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The question occasionally comes up as to what "sitting in the seat of Moses" means, and whether
Judah still holds the position of lawgiver. It seems
that some in the Messianic community apparently think that
they do, and that followers of Yahshua should instead be following
the recently re-formed Jewish Sanhedrin. Today I will attempt to
answer these questions, and show from Scripture and the Jewish writings
themselves why the latter supposition is false.
"I
shall see Him, but not now: I observe Him, but not near: A Star shall
come out of Ya'aqob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Yisrael..."
(Bemidbar/Numbers 24:17a)
"The
sceptre shall not turn aside from Yahudah, nor a Lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh comes, and to HIM (Shiloh) shall be the obedience of
the peoples." (Bereshith/Genesis
49:10)
This prophecy
has correctly been attributed by the Jewish sages as referring
to the Mashiyach, and the historical evidence is overwhelming that the
position of lawgiver did in fact pass from Yahudah when YAHSHUA's Messiahship
was revealed in circa 30 CE.
"The
transmission of dominion shall not cease from the house of Yahudah, nor the
scribe from his children's children, forever, until Mashiyach comes."
(Targum Onkelos)
"Melakim (Kings) and Shophetim (Judges) shall not cease from the
house of Yahudah...until Melekh Mashiyach (King
Messiah) comes." (Targum
pseudo-Jonathan)
"Melakim shall not cease from the house of Yahudah...until the time of the
coming of the Melekh Mashiyach...to whom all the dominions of the earth
shall become subservient." (Targum Yerushalmi)
"?he
world was created for the sake of the Mashiyach; what is this Mashiyach's
name?' The school of Rabbi Shila said ?is name is Shiloh (i.e. tranquil),
for it is written; until Shiloh come.'" (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin
98b)
Even during the 70-year
Babylonian captivity, although Yahudah had lost its national sovereignty, they
nonetheless retained their own lawgivers and judges (Ezra
1:5,8). During the next five centuries Yahudah suffered in
turn under the rulership of the Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires, yet
retained the scepter until the first quarter of the first century C.E. The
Talmud records that:
"A little more
than forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the power of
pronouncing capital sentences was taken away from the Jews." (Jerusalem
Talmud, Sanhedrin, folio 24)
In 6 or 7 CE, Herod
Archelaus was dethroned and banished to Vienna, a city of Gaul, and replaced by
a Roman procurator named Caponius. Josephus writes:
"And now
Archelaus' part of Judea was reduced into a province, and Caponius, one of the
Equestrian order of the Romans, was sent as a procurator, having the power of
life and death put into his hands by Caesar!" (Wars of the Jews, Vol. 2,
chp. 8)
When Archelaus was banished,
the Sanhedrin immediately lost their ability to adjudicate capital cases, which
were instead transferred to the Roman procurator.
"After the
death of the procurator Festus, when Albinus was about to succeed him, the
high-priest Ananius considered it a favorable opportunity to assemble the
Sanhedrin. He therefore caused Ya'aqob, the brother of Yahshua, who was called
Messiah, and several others, to appear before this hastily assembled council,
and pronounced upon them the sentence of death by stoning. All the wise men
and strict observers of the law who were at Yahrushalem expressed their
disapprobation of this act...some even went to Albinus himself, who had
departed to Alexandria, to bring this breach of the law under his observation,
and to inform him that Ananius had acted illegally in assembling the Sanhedrin
without the Roman authority." (Antiquities 20:9)
Not only does Josephus
mention YAHSHUA of Nazareth and his brother, Ya'aqob, as historical figures, but
also declares that the Sanhedrin had no authority to pass the death
sentence.
"When the
members of the Sanhedrin found themselves deprived of their right over life
and death, a general consternation took possession of them: they covered their
heads with ashes, and their bodies with sackcloth, exclaiming: ?oe unto us
for the scepter has departed from Yahudah and the Messiah has not come'"
(Babylonian Talmud, Chp. 4, folio 37 )
The prophet, Amos, however,
testifies that, "The Master YAHWEH does no matter unless He reveals
His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7),
and Daniel 9:24-26 verifies the time-frame
of YAHSHUA's appearance down to the very year, confirming that when the
scepter was removed from Judah, the Messiah had, in fact, arrived.
"But to the
Son he says, "Thy throne, O Elohim, is for ever and ever: a Sceptre of
righteousness is the Sceptre of thy reign." (Ibrim/Hebrews 1:8, quoting
Tehillim/Psalms 45:6)
So the question is?upon the Mashiyach's ascension,
to whom did the authority of lawgiver pass? Naturally to the ones in whom
the spirit of the Mashiyach was dwelling. (cf. Yahchanan/John
17:23;26; Romiyah/Romans 8:10,11;
Colossians 1:27; et al)
"And
YAHSHUA answering, said unto him, 'Baruch atah (blessed art thou) Shimon
Bar-Yonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but
My Father in the heavens. [18] And I also say to you that
you are Kepha (Peter), and on this Rock I shall build My kenesset
(assembly), and the gates of sheol (the grave) shall not overcome
it.. [19] And I shall give to you the keys of the reign of the
heavens, and whatever you bind on earth shall be, having been already bound
in the heavens, and whatever you loosen on earth shall be, having been
already loosened in the heavens.'" (Mattithyahu/Matthew
16:17-19)
"And if
your brother sins against you, go and reprove him, between you and him
alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. [16] But
if he does not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of
two or three witnesses every word might be established.' [17] And if
he refuses to hear them, say it to the kenesset (assembly). And if he
refuses even to hear the kenesset, let him be to you like a goy
(gentile) and a tax collector. [18] Truly I say to you, 'Whatever
you bind on earth shall be, having already been bound in heaven, and
whatever you loosen on earth shall be, having been already loosened in
heaven.'" (Mattithyahu
18:15-18)
The question may then be
asked, where did the portion of lawgiver go when the Natsarim
(Nazarenes) were eventually overrun by Greek Messianism (i.e. Roman, and
eventually, Protestant Christianity)? Again in the Torah we find
that the portion of Lawgiver would be temporarily hidden in the people
of Gad (i.e. Gawd / God, a.k.a. Christianity)
"And of Gad he said: 'Blessed is he who enlarges Gad: He dwells as a
lioness; He tears off the arm, and also the crown. [21] He chose the
best part for himself, For there the portion of the Lawgiver was
hidden. [22] He came with the heads of the people. The
justice of YAHWEH he did, and His right-rulings with Yisrael.'"
(Devarim/Deuteronomy
33:20)
Seeing that the portion of
the Lawgiver was only temporarily hidden, however, the portion
of lawgiver has again been restored to the Natsarim (both
Ephrayimite and Yahudite) as they exit the church and rabbinical
pseudo-systems in fulfillment of Yehezqel's prophecy of Yisrael's revival
from the valley of dry bones and the reunification of the the two houses (cf.
Ezekiel 37).
Therefore......
"Should any of you, holding a matter against another, go to be judged before
the unrighteous (i.e. those who have rejected YAHSHUA's atoning blood),
and not before the kodeshim (set-apart ones)? [2] Do you not know that
the kodeshim shall judge the world? And if the world is judged by you,
are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? [3] Do you not know
that we shall judge malakim (messengers/angels)? How much more matters
of this life? [4] If then you truly have judgments of this life, do
you appoint them as judges who are least esteemed by the kenesset
(assembly)? [5] I say this to your shame. Is it so that
there is not a wise one among you, not even one, who shall be able to judge
between his brothers? [6] But brother against brother goes to be
judged, and that before those who do not believe (in
YAHSHUA?.e. rabbinical Judaism)." (Qurintaus Aleph / First
Corinthians 6:1-6)
"So remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the first
mitzvot/works (i.e. written Torah), or else I shall come to you speedily and
remove your menorah (lampstand) from its place, unless you
repent." (Kabal/Revelation 2:5)
"Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold what you have that no man takes
your crown." (Kabal/Revelation
3:11)
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