THE YOKE OF PROPHECY
THE YOKE OF PROPHECY - By Brother Rabbi Dani'el Rendelman
One of the most quoted sayings of the Savior is found in Matthew 11:28-30. This statement reveals much about salvation and surprisingly, end times events.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," Matthew 11:28-30.
This short section of scriptures shows the ministry of the Messiah and the hope for all mankind. He came to reveal the Father to the world. His life, death, and resurrection promise eternal life in the world to come and abundant life in this world. The sick, the tired, the lonely, and the lost can all come to the Savior and accept His rest. Notice, that he doesn't guarantee riches or honor. Instead he offers rest for the weary. Isn't this what we all really need? Well, a person receives his rest as one casts off the restraints and cares of this world and accepts the Savior's yoke of burden. What? Rest comes from wearing a yoke of burden?
Like a divine paradox, Y'shua promises rest and peace as a person accepts His yoke. To a modern day person accustomed to emails and cell phones, the idea of a yoke is foreign. Yet, in ancient cultures farming with a yoke was a common practice. A yoke was usually made of wooden beams and paired two animals together. The yoke helped the farmer steer the animals in the correct direction. The yoke would also balance the load to help the weaker animal. Throughout the Bible, the concept of a "yoke" is used in reference to submission. Exodus speaks of a yoke of Egyptian slavery that the Hebrews experienced. The books of Jeremiah and I Kings talk about the harsh yoke of kings. These ideas seem directly opposite to what Y'shua spoke of. The yoke of slavery is hard. Y'shua said his yoke is "easy." So, what did he really mean? *(Y'shua is the Hebrew name of the Savior given to Him by His Jewish parents in Luke 2. He was never called "Jesus" while He was on this earth.)
To learn the answer to this question we need to look to Jewish writings and culture, into which the Savior came. In Judaism there is a concept called the "yoke of the Kingdom." Jewish sages believe that everyone who strives to love **YHWH with all their heart, soul, mind and strength accepts upon themselves the "yoke of the Kingdom." One rabbi was written, "Every one who takes upon himself the yoke of the law / Torah removes from his shoulders the yoke of government and daily sorrows. But whoever removes the yoke of the law / Torah will be burdened with the yoke of government and daily sorrows," Mishnah Avot 3:6. **(YHWH is the ancient Hebrew name of the Almighty which He gave to mankind. The Scriptures declare that this is His name "forever, unto all generations." Unfortunately, this name has been hidden in English Bibles behind the words "LORD" and "GOD.")
The prophet Jeremiah agrees, "So I will go to the leaders and speak to them. Surely they know the way of YHWH, the requirements of YHWH. But, with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds," Jeremiah 5:5,6. The yoke of the kingdom is what Jeremiah calls "the way of YHWH, the requirements of YHWH." Y'shua's yoke is a synonym for kingdom rule of Heaven as revealed in the Torah. "Torah" is the Hebrew word often translated as "law" in English bibles. For many, the idea of "law" seems to be like a binding set of rules that hinder enjoyment. Don't think like this. Consider instead the Law to be like a stoplight that allows life, cautions when things aren't going right, and stops dangerous behavior. Torah is the ancient Hebrew word for teaching and instructions. Torah is more like instruction manual than it is a rulebook. Found within the Torah is our blueprint for living, with information on pretty much every part of life, from what to eat, to how to dress, and when to worship.
The Torah shouldn't be ignored as ancient rules but acted upon as instructions for living. Yet, the Torah can become a hard yoke of bondage and slavery. Weight is applied when people try to earn their salvation through works. This isn't what Y'shua intended. He said "my yoke (TORAH) is easy and my burden is light." How is the Torah made light? When we are yoked with Him we and realize that He carries the burden. Y'shua makes the yoke easy for us. The yoke of Y'shua was His burden of perfectly walking out the Father's will. His burden was to give His life as a living example and a living sacrifice. Y'shua's yoke is the kingdom rule. He showed us how to live. We should simply follow His example and yoke up with Him. This idea is supported by several other verses in the Newer Testament.
In Acts we learn that added unbiblical commandments are like a yoke of slavery. "Now therefore why do you tempt YHWH, to put a yoke upon the neck of the talmidim / disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" Acts 15:10, Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition.
"Added "works of law " of men being taught as if they were Torah cloud the difference between man' s law and YHWH's Torah. Neither Yisraelites of that day nor the disciples could keep all those added burdens, " wrote Rabbi Moshe Koniuchowsky.
Y'shua's yoke is easy and His burden is light. However, it is man made rules and regulations that weigh us down. The church and the synagogue keep folks busy with meetings and blind with man-made rules. Compared to the religious leaders of yesteryear and even our day, Y'shua's burden truly is light. "
Stand fast therefore in the liberty in which Moshiach has made us free, and be not harnessed again under the yoke of slavery," Galatians 5:1.
In these latter days, Y'shua's yoke is being revealed. People are taking a second glance at the ancient paths and changing their lives. Folks all over the world are accepting Y'shua's yoke and walking out the will of the Father. This restoration of the rule and reign of YHWH angers the adversary. He seeks to cast off the yoke of YHWH and place his heavy burden of sin and hatred upon the world. As prophesied throughout the Bible, the enemy is using descendants of Ishmael and Esav to wage ware against Bible believers. This holy war was prophesied in Genesis.
"And Esav said to his father, Have you not just one blessing, my abba / father? Bless me, even me also, O my abba. And Esav lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his abba answered and said to him, See, your dwelling shall be away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the shamayim from above; And by your sword shall you live, and shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall have the dominion, that you shall break his yoke from off your neck," Genesis 27:38-41.
Here Esav is prophesied to continue the enmity between brothers. His descendants will "live by the sword" and "break off" the yoke of Jacob / Yisrael. The yoke of Yisrael is the yoke of Y'shua – the rule and reign of YHWH. It is this Bible-based lifestyle that Esav hates. He is prophesied to break it off by the sword. The symbol of the crossed swords is the Islamic symbol of jihad. Esav through Islam is using the sword to cast off the yoke of YHWH. This prophecy is coming true today in our life, and in our times. The word "Islam" means "submission." This word perfectly describes the fight of the descendants of Esav to bring the world into submission their god.
History shows that the descendents of Esav became the Edomites – the sworn enemies of YHWH and Yisrael. The Edomites settled in the land of Turkey. In the Tenth century the Ottoman Turks came into contact with Islam. As the Ottoman Empire grew, it spread Islam all over the world. The Ottoman Empire / Turks reigned Asia, Europe and the Middle East for over six hundred years. And they ruled mercilessly by the sword. This last great word-wide empire came to an end shortly after World War I. The beast suffered a deadly wound. Yet, now the beast of Islam is coming to life again. Revelation 13:3," And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." As Islam emerges as the fastest growing religion, the world wonders. As Islamic terrorists kill women, men, and children, the world wonders.
Today the descendents of Esav are the Arab people, found mostly in Muslim countries. Many Muslims even claim to be the spiritual descendants of Esav. Through these people, Islam is using the sword to cast off the rule and reign of YHWH. Islam wants to occupy the land of Jerusalem and plunder the entire land of the modern Jewish State. "This is what the Sovereign YHWH says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland," Ezekiel 36:35. The Koran agrees, "their punishment is...execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from the opposite sides, or exile from the land." Sura 5:33.
Radical Islam is continuing the legacy of Esav today. What the media propagates as the war against terror is actually America's response to Esav's rebellion. This too is foretold in the Bible. Edom rages against YHWH's people scattered throughout the world. "Islam wishes to destroy all States and Governments anywhere on the face of the earth, which are opposed to the ideology and programe of Islam regardless of the country or the Nation which rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a State on the basis of its own ideology and program, regardless of which Nation assumes the role of the standard bearer of Islam or the rule of which nation is undermined in the process of the establishment of an ideological Islamic State," wrote Sayeed Abul A'la Maududi in his book Jihad in Islam. The Newer Testament says, "See that no one is godless like Esav, who in exchange for a single meal gave up his rights as the first born," Hebrews 12:15-17.
The players are in place for the battle of the ages. The Jihad is just beginning. Muslims are told in their own religious writings, "Prophet, make war on unbelievers and hypocrites, and deal rigorously with them." Sura 9:73. Islam is mounting its forces to spread its message of hatred and dominion from sea to shining sea. Esav is battling Israel to cast down the word and people of YHWH. But, YHWH in the end will cut off Esav and destroy the beast of Islam. We see this in Ezekiel 25 12-15, "Thus says YHWH, "Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred grievous guilt, and avenged themselves upon them," therefore, thus says the YHWH, "I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. And I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance."
Where will this battle of Islam and Israel end? Matthew 24 talks about the escalation of violent birth pangs that will lead up to the return of the Savior and the defeat of the beast. "
Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My Name, saying, I am the Messiah; and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of revolutions and rumors of wars:see that you be not troubled, or become foolish: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and malchut / kingdom against malchut: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets / neviim shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because Torah-less-ness shall abound, the love / ahava of many shall grow cold. But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And this good-news /besorah of the malchut shall be proclaimed in all the olam hazeh for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come," Matthew 24:4-14, Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition Version.
Events are happening all around us. We should be aware of beast and it's war against the kingdom of YHWH. Gaza pullouts, Lebanon cease-fires, Iranian nuclear threats, American terror warnings, and British would-be airplane bombers all play into the end-times scenario. Tensions will continue to increase until a leader arises and brings peace to the Middle East. A supposed peace treaty with Yisrael will violently end, engulfing the world into a huge war. This war is a spiritual one, pitting the sons of Israel against the sons of Esav. And the war has already begun. Islam is spreading its yoke of bondage across the world and casting off the rule of YHWH.
Y'shua has taught that his yoke is easy and light. His followers are to produce the fruit of love, joy and peace. We are to share the message of salvation by grace / chesed through faith / emunah. On the other hand, the yoke of Islam is filled with violence, hatred, and repression. What happens next on the stage of the world will continue to showcase this ancient battle. In the end, each and every person will have to choose to submit to yoke and rule of Yisrael or Islam.
__________________________________________________________________
One of the most quoted sayings of the Savior is found in Matthew 11:28-30. This statement reveals much about salvation and surprisingly, end times events.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," Matthew 11:28-30.
This short section of scriptures shows the ministry of the Messiah and the hope for all mankind. He came to reveal the Father to the world. His life, death, and resurrection promise eternal life in the world to come and abundant life in this world. The sick, the tired, the lonely, and the lost can all come to the Savior and accept His rest. Notice, that he doesn't guarantee riches or honor. Instead he offers rest for the weary. Isn't this what we all really need? Well, a person receives his rest as one casts off the restraints and cares of this world and accepts the Savior's yoke of burden. What? Rest comes from wearing a yoke of burden?
Like a divine paradox, Y'shua promises rest and peace as a person accepts His yoke. To a modern day person accustomed to emails and cell phones, the idea of a yoke is foreign. Yet, in ancient cultures farming with a yoke was a common practice. A yoke was usually made of wooden beams and paired two animals together. The yoke helped the farmer steer the animals in the correct direction. The yoke would also balance the load to help the weaker animal. Throughout the Bible, the concept of a "yoke" is used in reference to submission. Exodus speaks of a yoke of Egyptian slavery that the Hebrews experienced. The books of Jeremiah and I Kings talk about the harsh yoke of kings. These ideas seem directly opposite to what Y'shua spoke of. The yoke of slavery is hard. Y'shua said his yoke is "easy." So, what did he really mean? *(Y'shua is the Hebrew name of the Savior given to Him by His Jewish parents in Luke 2. He was never called "Jesus" while He was on this earth.)
To learn the answer to this question we need to look to Jewish writings and culture, into which the Savior came. In Judaism there is a concept called the "yoke of the Kingdom." Jewish sages believe that everyone who strives to love **YHWH with all their heart, soul, mind and strength accepts upon themselves the "yoke of the Kingdom." One rabbi was written, "Every one who takes upon himself the yoke of the law / Torah removes from his shoulders the yoke of government and daily sorrows. But whoever removes the yoke of the law / Torah will be burdened with the yoke of government and daily sorrows," Mishnah Avot 3:6. **(YHWH is the ancient Hebrew name of the Almighty which He gave to mankind. The Scriptures declare that this is His name "forever, unto all generations." Unfortunately, this name has been hidden in English Bibles behind the words "LORD" and "GOD.")
The prophet Jeremiah agrees, "So I will go to the leaders and speak to them. Surely they know the way of YHWH, the requirements of YHWH. But, with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds," Jeremiah 5:5,6. The yoke of the kingdom is what Jeremiah calls "the way of YHWH, the requirements of YHWH." Y'shua's yoke is a synonym for kingdom rule of Heaven as revealed in the Torah. "Torah" is the Hebrew word often translated as "law" in English bibles. For many, the idea of "law" seems to be like a binding set of rules that hinder enjoyment. Don't think like this. Consider instead the Law to be like a stoplight that allows life, cautions when things aren't going right, and stops dangerous behavior. Torah is the ancient Hebrew word for teaching and instructions. Torah is more like instruction manual than it is a rulebook. Found within the Torah is our blueprint for living, with information on pretty much every part of life, from what to eat, to how to dress, and when to worship.
The Torah shouldn't be ignored as ancient rules but acted upon as instructions for living. Yet, the Torah can become a hard yoke of bondage and slavery. Weight is applied when people try to earn their salvation through works. This isn't what Y'shua intended. He said "my yoke (TORAH) is easy and my burden is light." How is the Torah made light? When we are yoked with Him we and realize that He carries the burden. Y'shua makes the yoke easy for us. The yoke of Y'shua was His burden of perfectly walking out the Father's will. His burden was to give His life as a living example and a living sacrifice. Y'shua's yoke is the kingdom rule. He showed us how to live. We should simply follow His example and yoke up with Him. This idea is supported by several other verses in the Newer Testament.
In Acts we learn that added unbiblical commandments are like a yoke of slavery. "Now therefore why do you tempt YHWH, to put a yoke upon the neck of the talmidim / disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" Acts 15:10, Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition.
"Added "works of law " of men being taught as if they were Torah cloud the difference between man' s law and YHWH's Torah. Neither Yisraelites of that day nor the disciples could keep all those added burdens, " wrote Rabbi Moshe Koniuchowsky.
Y'shua's yoke is easy and His burden is light. However, it is man made rules and regulations that weigh us down. The church and the synagogue keep folks busy with meetings and blind with man-made rules. Compared to the religious leaders of yesteryear and even our day, Y'shua's burden truly is light. "
Stand fast therefore in the liberty in which Moshiach has made us free, and be not harnessed again under the yoke of slavery," Galatians 5:1.
In these latter days, Y'shua's yoke is being revealed. People are taking a second glance at the ancient paths and changing their lives. Folks all over the world are accepting Y'shua's yoke and walking out the will of the Father. This restoration of the rule and reign of YHWH angers the adversary. He seeks to cast off the yoke of YHWH and place his heavy burden of sin and hatred upon the world. As prophesied throughout the Bible, the enemy is using descendants of Ishmael and Esav to wage ware against Bible believers. This holy war was prophesied in Genesis.
"And Esav said to his father, Have you not just one blessing, my abba / father? Bless me, even me also, O my abba. And Esav lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his abba answered and said to him, See, your dwelling shall be away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the shamayim from above; And by your sword shall you live, and shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall have the dominion, that you shall break his yoke from off your neck," Genesis 27:38-41.
Here Esav is prophesied to continue the enmity between brothers. His descendants will "live by the sword" and "break off" the yoke of Jacob / Yisrael. The yoke of Yisrael is the yoke of Y'shua – the rule and reign of YHWH. It is this Bible-based lifestyle that Esav hates. He is prophesied to break it off by the sword. The symbol of the crossed swords is the Islamic symbol of jihad. Esav through Islam is using the sword to cast off the yoke of YHWH. This prophecy is coming true today in our life, and in our times. The word "Islam" means "submission." This word perfectly describes the fight of the descendants of Esav to bring the world into submission their god.
History shows that the descendents of Esav became the Edomites – the sworn enemies of YHWH and Yisrael. The Edomites settled in the land of Turkey. In the Tenth century the Ottoman Turks came into contact with Islam. As the Ottoman Empire grew, it spread Islam all over the world. The Ottoman Empire / Turks reigned Asia, Europe and the Middle East for over six hundred years. And they ruled mercilessly by the sword. This last great word-wide empire came to an end shortly after World War I. The beast suffered a deadly wound. Yet, now the beast of Islam is coming to life again. Revelation 13:3," And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." As Islam emerges as the fastest growing religion, the world wonders. As Islamic terrorists kill women, men, and children, the world wonders.
Today the descendents of Esav are the Arab people, found mostly in Muslim countries. Many Muslims even claim to be the spiritual descendants of Esav. Through these people, Islam is using the sword to cast off the rule and reign of YHWH. Islam wants to occupy the land of Jerusalem and plunder the entire land of the modern Jewish State. "This is what the Sovereign YHWH says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland," Ezekiel 36:35. The Koran agrees, "their punishment is...execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from the opposite sides, or exile from the land." Sura 5:33.
Radical Islam is continuing the legacy of Esav today. What the media propagates as the war against terror is actually America's response to Esav's rebellion. This too is foretold in the Bible. Edom rages against YHWH's people scattered throughout the world. "Islam wishes to destroy all States and Governments anywhere on the face of the earth, which are opposed to the ideology and programe of Islam regardless of the country or the Nation which rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a State on the basis of its own ideology and program, regardless of which Nation assumes the role of the standard bearer of Islam or the rule of which nation is undermined in the process of the establishment of an ideological Islamic State," wrote Sayeed Abul A'la Maududi in his book Jihad in Islam. The Newer Testament says, "See that no one is godless like Esav, who in exchange for a single meal gave up his rights as the first born," Hebrews 12:15-17.
The players are in place for the battle of the ages. The Jihad is just beginning. Muslims are told in their own religious writings, "Prophet, make war on unbelievers and hypocrites, and deal rigorously with them." Sura 9:73. Islam is mounting its forces to spread its message of hatred and dominion from sea to shining sea. Esav is battling Israel to cast down the word and people of YHWH. But, YHWH in the end will cut off Esav and destroy the beast of Islam. We see this in Ezekiel 25 12-15, "Thus says YHWH, "Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred grievous guilt, and avenged themselves upon them," therefore, thus says the YHWH, "I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. And I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance."
Where will this battle of Islam and Israel end? Matthew 24 talks about the escalation of violent birth pangs that will lead up to the return of the Savior and the defeat of the beast. "
Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My Name, saying, I am the Messiah; and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of revolutions and rumors of wars:see that you be not troubled, or become foolish: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and malchut / kingdom against malchut: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets / neviim shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because Torah-less-ness shall abound, the love / ahava of many shall grow cold. But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And this good-news /besorah of the malchut shall be proclaimed in all the olam hazeh for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come," Matthew 24:4-14, Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition Version.
Events are happening all around us. We should be aware of beast and it's war against the kingdom of YHWH. Gaza pullouts, Lebanon cease-fires, Iranian nuclear threats, American terror warnings, and British would-be airplane bombers all play into the end-times scenario. Tensions will continue to increase until a leader arises and brings peace to the Middle East. A supposed peace treaty with Yisrael will violently end, engulfing the world into a huge war. This war is a spiritual one, pitting the sons of Israel against the sons of Esav. And the war has already begun. Islam is spreading its yoke of bondage across the world and casting off the rule of YHWH.
Y'shua has taught that his yoke is easy and light. His followers are to produce the fruit of love, joy and peace. We are to share the message of salvation by grace / chesed through faith / emunah. On the other hand, the yoke of Islam is filled with violence, hatred, and repression. What happens next on the stage of the world will continue to showcase this ancient battle. In the end, each and every person will have to choose to submit to yoke and rule of Yisrael or Islam.
__________________________________________________________________
Comments
Comes an emotional tsunami
To wash away deceit--
Though it be "terrorist" or "commie"
Yet words have got to meet
The pavement on the road. Here candor
Has given way to lies and slander.
A tidal wave; and yet that person
As held unto a truth
Although the situation worsen,
Or though no more a youth,
Enduring to the end, may be
If not quite saved, to death kept free.