Chapter 6: The Genealogy of Spiritual Israel
Date: April 28th 2001
oday we are going to continue our series on Church Membership. This will be part 6, and it may be the last part, although there may be one last part coming, if Yah so desires. Last time, we considered Church Membership (a couple of weeks ago, if I recall) it was part 5, and we want to review that before we go forward. In part 5 we answered – first we asked, then we answered – two questions. The first one is, "What are the Deeds to which we must be witnesses, there in Jeremiah 32?" and "Why are there two deeds listed in Jeremiah 32, verses 11 and 14?" We applied some spiritual eyesalve to these things, and we unraveled some real truth here.
There is the Sealed Deed, and there is the Open Deed mentioned. We saw that Christ's Word, and His promises to us concerning the eternal inheritance, make up the Sealed Deed. We are witnesses to the Savior's finished work of redemption, which is a sealed work. It cannot fail, it is sealed by divinity. By accepting Christ as our personal Savior, we effectively sign the Sealed Deed to our eternal inheritance. And yet, there is an Open Deed, which is not yet sealed, and it will not be sealed until the close of human probation. This Open Deed represents our commitment to love Yah supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. Our witness to this work of sanctification is literally manifested by our individual signatures on the Church Membership covenant, which stands as an open evidence that we have not only taken Christ as our Savior, but also we have joined the family of Yah in perfect unity of Spirit.
When the Open Deed is sealed at the close of human probation, it will contain the witnesses' names; all of those who have their names remaining in the Lamb's Book of Life. In simple terms, the Sealed Deed, which is bound up in divinity, requires no further investigation. But the Open Deed, which is bound up in humanity, is closely examined to see who will join the cloud of witnesses, and which witnesses will remain faithful unto the end. For it is those who remain faithful unto the end that will be saved. {Matthew 24:13}
So today we begin with part 6 of Church Membership. Church Membership is the continuation of the family genealogy for spiritual Israel; that's what we're going to talk about today. Now, what is "genealogy?" Genealogy is concerned with tracing out the line of descent in any given family. Tracing out the line of descent in any given family. So we have a genealogy for spiritual Israel. We're not concerned with earthly genealogies, now. Paul says not to be concerned with those things. {Titus 3:9} But there is a spiritual genealogy, and we will come to see that this is very important for us to understand. We see in Revelation chapter 7 that there are twelve tribes, 12 families, among the 144,000. Each family has a numbering of 12,000 – representing the fact of an equal inheritance, just as we see in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Let's turn there, to Matthew 19.
Starting with verse 28, we're going to read through chapter 20, and verse 16. Matthew 19:28 – "And Yahshua said unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration...'" and that word regeneration is very significant – it is the restoration of all things – the restoration. That's where we started this study on Church Membership; restoring those things pertaining to godliness. "'That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.'"
"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; 'Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you.' And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, 'Why stand ye here all the day idle?' They say unto him, 'Because no man hath hired us.' He saith unto them, 'Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.' So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, 'Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.'"
"And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, 'These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.' But he answered one of them, and said, 'Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?' So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen."
Now we can break this parable down to a small prophecy. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that the early morning workers were represented by the Jewish Church. {Christ's Object Lessons, page 400, paragraph 2} The Jewish Church fell, and the Gentiles were called, and the third hour workers became the Apostolic Church. But it turned into the Harlot, the Roman Catholic church system, and the sixth hour workers had to be called, which were the Reformation Churches. But the Reformation Churches did not become sanctified. They would not continue on in the Word of Yah, and so they became the Harlot Daughters. In the ninth hour, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was called into the vineyard. But the Seventh-day Adventist Church was found guilty of fraternizing with Babylon, and finally fell in 1988 without remedy. This leaves the 11th hour workers.
Who are the 11th, hour workers? It is the 144,000 church – the remnant or "last part," and interestingly enough, the Remnant Church, the 144,000 Church, is the last to enter the vineyard. But they are called the "firstfruits" unto Yah. So literally, the last becomes first. Now, just as a priest must be able to show his descent from Aaron, and the Messiah must be in the linage of David, every Jew must be able to show his descent from Abraham. Abraham is the father of faith, and all who enter the faith of Yahshua become the children of Abraham, the spiritual children of Abraham. Let's turn to Hebrews 11:8-10.
"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is Yah." We are the spiritual children of Abraham. We are sojourners in the land of promise. We are yet aliens here, but there's a day coming when we will receive our eternal inheritance. This land on which we walk today will be our promised land.
We look for the New Jerusalem. We, as Abraham, look for a city, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is Yah. Let's turn to 1Chronicles 9. Now you're going to put on your spiritual eyeglasses again, and start to see some things if you desire to see them.
1Chronicles 9. You will remember that the children of Israel, children of Abraham actually, were taken into captivity by Babylon, and they were given freedom to go back to Jerusalem. And we're going to be considering some of these things that were going on at that time. 1Chronicles 9:1 – "So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression." All of Israel was reckoned by genealogies – today, all of spiritual Israel will be reckoned by genealogies. It says, "...so all Israel were reckoned by genealogies." I looked up the word "genealogy" in the original language and it means, "to enroll by pedigree."
To enroll by pedigree – do you know what a pedigree is? I looked up the definition of "pedigree," and it says, "the reported purity of a breed, of an individual or strain." So a genealogy is an enrollment, recording a pure breed. The faith of Yahshua is a pure faith, and all who take the faith of Yahshua to heart must be a pure breed. "They were written in the book of the kings." Everyone who accepts Christ needs to be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, in the Book of the King.
We have been captive ourselves, to mystical Babylon. And as we are called out of this mystical Babylon by the mighty angel of Revelation 18, we must be found by name, registered among the tribes of Spiritual Israel. Let's look at Nehemiah 7, concerning this time of the restoration of the children of Israel to Jerusalem. Now, we are being restored to the New Jerusalem, not to the earthly Jerusalem. But looking at Nehemiah 7:4-6 we see something:
"Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not [yet] builded." Did you know, the City is large? Have you ever done a study on the size of the New Jerusalem? It's a big place. It "was large and great: but the people were few." Did not Yahshua say that there would be few that enter in? Many are called, but few are chosen. "and the houses were not [yet] builded." Do you know that our spiritual houses are being built? They're not finished yet, they're being built. They're being built so that they can be placed in the City – in the Heavenly City. Verse 5: "And my Almighty One put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register [or a record] of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein, 'These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city.'"
We were carried away to mystical Babylon. We were into confusion – we were no longer keeping the laws of Yah's love. We were paying attention to human devices; we weren't following divine devices. Human logic, human tradition – worshipping in vain. But we came out of Babylon, and in order to come out of Babylon we must register our names, so that we will have a genealogy that will prove our lineage back to Christ. Some will say, 'Oh, that is the Lamb's Book of Life in heaven – that is the record to which this parable applies.' Yes, there is a record in heaven, but remember the last study – there were two deeds! And let everything be done on earth as it is in heaven. {Matthew 6:10}
Nehemiah 7:61-64. We see there then, of course, the list of the exiles, and over at verse 61: "And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel." See, they couldn't prove they were children of Israel. Why? Because they weren't in the genealogy. "The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two. And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name. These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, [treated] as polluted, [and] put from the priesthood."
They could not be among the priests, because they could not prove their linage. They were not on the genealogy. If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Think about that question. The Church Membership role indicates your profession of faith, and gives a witness of your commitment to be in unity with Yah's spiritual family of Overcomers. Let's look at Exodus 19:6: "And ye shall be unto me..." Yah is speaking here. "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation [or holy family]. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."
And then in the New Testament we see in 1 Peter 2:5 and 9 a similar statement. Let's look at it: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house..." I was just talking about that a few minutes ago, about our spiritual houses being built up; being fitted, and shaped, and formed, for the holy City, New Jerusalem. "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to Yah by Yahshua the Messiah." And verses 9 and 10: "But ye are a chosen generation." That word "generation" there is the same as "genealogy;" they have the same root. {Gk: genos} "But ye are a chosen generation [genealogy], a royal priesthood, an holy nation [or family], a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of Yah: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."
We are to be a chosen genealogy. If your name is not recorded in the genealogy, you cannot be a priest. If you are not recorded among the families of the 144,000, if you're not among one of those tribes, if your name is not Sealed there, in that enrolled pedigree, you will not walk through the gates of the City.
Let's look at another part of this in Joshua 24. Turn to Joshua 24; we're going to take it up about verse 14. "Now therefore fear Yah, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye Yah. And if it seem evil unto you to serve Yah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Yah. And the people answered and said, 'The Almighty forbid that we should forsake Yah, to serve other gods; For Yah our Almighty One, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And Yah drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve Yah; for He is our Almighty One.'"
"And Joshua said unto the people, 'Ye cannot serve Yah: for He is an holy Almighty One; He is a jealous Almighty One. He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins; if ye forsake Yah, and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that He hath done you good.' And the people said unto Joshua, 'Nay; but we will serve Yah.' And Joshua said unto the people, 'Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Yah, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses.'"
"'Now therefore put away,' said he, 'the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Yah, the Almighty of Israel.' And the people said unto Joshua, 'Yah our Almighty One will we serve, and His voice will we obey.' So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem." Verse 26: "And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of Yah, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of Yah. And Joshua said unto all the people, [now listen carefully, beloved] 'Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of Yah which He spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your Almighty One.' So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance."
The Church Membership covenant stands like that stone, a stone of remembrance, a record or witness to the fact that you have set your seal to the plan of Yah for His spiritual family. Luke 19:37-40: "And when He [Yahshua] was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise Yah with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, 'Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of Yah: peace in Heaven, and glory in the highest.' And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, 'Master, rebuke thy disciples.' And He [Yahshua] answered and said unto them, 'I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.'"
The stones would immediately cry out. In the same way, if we should be quiet, the stone of remembrance, our Church Membership covenant, would cry out in witness to Yah's glory. Turning back over to Nehemiah chapter 9 – speaking about covenants – we need to read about what happened there in Nehemiah 9, when they were rebuilding the walls of the city, reestablishing righteousness in the land. Nehemiah 9:2: "And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers." They had to repent. They had to come out of Babylon; they had to repent of all wickedness and give up all strange gods. And then the rest of that chapter we read quite a lamentation. And we come over to Nehemiah 9:38: "And because of all this we make A Sure Covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it [in other words, sign it]." And then Chapter 10, verse 1: "Now those that sealed [or signed] were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha [or governor], the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah," and then it goes right down the list there of everyone that sealed this sure covenant, or signed it.
And then we finally come over on the next page, to verse 28. I don't want to read through all those names, if you will release me from that. Verse 28: "And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters [or the keepers], the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of the Almighty, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding; They clave to their brethren..." You see the unity there? They joined with their brethren; verse 29: "their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in The Almighy's law, which was given by Moses the servant of the Almighty One, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yah our Master, and His judgments and His statutes."
Let me read to you a parallel to that, a sure covenant:
In the letter and the spirit of unity with Yah's Church in Heaven, we the undersigned, who have sealed our names here, we hereby associate ourselves together as members of the Body of Messiah being identified as St. Joseph Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church, covenanting to keep the commandments of Yah and the faith of His Son Yahshua, and accepting His character as our heritage: Yah is our righteousness. (Jer 23:6 and 33:16)
And then there are names, numbered and sealed, below.
Just as the children of Israel in the Old Testament, when coming out of Babylon, came out by – or were numbered and named by – genealogy, they made a sure covenant and sealed their names to that covenant. Spiritual Israel is doing the same thing today. Is this not a sure covenant? Yes it is.
There are two great commandments, and we read of them in Matthew 22:36-40: "'Master, which is the great commandment in the law?' Yahshua said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'"
Turning to John 13:34,35, Yahshua says this, "A new commandment I give unto you..." Now this is nothing new, this is repeated from the Old Testament. {Leviticus 19:18} That word "new" can be translated, "renewed." I renew a commandment to you, I give unto you this renewed commandment: "That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Your Church Membership covenant shows your willingness to love your brethren; to covenant together in perfect unity and harmony, to love one another. It is a test of discipleship. So, the Baptismal vow substantiates our commitment to Yah. The Church Membership covenant witnesses to our connection with Yah's human family, thus fulfilling the letter of these two great commandments in a sealed, or "signed" form. The spirit of this law of love is borne out in our daily lives, moment by moment. In effect, these two documents, our Baptismal vow and the Church Membership covenant, represent (or stand) as two genealogies, just as Christ Himself had two genealogies recorded in Scripture. Did you know that? Christ had two genealogies recorded in Scripture. One is in Matthew 1:1-16. The other is in Luke 3:23-38. We won't take time to read them today, but in Matthew 1:1-16, this genealogy serves as Christ's legal lineage through adoption.
The Baptismal vow shows our legal lineage by adoption as well, being born by the Spirit of Yah, {Galatians 4:5} who is not our "natural" Father. In Luke 3:23-38, we see there recorded Christ's natural descent through actual parentage. The Church Membership roll records our actual, spiritual lineage, by way of the spiritual family on earth, declaring our family name, which will remain forever. Let's read about it in Isaiah 66.
Isaiah 66:22: "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith Yah, so shall your seed [or children] and your name remain." So shall your seed and your name remain. Your personal, individual name, will remain in the Lamb's Book of Life, and it will also remain in the Family Lineage, from which you were born again. So there are two genealogies here. And I want to take time here to share this chart with you. This is a more detailed description of what I just said.
Christ is the Head. We are the Body of Christ. Christ is the Seed; Christ is divinity partaking of humanity. The 144,000, His last remnant Church, is the firstfruits. We are not the Seed, we are the firstfruits. We are humanity partaking of divinity. Let's look at Philippians 2:6-8: This is speaking of Yahshua the Christ, "Who, being in the form of Yah thought it not robbery to be equal with Yah: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Divinity partaking of humanity.
And then we turn over to Hebrews 2:9-11: "But we see Yahshua, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of Yah should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect [or complete] through sufferings. For both He that sanctifieth [or sets apart] and they who are sanctified [or are set apart] are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." He calls us His brothers. Humanity partaking of Divinity. 2Peter 1:4 bears that out more clearly, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these [promises] ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
So Yahshua is the Seed; the 144,00 are the firstfruits. Yahshua: divinity partaking of humanity; the 144,000 firstfruits: humanity partaking of divinity, Christ regarding us as His brothers and sisters. Now, concerning the genealogies, we have "Original Family" – we have a column for original family, or "Legal Family by Original Nature." Christ's original family – He came straight from Heaven, He came from Yah; He was Yah's only begotten Son, and He came straight from Heaven. Our original family – we are sons of men. We are sons of men on earth; we are certified as earthlings. You know, when we get our birth certificate? We are certified as human beings. That's our original family.
Now we have an "Adopted Family;" this is where our Scriptural genealogy comes in. Christ's adopted family is found in Matthew 1:1-16, and His earthly father Joseph. Now, we have an adopted family as well, and that is through Yah our Heavenly Father. 1John 5:18, let's look at it: "We know that whosoever is born of Yah sinneth not; but He that is begotten of Yah keepeth [or guards] himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." In John 3:6, the Gospel of John 3:6 – "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Our Baptismal vow bears out our adopted family genealogy. But we have a natural family genealogy, which is also Scriptural. And Yahshua had one; it's found in Luke 3:23-38. And it follows the line of His earthly mother Mary. We too have a natural family on earth – a natural spiritual family. We are brought forth by our mother, the woman which is seen in Revelation 12:1,2. "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under Her feet, and upon Her head a crown of twelve stars [or twelve stones]: And She being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered."
You see, this Woman represents that pure Church from which we are birthed into our Family, into our spiritual family on earth. Galatians 4:26 says it even more distinctly. Galatians 4:6: "And because ye are sons, Yah hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father.'" And then verse 26: "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the Mother of us all." The Jerusalem which is above, the New Jerusalem, is free, which is the Mother of us all. The Church Membership covenant represents our genealogy of "natural family" in the spiritual family. So just as Yahshua our spiritual brother had two genealogies, we do as well. We have the Baptismal vow, and we have the Church Membership roll. Both of those make up the genealogy for the New Jerusalem membership. If you don't have your name on these membership rolls, you will not enter the gates of the City.
Turn to Acts 10, we must hurry right along now, as we run close on time. Acts 10:34-36: "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, 'Of a truth I perceive that Yah is no respecter of persons: But in every nation [family] he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. The word which Yah sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Yahshua the Messiah: (He is Lord of all)." In other words, the Gentiles are accepted; the children are accepted of Yah. And in Acts 10:47,48: "'Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?' [speaking of the Gentiles] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord [Yahshua]. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days." And carrying on to chapter 11, verses 1 through 4: "And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of Yah. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision [or the Jews] contended with him, Saying, 'Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised [the Gentiles], and didst eat with them.' But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying..." and he tells the whole story.
And it comes over to verse 17: "'Forasmuch then as Yah gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Yahshua the Messiah; what was I, that I could withstand Yah?' When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified Yah, saying, 'Then hath Yah also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.'" The children were accepted by the family. The children are accepted first by Yah, and then they're accepted by the family. Have you ever heard of "giving the right hand of fellowship?" Have you ever been in a Church in which they've said, "We must exchange the right hand of fellowship?" That's the approval of the Body. First they're approved by Yah, for He's no respecter of persons (and all who come to Him shall be saved), then they are approved by the Church.
Acts 2:46,47: "And they, continuing daily with one accord [they were in perfect unity] in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their [food] with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising Yah, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved." The Lord added to the Church; when the Lord approves, when Yah approves a person for salvation, He adds them to His Church. In these last days, the 144,000 will signify, or "seal" to that by their enrollment on the Church Membership covenant. We see in Acts 9, in the conversion of Saul who became Paul... We see that he had to come into conformity with the Church. Acts 9:17,18: "And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord, even Yahshua, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.' And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized." Even Saul, who became Paul, needed to come into Church membership. {see Acts 9:26-28}
In closing we go to Hebrews 12:18-25, "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, 'I exceedingly fear and quake:') But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in Heaven, and to Yah the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Yahshua the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from Heaven."
May Yah's will be done on earth, through a registry of Yah's family, as it is in Heaven by the Lamb's Book of Life. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us clearly, "only those who receive the seal of the living God will have the passport through the gates of the holy City. But there are many who take upon themselves responsibilities in connection with the work of God who are not wholehearted believers. And while they remain thus, cannot receive the seal of the living God. They trust in their own righteousness, which the Lord accounts as foolishness." {Ellen G. White, Letter 164, 1909} Dearly beloved, we are come to mount Zion; we are come to a holy mountain – the New Jerusalem. Will we, will you, come into full conformity to the will of Yah? Will you be found in the genealogy on the Judgment Day? I pray that you will.
Shall we pray?
Our Father in Heaven, we thank you that you have blessed us with great light for this generation. You have shown us the significance of these things that we have been doing in the various churches for many decades. You have shown us the Scriptural importance, you have shown us the Scriptural validity, of our Baptismal vows and our Church Membership covenant. You have tied these things to salvation in such a way that we must keep the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. We cannot neglect the Sabbath, nor can we neglect the genealogy that is to be written down for all to see, to witness the Deed to our eternal inheritance.
Bless us, Father, as we walk as Yahshua walked. Bless us as we are His brothers and sisters. Bless us as we are humanity partaking of divinity. And may our faith be the faith of Yahshua; overcoming as He overcame. For Christ's sake we pray, in His precious name. Amen.
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