Parasha Acharei Mot/Kedoshim - The Light of Torah Messianic Congregation

Parasha Acharei Mot/Kedoshim
V’Yiqra. 16:1 – 18:30/19:1 – 20:27
Haftarah: Amos 9:7 – 15/Mal. 3:7
Brit Chadasha: Heb. 9:11 – 28/1 Pt. 1:13 – 16

Counting the Omer

ברוך אתה יהוה אלהינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו

במצותיו וצונו על ספירת העומר

Baruch ata YaHaVah Elohenu melech haolam, asher

kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al sefirat ha Omer.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe,

who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.
Today is the 26^th day of the counting of the Omer.

Parasha Acharei Mot

אַחֲרֵ֣י מ֔וֹת meaning “after the death”

Parasha Highlights:

Instructions and the commandment are given for the Yom Kippurim service.
Prohibition against eating blood.
Forbidden relationships.
The title of our parasha, Acharei Mot, is referring us back to the death of Aarons sons, Nadav and Avihu. Nadav and Avihu brought “profane fire” into the Holy Place of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.
Aaron and his sons were consecrated before YaHaVah for seven days at the door of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness with their priestly service beginning on the eighth day. V’Yiqra chapter eight.
V’Yiqra 10:1 – 2: “Then Nadab and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before YaHaVah, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from YaHaVah and devoured them, and they died before YaHaVah.”
The Hebrew word for “profane” is זוּר. This word is defined as to become estranged, a strange woman, prostitute or a harlot. In its ancient form “zur” would read; “He will be cut off, he who chooses not to be secured to His covenant which was from the beginning.”
If the narrative is speaking to being “cut off,” then it’s speaking to the “cut covenant,” the Abrahamic covenant. Recall the word for fire, “aish” (אש) resides in the center of the first word of Scripture, Bereshit, ב ר א ש י ת. Nadav and Avihu effectively “cut” themselves off, behaving as a spiritual harlot before our Creator. Hence, their judgment was swift.
Recall Aaron was not permitted to grieve for the death of his sons. Our current parasha tells us why.
V’Yiqra 16:1 – 13: “Now YaHaVah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before YaHaVah, and died; and YaHaVah said to Moses: ‘tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place (Holy of Holies) inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place (Holy of Holies): with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.
He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body (אֶת־בְּשָׂר֖וֹ ) in water, and put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall take the two goats and present them before YaHaVah at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for YaHaVah and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which YaHaVah’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering.
But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before YaHaVah, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar ( of incense) before YaHaVah, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before YaHaVah, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.”
This parasha relates to the holy incense and atonement, specifically the sixth of Yahs appointed times, Yom Kippurim.

The Holy Incense

As compounded, the incense offering [comprised of eleven fragrant spices]: and they are balsam, onycha, galbanum, frankincense, weighing 70 portions each; myrrh, cassia, spikenard, saffron, weighing 16 portions each; costus, 12 portions, aromatic bark 3 portions, and cinnamon, 9 [portions]. (Temple Institute)

The number eleven is associated with Y’sha, the root word for Yeshua. The spice portion amounts total 368; 3 + 8 +6 = 17. The seventeenth day of the first month is Yeshuas’ resurrection day.

The Altar of Incense was placed within the Holy Place directly in front of the partition, before the Holy of Holies.

It’s clear that the holy incense represents Yeshua. As you can see, Yeshua, as the incense, was positioned between the Great Altar and the Holy of Holies which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Consider Yeshua as a representation of each and every article of furnishing. These articles of furniture show us mans plan of redemption.

On the outside of the Mishkan boundary, man will present his personal sacrifice to the designated priest, step one. The sacrifice is then placed on the Great Altar, step two. The priest goes back and forth to the water laver, a picture of the earthly realm and the living water of Yeshua, step three.

The first three steps are located in the outer courtyard.
As we enter into the Holy Place, on the left or south side, the Menorah resides. The Menorah is the only light in an otherwise completely dark space. Yeshua said He is the “light of the world,” step four. The Table of Shewbread lies on the north side of the Holy Place. This article of furniture represents The Fathers provision which lies in His own Son. Yeshua as the “bread of life,” step five. The Altar of Incense, with Yeshua represented in the spices, act as the mediator between Yah and man, step six. Last, but certainly not least, is the Ark of the Covenant which dwells in the Holy of Holies. This article of furniture houses the Book of the Covenant, the tablets of testimony. It was Yeshuas own blood that ratified the Book of the Covenant. He is further represented in the covering, i.e. the “mercy seat,” on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, step seven. The number seven speaks to completion, i.e. the completed work of Messiah Yeshua Himself.
It’s atop the Ark of the Covenant where our atonement began. This parasha speaks to the atonement of the whole house of Israel. Think now by the process of being grafted in that we are also part of this esteemed assembly.
The Hebrew word for “atonement” is כָּפַר which is defined as to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation or cover over with pitch.
On Yom Kippurim, the Day of Atonements, Israels’ sins were “covered,” not removed.
Rom. 5:8 – 11: “But Yah demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to Yah through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in Yah through our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, through whom we have now received the reconciliation (atonement).
The Book of Hebrews relates to Yom Kippurim and the completed work of Yeshua the Mashiach.
Heb. 10:9 – 18: “Then He said, ‘behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Yeshua HaMashiach once for all. And every priest (Aaronic priest) stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘this is the covenant (Jer. 31:31) that I will make with them after those days, says YaHaVah: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them then He adds, their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.”
Recall there are two aspects to Yom Kippurim; atonement i.e. reconciliation and then judgment. The Great White Throne judgement will take place after the millennial kingdom has expired (Rev. 20:7), the Great Eighth Day!

Haftarah

Amos 9:7 – 15

V8 – 12: “Behold, the eyes of YaHaVah are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says YaHaVah. For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘the calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’ On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says YaHaVah who does this thing.”

Brit Chadasha

Heb. 9:11 – 12: “But Messiah came as High Priest (after the order of Melchizedek) of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
In conclusion, Parasha Acharei Mot, “after the death” speaks to Yeshua in the following ways:
1.) Since Yeshua is the physical manifestation of the spices used in the holy Incense, this means that Nadav and Avihu, by bringing profane fire, were acting as anti messiah. The recipe of the incense equals 368 which equals 17, His resurrection day.
2.) Yeshua, as the ultimate High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek, provided His own blood, pouring it out on the heavenly “mercy seat” to pay our sin debt once for all.

Parasha Kedoshim

קְדֹשִׁ֣ים meaning to be “sacred, holy, Holy One, saint or set apart”

Parasha Highlights:

Holiness, which is a reference to the Tree of Life
Forbidden mixtures, which is a reference to the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil
V’Yiqra 19:1 – 4: “And YaHaVah spoke to Moses, saying, speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘you shall be holy, for I YaHaVah your God am holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am YaHaVah your God. Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am YaHaVah your God.”
The Book of Kedoshim has only two chapters. It is very clear.
The Hebrew word for holiness is “kadosh,” קָדוֹשׁ which means to be ritually clean or pure. Kadosh comes from the root word קָדַשׁ which means to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified and be separate.
In its ancient form, kadash would read; “Position the back of your head toward the world, facing Jerusalem, enter the kingdom through Yeshua, the door who represents the Divine Presence.” The numerical value of kadash is 404; 4 + 4 = 8. Eight is the number of covenant. In order for The Father to consider us “holy” we must be in covenant with Him. Our face will be focused toward Jerusalem, the place where He placed His name forever.
It’s an important fact to note that “kadash” begins with the letter Quph. This is significant because the Hebrew language has two letters that produce a “hard K” sound, a Kaph and a Quph, each with its own meaning. So it should mean something when the Scripture uses the Quph.
The Quph has a numerical value of one hundred. This speaks to YaHaVah, the one Supreme being. It’s a picture of the back of a mans head. This fact may seem inconsequential to you, but I promise you it is very important.
For example…
Ge. 4:1: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain (קַיִן ) and said, ‘I have acquired a man from YaHaVah.’” **Cain means possession. You can see that his name begins with the letter Quph.
We are all familiar with the story of Cain having killed his brother Abel. When YaHaVah issued his punishment, i.e. to be cursed, a vagrant and a wanderer, where did he choose to go?
V 16 reads: “Then Cain went out from the presence of YaHaVah and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.”

The land of Nod lies in Mesopotamia. This region is where “sun worship would originate. Now think about his name, Cain, קַיִן. Cain chose to turn his head away from The Father. What else does his name tells us?

In its ancient form, Cain would read: “ He turned his back on The Father and the one who would throw the seed, His Word. He would turn his back on the heir, he was an anti Messiah.”

He could have chosen to reconcile with YaHaVah, but instead chose the opposite. He literally turned his back, his Quph, toward Jerusalem.

Ezekiel’s First Scroll

Vision of abominations in Jerusalem

The Book of Ezekiel makes this point very clearly.
8:1 – 18: “And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of YaHaVah Elohay fell upon me there. Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber. He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of Elohay to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.
And behold, the glory of the Elohay of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain. Then He said to me, ‘son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.’ So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance. Furthermore He said to me, ‘son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.’ So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then He said to me, ‘son of man, dig into the wall;’ and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. And He said to me, ‘go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.’
So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then He said to me, ‘son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols’? For they say, YaHaVah does not see us, YaHaVah has forsaken the land and He said to me, ‘turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.’ So He brought me to the door of the north gate of YaHaVahs house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
Then He said to me, ‘have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.’ So He brought me into the inner court of YaHaVahs house; and there, at the door of the temple of YaHaVah, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of YaHaVah and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, ‘have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger.’ Indeed they put the branch to their nose.”
Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
This block of Scripture is painting a dim picture of the whole house of Israel. They are committing abominations within the Temple precincts.
1.) The seventy men represent the nations, they would have been the Sanhedrin, Israels’ governing body. Just like Nadav and Avihu presenting their own profane fire, these seventy men also brought their own profane fire. They were engaged in spiritual adultery.
This narrative continues with the women weeping for Tammuz. Who was Tammuz? This ritual is known as lent in Catholic doctrine.
Tammuz was the son of Semiramis, whom she conceived by her husband Nimrod, after his death. Nimrod became synonymous with the sun god Baal.
The moral of this story is this, each of us should be careful where we choose to face because the back of our head will face either Jerusalem or not.
The twenty five men facing east are the twenty four priestly order along with their High Priest. While within the Temple precincts, this priesthood chose to turn their back on YaHaVah while facing the rising sun, Baal.
Let us all make a vow to keep our face turned toward Jerusalem, the place where YaHaVah said He would place His name forever. A better more loyal Melchizedek priesthood, walking in covenant fidelity.

Haftarah

Mal. 3:7: “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 YaHaVah of hosts. But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’

In what way will they return? Zech. 12:10: “Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns an only child, and weep bitterly for Him as one grieves a firstborn son.”
Is. 45:22: “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
Rev. 1:7: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him–even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.”
We are blessed beyond all imaginings to have recognized Yeshua as the promised Messiah. How little time they will have to know Him for those who resist the Spirit of Holiness!

Brit Chadasha

Heb. 7:23 speaks to Yeshua as our High Priest, Melchizedek, never losing His place because He is alive forever.

Heb. 10:26 “For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”
In conclusion, the holiness we are called to aligns our spirit, our neshama to The Father. Bound together for all eternity; us, The Father and His Son, Yeshua.
To be holy in the eyes of our Creator is so very simple. Keep His Sabbath day, observe His appointed times, His moedim and eat cleanly , so as not to pollute our own temple.
As always, the choice is ours!