©2 May 2014 Revive Israel Ministries

Son of Man

By Asher Intrater

Yeshua often referred to Himself as the "Son of Man," particularly in the gospel of Luke.  The word in Hebrew for man is adam--as in the first Adam; and in Aramaic is enash-- as in the first Enosh (Gen 4:26).  Here are five spiritual implications to the name "Son of Man:"

1. Adamic human being – Yeshua was really born into this world 2000 years ago and fully took on himself the body and nature of a human being (Luke 3:38).
2. Adamic earthly authority – the miracles that Yeshua did were an application of the far-reaching authority given by God at Adam's creation over every natural thing on earth (Genesis 1:26, Matthew 9:6).
3. Second human race – Yeshua started the second stage of God's destiny for the human race; He was parallel to the first Adam (Romans 5:14), representing the end of that stage, and beginning a new stage of Holy Spirit filled, resurrected Adams (I Corinthians 15:47).
4. Eternal king – The prophecy of the divine Messiah receiving an eternal kingdom from the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:13 refers to Messiah as bar enash.  Yeshua's use of this term identifies Himself as being that figure.
5. Throne of glory – Seated on the throne of God above the glory, fire and cherubim is one described as "like a man" (Ezekiel 1:26).  Yeshua's use of the term identifies Him with that figure seated there in the full manifestation of divine power.  

The term "Son of Man" expresses the full range of the mystery of Messiah, from human to divine.

By Ariel Blumenthal

Last month we wrote about the huge demonstration by Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) against the government’s plans to integrate them into the army and society in general.  For many Christians, especially those who love and pray for Israel, it can be difficult to understand how such a large part of Israeli society could take such an adamant position against the State of Israel.  In order to further your understanding and the accuracy of your prayers, we will continue to look at this phenomenon in this series of articles.

Historic Trauma

The problem begins almost 2000 years ago when the Jewish people twice rebelled against Roman rule, first in 68-70 AD—resulting in the destruction of the 2nd Temple; and then again from 133-136 in the so-called Bar Kochba Rebellion.  Both times, initial Jewish victories were met by overwhelmingly powerful Roman forces.  According to historians, the carnage of the 2nd Rebellion was particularly severe, as close to one million Jews were slaughtered and the rest taken into slavery.  From this time (136 AD), Jews were forbidden from settling the Land, and the name of Israel/Judah was changed by the Romans to Palestina. 

What is the connection with last month’s demonstration in Jerusalem?  Both rebellions, but especially the second one, were sanctioned and encouraged by the leading rabbis of the time.  In fact, Rabbi Akiva, who is considered to be one of the great figures of Rabbinic Judaism, took the lead in “anointing” the charismatic warrior, Simon Bar Kochba, as a kind of messiah and leader of the 2nd Rebellion.  Can you see the problem?  The responsibility for rebellion that led to the Roman “holocaust” of the Jews from 133-136 AD can be squarely laid at the doorstep of the very founders of today’s Orthodox Judaism!! 

As a result of this trauma, the rabbis of subsequent generations made a Talmudic vow: never again should the Jewish people rebel against foreign rule and storm “the wall” that separates the present Israel from the Israel of the Messianic Age.  In other words, until the Messiah comes and by manifestly divine power establishes Messianic Israel in the Promised Land, the Jewish people were religiously forbidden from taking matters into our own hands.  This is why the modern, Zionist restoration of Israel was led primarily by more secular, humanistic Jews--rather than religious ones (many of whom chose to stay in Europe and perished, along with millions of followers, in the ovens of Auschwitz!)  And, this is why, until this very day, Haredi Jews still have a problem with something like military service to a modern, democratic State of Israel that is clearly not yet the fullness of the Messianic Israel spoken of by the Biblical prophets.   

All religious Jews believe in the coming of the Messiah and his earthly reign from Jerusalem (it is prayed for at least twice daily!)  The question is not “if,” but “when” and, especially, “how?”  The terrible, prophetic “mis-reading” of the times by Rabbi Akiva and others almost 2000 years ago still blinds a huge sector of religious Jewry from seeing one of the great mysteries in the Scriptures: how the coming of the Messiah must be pre-staged by certain, real-time historical events.  And this is where we will pick up the story next time…

We only have a limited time to invest into a person, how do we choose the right people to build relationships with? In this message Asher speaks from Mark 6:12 on how Yeshua choose His disciples and what we can learn from this.