The Creation Gospel Podcast

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 50 - (A Concise History of the Beast) for week of January 8, 2023

As I glanced at the Zoom chat box after our weekly classes, this week, I realized that not everyone was clear on why we fast on the Tenth of Tevet. While most of my weekly online students have been with me for several years, newer students missed the Four Fasts and the Torah portions in which we unpacked some reasons why they appear in Zechariah. It dawned on me…if they missed some of the Four Fast teachings, then probably they’re a little lost when I discuss the Egyptian crocodile/serpent as the “father” of the beast kingdoms. It’s not that folks don’t try to catch up, it’s that the number of teaching videos available is overwhelming when one searches for a particular topic of interest. I can’t even remember what topic is in what videos!

In this week's episode, I will re-cap a 2020 teaching on the Torah portion Vayechi, which describes how Egypt became the crocodile/serpent and how Joseph lost his position as “father to Pharaoh.”

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 49 - (Twins of the Gazelle) for week of January 1, 2023

The Song of Songs is more than a love song between Israel and the Holy One; it is prophecy. We’ve worked our way through three chapters in the Footsteps of Messiah series to see if any of these Good News footsteps on the mountains fit our generation. As it turns out, the prophecies are a huge encouragement to those who find the Light of the Torah as part of their walk with the Beloved Yeshua. Loving the commandments as Yeshua urged is part of responding to those footsteps of return.

 

In Chapter Two, we saw the Beloved compared to a gazelle, a fast-moving animal. He returns at the cool of the day when the shadow flee; that is, they disappear quickly.

 

• “Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle…” (So 2:17)

 

Now we have arrived at Chapter Four of the Song of Songs, which contains some repetition from previous chapters. This allows the reader…if he or she has parsed the previous three chapters…to read more intelligently, to see more fine print of prophecy. This is a good opportunity to introduce a study tool for all Scripture study; it is handy to have in your toolbox!

 

The pattern is one of twins and pairs, or zugot. In the late Second Temple period, there were famous zugot, or pairs of rabbis, who complemented (and sometimes antagonized!) the work of another. Ezra and Nehemiah complemented the work of the other. Joshua and Caleb. You get the idea. 

 

Why is this important?

 

It won’t change the meaning of the verses you read, but it can enhance the significance of the verses when you are able to spot a pattern in context. For instance, let’s take a passage from Chapter Four. Try to spot twins, pairs, or equivalent expressions (one term or phrase similar to another) in the repetition:

 

How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful you are!

Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep which have come up from their watering place, all of which bear twins,

    and not one among them has lost her young.

Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is beautiful.

Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate behind your veil.

Your neck is like the tower of David, built with layers of stones on which are hung a thousand shields, all the round shields of the warriors.

Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle that graze among the lilies.

 

Repetition can signify importance or additional fulfillments of a particular prophecy. The Shir (Song) sometimes mentions “twins.”  The idea is that pairs or twins represent how “one opens the other.” Just as the firstborn "opens the womb" for the subsequent children, so the first prepares the way for the next. This may apply to people or commandments.

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Introduction To The Creation Gospel for week of December 25, 2022

This will be an overview of the seven days of Creation as prophecy as well as the foundation for THE CREATION GOSPEL ministry and teaching series.

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 48 - (Like the Days of Noah) for week of December 18, 2022

This week we are back with our series "Footsteps of Messiah" and we cover some family parables and the power of Dinah as well as touch on our continuing study in the Song of Songs.

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Leading the Flock Pt 3 (Is She Your Sister, Mister?) for week of December 11, 2022

This week's teaching is a free excerpt from Esther's Mysteries Behind the Mask.

 

The excerpt is Chapter Five, which gives a brief overview of the sister relationships that figure heavily in Torah prophecy, and even in the Song of Songs, where the Groom and His beloved have a "brother-sister" relationship. It is not creepy, but a parable to help the reader understand the "one flesh" aspect of humanity, who all descended from Adam. Adam points this out when he sees Eve (Chavah) for the first time and exclaims, "Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone." Likewise, Messiah Yeshua's Bride is part of his human flesh, a key component of understanding the Gospel. Because his flesh is their flesh, his "sister," they too can be resurrected with him.

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Leading the Flock Pt 2 (The Internet Illusion) for week of December 4, 2022

We've taken a break from the Footsteps of Messiah series while I present some principles of leadership from last week's Torah portion, Chayei Sarah. 

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Leading the Flock Pt 1 (Chayei Sarah) for week of November 27, 2022

One of the most distressing...if not THE most distressing thing...about learning Torah within a community is that it too frequently leads to learning Torah outside a community. In our livestream on Shabbat, I plan to present a simple overview of leadership principles that may help you whether you are a congregational leader, home fellowship leader, family leader, or just want to learn how to be a good follower.

 

Those community principles are often challenged because we don't have good study tools in our toolbox, and without them, we can adopt all kinds of variations of understanding and practice from a single commandment. Those variations become divisive when it affects what the community can observe together.

 

In this week's newsletter, I'd like to pass on to you what I spent lots of time and money learning in college. No charge! It can be of tremendous help when navigating through divergent understandings of Scripture. If we understand the difference between meaning and significance, it could squash a lot of arguments over what a Scripture means, especially when we look as smug as our friend up there when we're convinced we found THE explanation instead of ONE explanation.

 

For instance, over the last couple of years, we've been studying the Song of Songs. It is a parable, poetry, song, commentary, elucidation of Torah, and prophecy, so it is rich in symbolism, and we've enjoyed deriving lots of interpretations of each verse's significance based on passages with similar context and even Hebrew wordplay. When one encounters Biblical symbolism, it is important to remember:

 

When parsing a passage of Scripture, the application of wordplay should not derive a new meaning even though a new significance is expected.

 

Let’s review these two principles of hermeneutics and the definition of hermeneutics.

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 47 - (Slaughtered Gold) for week of November 20, 2022

“A canopy (apiron) has King Solomon made for Him, from the wood of Lebanon. Its pillars he made of silver; its covering was gold, its seat was purple wool, its inner side was decked with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.” (So 3:9-10)

 

 

This week, we continue from last week's lesson on the chariot of King Solomon. If you didn't have a chance to read it or print it, click here. We'll weave in a couple of themes from this week's Torah portion, Vayera, particularly the second time Avraham calls Sarah his sister and the binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah.

 

Vayera “and appeared”

Genesis 18:1-22:24

2 Kings 4:1-37

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 46 - (Chariots of Fire Pt 2) for week of November 13, 2022

There is an old parable of the king’s daughter that explains some points of the developing relationship between the King and His daughter, Israel, from the time He removes her from Egypt to the time He brings her across the Jordan into her inheritance. (Midrash to Shir HaShirim 3§15)

 

• When she was young and immature, he lavished love upon her openly and in public, such as the dividing of the Reed Sea. He spoke to her when they met in public places.
• When she grew, these open displays of affection were below her dignity and age, and he spoke to her and showed affection in private. Publicly, it looked as though he had abandoned her and inflicted harsh discipline, but he was still found by her in the private place (or as Yeshua said, “the closet” of prayer. This discipline was also love, maturing and testing her with a measure of suffering and grief.
• When she matured into an adult, the king wanted to discuss the weighty matters of the kingdom with her, so...
• ...he had a special pavilion built where they could hold their conversations without distraction or disturbance. The Mishkan was built in a place where Israel grew to maturity. It was a place where the Holy One could communicate with His People privately and collaborate with them free from the prying eyes of the nations around them. He could instruct them and empower them to rule the nations with His authority.

 

The special holiness of Jerusalem and the Temple reflect this private relationship of maturity. While the nations will bring their glory into the city at the appointed times (if they are allowed to enter the gates by the appointed tribe of Israel of that gate), permanent residency and abiding in the Presence is the reward of the King’s Daughter Israel. With King Messiah, she administers the King’s decrees and justice according to the Word she’s learned from within the “Clouds of Glory” during her wilderness journey. Exodus 26:1-37 gives the foundational structure of the Mishkan that is thought to be represented in the Song of Songs:

 

• “From the wood of Lebanon is like that which is stated, ‘You shall make the planks of the Tabernacle of acacia wood, standing erect.’ (Ex 26:15) – Its pillars he made of silver-these are the pillars of the Tabernacle Courtyard on which the lace curtains were hung, as it states...’its covering was gold’...this too, refers to the Tabernacle, as it states, ‘You shall make a partition of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wood, and linen, twisted (ibid, v. 31).”

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

 

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 45 - (Time Travel in the Footsteps of Messiah Pt 2 & Chariots of Fire) for week of November 6, 2022

If the picture of Israel coming up from the wilderness to cross into her inheritance is of the tribes, then those tribes are guarded and surrounded by those among them who can expertly wield the Word of Adonai, full of the Spirit and flowing with its Rivers as promised by Yeshua during the Feast of Sukkot (Jn 7:38). Even in the “terrors of the night,” the exile, these warriors commit themselves to protecting against the flood of evil that threatens the holiness of the House of Israel.

 

“The sixty mighty men-these are the sixty myriads (600,000) that came out of Egypt from the age of twenty years and above/below.” 3§14

 

• “Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children.” (Ex 12:37)

 

• “But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’” (Nu 11:21)

 

• “...even all the numbered men were 603,550.” (Nu 1:46)

 

• “...a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.” (Ex 38:26)

 

Why the disparity in the Midrash? Is it sixty myriads of mighty men above the age of 20 or below? 

 

The Midrash points back to the exact wording of the text from Song of Songs 3:7:

 

“...sixty warriors around it, of the warriors of Israel.”

 

הִנֵּה מִטָּתוֹ שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה שִׁשִּׁים גִּבֹּרִים סָבִיב לָהּ מִגִּבֹּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

 

The repetition in the verse describes sixty warriors from the warriors of Israel. The Hebrew preposition and prefix mem is read as “from,” so “from the mighty warriors of Israel.”

 

If there were sixty myriads in the wilderness 1) at the time of the Exodus, then the prophetic implication is that at the time of 2) the greater Exodus, there will be sixty myriads of mighty warriors descended from the original sixty myriads of the twelve tribes. As the verse could also describe 600,000 immediate descendants under the age of twenty, children from the original 600,000, so it could describe descendants of Abraham and Jacob who would also become sixty myriads of mighty warriors surrounding those traveling to the Promised Land.

 

• “I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord GOD...and I will purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will not enter the land of Israel. So you will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezek 20:34-36; 38)

 

Although many have been instructed in the Word, a day of judgment is coming for mankind. Either we will accept the measures of the Word in the wilderness of the peoples, or we will rebel against them, just as many Israelites did in the wilderness. Those who “come up” from the wilderness to reign with King Messiah will be those who accept the Word and agree to remediate any misunderstandings or gaps in understanding so that they may be faithful judges with King Messiah. From the Creation, the appointed times were set as measures of iron so that mankind could thrive on earth.

 

This helps us to draw an inference pertaining to the Creation Week.

 

On the First Day, Light was separated from darkness, and the earth had light, but not dependent upon sun or moon. Plants grew in the Light on the Third Day. In Revelation, plants once again grow in this supernal Light. (Re 21:23-26; 22:2; Ezek 47:12)

 

On the Fourth Day, the sun, moon, planets, and stars were put in place “for the sake of the moedim.” This proto-prophecy alerts us to the fact that there would be exiles of the night in which we would no longer spiritually discern the appointed times as in the Kingdom of Heaven, but would instead depend upon signs in the night. The shomrim (guards of the Torah and especially Shabbat) and sovevim (night watchmen) know the night watches.

 

This significant day of Creation was emplaced within a Creation that already had Light!

 

In CG Workbook One, you learned of the play-on word of moed, “from eternity.” 

 

The moedim are spiritually-discerned times, discernible from the Beginning, and discernible at the End, without the need of the natural substance of the heavenly bodies.

 

Although they were put as signs in the heavens, placing too much emphasis on the minutiae could lead one to forget that strife over such things may lead him/her AWAY from the goal of developing the spiritual perception of what time and times actually are: openings for obedience that stands eternally. In the reign of King Messiah Yeshua, mankind will regain the wisdom of the stork, who knows her “moed.”

 

• Even the stork in the sky knows her seasons [מֽוֹעֲדֶיהָ]; and the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane keep to the time of their migration; but My people do not know the judgment of the LORD. (Je 8:7)

 

What we learn of the moedim in natural time, we simply transfer into the realm of supernatural time, which does not depend upon the physical signs of sun, moon, or stars. It is spiritually discerned:

 

• I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Re 21:22-27)

 

There will be no “night” there, which means the inhabitants are no longer subject to the nights of exile from the Holy City Jerusalem.

 

• And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever. (Re 22:1-5)

 

The fruit will still be borne according to “time,” the months, yet a perception of the month beyond the physical world is granted to those who eat of the tree of life and are healed by it.

 

So is the Torah a Tree of Life or a Sword? Is the Word a rod of iron or an ageless support of Truth? 

 

Yes.

 

It’s never been a matter of whether the Torah was life and instructions in godliness. It’s only ever been a matter of how mankind perceived its seasons and brought forth its fruits. As we come up from the wilderness of the peoples, we travel in Clouds of Glory, or as the rabbis call them, Sukkot of Glory. We learn the Torah of Moses. We bring forth fruit with the Spirit promised by Yeshua at Sukkot. We aren't just marking time in the wilderness of the peoples; we are dwelling in Sukkot, a privilege we celebrate as the seventh moed, a number of completeness.

 

Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.