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The previous section was focused on the heritage of True Israel.
In this section we will discuss who the Messiah is, to Israel.
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The Awakening is a call to remembrance.
It is an invitation for all the scattered children of Israel,
and indeed all who seek the Way of Truth among the Gentiles,
to rediscover the ancient spiritual heritage
that has long been obscured by generations of religious traditions,
historical upheavals, and institutional misinterpretations.
Yet within this awakening lies a profound danger — one that is often overlooked.
As many begin to rediscover their Israelite identity, Hebrew heritage
and ancestral customs that appear to run parallel with the Scriptures of ancient Israel,
the very Messiah who stands at the centre of Israel's promised restoration can gradually become less significant in their understanding, their devotion and dimmed their spiritual perception.
For some, the rediscovery of their Hebrew roots becomes an awakening to the Levitical Torah,
the appointed times, the Sabbaths, the ancient language, and the customs of their forefathers.
These discoveries often bring an exciting sense of identity, belonging, and spiritual purpose.
However, amid this renewed emphasis upon ancestral heritage and identity,
the Messiah Himself may increasingly become a secondary consideration.
This is one of the great contradictions within certain expressions of the Hebrew Roots and Israelite Awakening movements.
How can a people awaken to their identity as Israel,
yet lose sight of the very Messiah through whom the Father has purposed to bring about their restoration?
To understand this contradiction, we must recognise the complicated relationship between the historical figure of the Messiah and the religious institutions that have claimed to represent Him.
Within mainstream Judaism, Yeshua of Nazareth is not recognised as the promised Messiah.
Perspectives concerning Him vary considerably.
Some regard Him as a historical Jewish teacher, others reject His messianic claims, while many simply do not consider Him central to their religious understanding in any sort of way.
Among those who have emerged from Christianity into an awareness of its Hebrew roots,
a different difficulty frequently arises.
For many, Christianity has become associated with the historical suppression of ancestral identity,
the displacement of ancient traditions, religious coercion, colonial domination, enslavement and the suffering of their forefathers.
The historical misuse of Christian institutions and teachings has consequently created deep suspicion toward the religious traditions through which they were first introduced to the Messiah.
In their desire to recover what was lost, some begin to distance themselves not only from institutional Christianity, but also from the Messiah Himself.
Others attempt to redefine Him entirely within the framework of the Torah and its Levitical ordinances, without adequately recognising the greater and more ancient spiritual order to which His priesthood belongs.
The result is that the Messiah may simply become little more than an accompanying figure within a newly rediscovered system of religious observances.
Yet this response risks repeating the very error from which the Great Awakening seeks to deliver us: substituting external religious structures for the deeper reality of the Father's eternal Way of Righteousness.
Here we must establish a fundamental distinction.
The failures of institutional Christianity must never be confused with the character, message, mission, or identity of the Messiah of Israel.
The historical conduct of religious organisations, however influential or widespread,
cannot in itself determine the truth or significance of the one they profess to represent.
The corruption of religious institutions does not invalidate the mission and righteousness of the Messiah, nor does it diminish the truth of His teachings.
The manipulation of His message for political, economic, or social domination does not alter the purpose for which He came.
Nor does the failure of Christians to demonstrate His character mean that His mission has somehow become irrelevant.
Indeed, when we examine the accounts of His earthly ministry,
we discover that the Messiah Himself confronted religious hypocrisy,
the corruption of spiritual authority, and the elevation of human traditions above the Father's instructions.
He repeatedly directed attention away from outward displays of religious superiority,
and toward the weightier matters of justice, mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness.
The Messiah did not come to establish another institution through which mankind might exercise religious domination over others.
He came proclaiming the charater of the Father, which is the very nature of His Kingdom
—calling people to repentance and revealing The Way of Truth.
Therefore, those seeking to return to the Ancient Paths must learn to discern and distinguish the Messiah from the religious systems that subsequently leveraged upon His ministry to pursue their own ends.
To reject the errors of Christianity is not to reject the Messiah.
To recover the heritage of True Israel is not to diminish His place,
but to rediscover the true significance of His mission.
He is after all, the Messiah of Israel and Aaron — of both the righteous,
and the wayward.
The Messiah was not introduced to history as the representative
of a later religious institution known as 'Christianity.'
He was born among the people of Israel — specifically among the Essenes.
His ministry unfolded within the spiritual, historical and cultural context of True Israel
— the followers of The Way of Jeshurun and keepers of the Covenant of Abraham.
His teachings drew upon the Scriptures and prophetic promises entrusted to Israel.
His message concerned the Kingdom of the Father,
the restoration of righteousness, and the fulfilment of the covenant promises.
He was identified as the 'Son of David,' the 'King of the Jews,' and the promised Messiah.
He understood His earthly mission in relation to the wayward (lost) sheep of the house of Israel
(Matthew 15:24), extending outwards to the nations.
He cannot therefore be meaningfully separated from the history, prophecies, and spiritual destiny of Israel.
For those who have awakened to their Hebrew heritage,
the Messiah should consequently become more significant, not less.
The rediscovery of Israel's true history must lead us to a deeper understanding of His purpose.
The recovery of the ancient covenant, must lead us to examine His own relationship to that covenant.
The return to the Ancient Paths must lead us to understand
why He is rightly identified as a High Priest forever after the Order of Melchizedek.
Perhaps the most important revelation concerning the Messiah,
is that His priesthood does not derive from the Levitical Order.
The Epistle to the Hebrews in Chapter 7 makes this distinction unmistakably clear.
The Levitical Priesthood was established by wayward Aaron — a descendant of Levi,
passed down through genealogical succession,
and governed by the blood sacrifice ordinances of the Levitical Torah and Temple.
But the Messiah's priesthood belongs to an altogether eternal order.
He was not appointed according to the genealogical requirements governing the sons of Levi.
Rather, His priesthood is identified with the eternal Order of Melchizedek,
the priesthood associated with righteousness, peace, and the power of an indestructible life.
"You are a priest forever, after the Order of Melchizedek."
(Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:17)
This distinction is foundational to the true meaning of the Great Awakening.
For if the Messiah Himself ministers after the Order of Melchizedek,
then His mission cannot be properly understood through the context and perspective of the Levitical Priesthood.
The restoration to which He calls the children of the Father,
concerns the restoration of righteousness, the renewal of the heart,
the reconciliation of humanity with the Father, with all of Creation,
and the recovery of the Way of Truth established from the beginning.
The Messiah must therefore be understood in the light of the ancient spiritual heritage that preceded Moses, Sinai, and the establishment of the Levitical Priesthood at the behest of wayward Aaron.
He is not merely a figure to be fitted into the recovered traditions of ancient Israel.
He is the Messiah through whom the Father's enduring character of righteousness and peace
is revealed and by whom His purposes are fulfilled.
If we are to understand who the Messiah truly was,
we must return to the historical and spiritual context in which He was born, raised and lived.
We must examine His birth, His upbringing, His teachings, His relationship with both those who loved him and those who did not, and the Essene Community culture that shaped His beliefs.
We must also reconsider the diversity of religious institutions that existed among the people of Israel during His earthly ministry.
Not all communities accepted the religious authority of the Temple establishment.
Not all understood righteousness, priesthood, purity,
or the coming of the Messiah through the same religious framework.
Among the most intriguing of these communities were the Essenes
— Communities of Righteousness associated with disciplined communal living, ritual purification,
ancient expressions of righteousness,
and profound separation from the vestiges and influences of the Temple religion.
The Essenes are also the community responsible for preserving manuscripts found near Qumran,
commonly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
These ancient writings offer valuable insight into the expectations, covenantal understandings, and spiritual controversies that characterised the world into which the Messiah was born.
Within the perspectives explored in the Book of Remembrance,
the Essenes were concerned with the preservation of ancient ideals,
the pursuit of righteousness and expectations surrounding the coming Messiah.
Our purpose is to rediscover the Messiah in the light of the Father's Ancient Way of Righteousness.
For the Great Awakening cannot be complete if it restores the remembrance of True Israel
while leaving the personhood and mission of Messiah misunderstood.
The Awakening to our true heritage is an awakening to the Messiah of Israel,
who came to reveal the Father of Lovingkindness.
And the rediscovery of the Messiah must lead us beyond inherited religious traditions into the deeper reality of The Way of Truth.
He was born into an Essene Community, yet He set out with great determination to learn
in order to understand the Levitical Torah with its ordinances and traditions.
His appearance was not an isolated event without historical or prophetic preparation.
It occurred among a people who had long anticipated and even prepared for His arrival,
It is against this backdrop that we begin our discussion into the Messiah of Israel
— not merely as He has been presented through centuries of institutional religious interpretation,
but through the testimony of the visions of Urim as presented in the Book of Remembrance.
"He that has seen me has seen the Father."
(John 14:9)
The coming of the Messiah was neither an isolated event in the history of Israel,
nor the beginning of an entirely new religious tradition.
It represented the fulfilment of an ancient promise and the unfolding of the Father's enduring purpose to restore all His children to Himself.
According to the testimonies presented
in the Book of Remembrance,
righteous communities had long anticipated the coming of the Messiah,
and had dedicated themselves to preparing for His appearance.
Within this account, Goker Harim I, associated with the 'Teacher of Righteousness,'
in the Dead Sea Scrolls,
is mentioned as a central figure in the establishment of these righteous communities among the people of Israel.
These righteous communities were intended to preserve the Ancient Way of Righteousness,
and prepare a spiritual environment in which the promised Messiah could fulfil His earthly mission.
The subsequent ministry of Goker Harim II, identified with with Simeon in the Bible,
was devoted to preparing for and calling forth the Messiah's birth.
Righteous communities were established throughout Judea and Samaria, including settlements associated with Jerusalem and Jericho.
Their purpose was not merely to await the arrival of a great teacher or national deliverer,
but to prepare for the manifestation of the Father's lovingkindness among a people who had become estranged from His true character.
The Messiah was to be raised among the righteous, nurtured in their understanding of The Ancient Way, and supported in the extraordinary work for which He had been appointed.
Yet His mission would extend far beyond the boundaries of these communities.
He would go among the wayward of Israel, the afflicted, the rejected, and even to the Gentiles.
He would minister to the sick, comfort the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and call the unrighteous to repentance.
For He was not sent merely to those who already loved the Father.
He was sent to reveal the Father's lovingkindness to those who had forgotten Him,
misunderstood Him, or rejected His Way and His Truth.
This was the mission of the Messiah of Israel.
The Hebrew title 'Mashiach' — from whence we get the English 'Messiah,' and its Greek equivalent 'Christos' both mean the Anointed One.
But anointed for what purpose?
For many, particularly within the historical expectations of the wayward of Israel,
the promised Messiah was misunderstood primarily as a future warrior king.
He was expected to restore national sovereignty, defeat Israel's enemies, secure the borders of the nation, and re-establish the glory associated with the kingdom of David.
This expectation was rooted in a grievous misunderstanding of the mission and purpose of Israel,
as well as the character of the Father.
However, the Messiah's mission was far beyond political sovereignty or national prosperity.
He came to reveal the Father.
He came to make known the character, purposes, and everlasting lovingkindness of the Most High Anokeesed.
And through His life, teachings, suffering, and resurrection,
He opened The Way by which the Father's children could be reconciled to Him.
In the understanding presented by the Book of Remembrance,
the Messiah was anointed to be loved of mankind, in the Father's stead.
This expression carries profound spiritual significance.
The Father desired that His children should know Him, love Him, and dwell continually in His presence.
Yet humanity's sinful condition had created a separation between the Creator and those whom He loved.
The Messiah therefore came among mankind as the living manifestation of the Father's character, making it possible for His children to encounter His love and respond to Him freely by the usage of their Gift of Agency.
To know the Messiah was to encounter the lovingkindness of the Father Himself,
for indeed, the Messiah is the Man that Anokeesed became.
His anointing was therefore not merely an appointment to authority.
It was a commission to reveal divine love, reconcile the estranged,
and restore the right-relationship that sin had broken.
To understand the necessity of the Messiah's ministry,
we must first understand the nature of the Father and the significance of human agency.
The Father Anokeesed is perfect in righteousness, purity, holiness, and lovingkindness.
There is no cruelty, deceit, malice, corruption, or unrighteousness in His character.
His presence is the fullness of goodness and truth.
Within the understanding of the Ancient Way,
anything contrary to His righteousness cannot remain unchanged in the fullness of His immediate presence.
The Father nevertheless created His children with the capacity to choose.
He did not intend that love should be the consequence of compulsion.
He desired that His children should seek Him willingly,
choose righteousness freely, and grow into the fullness of the vision, character and purpose for which they were created.
This freedom of choice is the gift of agency.
The Book of Remembrance describes the darkness associated with the creation as serving a profound spiritual purpose: the veiling of the fullness of the Father's glory so that His children might exercise genuine freedom in seeking Him.
Rather than being compelled by the overwhelming manifestation of divine holiness,
humanity was given the opportunity to choose whether to seek the Father, love Him,
Hear and thus Say what He would Say,
Feel with Him in how He would Feel,
Do as He would Do, and become like Him.
Yet agency also introduced the possibility of departure from The Way of Truth.
When humanity chose unrighteousness, sin disrupted the closeness that had existed between the Father and His children.
The consequence of sin was not simply the violation of an external commandment.
It was the corruption of a relationship.
Sin produced alienation, spiritual blindness, suffering, resentment, jealousy, anger, shame, and the loss of close communion with the Father.
Therefore the Father Himself took on flesh,
becoming a Man in order to ensure that it would always be possible to
sustain this relationship even in the face of such separation that would be brought about by sin.
The deepest tragedy of sin is that it separates the children from the Father,
whose presence gives them life.
It was this separation that the Messiah came to overcome.
One of the most important distinctions in understanding the Messiah's mission is the difference between salvation and redemption.
Although these terms are closely related in Scripture and often overlap in their meaning,
the Book of Remembrance presents them as two complementary dimensions of the Father's purpose.
Salvation concerns our rescue from the spiritual consequences of sin.
Sin estranges us from the Father and from creation, distorts our character, damages our relationships,
and brings suffering into our lives.
Through the Messiah, the Father provides the means by which His children may be delivered from this condition.
Salvation is therefore not merely an escape from future punishment.
It is deliverance from the condition of alienation, corruption, and spiritual bondage that sin produces.
Redemption concerns the recovery of that which was lost,
back into a right-relationship with the Father.
The Father's ultimate desire is not simply that His children should cease to suffer the consequences of sin.
He desires that they should return to Him.
He desires to dwell among them, with them and in them,
and to speak with them, guide them, and walk along with them in their living of their gift of life.
Redemption therefore restores the relationship that sin disrupted.
It opens The Way for the children of the Father to enjoy His presence once again.
Salvation delivers us from the consequences of separation.
Redemption restores us to the communion for which we were created.
These two purposes are inseparable.
To be delivered from sin without entering into fellowship with the Father would leave the greater purpose of restoration unfulfilled.
The Messiah came to accomplish both.
He came to rescue humanity from the effects of sin and to restore the possibility of a living relationship between the Father and His children.
And this relationship is not intended merely for some distant future existence.
It is intended for here, now and forever.
The Father did not abandon His children to the separation brought about by sin.
In His lovingkindness, He prepared a Way by which He might reach us within the very conditions of our mortal existence.
The Book of Remembrance describes this divine provision through Motsah the Lamb
— the Man whem Anokeesed became.
The meaning of 'Motsah' is associated with the living water that flows forth to refresh, cleanse, restore, and bring life.
This is the Name by which the Messiah was known by the Ancients.
The Messiah entered the temporal world, taking upon Himself the limitations of mortal existence to accompany the objects of His creation on their long pilgrimage to be restored back to the Father.
He experienced hunger, weariness, sorrow, temptation, rejection, suffering, and the conditions common to humanity.
Yet He did so without abandoning the Father's character.
Through every trial, He continued to manifest perfect lovingkindness.
He entered the world of those estranged from the Father,
so that He might reveal The Way back into His presence.
This is the extraordinary significance of the mission of the Messiah of Israel.
The Father's love was not merely proclaimed from afar.
It was manifested through a life lived among mankind.
The Messiah walked among the afflicted.
He touched the unclean.
He comforted the rejected.
He embraced those whom society had condemned.
He extended compassion even to those who opposed Him.
And in doing so, He revealed the true character of the One who sent Him.
"I and my Father are one."
(John 10:30)
"He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."
(John 14:9)
These declarations express the central reality of His ministry.
The Messiah came so that humanity might encounter the Father through the perfect revelation of His lovingkindness.
The accounts presented in the Book of Remembrance,
portray the young Messiah as possessing an extraordinary concern for the moral and spiritual condition of the people around Him.
Even as a child, He sought to understand the sins, sufferings, and struggles of those who lived outside the righteous communities.
He questioned merchants concerning the lives of those caught in exploitation and immorality.
He sought opportunities to speak with soldiers and prisoners.
He visited places where people laboured under hardship and captivity.
He questioned religious authorities concerning their conduct and understanding of righteousness.
He travelled with relatives and encountered sailors, shipbuilders, and others whose experiences revealed the wider condition of the world.
These encounters caused concern among those responsible for His upbringing.
Why would a child of such extraordinary spiritual promise desire to learn so much about the sins and corruption of mankind?
Would exposure to these conditions endanger His innocence?
According to the Book of Remembrance,
the matter was brought before the Father through priestly inquiry.
The reassurance received was that the Messiah was learning great things.
His desire to understand the condition of humanity was not an attraction to evil.
It was the development of profound compassion.
He was learning to see those who sinned not merely through the consequences of their actions,
but through the suffering, ignorance, weakness, and alienation that shaped their lives.
This understanding would become a defining characteristic of His earthly ministry.
He would not approach the wayward with hatred or contempt.
He would approach them with respect, gentleness, understanding, and an unwavering desire to restore them to the Father.
His knowledge of humanity's brokenness did not diminish His righteousness.
It deepened the expression of His compassion.
When the Messiah began His public ministry, supported by prayer watches by those of His community;
He carried the Father's lovingkindness beyond the boundaries of the righteous communities and into the wider society of Israel.
His message was profoundly simple, yet revolutionary in its implications:
The Father is righteous.
The Father is lovingkindness.
The Father desires His children to return to Him.
And the Way of return is through the acceptance of reproval, the exercise of contrite repentance,
and the obtaining of forgiveness; leading ones onto a pathway of righteousness (The Way),
through their renewed relationship with Him, with all of Creation as well as with their fellows.
The Messiah proclaimed these truths not merely through words, but through His conduct toward others.
He healed the sick.
He comforted the grieving.
He fed the hungry.
He restored dignity to the rejected.
He proclaimed liberty to those held captive by spiritual bondage.
He called sinners to repentance.
He extended compassion to those whom society considered unworthy of divine favour.
His love was not reserved only for those who accepted Him.
Nor was His kindness withdrawn from those who rejected His teachings.
He loved the righteous and the wayward.
He loved those who welcomed Him and those who opposed Him.
Even His reprovals were expressions of the Father's desire to recover the wayward,
and lead them to repentance.
The Messiah did not condemn people.
He reproved them because He loved them and desired their restoration.
His example revealed a righteousness that transcended outward ritual.
It was righteousness expressing the character of the Father.
One of the most extraordinary aspects of the Messiah's ministry was His refusal to abandon lovingkindness even when confronted by hatred, rejection, persecution, and violence.
He did not compel others to accept Him.
He did not force people to repent.
He did not retaliate against those who opposed Him.
He continued to honour the agency of those around Him, allowing them to choose whether they would receive His teachings or reject them.
The opposition that arose against Him eventually led to His arrest, condemnation, and crucifixion under Roman authority.
Yet throughout His suffering, the Messiah remained faithful to the Father's character.
He did not surrender to hatred.
He did not respond to cruelty with cruelty.
He did not abandon compassion.
Instead, He continued to demonstrate the lovingkindness that had characterised His entire ministry.
Whilst staring into the face of death, He uttered the words:
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
(Luke 23:34)
And so, the Messiah's ministry inevitably brought Him into conflict with influential religious authorities of the Temple religion.
The Temple at Jerushalam occupied a central position within the religious, political, and economic life of the Nation of Israel.
The priestly establishment exercised considerable influence through its administration of sacrificial worship, ritual observances, religious instruction, and relationships with governing authorities.
This system had departed from the Father's original Way of Righteousness.
It had elevated the external ordinances of the wayward Levitical Priesthood above the intimate relationship that the Father desired with His children.
Religious authority had become intertwined with institutional power, wealth, and control.
The people were encouraged to understand their standing before the Father through the mediation of priestly officials, ceremonial observances, and blood sacrifice requirements.
The Messiah challenged this understanding by revealing the Father's character directly through His words and deeds.
He proclaimed that righteousness must proceed from the heart.
He exposed hypocrisy among religious leaders.
He condemned the exploitation of the vulnerable.
He challenged traditions that obscured justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
He demonstrated that compassion and the restoration of human dignity were central to the Father's purposes.
The conflict was therefore more profound than a disagreement over religious customs.
It concerned the very character of the Father and the means by which His children should approach Him.
Was the Father's relationship with His children to be defined primarily through institutional mediation and external observances by apeasement through blood sacrifice,
or through righteousness (right-relationships), repentance,
lovingkindness, and genuine communion with Him?
The Messiah's answer was revealed in the manner by which He lived His life.
He embodied the character of the Father.
According to the Book of Remembrance,
even His willingness to endure the consequences of human wickedness
was inseparable from His respect for human agency.
He did not remove the freedom of those who rejected Him.
He allowed them to act according to their choices, while remaining steadfast in His own righteousness.
And in doing so, He exposed the inadequacy of religious authority that lacked mercy and truth.
The Messiah's victory over death through His resurrection and the particular redemptive significance of His endurance through suffering for those who had fallen into the deepest forms of wickedness.
This reveals the extraordinary reach of His compassion, even toward those whose actions revealed profound alienation from the Father's character.
His resurrection, meanwhile, proclaims that death and estrangement do not possess ultimate authority over the Father's purposes.
And so, the Messiah's victory was not achieved through the exercise of worldly domination,
but through perfect faithfulness to the Father's lovingkindness.
This distinction between the Messiah's ministry and the Levitical Temple religion is fundamental to understanding the restoration of The Ancient Way.
His ministry demonstrated that the true knowledge of the Father is inseparable from lovingkindness, justice, truth, and righteousness.
Thus our return to the Ancient Paths must lead us beyond the veil to the enduring spiritual reality represented by the Order of Melchizedek.
Another of the greatest tragedies of institutional religious understanding,
is the tendency to reduce the Messiah to a historical figure
who accomplished something on behalf of humanity long ago.
For many, salvation has come to mean little more than the assurance of a favourable afterlife.
The Messiah is remembered as the one who died for sins, paid humanity's spiritual debt, and secured the promise of heaven.
Yet the practical significance of His life, teachings, character, and continuing presence becomes secondary.
He is honoured as a Saviour of the past and anticipated as a returning King of the future, while His present relationship with His people remains largely unknown.
This represents an incomplete understanding of redemption.
The Messiah did not come merely to secure a future existence in the presence of the Father.
He came so that the Father's children could begin living in communion with Him now.
He came so that His people might Hear and know His voice.
He came so that the Father's Spirit might dwell within them so they may feel with Him.
He came so that divine lovingkindness might become a living reality in their living of the gift of life:
in their communities, homes, families, relationships and daily responsibilities.
The Father desires to be present when His children gather.
When they travel.
When they share meals.
When they teach their children.
When they comfort the afflicted.
When they make decisions.
When they seek wisdom.
When they pray for healing.
When they labour to establish righteous communities.
He desires to become an inseparable part of their daily existence.
Redemption is not simply the promise that we may dwell with the Father 'someday.'
It is the restoration of a relationship through which we may begin walking with Him today.
This is the deeper purpose of the Messiah's earthly ministry.
The Messiah's Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek also reveals the true purpose of priestly service, as not fundamentally an institutional position, a religious title, or the exercise of authority over others.
Its highest purpose is to bring the Fatherhood of the Most High into the temporal world.
It is to make His lovingkindness known among His children and throughout His creation.
The Messiah fulfilled this purpose perfectly.
Where He encountered suffering, He brought compassion.
Where He encountered ignorance, He brought truth.
Where He encountered spiritual bondage, He proclaimed liberty.
Where He encountered hatred, He demonstrated peace.
Where He encountered rejection, He offered reconciliation.
True priesthood service is the manifestation of the Father's character within His creation,
and He revealed the character of the Father through every aspect of His ministry.
This is the pattern of Priesthood Service established by His example.
Those who seek to walk after the Order of Melchizedek are likewise called to make the Father's character visible through their lives.
They are called to serve, rather than dominate.
To heal, rather than wound.
To reconcile, rather than divide.
To bring peace, rather than conflict.
To reveal the Father's lovingkindness, rather than obscure it through fear and coercion.
It is the joining of heavenly righteousness with earthly life through faithful service, compassion, and love.
The Messiah's ministry was not intended merely to inspire admiration.
It was intended to establish an example.
He called His followers to demonstrate the same character that He revealed.
When He taught His disciples to love their enemies, He was revealing the Father's Way.
When He instructed them to turn the other cheek, He was calling them to overcome retaliation through peace.
When He counselled them to forgive, He was encouraging them to manifest the Father's mercy.
When He washed the feet of His disciples, He demonstrated that true greatness is expressed through humility and service.
And when He declared that He spoke the words of His Father and performed the works of His Father,
He revealed the pattern that His followers were called to imitate.
This is the meaning of discipleship within The Ancient Way.
It is the transformation of the heart until the character of the Father becomes increasingly manifest in the life of His child.
The Messiah is therefore more than an object of religious devotion.
He is the living example of the righteousness to which humanity is called.
To follow the Messiah is to learn to love as He loved, forgive as He forgave, serve as He served, and walk in the peace of the Father as He walked.
Throughout His ministry, the Messiah declared the name of the Father.
Yet the significance of this declaration extends beyond the pronunciation of a sacred name.
The Father's name represents the revelation of His character, His nature, and the truth of who He is.
To declare His name is to make His lovingkindness manifest and known.
The Messiah did this through His teachings and His conduct.
He revealed a Father who is righteous, merciful, compassionate, patient, peaceful, and faithful.
He challenged representations of divine authority that justified cruelty, oppression, and the abuse of religious power.
He demonstrated that the Father's righteousness is inseparable from His lovingkindness.
This distinction is particularly significant for those seeking to recover their Hebrew heritage.
The rediscovery of one's Hebrew heritage, ancient terminology and sacred names may enrich spiritual understanding, but this alone cannot substitute knowing the Father's character.
A person may speak the Hebrew language flawlessly and pronounce sacred names correctly,
and yet fail to demonstrate the love, mercy, compassion, and peace that those names are intended to represent.
There is a profound danger in reducing the Great Awakening
to the rediscovery of ancestral identity. alone,
and a community may carefully preserve ceremonial observances,
and yet fail to embody the righteousness of The Ancient Way.
"And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God..."
(John 17:3)
The Greek verb translated as 'know,' ginōskō, can communicate personal and relational knowledge.
Within this passage, eternal life is presented not merely as endless existence,
but as the knowledge of the Father and of the Messiah whom He sent.
This knowledge must become a lived reality.
It requires the seeking of His voice.
The recognition of His character.
The willingness to receive reproval.
The desire for repentance.
The acceptance of His forgiveness.
The cultivation of righteous relationships.
And the desire to walk continually in His presence.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
(John 10:27)
Those who have awakened to their Hebrew identity must therefore resist the temptation to make ancestry alone the centre of their spiritual calling.
The recovery of ancestral identity has meaning only when it leads to a deeper understanding of the Father's covenant purpose.
And that purpose is revealed through the Messiah.
Our identity as the covenant people must be founded upon our relationship with the Messiah,
not upon our ancestry alone.
The true children of the Father are called to reflect His character.
Their lives must bear witness to His lovingkindness.
Their communities must demonstrate His righteousness.
And their conduct must reveal the gentleness, peace and compassion exemplified by the Messiah.
The Awakening is not complete when a people rediscover their historical identity.
Nor is it complete when they recover Levitical customs.
Its ultimate purpose is the restoration of covenant remembrance,
and the return to the Father's Ancient Way of Righteousness.
For those who desire to walk as True Israel, the Messiah must become their Shepherd,
their example, their teacher, and the centre of their lives.
They must seek His voice.
They must learn His character.
They must follow His example.
They must demonstrate His lovingkindness.
And through their lives, they must reveal the Father to others.
For the Messiah Himself declared:
"I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14:6)
This declaration leads us to the very heart of the Great Awakening.
The Way is not merely an intellectual understanding of sacred history.
The Way is revealed through the Messiah's example of righteousness.
The Truth is revealed through His manifestation of the Father's character.
THE MESSIAH IS THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER'S LOVINGKINDNESS.
HIS PRIESTHOOD IS AFTER THE ETERNAL ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.
HIS MISSION IS THE RECONCILIATION AND RESTORATION OF THE FATHER'S CHILDREN.
AND HIS CALL IS FOR US TO WALK IN THE ANCIENT WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The rediscovery of Israel's heritage must never lead us away from Him.
It must lead us into a deeper understanding of who He is, why He came, and what it means to follow Him.
For without the Messiah, the awakening to our identity remains incomplete.
But when we know His voice, follow His example, and demonstrate His lovingkindness,
we begin to walk as the people the Father intended us to become.
This is The Way of True Israel.
"Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."
(Jeremiah 6:16)