Moses “On the Mountain”

(Pastor John Johnson)

Text Ref: Exodus Chapters 19-34

The experience of Moses “On the Mountain,” at Mt. Sinai (representing Israel to Yahweh) is known as the “Betrothal Ceremony” of Yahweh with Israel (then and today). As Moses, at the end of his days, was about to release Israel to Joshua (about to cross over Jordan), he said in repeating the Mt. Sinai covenant issues:

Deut 29:12-15

12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: 13 That he may establish thee today for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: KJV

“Him that is not here with us this day,” IS ISRAEL… forever: and IS ALL believers in Yeshua and followers of His way of faith and conduct… keeping his statutes, ordinances and commandments… etc… yesterday, today and forever.

The Mt. Sinai covenant is known in Hebrew understanding as the Ketubah or “marital contract;” and, among believers (namely Messianic believers) it is the core of all foundational underpinnings that literally link believers to a Holy God (Elohim) in an “observable” way.

The giving of the “Law” on Mt. Sinai (better defined as “instructions” for the bride to be in a betrothed relationship, which Bride [for Yeshua (Jesus)] is only faithful born-again believers in Yeshua , who is the Bridegroom, who is to return for his Bride “without spot or wrinkle”), which “instruction” or Law [Torah] is known in Hebrew as “halacha” or a “way to walk or conduct one’s life.” It is THE ONLY Yahweh breathed “blueprint” or “description” of “holiness,” which defines “the bride to be.” Because Yeshua, the WORD of YHWH, is Torah [WORD which became flesh and dwelt among us]. Yeshua and Torah are inseparable and are one and the same. The world is “watching” the Bride… she (the TRUE Bride) only looks like Yahweh’s definition… She is Israel (the commonwealth of people who make up Biblical, faith believing people… who have been purchased by Yeshua’s Blood, and who keep themselves pure for His return). There is ONLY ONE “Biblically” defined Bride and “marital contract,” or “covenant,” that has ever existed from Yahweh to the Bride (Israel). There is no separate or “parallel” covenant with ANY church, people or nation. There is NO “new” or “different” covenant, although there is a “renewed” covenant, as Scripture defines in (Jer 31:33; Heb 10:16). This covenant, again, is ONLY with Israel. The “New Testament,” as most know to be a collection of books written after Yeshua’s resurrection, should more accurately be referred to as the “Apostolic Writings.” NOWHERE in the Scriptures is it ever called the NEW TESTAMENT by Yahweh… only by men; it is not so in the original language. To be “Scripturally accurate,” the proper name for the “renewed” covenant (Jer 31:33 Heb 10:16) in Hebrew is “Brit Chadashah.” The Hebrew mind reads the Bible from an “eastern,” or Hebraic customary and historical reference, not from a “western” or Greek-Hellenistic reference. Notably, it is said that more than 80-percent of the “NT” relates to how to live out the Torah. It IS NOT a replacement covenant by any definition… although misinformed teachings have mistakenly caused confusion in that direction. I must confess that I too (this writer) made all those same errors of reason before I understood the Scriptures in context (as read from Genesis first and then on through the Bible in proper order), WHO “Israel” is [Yahweh’s Israel], and with the corrected references concerning the Hebrew idioms and eastern customs and unadulterated history of the Bible itself and of the history of the “Church,” as handed down from Roman Catholic bias. The history of anti-Semitism, from the early Church of Rome, and the bias against believer’s confessing Yeshua within “Synagogues” (i.e., Saul [Paul] was bent on stamping out Yeshua confessing Torah keepers before his Damascus Road Conversion), were a “double-edged” sledge-hammer that gave fuel to the rejection of Torah and its demands on “lifestyles.” There is to be ONLY one “Wedding Feast of the Lamb,” one “New Jerusalem,” one Bride, and one Bridegroom… originally “contracted” on Mt. Sinai. Yahweh is not confused, however some people are.

It is believed, by many (if not most) Messianic Sages, that the vision of the Holy One on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:9-11) is in fact just one of the many “manifestations” of Yahweh [Yeshua], who are “Echad,” oneness or unity in the Hebrew, or “one in the same” deity. Hebrew thinking refuses to accept any view of the true Elohim of Israel other than a “monotheistic” Elohim (God). Thus the meaning of the Shema:

Deut 6:4-9

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. KJV

This verse (4) is said to be the main obstacle for Jews when “Christians” try to witness to “Jewish brethren” because of the unbiblical trinity teaching (rooted in Roman Catholic doctrine), and with its history of persecution (inquisitions) against the Judaic people that demanded they confess their (Roman) beliefs and refute their “Jewish” beliefs. It is also at the root of “dispensational” misgivings (The Bible is ONE). Hebrew people have forever been taught their Elohim is ONE… any other representation prevents any dialogue to progress. Believer’s in Yeshua, particularly in the last 20-25-years from the Messianic believer’s groups, have won more anti-Jesus (anti-Yeshua) “Jews” to Messiah (Yeshua/Jesus) than have all “Christian” outreaches up till that time… Because Messianic believers do not accept trinity teaching and they also embrace the “Shema.” This is a profound understanding. The fact is, that most Messianic groups, that embrace Yeshua as deity (Yahweh), do not require born-again Jews to forsake their beloved Torah… which brings the “completed bride” experience to these converted Jews. It is likewise a shame that “Christian Brethren,” who reject Torah as “halacha” or a “way to walk or conduct one’s life,” are sadly missing the “Yahweh Breathed” instructions for their “completed blessing” in their “bridal chamber,” as they wait for the call that “the Bridegroom Cometh.” Torah does by NO MEANS “save” anyone… it does however instruct us how to “keep the commandments,” (for receiving Yahweh’s blessings) as Yeshua requires of us in [John 14: 15-24]. AND, for a more complete list of Scriptural references where Yahweh tells us to KEEP HIS commandments, statutes, ordinances, ways, judgments, and the like… see the following Scriptures:

Genesis 17:9, Exodus 16:28, Exodus 19:5, Exodus 20:6, Leviticus 18:5, Leviticus 18:26, Leviticus 19:3, Leviticus 19:19, Leviticus 19:30, Leviticus 20:8, Leviticus 22:31, Leviticus 25:18, Leviticus 26:2, Leviticus 26:3, Deuteronomy 5:10, 1 Kings 3:14, 1 Kings 9:4, 1 Kings 9:6, 1 Kings 11:33, 1 Kings 11:38, 2 Kings 17:13, Nehemiah 1:9, Psalms 132:12, Proverbs 3:1, Proverbs 4:4, Proverbs 7:1, Proverbs 7:2, Proverbs 8:32, Isaiah 56:4, Ezekiel 20:19, Ezekiel 36:27, Ezekiel 44:24, Zechariah 3:7, John 8:51, John 14:15, John 14:23, John 15:10, 1John 2:3, 1John 3:22, 1John 5:2, 1John 5:3, Rev 12:17, Rev 14:12.

PLEASE NOTE: This same theme is from Genesis through Revelation… Both Old and New Testament… The Commandments of Yahweh [Yeshua/Word] are for ALL believers… it (Torah/Law/Instructions) is the “Ketubah” of the Bride… if YOU are to be the “Bride” that Yeshua is “preparing a place for,” you must understand that holiness can only be “observed” by example… NOT “mouthed” words alone. PROOF:

At the “Ketubah” on Mt. Sinai “Israel” said “I Do” (Exodus 19:8) following Yahweh’s divine instruction (Exodus 19:3-7)… to simply later worship the Golden Calf (Exodus Chapter 32). Note their “mouthed” words bound them to the covenant… and Yahweh’s judgment when their “mouthed” words were taken for granted and they went right out and did (actions) what they were told not to do. It is NO different TODAY… when we accept the Blood Sacrifice of Yeshua [Yahweh] for us (at Calvary), and we “mouth” our confession “I DO” [Ketubah], we are bound to the same “instructions,” [Torah] that was given at Mt. Sinai… which yet today contains BOTH the “Blessing” for obedience and the “Curse” for disobedience. The Torah is not for Salvation… it is for “identity.” The “identity” is how the “world” knows us… Israel (believers in Yeshua, who embrace Torah) is to be a “peculiar” people, unspotted by worldly lifestyles and customs. Torah is the ONLY way one can define what a “holy” people would look like. Torah is the ONLY way one can separate the “profane” from the “holy,” which separation process includes what customs are Biblical and which are unbiblical; and these are nowhere more contrasted than with which day one “keeps” Sabbath (7^th day/Saturday vs SUN day); holidays (Passover vs Easter), (Hanukkah vs Christmas), and all the “Feasts” Which are Yahweh’s Feasts [not the “Jews” Feasts]; which foods are “clean” and “unclean” and the list goes on. Only Yeshua [Yahweh] can “know” our heart… but the people on the “outside” can only “observe” our lifestyles and actions. Israel (Yahweh’s people) was and IS to be “Yahweh’s witness,” by “identity,” how else would you know them…?

Rev 12:17

17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. KJV

Rev 14:12

12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. KJV

Keeping in mind that the “Law” (instructions) generally referred to as the 613 commandments (all sub-categories of the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments)… which are said to be divided in first part “relationship to Yahweh,” and second part “relationship to others.” Remember that Yahshua said, when quoting the Torah, the following:

Matt 22:37-40

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. KJV

Most “Christians” are innocently misinformed and while they confess that Yeshua “lives” within them, they become completely shocked when they come to really understand that there is a “Torah observant, Sabbath Keeping, Kosher eating, and Feasts attending,” full blooded Jewish Rabbi living within them… trying to get their confused and misinformed “Greek-Hellenistic” mind’s attention… to draw them back to Mt. Sinai… and guide them into agreement with the “Ketubah.” This is a “last days” focus of the Messiah… preparing the mindset of Israel, His Bride. This is the “happening” of the new Millennium (year 2000) we just entered (relative to prophetic events we can appreciate), as thousands of true believers worldwide are coming out of “system” religions and seeking the true and eternal Tree of Life [Torah/Yeshua]. Likewise, hundreds of Orthodox Jews are awakening to the same thing… Yeshua IS Messiah… but with a Torah heart and lifestyle as represented by the Scriptures; not as a Torah-breaking Savior… as misrepresented by dogmatic institutional religion. This was all prophesied in the Scriptures, and is being discovered by a “moniker” called the “Two House” teaching. It is not a new teaching, it is as old as the Scriptures, but is has only been broadly discussed and proposed as relevant to our time in the last 8-10 years. It is simply amazing how clear the issues are related and how sharply the “pieces of the puzzle” fit, and how clearly the “dots” connect between Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), the Writings and the Prophets (Tanach, or All books of the Old Testament) and the “Apostolic Writings” (NT). There is NO more exciting discovery for the believer than to catch the Spirit in the fullest of the Torah and see the dynamic power of the Scriptures as the complete Bible is threaded together “flawlessly,” without contradictions and “mysterious” verses that used to seem difficult to fit into agreement from Genesis to Revelation. How great the Heavenly Father is to “remove the blinders” from off of our hearts and minds so we can see the clear picture of His Word unfolding in the world happenings around us and in our own lives as we place our complete trust in Him. He has promised us the “Spirit of Truth,” the precious Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh, in the Hebrew), to lead us into all truth. His Torah and His Spirit are ALWAYS in agreement. Yeshua, our advocate, who “sits at the right hand of our Heavenly Father,” is the living Messiah in us by His Spirit. Let us hold fast to the “hope that is within us, Yeshua HaMoshicah (Jesus the Messiah), the “hope of glory.”

As we draw near the end of this article I would like to add what I believe is the definition of “Israel” [Yahweh’s Biblical Israel] which was a real help to me in coming to understand the relationship I personally have with the “Mt. Sinai” experience. I wrote this definition after a great deal of research from Bible Scripture References, Scholarly Writings (of many different learned educators and historians), and Secular References (encyclopedia and Bible Reference Textbooks), and it was months in the making.

“From the beginning Yahweh has only had ONE people with whom He made a covenant, and with whom He refers to making a new (renewed) covenant with; those people were (and are) called “Israel.” They are identified (yesterday, today and forever) as those who embrace Torah (keep His Commandments as Yeshua taught), love Yahweh (and in the “renewed covenant” receive His Son Yeshua the Messiah and His blood sacrifice for salvation), and are joined by faith to the Commonwealth of ONE PEOPLE… Israel. This is not a “church,” “nation,” “bloodline,” or “political” people… IT IS A FAITH PEOPLE. There will be some “nation” Jews included, some “bloodline” Jews and Israelites included, and there will be some “gentiles” included, known as “companions” according to the Scriptures (Ezk 37:15-28). Most of the “Israelites,” or the scattered seed of the Northern Kingdom (Israel, 10 tribes), and “their companions,” are today, for the most part, scattered in among the Christian Churches worldwide (they are people, not “churches”)… and are being called out and back to their Hebraic roots... Torah.”

I believe with all my mind and heart that the preceding is Scripturally solid. However, you are advised to be like those at the “Berean” synagogue (when Paul and Silas were teaching) where Jewish believers (and Greeks) did search the Scriptures “daily” to see if this be so” (Acts 17:10-12).

When our understanding is “opened,” and we discard all our traditions and concerns for what people think (family and friend alike), and concern ourselves only with what Yahweh thinks… we are free from all hindering powers that try to steal our “covenant” rights, which Yahweh handed down to US by (through) Moses on Mt. Sinai. Remember the piercing words of Yeshua who said to the Pharisees & Sadducees (religious leaders bound up in their own traditions, NOT Torah teachings):

John 5:46-47

46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? KJV

We MUST believe Moses Writings… Torah. Yeshua said, “IF YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE MOSES WRITTEN WORDS, HOW SHALL YOU BELIEVE MY WORDS?” Yet, tragically today, confused theology continues to dispute Moses as “for us today.”

Yeshua said “Do not even think” that I came to do away with the Law (Torah/Himself):

Matt 5:17-18

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. KJV

The Mt. Sinai experience is our foundation of order… Torah is our instruction; it is our only way to “identify” ourselves (observably) to both Yahweh and man. Living it “marks” us as “belonging to Yahweh” to the world’s eyes. Yeshua is our salvation; Him living in us “marks” us to Spiritual powers, dominions and principalities… He is our “seal” or “down payment,” which “seal” the reaping angles will note when the harvest of souls has begun… so our “redemption” can be completed when they gather us in and destroy the “tares.” Yeshua’s part of saving us is done, our part of “working out our own salvation with fear and trembling,” (Phil 2:12) is living in obedience to Torah. That is what the entire second Chapter of Philippians is about. It is for this purpose that Yahweh intended for “Israel” to have both Torah and Yeshua… as Yeshua was sent “to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” His job of gathering in the sheep (which job He also appointed unto us) was to bring the “exiles” (chosen ones) back to the Father. The scattering of the “Northern Kingdom” House of Israel, or the Ten Tribes, (and much of Southern Kingdom, Judah/Benjamin) is done… the times of the “Gentiles” is about to come to an end, if NOT ended. The time in which we live is the time for the reuniting of the House of Israel and Judah (bringing the “Two Houses” together). The completed work of this joining, in my understanding of the Scriptures, will only fully consummate when Messiah returns at the Millennial Kingdom beginning and finishes the job. It is therefore of utmost importance to every believer to get hold of the truth and move it forward for the gathering in of the “exiles.” We are all “in exile” from the Land and the New Millennial Kingdom to come, of course, as far is the “completed” Kingdom is concerned, however the “regrouping” of Yahweh’s Israel is to be affected as best we can work to achieve… while we wait for the completion of all things.

Shalom.

E.O.F.