began to assemble them, like a jigsaw puzzle, in the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in east Jerusalem, then ruled by Jordan.
Bedouins also found fragments and sold them to Kando, who in turn sold most of them to the museum. Other fragments went to Jordanian and French state collections, and universities in Chicago, Montreal and Heidelberg, Germany.
In the 1967 Mideast war, Israel seized the Rockefeller collection, and sent soldiers to Bethlehem in the West Bank, 8 kilometers (5 miles) south of Jerusalem, where Kando was rumored to hold another important scroll. After a brief imprisonment, Kando revealed the parchment scroll in a shoe box under a floor tile in his bedroom, and sold it to Israeli authorities for $125,000, according to a written account by Yadin.
It is called the Temple Scroll, because it partly describes the construction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. At 8.15 meters (26.7 feet) long, it is the longest ever found.
But Kando held much more than he surrendered to Israel. William, his son, said his father had fragments tucked away which he eventually transferred to Switzerland in the mid-1960s. (These have kept in a Swiss safe deposit box.)
In 1993, just as scholars finally began publishing research of Israeli-held scrolls, and the world was abuzz with Dead Sea Scroll fever, Kando died, bequeathing his secret collection of fragments to his sons. It was the perfect time to sell.
Fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls owned by Kando have been sold to manuscript collectors around the world.
In 2009, Asuza Pacific University, an evangelical Christian university near Los Angeles, purchased five Dead Sea Scroll fragments from Kando along with biblical antiquities for $2,478,500, while Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, purchased eight other Dead Sea Scroll fragments from Kando.
In 2009 and 2010, the Green family, evangelical Christians from Oklahoma City and owners of the arts and crafts retail chain Hobby Lobby, purchased 12 fragments for the world's largest private collection of rare Bible manuscripts.
Over 70 years after the discovery of the world’s oldest biblical manuscripts, fragments leftover is now marketing on the net.
Discoveries in the Judaean Desert index
The Value of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Regarding the value of the Dead Sea Scrolls, one archaeologist said:About two thousand years elapsed between the time the scrolls were deposited in the caves of the barren hills surrounding the Dead Sea and their discovery in 1947. The fact that they survived for twenty centuries, that they were found accidentally by Bedouin shepherds, that they are the largest and oldest body of manuscripts relating to the Bible and to the time of Jesus of Nazareth make them a truly remarkable archaeological find.
Since their discovery, the Dead Sea Scrolls have attracted great scholarly and public interest. For scholars, they are a valuable resource for exploring the nature of the post-Old Testament period and the connections between Judaism and Christianity. For the general public, they provide backing of faith.
The size and structure of the Qumran ruins, as well as the well-maintained library of the entire Hebrew Bible, are testament to the intelligence and morality of its inhabitants and provide clues to the truth of the past, so there were hopes that the antiquities would be made public soon. However, due to changes in the owner countries of the antiquities, difficulties in restoration, and other reasons, the site was not made public for about 20 years.
Israel, Jordan and Palestine dispute ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Israel considers the Dead Sea Scrolls to be national heritage and has called for a ban on the sale of manuscript fragments, and they say all fragments should be in a well equipped large facility for best preservation and study.
Since the late 1980s, there has been intense debate over access to the scrolls and efforts to speed up their publication, as scholars protested against the custodians of the scrolls, demanding the release of unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1988, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the governing body for the scrolls, began expanding the number of scrolls available to the public, and by 1992, it had assigned more than 50 additional scholars to the restoration effort. In 1991, the Biblical Archaeology Society published a two-volume book of photographs and computer-generated versions of the scrolls. Later that same year, the Huntington Library in California made photographic copies of the scrolls in its possession available to all scholars. The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced that they will publish a microfiche edition with a detailed index.
The Dead Sea Scrolls contain documents that record the final days of Judaism, including incidents of priesthood takeover and conflicts between sects. The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD marked the end of the temple-priesthood era of Judaism. What survived was Pharisaic and Rabbinic Judaism, and the ancient Israelite form of worship with its temple and priesthood disappeared.
According to one biblical scholar, what the Qumran texts reflect is a transitional Judaism, a move from the religion of Israel described in the Bible to rabbinic Judaism as described in the Mishnah. The Mishnah is the core of the Jewish Talmud, a collection of oral traditions on Jewish law and morality compiled by Judah HaNasi around 200 AD. Judaism today is Pharisaic Judaism.
The Dead Sea Scrolls date back to events described in the New Testament and have deepened our understanding of the background of Christianity. Scholars have noted similarities between the faith practices outlined in the Qumran texts and those of early Christians, including baptism, communal meals, and the sharing of property.
Additionally, Judaism and Christianity share similarities in organizational structure. Just as the nation of Israel is divided into 12 tribes led by 12 patriarchs, Christianity also has 12 apostles who will judge the figurative 12 tribes of Israel. The similarities in teachings and organizational structure between the Qumran community and early Christians stem from YHWH God, the founder of temple-priesthood Judaism and Christianity.
The Messianic "Kingdom of Priests" - The Promise of YHWH God
In order to save Adam's family from sin and Satan's dominion, God prepared a nation that would produce a "kingdom of priests." God created the 12-tribe nation of Israel from the descendants of Abraham, the 20th generation from Adam and the 10th generation from Noah's son Shem after the flood, and made a law covenant with the nation of Israel on Mount Sinai in Arabia in 1513 BC, giving the nation of Israel covenant terms that would create a "kingdom of priests." By keeping the covenant terms given to them, the nation of Israel would produce a “kingdom of priests.”Ex 19:3-6
3 And Moses went up to the [true] God, and YHWH began to call to him out of the mountain, saying: “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and to tell the sons of Israel, 4 ‘YOU yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, that I might carry YOU on wings of eagles and bring YOU to myself. 5 And now if YOU will strictly obey my voice and will indeed keep my covenant, then YOU will certainly become my special property out of all [other] peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me. 6 And YOU yourselves will become to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the sons of Israel.”
However, because of inherited sin and the work of Satan, the nation of Israel apostatized and did not keep the Law covenant.
Although the nation of Israel did not keep the Law covenant, God fulfilled the promises of the Law covenant and sent the Messiah (Christ) to the nation of Israel, who fulfilled the Law covenant through his sinless sacrificial death.The Law covenant ended with only God fulfilling the covenant, and the nation of Israel, as covenant violators, lost God's favor and was abandoned by God.
■ God kept the Law covenant. He fulfilled all of its terms.
Mt 5:17
17 “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill;
Lu 16:17
17 Indeed, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one particle of a letter of the Law to go unfulfilled.
Lu 24:44
44 He now said to them: “These are my words which I spoke to YOU while I was yet with YOU, that all the things written in the law of Moses and in the Prophets and Psalms about me must be fulfilled.”
Col 2:17
17 for those things (in the Law covenant) are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ (Messiah).
■ Israel did not keep the Law. They blatantly violated its covenant terms. They lost God's favor, then were abandoned.
Mt 23:37-38
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of those sent forth to her,—how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks together under her wings! But YOU people did not want it. 38 Look! YOUR house is abandoned to YOU.
Heb 8:9
9 . . . because they did not continue in my covenant, so that I stopped caring for them,’ says YHWH.”
Although the nation of Israel did not keep the Law covenant, God fulfilled the Law covenant and offered the sinless sacrifice of the Messiah (Christ) in the first century CE, thereby freeing (saving) all mankind, including the nation of Israel who had violated the Law covenant, from sin and Satan's control. Therefore, salvation will be achieved for the sinner Adam's family, including the Israelites, through God's Messiah's "kingdom of priests."
Joh 6:51
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever; and, for a fact, the bread that I shall give is my flesh (Messiah's sacrificial death) in behalf of the life of the world.”
Joh 12:24
24 Most truly I say to YOU, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just one [grain]; but if it dies (Messiah's sacrificial death), it then bears much fruit.
Jon 19:28-30
28 After this, when Jesus knew that by now all things had been accomplished, in order that the scripture might be accomplished he said: “I am thirsty.” 29 A vessel was sitting there full of sour wine. Therefore they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a hyssop [stalk] and brought it to his mouth. 30 When, now, he had received the sour wine, Jesus said: “It has been accomplished!” and, bowing his head, he delivered up [his] spirit.
Re 5:5
5 But one of the elders says to me: “Stop weeping. Look! The Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David (Messiah), has conquered (by his sacrificial death) so as to open the scroll and its seven seals (The salvation of mankind has been achieved.).”
■ The reason that the Law covenant ended is not due to the Israelites' violation of it. It is because the purpose of the covenant was fulfilled in its entirety by God's Messiah and was no longer necessary. The law covenant which is the shadow for the things coming was not destroied but was fullfilled and ended and abolished when the reality arrived.
■ The New Covenant is the logical development toward the fulfillment of the the "Seed of the Woman" promised in Genesis.
The Law Covenant Ends, and the era of the New Covenant Begins by virtue of the Messiah
With the victory of God's Messiah in the 1st century CE, the Law covenant came to an end having fulfilled all of God's promises. And the Messiah's (Christ's) "kingdom of priests" was taken away from the nation of Israel who had violated the Law covenant, and given to people of all nations deserved for it, who exercise faith like Abraham.Mt 21:43
43 This is why I say to YOU, The kingdom of God will be taken from YOU and be given to a nation producing its fruits.
The sinless sacrificial death of the Messiah (Christ) fulfilled and successfully finished the Law covenant with the Israelites and validated the New Covenant with all mankind through the blood of the Messiah (Christ). Therefore, the news of the Messiah's (Christ's) kingdom was to be proclaimed to all mankind. People of all nations who exercise faith like Abraham are those who believe in Jesus of Nazareth, God's Messiah (Christ). After 36 CE, Gentiles also were baptized and became Jesus' disciples, and by God's providence around 44 CE, Jesus' baptized disciples came to be called Christians.
The "new covenant" through the sacrificial blood of the Messiah is for the forgiveness of the sins of all mankind, but the disciples of the Messiah (Christ), who are the first to receive its benefits, are called the "firstfruits" of mankind, become members of the "kingdom of priests", and are also called ministers of the new covenant, and proclaim the Messiah's "kingdom of priests" throughout the earth.
Mt 26:27-28
27 Also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: “Drink out of it, all of YOU; 28 for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.
Lu 22:20
20 Also, the cup in the same way after they had the evening meal, he saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in YOUR (Jesus' disciples) behalf.
Jon 6:51
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever; and, for a fact, the bread that I shall give is my flesh in behalf of the life of the world.”
1Joh 2:2
2 And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s.
Re 14:4-5
4 These are the ones that did not defile themselves with women; in fact, they are virgins. These are the ones that keep following the Lamb no matter where he goes. These were bought from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and no falsehood was found in their mouths; they are without blemish.
2Co 3:6
6 God, who has indeed adequately qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not of a written code, but of spirit;
Ac 11:26
26 . . . and it was first in Antioch that the disciples were by divine providence called Christians.
The Messiah (Christ), who is the reality of the atoning sacrifice (shadow) of the Law Covenant, freed all mankind from sin and Satan's control through his sinless sacrificial death, and the "new covenant" between God and all mankind became effective. Thus, the members of the "kingdom of priests" have been chosen from all nations, not just from the nation of Israel, and the good news of the kingdom of God's Messiah (Christ) have been preached to the whole world by Christians.
Mt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in my name, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
Ac 1:8
8 but YOU will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon YOU, and YOU will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Ju‧de′a and Sa‧mar′i‧a and to the most distant part of the earth.”
Re 5:9-10
9 And they sing a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slaughtered and with your blood you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.”
In the 1st century CE, the Law Covenant era ended and the Messianic New Covenant era began. By divine providence, Jesus' disciples have come to be called Christians, and as ministers of the new covenant, they preach the Messiah's "kingdom of priests" throughout the earth and help people to believe in God's Messiah and become members of the "kingdom of priests."
■ In the 1st century CE, the new covenant era by virtue of Christ began. Jesus' disciples are called Christians. Christians are the first to receive the benefits of the new covenant and are called the "firstfruits" of mankind. Christians are members of the Messiah's (Christ's) "kingdom of priests" and ministers of the new covenant.
The Sacrificial Death of the Messiah
The atoning sacrifice provided for in Israel's Law covenant represented the perfect sacrifice of the Messiah (the promised Seed who would destroy Satan), and the promised "Seed of the Woman" (Messiah) in Genesis 3:15 was prophesied to have conquered Satan by dying a sacrificial death.Ge 3:15
15 And I shall put enmity between you (serpent) and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He (the seed of woman) will bruise you (serpent) in the head (destroy) and you (serpent) will bruise him (the seed of woman) in the heel (kill).”
The seed of the woman represents the Messiah (Christ), who is to die a sacrificial death, having his heel bruised by the serpent. The Messiah's sinless sacrificial death was the victory over the serpent, and the resurrected Messiah will destroy Satan, as described as "crushing the serpent's head."
The sinless death of the Messiah will bring about the realization of the Messianic "kingdom of priests", under which mankind will be freed from Satan's domination and sin, and the dead will be resurrected and once again be able to enjoy the blessing of life.
Heb 2:14-15
14 Therefore, since the “young children” are sharers of blood and flesh, he also similarly partook of the same things, that through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil; 15 and [that] he might emancipate all those who for fear of death were subject to slavery all through their lives.
Under the Law covenant, the Israelites offered atonement sacrifices each year on the 10th day of the seventh month (the 10th of Tishri, September-October). The atoning sacrifice represents the sacrifice of the Messiah (Christ). The Israelites, who were required to offer a yearly sacrifice for sin, were made conscious of the sin that needed to be removed and were helped to understand the need for atonement through the sinless blood of the Messiah. The reality of the animal sacrifices which were a shadow prescribed in the Law covenant, was the Messiah, and the Israelites were expected to look forward to the coming of the Messiah who would take away their sins and to have faith in the coming God's Messiah. 。
Therefore, the Israelites, as well as all previous worshipers of YHWH God, believe in the Messiah (Christ in Greek), the "promised seed of God," who would save Adam's family from sin and Satan's dominion. This means that worshipers of God YHWH from the time of Adam were originally Messiah followers, called Messianists in Hebrew and Christians in Greek. They are those who await the realization of YHWH God's promised "Seed of the Woman," the hope of salvation for Adam's family.
Prophecy of the “Promised Seed” that Will Bring Salvation
| Ge 3:15 | The promise of the “Seed of the Woman” given to Adam and Eve who fell under sin and Satan’s control 15 And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” |
| Ge 22:18 | The promise of a "seed" to bless all mankind, repeated to Abraham 18 And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.’” |
| Ex 19:5-6 | The Promise of a “Kingdom of Priests” shown to the 12 Tribes of Israel 5 And now if YOU will strictly obey my voice and will indeed keep my covenant, then YOU will certainly become my special property out of all [other] peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me. 6 And YOU yourselves will become to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ |
| Ps 110:4 Heb 7:1 | The Messiah is the Chief Seed (King-Priest) of the “kingdom of priests.” Ps 110:4 “You are a priest to time indefinite According to the manner of Mel‧chiz′e‧dek!” Heb 7:1 For this Mel‧chiz′e‧dek, king of Sa′lem, priest of the Most High God, |
Purpose of the Law Covenant
The Law covenant was to provide a sinless sacrifice by the Messiah, to expose the sins of the Israelites, to make them aware of their need for atonement (forgiveness of and salvation from sins), and to lead them to wait for the coming of the Messiah and to have faith in the Messiah.Heb 9:11-12
11 However, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come to pass, through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 12 he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance [for us].
Heb 10:1-4
1 For since the Law has a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very substance of the things, [men] can never with the same sacrifices from year to year which they offer continually make those who approach perfect. 2 Otherwise, would the [sacrifices] not have stopped being offered, because those rendering sacred service who had been cleansed once for all time would have no consciousness of sins anymore? 3 To the contrary, by these sacrifices there is a reminding of sins from year to year, 4 for it is not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take sins away.
Ga 3:19
19 Why, then, the Law? It was added to make transgressions manifest, until the seed (Messiah) should arrive to whom the promise had been made
Before the promised Messiah came, Israel apostatized, and when God's Messiah came in the 1st century CE, Israel as a nation did not accept Him and had Him killed impaling on a stake in 33 CE.
Ac 2:22-23
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus the Naz‧a‧rene′, a man publicly shown by God to YOU through powerful works and portents and signs that God did through him in YOUR midst, just as YOU yourselves know, 23 this [man], as one delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, YOU fastened to a stake by the hand of lawless men and did away with.
As foreshadowed by the atoning sacrifice of the Law covenant, God's Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, accomplished his messianic mission by his sinless sacrificial death. The faith of the few Israelites who believed in Jesus was rewarded and strengthened by His resurrection, and they began to develop a powerful testimony of God's Messiah (Christ) in apostate Israelite society.
Ac 2:31-32, 36-41
31 he saw beforehand and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he forsaken in Ha′des nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ (Messiah), this Jesus whom YOU impaled.”
37 Now when they heard this they were stabbed to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Men, brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter [said] to them: “Repent, and let each one of YOU be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of YOUR sins, and YOU will receive the free gift of the holy spirit. 39 For the promise is to YOU and to YOUR children and to all those afar off, just as many as YHWH our God may call to him.” 40 And with many other words he bore thorough witness and kept exhorting them, saying: “Get saved from this crooked generation.” 41 Therefore those who embraced his word heartily were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added.
News of the coming and victory of God's Messiah was spread to the Israelites and then to the Gentile world, and by the time 10 years earlier than 70 CE when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army, faith in Jesus Christ (Messiah) had been spread and spoken of throughout the then Roman Empire.
Col 1:6
6 which has presented itself to YOU, even as it is bearing fruit and increasing in all the world just as [it is doing] also among YOU, from the day YOU heard and accurately knew the undeserved kindness of God in truth.
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
The apostate Israelites who rejected God's Messiah lost their temple in Jerusalem for worship with the end of the Law covenant and were abandoned by YHWH God. The coming of God's Messiah in the 1st century CE ended the era of animal sacrifices, which were shadows (templates), and opened the era of the Messiah (Christ), who is the substance. The Messiah's sinless sacrificial death achieved the salvation of mankind in the 1st century CE, and all that remained became to await the coming of the Messiah's "kingdom of priests."For about 2,000 years since the Messiah accomplished salvation in the 1st century CE, He has led Christian activities from heaven to select wheat Christians from among all mankind in order to form a "kingdom of priests." When Messiah returns, these wheat Christians as the Messiah's "kingdom of priests" begin the work of ending Satan's world and restoring the "glorious freedom of the children of God" of Adam's family that was lost. The rule of God's promised "kingdom of priests" of the "seed of the woman" is going to free all people from sin and death.
Therefore, the family of sinner Adam longs for the return of the glorified Messiah from heaven and the emergence of a "kingdom of priests."
Ro 8:19-21
19 For the eager expectation of the creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will but through him that subjected it, on the basis of hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Heb 9:28
28 so also the Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many; and the second time that he appears it will be apart from sin and to those earnestly looking for him for [their] salvation.
The finished Law covenant was a covenant between God and the Israelites, but the new covenant, which was made valid by the Messiah's sacrifice, is a covenant between God and all mankind, and the Messiah (Christ) of YHWH God, as the chief agent of salvation not only for the Israelites but for all mankind, delivers all of Adam's children from sin and Satan's domination. The promise of the new covenant through the Messiah who conquered Satan will not turn out unfulfilled.
Just as the Law covenant was fulfilled and successfully finished by the Messiah, the new covenant will also be fulfilled by the Messiah, achieving the salvation of Adam's family and will end successfully. Although Israel, one party to the Law covenant, apostatized and lost God's favor, the small number of wheat Christians who are ministers of Messiah's "kingdom of priests" will not apostatize, even if the majority of Christianity are weed Christians.
The new covenant between God and all mankind made effective by the sinless sacrificial death of the Messiah (Christ), will create a "kingdom of priests" of Christians chosen from all tribes of mankind and accomplish the salvation of all mankind.
Re 5:9-10
9 And they sing a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slaughtered and with your blood you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.”
1Co 15:22-28
22 For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each one in his own rank: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who belong to the Christ at his arrival. 24 Next, the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has brought to nothing all government and all authority and power. 25 For he must rule as king until [God] has put all enemies under his feet. 26 As the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing. 27 For [God] “subjected all things under his feet.” But when he says that ‘all things have been subjected,’ it is evident that it is with the exception of the one who subjected all things to him. 28 But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone.
Those who believed in God's Messiah became known as Christians by God's providence in the 1st century CE, and despite Satan's obstruction and work, Christians multiplied throughout the world at that time, and soon, just as in Jesus' parable of "the wheat and the weeds," the real wheat was covered by the counterfeit and disappeared. By the end of the first century CE, apostasy was already evident among Christians, and the Christian Greek Scriptures are filled with warnings against the lawless one.
The subsequent history of Christianity is that in the 4th century CE the Roman Empire made apostate Christianity the state religion and used it to expand its world hegemony and eradicate true Christians. The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, led by Martin Luther, William Tyndale and others, exposed the organized religion of weeds Christians, gave rise to the idea of Bible primacy, and helped people to be guided by the Bible itself rather than the church. However, just as in the parable of the "wheat and the weeds," the mixture of real and fake will continue until God's Messiah (Christ) returns to judge.
Just as Jesus predicted, the weeds Christians have grown into giant trees and many false Christians have appeared. This is the result of Satan's work, just like the apostate Israelites under the Law Covenant.
Organized religion of weeds Christian is likened to a "big tree" inhabited by many "birds of heaven" of false teachers, and with its false teachings "the whole lump has been fermented." And many people are choosing the broad and large path of religious organizations. Therefore, it is prophesied that when the Messiah (Christ) returns to judge, there will be many false Christians.
Mt 13:24-33
24 Another illustration he set before them, saying: “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man that sowed fine seed in his field. 25 While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat, and left. 26 When the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared also. 27 So the slaves of the householder came up and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it come to have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’ They said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ 29 He said, ‘No; that by no chance, while collecting the weeds, YOU uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the harvest season I will tell the reapers, First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up, then go to gathering the wheat into my storehouse.’”
31 Another illustration he set before them, saying: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard grain, which a man took and planted in his field; 32 which is, in fact, the tiniest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the largest of the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and find lodging among its branches.”
33 Another illustration he spoke to them: “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three large measures of flour, until the whole mass was fermented.”
Mt 7:13-14
13 “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.
Mt 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. 22 Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ 23 And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness.
Weeds Christians of Organized Religion, Wheat Christians Who Follow the Messiah
The way Satan deceives people is using huge organizations to impress people with God's blessing and authority through physical prosperity, and making them slaves to religious organizations. People believe that the teachings (authority) of huge organizations come from God, and live their lives depending on the teachings of those organizations rather than on the truth of the Bible. This is the characteristic of weeds Christians.Lu 12:57
57 Why do YOU not judge also for yourselves what is righteous?
Ac 4:19
19 But in reply Peter and John said to them: “Whether it is righteous in the sight of God to listen to YOU (religious leaders) rather than to God, judge for yourselves.
■ On the other hand, the characteristic of Wheat Christians is that they follow the "words of Jesus" rather than the teachings of religious organizations. There are only a few such people, but the "kingdom of priests" will be given to a little flock of wheat Christians.
Lu 12:32 32 “Have no fear, little flock, because YOUR Father has approved of giving YOU the kingdom.
Joh 10:27
27 My sheep listen to my (Messiah's) voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Joh 14:15-17
15 “If YOU love me, YOU will observe my commandments; 16 and I will request the Father and he will give YOU another helper to be with YOU forever, 17 the spirit of the truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither beholds it nor knows it. YOU know it, because it remains with YOU and is in YOU.
Joh 16:13
13 However, when that one arrives, the spirit of the truth, he will guide YOU into all the truth.
1Joh 2:26-27
26 These things I write YOU about those who are trying to mislead YOU. 27 And as for YOU, the anointing that YOU received from him (Messiah) remains in YOU, and YOU do not need anyone to be teaching YOU; but, as the anointing from him is teaching YOU about all things, and is true and is no lie, and just as it has taught YOU, remain in union with him.
Joh 8:31-32
31 And so Jesus went on to say to the Jews that had believed him: “If YOU remain in my (Messiah's) word, YOU are really my disciples, 32 and YOU will know the truth, and the truth will set YOU free.”
■ Wheat Christians are those who practice the "words of Jesus" written in the Bible.
Mt 7:24-27
24 “Therefore everyone that hears these sayings of mine (Messiah) and does them will be likened to a discreet man, who built his house upon the rock-mass. 25 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and lashed against that house, but it did not cave in, for it had been founded upon the rock-mass. 26 Furthermore, everyone hearing these sayings of mine and not doing them will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. 27 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and struck against that house and it caved in, and its collapse was great.”
Wheat Christians are well acquainted with the Bible and are able to see through the false teachings of the organized religion of weeds Christians, and as an individual confidently follow the teachings of the Lord Messiah (Christ). Wheat Christians discern and accept the truth in the beliefs and understandings of others, but do not join falsehoods. In this way, they discern the truth by their biblically trained perceptive powers and are guided by the truth.
Heb 5:13-14
13 For everyone that partakes of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to mature people, to those who through use have their perceptive powers trained to distinguish both right and wrong.
Wheat Christians can identify like-minded wheat Christians. Since Messiah (Christ) gave the gifts to his people in the Christian congregation, so they can also receive the necessary adjustments from other wheat Christians.
Eph 4:7-16
7 Now to each one of us undeserved kindness was given according to how the Christ measured out the free gift. 8 Wherefore he says: “When he ascended on high he carried away captives; he gave gifts [in] men.” 9 Now the expression “he ascended,” what does it mean but that he also descended into the lower regions, that is, the earth? 10 The very one that descended is also the one that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might give fullness to all things.
11 And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers, 12 with a view to the readjustment of the holy ones, for ministerial work, for the building up of the body of the Christ, 13 until we all attain to the oneness in the faith and in the accurate knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of stature that belongs to the fullness of the Christ; 14 in order that we should no longer be babes, tossed about as by waves and carried hither and thither by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in contriving error. 15 But speaking the truth, let us by love grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ. 16 From him all the body, by being harmoniously joined together and being made to cooperate through every joint that gives what is needed, according to the functioning of each respective member in due measure, makes for the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
The "kingdom of priests" of the Promised Seed is made up of Messiah (Christ) Jesus and his disciples, the wheat Christians taken from every tribe of the earth. When the Messiah (Christ) returns to judge, the wheat Christians who are already asleep in death will be resurrected to heaven as spirits, and the wheat Christians who are currently alive will be taken to heaven without seeing death, join the Messiah (Christ), and take part in the judgment of Satan's world.
1Co 15:50-52
50 However, this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Look! I tell YOU a sacred secret: We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Th 4:15-17
15 For this is what we tell YOU by YHWH’s word, that we the living who survive to the arrival of the Lord shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep [in death]; 16 because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. 17 Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall always be with [the] Lord.
Re 2:25-27
25 Just the same, hold fast what YOU have until I come. 26 And to him that conquers and observes my deeds down to the end I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he shall shepherd the people with an iron rod so that they will be broken to pieces like clay vessels, the same as I have received from my Father,
Re 20:4-6
4 And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed with the ax for the witness they bore to Jesus and for speaking about God, and those who had worshiped neither the wild beast nor its image and who had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand. And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years. 5 This is the first resurrection. 6 Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.
summary
Soon 6,000 years will have passed since Adam's day.About 2,000 years after Adam, the world of the fallen angels came to an end with Noah's flood.
About 2,000 years after the flood, the Messiah (Christ) was sent to earth, offered an atoning sacrifice, and was resurrected.
Satan's rule will end about 2,000 years after the resurrection of the Messiah (Christ).
Therefore, the time left in Satan's world is running out.
The Messiah (Christ) Jesus will soon return to judge.
Since the time of Adam, the promised Messiah, the "Seed of the Woman" who would bring salvation, was represented as a shadow (type) of animal sacrifices in the Law covenant of Israel, and the Law covenant was fulfilled by the sinless sacrificial death of Jesus of Nazareth who was the substance of the animal sacrifices, and the salvation of Adam's family was realized.
Judaism, characterized by the temple and priesthood, is a shadow (model), while the substance is Christianity (Messianicism) attributed to the Messiah Jesus. Therefore, Adam's family will be saved from sin and Satan's rule by God's promised "Seed of the Woman," the Messiah (Christ).
Both Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity are huge religious organizations and have become broad and large paths that many people walk. On the other hand, it is said that few have found the Messiah's (Christ's) "kingdom of priests."
Mt 7:13-14
13 “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.
When Messiah (Christ) Jesus returns with the heavenly army to judge Satan's world, wheat Christians will be taken up to heaven to join the heavenly army. This will be the time when the sons of God will be revealed and the beginning of the long-awaited time when all mankind will be freed from sin and Satan's domination.
Ro 8:19-21
19 For the eager expectation of the creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God (Kingdom of Priests). 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will but through him that subjected it, on the basis of hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.
When Adam fell into sin, the hope given by YHWH God was salvation through the "kingdom of priests" of the Messiah (Christ). Satan's head would be crushed by the "Seed of the Woman" which represents the "kingdom of priests" of the Messiah and Wheat Christians, and sin and Satan's rule would end. And Adam's family, including Adam and Eve, would regain the "glorious freedom of the children of God" that they had lost.
Ge 3:15
15 And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He (seed of woman) will bruise you (Satan) in the head and you (Satan) will bruise him (seed of woman) in the heel.”
Those who exercise faith in the hope of salvation given by YHWH God are those who believe in God's Messiah (Christ). And God's Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth, who was impaled on a stake and killed by apostate Israelites in the 1st century CE.
God's Messiah Jesus conquered Satan by his sinless death, being resurrected as the victor, and has since begun to rule as King in heaven. He is a king-priest like Melchizedek, King and High Priest of a "kingdom of priests." The disciples of Messiah Jesus are subordinate kings and subordinate priests in the "kingdom of priests".
The discovery of the entire Hebrew Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 is testimony to the authenticity and accuracy of their contents and their complete harmony with the Christian Greek Scriptures, proving the Bible's theme of a "kingdom of priests" of the Messiah, the "Seed of the Woman" to save Adam's family.
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