Articles
Priesthood of All Believers in Action Today, Preparing for Messiah’s Return
Barbara L. Klika, MSW, Undershepherd, Life Coach
February 2022
Abba, What do Your People Need to Know and Do to
Withstand the Onslaught of Evil before Messiah’s return?
These are very important questions for those who realize that there is a Creator God Who established
the universe [uni=one verse=spoken word] through the One spoken Word. The Word who became
flesh and dwelt among us, (John 1:14) Yeshua Messiah/Jesus: THE Alef and Tav/Alpha and Omega. The
First AND the Last. He has always known what is coming. He is well able to tell us how to prepare as we
near His return.
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet
done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isaiah 46:10 KJV
He foreknew that His plan for relationship with humankind would be corrupted. Being omnipresent, He foreknew that the battle would play out in the physical as well as in the spiritual realms. It was not only in the Garden as is familiar to most, but also in the transgression of the fallen ones who left their abode and mated with human women, leading first to the hybrid progeny known as Rephaim, also called giants, and ultimately to the schadim, understood in English as “demons.” (Genesis 6)
Already in the First Book of His Word, He has indicated there is a plan for restoration to that original relationship between God and human beings. (Genesis 3:15) He established a physical picture of one of Messiah’s roles as our High Priest in the priestly line within the Levite tribe: first under Aaron, then Joshua, and eventually under Zadok. Priestly duties included worship and going into battle. To carry out a vow, to “vow the vow” is equivalent to “war the warfare” in the functional nature of the Hebrew language. Priests were responsible to teach the people to help them recognize the holy and the profane. They were to live out what was written on the forehead: Holy to YHWH…Set Apart to Him! They were to build up the people in this faith and on this basis, they could go out to war. The Scriptures do provide examples of the amazing outcomes when they heeded this preparation and of the devastation when they tried to run ahead and take on the enemy without it. We understand this as a physical picture of a spiritual reality.
The Zadokite Priesthood appears to have left the Temple when they were disgusted by the ungodly politically appointed Hasmonean priests put there, according to scrolls from Qumran. They became rather like a priesthood in exile. John, called “The Baptist” was of the Priestly line yet never was within the corrupted Temple practices. He stayed in the wilderness and proclaimed the plan was in progress, through his baptism of repentance and return to the Father.
And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been
baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God
for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
Luke 7: 29-30 NKJV
He is restoring relationship between Himself and mankind, and among mankind, which He foreknew is needed in order to resist the advances of evil in the time period before Messiah returns. It is in relationship with Him, as part of this Priesthood of all believers that we stand in His full good news armor.
This ancient history has great bearing as we are walking through such dark times now, with evil emboldened to assault both God’s creation and humankind. He warned us that there would be an apostate church, a “fallen away church” in this time; just as there has been a fallen away assembly in Messiah’s time on earth. We need to know Him well enough to be able to discern what a fallen away church looks like so that we can stay away from that danger.
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away
comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
2 Thess. 2:3 NKJV
While we continue to seek understanding as to whether or not this dark time in our history will culminate in Messiah’s return, or if, as in Judges, our God chooses to send a judge and restore us one more time for another cycle, it remains important for us to assess how we live…for our own personal end may indeed come before the end of all things.
His Word is our written guide of His character and being and His Creation. His Word came in the Flesh in His Son, Messiah Yeshua/Jesus of Nazareth; now THE Living Word. One cannot fully understand the testimonies of Messiah found in what we call the “New Testament” without understanding the prophecies and plans laid out in the foundational work of the Torah, which we call the “Old Testament.” This is an unfortunate divide! We wouldn’t even know how to confirm Him as Messiah without the Torah, the Writings and the Prophets! The importance of God’s choice to use the Hebrew culture, language and lineage for Messiah’s humanity cannot be cast aside as we study His Word to know how we should “walk in a manner worthy” in order to return to the Garden! It is also our foundation to stand firm in faith and go through the physical battles we face.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we
do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask
that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Col 1: 9-10 NKJV
Any physical battle is always won first behind our eyes and between our ears. We stand not in our own human strength alone, but in the strength given to us through walking as His people, walking in holiness and righteousness. In the good news of His salvation for us. The physical outcome is His determination. Either way, in Him we win.
“Kadosh” is the Hebrew word translated most often as “holy.” It literally means to be set apart for a special purpose. Context determines that purpose. Temple prostitutes were “set apart” to the special purpose of worship of pagan gods. Being set apart for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s purposes and walking in His ways indicates that one is “being holy” as He is holy.
His Whole Word is His plan for how we are to be set apart: to live in order to move on from this physical life to an eternal life of relationship with Him. It includes:
• Growth and maturity metaphors, often of agricultural images
• Parent/Child relationship metaphors as our Good Shepherd befriends and teaches us
• Marriage relationship metaphors, maturing from childhood to be prepared for an intimate relationship with Messiah Yeshua, our soon coming Bridegroom.
The articles “The Church that is Growing Up” by Dallas Henry and “Will our Life Be the Light of Christ?” by Rev. Christopher B. Cain in the Jan/Feb 2022 WCN edition complement one another and further describe some of the aspects of this maturity and preparation for intimacy with Messiah.
While some view Yeshua as having come to “establish a new church” we view Him as obedient to our Father’s plan to restore us to relationship with Him. He confirmed that He did nothing on His own, but always was one with the Father. Thus, we consider the continuity between the so called Old and New Testaments, and the progressive nature of the covenants between YHWH and man, rather than replacement.
“For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet
from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept
them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the LORD of hosts. “But you said, ‘In
what way shall we return?’ …
You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners Before the LORD of hosts? So now we call the proud
blessed, For those who do wickedness are raised up; They even tempt God and go free.’ ”
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard
them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And
who meditate on His name.
“They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I
will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.”
Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who
serves God And one who does not serve Him.
Malachi 3: 6-7, 14-18 NKJV
He respects His gift of free will to us and will let us choose our
path, even to our own destruction. Always, the message of true
Prophets and Priests of YHWH is to repent and return to Him!
He preserves a remnant.
Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good
way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Jeremiah 6:16 NKJV
And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at
hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he
who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according
to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the
Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of
life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Rev. 22: 10-14 NKJV
With the destruction of the Temple that Levitical role has certainly been deactivated until the new altar/Temple appears once again, but the lessons remain the same. We consider Melchezedek, the King of Salem, to likely be a “pre incarnate” Presence of Yeshua/Jesus. Who else has no beginning or end? As our High Priest, He has no need for a family line succession since He lives forever to make intercession for us.
We understand this as an overlapping truth: the spiritual reality that the physical Levitical Priesthood pointed to. As part of the Priesthood of all believers, we are to function as Priests: teachers and warriors. We are to be girded up and found worthy, set apart for YHWH’s purposes, walking after Messiah Yeshua, our soon coming King, and Commander of the LORD’s army.
Coach Dave Daubenmire asks what part of the army you will join. Whatever part that may be, your strength and confidence will only come in the measure in which you are standing as a part of the Priesthood, now under Yeshua’s guidance.
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