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The Keys to The Kingdom by Fran Regan
12/12/2010
Genesis 37:7 “See, we were binding (481) sheaves (485) in the midst of the field, and see, my sheaf rose up and also stood up. And see, your sheaves stood all around (5437) and bowed down to my sheaf.”
481 - alam – mem, lamed, alef – to tie fast, bind, put to silence 485 - alum- mem, lamed, alef – past part. of 481, a sheaf, something bound ‘See, we were binding (481) something bound ‘(485). Matthew 16:19 “And I shall give you the keys to the reign of the heavens, (Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God) and whatever you bind on earth (sheaves of grain) shall be having been bound in the heavens (sun, moon, stars), and whatever you loosen on earth shall be having been loosened in the heavens.” What is one bound by or loosed from but an oath? The Oath is the Covenant that Yah made with us through our fathers. The Covenant came out of the Heavens, and was given to us here on the earth. It is in effect or binding in Heaven, as it is the Father’s will and as we are told to pray: “Thy Kingdom (reign) come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:9,10) According to Rabbi Moshe Yoseph Koniuchowsky of the Restoration Scripture, ‘binding’ and ‘loosening’ are Hebraic idioms for exercising authority – prohibiting and permitting. Elohim has given us His authority in His Covenant, to know what is bound (prohibited) and what is loosed (permitted). So it is the Covenant that defines what Yah prohibits and what Yah permits. The Messiah demonstrated this for us by living it. The Covenant and the Messiah both define the Father’s will. In Psalms 40:8, (Messiah speaking) “I delight to do Your will, O My Elohim, yes, Your Torah is within My heart.” We must be in obedience to His will for His Kingdom to come or to be a part of His Kingdom once it has come. The reign of the heavens or the Kingdom of Heaven is the 12 tribes of Israel as one nation again doing the Father’s will. This emphasizes once again the eternal nature of Yah’s Covenant. To do away with His Covenant, as some want to do, is the same as doing away with the Messiah and therefore, doing away with His Kingdom. They were binding sheaves in the field. They were binding what is bound or in other words, doing the Father’s will as it is being done in Heaven. By binding sheaves in the field, Israel is taking Yah’s Covenant to the world, as Matthew 13:38 defines the field as the world. This is what makes us a holy and a peculiar people. They were obviously harvesting the grain. Matthew 13:39b tells us the harvest is the end of the age. Matthew 28:19,20 “Therefore, go and make taught ones of all the nations (world), immersing them in the Name…..teaching them to guard all that I have commanded you (all that I have prohibited/bound and all that I have permitted/loosed – teaching them My Covenant, My will). And see, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Joseph’s sheaf, as a picture of the Messiah, was in the center (in the midst of them - the very place where Yah says He will be with us – “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For look, I am coming, and shall dwell in your midst, declares Yah.” Zech 2:10), with all Israel (his 11 brothers) around Him, bowing down to Him. Genesis 37:7b “…And see, your sheaves stood all around (5437) and bowed down to my sheaf.” 5437 – cabab – beit, beit, samech – to revolve, surround or border, be about on every side Messiah and Torah have to be the center of our world, with everything else revolving around Him. Joseph had also stated his “sheaf rose up (resurrection) and also stood up” (intercession). Y’shua was made our High Priest or Intercessor by an Oath (or Covenant). (Hebrews 7:2-21) Before He could become our Intercessor, before He could ‘stand up’, He had to be resurrected or rise up. Joseph was thrown into the pit and remained there before being sold for silver, I believe for 3 days – why do I believe this? - because he had all his brothers initially put in prison for 3 days (Gen. 42:17) – a picture of death and burial. What is the significance of the brothers being symbolically dead and buried? Was it just spite on Joseph’s part or something more? Romans 6:4 tells us, “We were therefore buried with Him through immersion into death, that as Messiah was raised from the dead by the esteem of the Father, so also we should walk in newness of life.” Joseph was symbolically ‘resurrected’ from the pit and the brothers set free or resurrected from prison, with Joseph saying to them on the third day, “Do this and live”, we are told in Genesis 42:18. He was testing them to see if their natures had changed and they were therefore walking a new walk. He was letting them ‘feel’ his scars, in preparation for revealing himself to them. Then, some 22 years later, (calculated from Genesis 41:46 & 45:6), after being symbolically resurrected, Joseph interceded for his brothers, as a picture of our High Priest, to save their lives in giving them the Bread of Life. Maybe the significance of the number 22 = 20 +2: 20, kaph – to bless/ 2, beit – house/family: After being resurrected, (from the pit) He blessed and interceded for His brothers, giving them life – as does our Messiah. So Joseph, representing Messiah, had/was the Bread of Life (John 6:35). In order to live, all had to come to him to receive this bread. When his brothers came, their silver was put back into their bags, illustrating their salvation was priceless and could not be bought. Ephesians 2:8,9 “For by grace you have been saved, through belief, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim, it is not by works, so that no one should boast.” On the other hand, the Egyptians had to give everything they had – their money, their flocks, their herds, their lands, even themselves as bondservants. “We are not our own. We are bought with a price.” (1Cor. 6:19,20) “So then everyone of you who does not give up all that he has, is unable to be My taught one.” Luke 14:33 Even though seeming opposites, both views are necessary for true believers. We cannot buy our salvation with silver and gold but we must be willing to give up everything we have for Him. Resurrection, (‘my sheaf rose up’) Intercession, (‘and also stood up’) Deliverance (‘Elohim sent me before you to preserve life’) Genesis 45:5b,7 “…for Elohim sent me (Joseph speaking) before you to preserve life. And Elohim sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth and to give life to you by a great escape.” Notice: Elohim sent Joseph before Israel (including Judah) to preserve a remnant and save lives. Have we seen this? Are we seeing this? Genesis 46:28 “And he (Jacob/Israel) sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way …..” Israel sent Judah to Joseph to show the way. Judah will lead the way in the restoration when they finally understand the two-house truth and Y’shua. [comment from Rabbi Koniuchowsky] Genesis 44:18 “And Judah came near to him (Joseph) and said, “O master, please let your servant speak a word in my master’s hearing and do not let your displeasure burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.” Right now, I seem to be seeing Joseph making all the overtures toward Judah. However, I am understanding the Scriptures to say that Judah must come near to Joseph. To a large extent, the United States is Joseph and has been a haven for Judah and all Israel – as “Elohim sent Joseph before Israel to preserve a remnant and save lives.” As Yah is waking us up to our identity, we look in large part to Judah to “point out before us the way…” And so, in Jeremiah 3:18 “In those days (which may be these days), the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel and they shall come together (“Can two walk together except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3) out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.” We must be careful here, as Judah must walk with Joseph, before we can go together. We are not to follow the orthodox, as they are still missing a critical key to the Kingdom. It is time for us to come together as brothers, as one house, one nation, united in the Covenant, united in Torah, who is Y’shua Messiah. Judah must come near to Joseph. Joseph has been sent by Elohim before all Israel, including Judah, to preserve life in Messiah (of whom Joseph is a picture). Messiah (Joseph) was sent first, then the family was reunited. “And out of His completeness we all did receive, grace upon grace, for the Torah was given through Moses – the Grace (gift) and the Truth (Torah) [together] came through Y’shua Messiah.” (John 1:16-17) Y’shua was the Gift of Grace and Truth given to us, as the Torah without Grace, cannot benefit us. It is a gift that can only come through the covenant of Messiah. “To the Torah and to the witness/testimony! [True believers run to both the testimony of His resurrection, along with a life grounded in Torah-obedience.] If they do not speak according to this Word, [Messiah Y’shua and Torah – as they’re the same] it is because they have no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20 [The blindness of both houses does not allow light to enter, when one of the two key parts of true faith are missing.][comments by Rabbi Koniuchowsky] “They were binding sheaves in the field.” They were binding here on earth what is already bound in Heaven. They were keeping Covenant – revealing the Father’s will to the world. Matthew 16:19 “And I shall give you the keys to the reign of the heavens, (Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God) and whatever you bind (prohibit) on earth (sheaves of grain) shall be having been bound (prohibited) in the heavens, [as it is the Covenant] and whatever you loosen (permit) on earth shall be having been loosened (permitted) in the heavens.” [as it is the Covenant] Notice ‘keys’ is plural. There are two keys to the reign or Kingdom of Heaven. John tells us in Revelation 14:12, “Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those keeping the commands of Elohim [Torah – Key 1] and the belief of Y’shua.” [Key 2] It takes both keys to unlock the Door to the Kingdom. And yet, they are One – as we must be. May Yah hurry the day!
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