Theocracy, Autocracy, or Democracy?
theocracy - government in which 'Elohiym is recognized as the only authority.
autocracy - government in which one person has unlimited authority; the government of an autocrat.
democracy - government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
One of the reasons for the decadence of Christian Organized Religion is socialistic humanism. Christian Organized Religion has become social organizations guided by man. There is no desire, nor knowledge of a need of Yeshuwah haMashiyach. There is not even a real belief that He exists as the actual authority.
Man has become a god unto himself. Man desires to place himself on the Throne of 'Elohiym and worship himself. Chatta’ also desires other people to worship him. This was haSatan's original sinful desire, and has evidenced itself again in the heart of chatta'ah man.
"You will not surely die," the Nachash said to the woman. "For 'Elohiym knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like 'Elohiym, knowing good and evil."
You said in your heart, "I will ascend to Shamayim; I will raise my throne above the stars of 'Elohiym; I will sit enthroned on Har- Mow'ed, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like `Elyown!"
You belong to your father, haSatan, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the Truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The structure that is followed by most of Organized Religion with the pastor (rabbi, minister, priest, etc.) as the primary autocratic authority positioned between 'Elohiym (Yeshuwah) and man was passed down from the heresy of the Roman Catholic Church and was patterned after the Levitical Khunnah that was done away with by Yeshuwah.
Yeshuwah is the only authority in His Body, and will not share His authority with anyone.
Yeshuwah called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- just as the Son, the Man, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for man."
The Roman Catholic Church falsely claims that Cephas was their first Pope, and that Yeshuwah directed His Qahal to be built on Cephas. What a ridiculous assertion!
"But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say I am?" Shim'own Cephas answered, "You are the Mashiyach, the Son of ‘El Chay- 'Elohiym." Yeshuwah replied, "Blessed are you, Shim'own son of Yownah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in Shamayim. And I tell you that you are Cephas, and on this Tsuwr I will build My Qahal, and the gates of Sh'owl will not overcome it.
The Roman Catholic Church IS built on the authority of the Pope and the church leadership. Fortunately, that is not the Qahal that Yeshuwah is building. The "Rock" upon which Yeshuwah stated that He would build His Qahal is Yeshuwah Himself. The focus is on Yeshuwah, not Cephas. The authority figure is Yeshuwah, not the leadership of Organized Religion. The Roman Catholic Church has placed Cephas, and their Pope, in the authority position of the Messiah. The rest of Christian Organized Religion is following the Catholic Church in placing their leaders in the authority position that belongs to Yeshuwah. No single person was to position themselves between the Faithful and Messiah Himself in an authority position. Yeshuwah is our Kohen Gadowl and only authority after the crucifixion.
'Elohiym destroyed man as Kohen haGadowl at the Crucifixion when He tore the Poreket in two from top to bottom:
At that moment the Poreket of the Heykal was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
Every individual had the opportunity to go into the Qodesh haQadashiym and commune personally with 'Elohiym. The salvation of your individual soul is with Yeshuwah.
Therefore, since we have a great Kohen Gadowl who has gone through Shamayim, Yeshuwah, the Son of 'Elohiym, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a Kohen haGadowl who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet did no chata’. Let us, then, approach the Throne of Chanuwn with confidence, so that we may receive racham and find checed to help us in our time of need.
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to Eohiym, to offer gifts and sacrifices for chatta'ah. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own chatta'ah, as well as for the chatta'ah of the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by YHWH, just as 'Aharown was. So the Mashiyach also did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming Kohen haGadowl. But YHWH said to Him,
"You are My Son; today I have become 'Abiyka. "
And He says in another place,
"You are Kohen `Owlam, in the order of Malkiy-Tsedeq."
During the days of Yeshuwah's life on earth, He offered up tphillowt and tachaniym with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from maveth, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made Tamam, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, and was designated by YHWH to be Kohen haGadowl, in the order of Malkiy-Tsedeq.
We have this hope as an anchor for the nephesh, firm and secure. It enters the Qodesh behind the Poreket, where Yeshuwah, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a Kohen Gadowl forever, in the order of Malkiy-Tsedeq.
This Malkiy-Tsedeq was king of Shalem and Kohen of 'El 'Elyown. He met 'Avraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and 'Avraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Shalem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of 'Elohiym, he remains a Kohen forever.
Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch 'Avraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the Torah requires the descendants of Leviy, who become Koheniym, to collect a tenth from the people--that is, their brothers--even though their brothers are descended from 'Avraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Leviy, yet he collected a tenth from 'Avraham and blessed him who had the promises. And, without doubt, the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Leviy, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through 'Avraham, because when Malkiy-Tsedeq met 'Avraham, Leviy was still in the body of his ancestor.
If perfection could have been attained through the Leviyim Khunnah (for on the basis of it the Torah was given to the people), why was there still need for another Kohen to come--One in the order of Malkiy-Tsedeq, not in the order of 'Aharown? For when there is a change of the Khunnah, there must also be a change of the law. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the Mitsbeach. For it is clear that the Lord descended from Yhuwdah, and in regard to that tribe Mosheh said nothing about Koheniym. And what we have said is even more clear if another Kohen, like Malkiy-Tsedeq, appears, One who has become a Kohen, not on the basis of a regulation as to His ancestry, but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.
For it is declared:
"You are Kohen forever, in the order of Malkiy-Tsedeq."
The former regulation is set aside, because it was weak and useless (for the mitsvah made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to 'Elohiym. And it was not without an oath! Others became Koheniym without any oath, but He became Kohen with an oath when YHWH said to Him:
"YHWH has sworn and will not change His mind: `You are a Kohen `Owlam.' "
Because of this oath, Yeshuwah has become the guarantor of a better Briyth.
Now there have been many of those Koheniym, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but, because Yeshuwah lives forever, He has a permanent Kahen. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to 'Elohiym through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.
Such a Kohen Gadowl meets our need--One who is Qodesh, Naqah, Taher, set apart from rasha'iym, exalted above Shamayim. Unlike the other Koheniym haGadowl, He does not need to offer zabach day after day, first for His own chatta'ah, and then for the chatta'ah of the people. He sacrificed for their chatta'ah, once for all, when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as Koheniym haGadowl men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made Tamiym forever.
The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a Kohen Gadowl, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in Shamayim, and who serves in the Qodesh, the true Miqdash set up by YHWH, not by man.
Every Kohen Gadowl is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer. If He were on earth, He would not be a Kohen, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the Law. They serve at a Miqdash that is a copy and shadow of what is in Shamayim. This is why Mosheh was warned when he was about to build the Miqdash: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." But the ministry Yeshuwah has received is as superior to theirs, as the Briyth of which He is Mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first Briyth, no place would have been sought for another. But YHWH found fault with the people and said:
"Behold, the days of ba’iym, declares YHWH, when I will make a Briyth Chadashah with the house of Yisra'el and with the house of Yhuwdah. It will not be like the Briyth I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Mitsrayim, because they did not remain faithful to My Briyth, and I turned away from them, declares YHWH.
This is the Briyth I will make with the house of Yisra'el after that time, declares YHWH. I will put My Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their 'Elohiym, and they will be My people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother, saying, `Acknowledge YHWH,' because they will all acknowledge Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their 'avon and will remember their chatta'ah no more."
By calling this Briyth "chadashah," He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Now the first Briyth had regulations for service and also an earthly Miqdash. A Mishkan was set up. In its first room were the mnowrah, the shulchan and the ma`areketh; this was called the Qodesh. Behind the second poreketh was a room called Qodesh haQadashiym, which had the golden Mizbeach of incense and the gold-covered 'Arown haBriyth- YHWH. This Ark contained the gold jar of manna, the staff of ‘Aharown that had budded, and the stone tablets of the Briyth. Above the Ark were the kruwbiym of the Kabowd, overshadowing the kaphar cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
When everything had been arranged like this, the Koheniym entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only Kohen haGadowl entered the Qodesh haQadashiym, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the chatta'ah the people had committed in shgagah. Ruach haQodesh was showing by this that the Way into the Qodesh haQadashiym had not yet been disclosed, as long as the first Mishkan was still standing. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings--external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
When Mashiyach came as Kohen Gadowl of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect Mishkan that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered Qodesh haQadashiym, once for all, by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who are tame', set them apart, so that they are outwardly taher. How much more, then, will the blood of Mashiyach, who, through the eternal Ruach haQodesh, offered Himself unblemished to YHWH, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve ‘El Chay!
For this reason Mashiyach is the Mediator of a new Briyth, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that He has died as a ransom, to set them free from the chata' committed under the first Briyth.
In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first Briyth was not put into effect without blood. When Mosheh had proclaimed every mitsvah of the Torah to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, "This is the blood of the Briyth, which YHWH has commanded you to keep." In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the Mishkan and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the Torah requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no calach.
It was necessary, then, for the copies of the Divine things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the Divine things themselves, with better sacrifices than these. For Mashiyach did not enter a man-made Mishkan, that was only a copy of the true one; He entered Shamayim itself, now to appear for us in the Presence of 'Elohiym. Nor did He enter Shamayim to offer Himself again and again, the way Kohen haGadowl enters Qodesh haQadashiym every year with blood that is not his own. Then Mashiyach would have had to suffer many times, since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared, once for all, at the end of the ages, to do away with chatta'ah by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Mashiyach was sacrificed once, to take away the 'avon of rabiym; and He will appear a second time, not to bear chatta'ah, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
The Torah is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices, repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their chatta'ah. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of chatta'ah, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away chatta'ah.
Therefore, when Mashiyach came into the world, He said:
"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You have opened ears to me; `olah offerings and chatta'ah offerings You do not request. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come--it is written about Me in the scroll. I desire to do Your will, O 'Elohay...' "
First He said, "Sacrifice and offering, 'olah offerings and chatta'ah offerings You did not request" (although the Torah required them to be made). Then He said, "Here I am, I have come to do Your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made qadoshiym through the sacrifice of the body of Yeshuwah, once for all.
Day after day, every Kohen stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away chatta'ah. But when this Kohen had offered, for all time, one sacrifice for chatta'ah, He sat down at the right hand of 'Elohiym. Since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool, because, by one sacrifice, He has made perfect forever those who are being made qodesh.
Ruach haQodesh also testifies to us about this. First She says:
"This is the Briyth I will make with them after that time, says YHWH. I will put My Torah in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts."
Then She adds:
"Their 'avonowt and chatta'ah I will remember no more."
And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for chatta'ah.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter Qodesh haQadashiym by the blood of Yeshuwah, by a new and living Way opened for us through the Poreketh, that is, His Body, and since we have a Kohen haGadowl over Bayith 'Elohiym, let us draw near to 'Elohiym with a sincere heart, in full assurance of 'emuwnah, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from 'avon, and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is 'emuwnah. And let us consider how we may spur one another on, toward checed and good work. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Yeshuwah taught against submission to an autocratic earthly spiritual leader. In a direct violation of the directions given by Yeshuwah, the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church teaches to address their leaders as "father."
Then Yeshuwah said to the crowds and to His talmiydim: "The teachers of the Torah and the Pharisees sit in Mosheh's seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.'
But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth `father,' for you have one Father, and He is in Shamayim. Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Rab, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
As He taught, Yeshuwah said, "Watch out for the teachers of the Torah. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."
Yeshuwah stated that He is the Lord and Teacher, and the talmiydim recognized Him as such:
When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" He asked them. “You call Me 'Rabbi' and '`Adown,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your `Adown and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
After teaching against submission to an autocratic earthly spiritual leader, Yeshuwah did not correct Yhuwdah when Yhuwdah called Him Rab, because Yeshuwah is the Rab, Master and `Adown:
Then Yhuwdah, the one who would betray Him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbiy?" Yeshuwah answered, "Yes, it is you."
Yeshuwah stated that all authority in Shamayim and ha'arets has been given to Him, and that He would be with the Believers always. If Yeshuwah - the authority - is always with the Believers, where is the desire for personal authority over them coming from? When the false messiah, false prophet, or anyone else places themselves in a position of authority over the Believers, whose position are they taking?
Then Yeshuwah came to them and said, "All authority in Shamayim and ha'arets has been given to Me. Therefore go and make talmiydim from among all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Ruach haQodesh, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
HaSatan desires to be 'Elohiym and rule through authority. His desire for control is not for the love of the creation, but because of his rebellion against the Creator. The control over man that haSatan desires is to satisfy his aspirations to be 'Elohiym. Many preachers have positioned themselves in the Kohen Gadowl position of Yeshuwah and have acquired a control lust of their parishioners in lesser and greater degrees. This is the exact same control lust that has infected haSatan and will infect the false messiah and false prophet.
The Pharisees loved to be elevated above the people in order to receive praise and honor from men:
Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only 'Elohiym?
Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their ‘emuwnah for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from 'Elohiym.
Yeshuwah cautioned His talmiydim to beware of those who were attempting to elevate themselves above them.
While all the people were listening, Yeshuwah said to His talmiydim, "Beware of the rabbis of the Torah. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."
ANY person who exalts his own knowledge or his own significance does not have much knowledge of, and has never been close to, 'Elohiym. If he had much knowledge of, or had ever been close to, 'Elohiym, by contrast he would recognize and be overwhelmed by his own complete and total insignificance.
