The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Wickedness of Mankind
עץ הדאת טוב ורע והרעת בני האדם
Part 5
Section I
The Time of the Dispersion
זמן הגלות
Israel as a nation had failed to accomplish the will of HASHEM so that His glory would fill the earth. The nation had not walked according to the Torah תורה and kept His commandments.
Now HASHEM had sent His son, the Messiah המשיח, the son of David, to accomplish His will.
Yeshua ישוע had fulfilled the following parts of the prophecy that HASHEM had given to the Prophet Daniel in Babylon. (Daniel 9:24). Yeshua the Messiah המשיח ישוע had accomplished them through his death and his suffering in Jerusalem:
1. Destroy the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [finish the transgression לכלא הפשע]
2. Destroy sin [make an end of sin להתם חטאת]
3. Remove (atone for) iniquity [forgive iniquity לכפר עון]
4. Bring in everlasting righteousness through his resurrection from the dead [bring in everlasting righteousness להביא צדק עולמים]
5. Seal the vision and the prophecy by sitting at the right hand of HASHEM [seal the vision and the prophecy לחתום חזון ונביא]
6. Anoint the Holy of Holies [anoint the Holy of Holies למשח קדש קדשים]. HASHEM pours out His Spirit upon all flesh.
Now the children of Israel could walk in freedom and righteousness, and become sons and daughters of HASHEM when they submitted themselves to the rule and the authority of the Messiah המשיח. They could enter into the Shabbat of HASHEM.
HASHEM had now designed it so that any one of the children of Israel who submitted to the rule of the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע could be free from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, be purged, cleansed, and free from sins and iniquity, and walk in the righteousness and the glory of HASHEM. As they are being led by the Spirit of HASHEM they could fulfill the righteousness of the TORAH תורה and walk in the liberty of the sons and daughters of HASHEM. This would fulfill the desire of HASHEM for Israel that He expressed through Moses.
Now therefore, if you will listen to My voice carefully, and keep My covenant, then you shall be My special treasure above all peoples; for all the earth belongs to Me.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shalt speak to the children of Israel.’
וְעַתָּה, אִם-שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ בְּקֹלִי, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת-בְּרִיתִי–וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל-הָעַמִּים, כִּי-לִי כָּל-הָאָרֶץ
וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ-לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים, וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ: אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים, אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
Exodus 19:4-5 שמות יט:ד-ה
HASHEM made the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע sit and rule at His own right hand.
This fulfilled the Scripture:
The LORD said unto my lord: “Sit at My right hand …”
נְאֻם יְהוָה לַאדֹנִי–שֵׁב לִימִינִי
Psalms 110:1 תהלים קי:א
At the entreaty of the Messiah, HASHEM, on the celebration of Shavuot שבעות to fulfill the prophetic feast, poured out His Spirit on the children of Israel who were celebrating the feast at the Temple in Jerusalem. This fulfilled the Scripture:
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;
And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
וְהָיָה אַחֲרֵי-כֵן, אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ אֶת-רוּחִי עַל-כָּל-בָּשָׂר, וְנִבְּאוּ בְּנֵיכֶם וּבְנוֹתֵיכֶם זִקְנֵיכֶם חֲלֹמוֹת יַחֲלֹמוּן–בַּחוּרֵיכֶם חֶזְיֹנוֹת יִרְאוּ
וְגַם עַל-הָעֲבָדִים, וְעַל-הַשְּׁפָחוֹת, בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה, אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ אֶת-רוּחִי
Joel 3:1-2 יואל ג:א-ב
The Spirit of G-d רוח אלהים first came upon the 120 students and followers of the Messiah המשיח, who at the command of Yeshua ישוע, were gathered together and praying in Jerusalem.
There came the sound of a mighty rushing wind and cloven tongues of fire sat upon each one of them. They began to speak in other languages and tongues of the nations of the dispersed children of Israel who had gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Shavuot at the Temple. When they heard this miracle, great numbers of them believed on the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע. They were immersed in the Mikvah of the Kingdom, and they also were filled with the Spirit of HASHEM, and they began to speak in tongues and languages that they did not know. Then the 12 students תלמודים of Yeshua ישוע began to move in the NINE GIFTS of the Spirit of HASHEM that they had learned from the Messiah המשףיח while they were with him during the three and one half years of his ministry in Israel. HASHEM DID GREAT MIRACLES IN THE NAME OF YESHUA ישוע by the hands of his students תלמדים. All kinds of sicknesses and infirmities were instantly healed, and they cast out demons from those who had been possessed by them. So great was the power HASHEM through His Spirit, that they began to bring the sick and oppressed from the cities around Jerusalem, and they were healed even when the shadow of one of the students of Yeshua passed over them. Approximatelyhalf of Jerusalem believed on the Messiah of Israel, including great multitudes from the surrounding cities. This included Levites and Cohenim who officiated at the Temple. They were immersed in the Mikvah of the Kingdom. They were filled with the Spirit of HASHEM, and they spoke in tongues, other languages, and they prophesied. Some of them began to move in the 9 GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT OF HASHEM.
After HASHEM had poured out His Spirit on Shavuot, the number of believers increased to huge multitudes. Then there arose a persecution against them by the Roman sympathizing priests in Jerusalem. These believers in the Messiah המשיח were scattered among the cities of Israel, throughout Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. They even went to distant cities of the Roman Empire. They only spoke to Jews. Believers in the Messiah of Israel increased among the children of Israel who were in these cities. They were immersed in the Mikvah of the Kingdom, and they were filled with the Spirit of HASHEM, speaking in other tongues and languages and prophesying.
After about 15 years HASHEM decided to open the door of eternal life to the Gentiles. This was to fulfill the Scripture and the words of the prophets of Israel.
I will also give you (the Messiah) for a light to the Gentiles, that My salvation (Yeshua) may be unto the end of the earth.
וּנְתַתִּיךָ לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם, לִהְיוֹת יְשׁוּעָתִי עַד-קְצֵה הָאָרֶץ
Isaiah 49:6 ישעיה מט:ו
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, who stands as an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious.
וְהָיָה, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, שֹׁרֶשׁ יִשַׁי אֲשֶׁר עֹמֵד לְנֵס עַמִּים, אֵלָיו גּוֹיִם יִדְרֹשׁוּ וְהָיְתָה מְנֻחָתוֹ כָּבוֹד
Isaiah 11:10 ישעיה יא:י
The first gentile household that HASHEM chose belonged to Cornelius, a Roman centurion who lived in the coastal city of Caesarea. HASHEM sent one of the students of the Messiah, Shimon (Peter), to announce to Cornelius and his household the good news of the Messiah of Israel. When Cornelius and his household heard the good report, HASHEM filled them with His Spirit, and they spoke in other tongues. This was confirmed to Peter and the Israelites who were with him that HASHEM had begun to grant repentance and eternal life to the gentiles. It was later confirmed by the eleven students of Yeshua (who were now called apostles) in Jerusalem.
Yeshua then chose an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin whose name he changed from Saul to Paul, and who originally came from the great city of Tarsus. Yeshua sent Paul to proclaim the Word of Liberty to the cities that were within the borders of the Roman Empire. Yeshua confirmed the good news of his death, burial, and resurrection with signs and wonders, and great numbers of gentiles turned to the Messiah. HASHEM opened the door of faith to them, and they spoke in the tongues of other languages, and moved in the nine gifts of the Spirit of HASHEM.
The gentiles were now given the opportunity to eat of the tree of life, and not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They did not have to operate by their five senses. Through the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע the nine gifts and the nine fruit of the Spirit of G-d רוח אלהים were open to them, and made available to them. They had new life. Eternal life!
Through the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע they could eat from the tree of life. They could eat the nine fruit of the Spirit of G-d רוח אלהים. They did not have to walk in darkness anymore. Turning away from idols, and being cleansed from their pollutions by the blood of the Messiah, they could walk in eternal life in the Messiah. This was the gift from Israel that HASHEM had given to them through the Messiah המשיח.
HASHEM now had a group of people from among the children of Israel and from among the gentiles who would walk with Him and be free from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
As the Scripture says:
For the immutable decree of the Spirit of Life
Has set us free
From the immutable decree of sin and death
כי החוק של הרוח חיים
שחרר לנו
מהחוק של חטא ומות
The Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע had destroyed sin by his death on the Roman cross (tree). As a person submits to the rule of the Messiah המשיח who is at the right hand of HASHEM, that person is led by the Spirit of G-d. As it is written:
For what the Torah could not do because it was weakened by the flesh (natural man),
HASHEM, sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
And for sin,
DESTROYED SIN in the flesh
That the RIGHTIOUSNESS OF THE TORAH
MIGHT BE FULFILLED IN US
WHO WALK NOT AFTER THE FLESH
BUT AFTER THE SPIRIT.
כי הדבר שהתורה לא יכול לעשות
בדי שהחלש מן היצרו האנוש
הי שלח בנו בדמות היצרו החטא
ולמען החטא
השמיד החטא ביצרו
כדי שצדקת התורה ימלא בנו
ההולכים לפי הרוח ולא לפי יצרו האדם
And also it is written:
As many as are led by the Spirit of G-d,
They are the sons of G-d
הכל אשר מדריך ברוח אלהים
המה בני אלהים
The men and women who follow the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע are free from sin, and are free from the domination of the five senses and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They are able to judge, not by the sight of the eyes or the hearing of the ears, but by the Spirit of G-d. They are able to fulfill the righteousness of the Torah.
The nine gifts of the Spirit are in three categories: The first category is:
The Word of Knowledge
The Word of Wisdom
The Discerning of spirits
These are the “frontlets between your eyes”
וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ.
Mentioned in the Torah.
The second category is the three power gifts;
The Gift of Miracles
The Gift of Faith
The Gifts of Divers Healings
These are the “sign on the hand”
וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל–יָדֶךָ
Mentioned in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:8 דברעם ו:ח).
The third category is the three verbal gifts:
The Gift of Tongues
The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues
The Gift of Prophecy
These are spoken by HASHEM in the Tanach תנך when He says to Israel:
“Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!”
הַרְחֶב–פִּיך וַאֲמַלְאֵהוּ
Psalms 81:11 תהלים פא:יא
These nine gifts are all in operation by the moving of the Spirit of G-d רוח אלהים.
The Spirit of G-d רוח אלהים also engenders and causes to grow the nine fruit of the Spirit in those men and women
who are submitted to the rule and the authority of the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע.
These nine fruit are in three categories
In the first category:
LOVE אַהֲבָה
JOY שִׂמְחָה
PEACE שָׁלוֹם
In the second category:
LONGSUFFERING ארֶךְ רוּחַ
GENTLENESS נְדִיבוּת
GOODNESS חֶסֶד
In the third category:
FAITH אֱמוּנָה
MEEKNESS עֲנָוָה
TEMPERANCE פְרִישׁוּת
These are the fruit of the tree of life, and the fruit grows and fulfills the righteousness of the Torah תורה,
and the people shine forth the beauty התפארת of HASHEM.
These are all connected and flow from the 13 attributes of HASHEM that HASHEM revealed to Moses משה in the Torah תורה.
These are the Attributes of Mercy:
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed:
‘The LORD, the LORD, God, compassionate and gracious,
long-suffering, and abundant in mercy and truth;
keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin;
and who cleanses
וַיַּעֲבֹר יְהוָה עַל–פָּנָיו וַיִּקְרָא
יְהוָה יְהוָה, אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן
אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם, וְרַב–חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת
נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים
נֹשֵׂא עָוֺן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה
וְנַקֵּה
Exodus 34:5-6 שמות לד:ה-ו
But not all the Gentiles walk in the tree of life. They do not submit to the rule of the Messiah המשיח. Instead they choose to stay in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They revel in their five senses. They do not forsake and depart from their idols. They create religions, doctrines, ideologies. They worship their natural mind and their five senses. They revel in their accomplishments, and they exalt the knowledge that they have acquired through their five senses. They build great cities, and they constructed magnificent monuments and edifices. They garnished their monuments and their edifices with artistic beauty. They worship and adore animals and nature, created things, and the works of their own hands. These are clever inventions and intellectual insights of their natural minds. They praise their own inventions. They eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
But these are the works of the flesh which is the natural man:
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness. idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations,
wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revelings, and things such as these.
נִאֻפִים זְנוּת טֻמְאָה וְזִמָּה
עֲבוֹדַת אֱלִילִים וּכְשָׁפִים
אֵיבוֹת וּמַצָּה וְקִנְאָה
וָרגֶז מְרִיבוֹת מַחֲלקוֹת וְכִתּוֹת
עַיִן רָעָה וָרֶצַח שִׁכָּרוֹן וְזוֹלֲלוּת וְדוֹמֵיהֶם
The kinds of people that result from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the flesh of the natural man:
Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers,
Transvestites, sodomites, (homosexuals),
Whoremongers (pimps), .thieves, covetous,
Drunkards, revilers, extortioners
הַזּונִים, עובְדֵי אֱלִילִים, הַמְנָאֲפִים
הַקְּדֵשִׁים, הַשּׁוכְבִים אֶת־זָכָר
הַגַּנָּבִים, וְבֹצְעֵי בֶצַע
הַסּןבְאִים, הַמְגַדְּפִים, הַגַּזְלָנִים
All these people have a solemn warning from HASHEM:
Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
הֲלא יְדַעְתֶּם כִּי הָרְשָׁעִים לא יִירְשׁוּ
אֶת־מַלְכוּת הָאֱלהִים אַל־תַּשִּׂיאוּ
כָּל־אֵלֶּה לא יִירְשׁוּ אֶת־מַלְכוּת הָאֱלהִים
Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience.
אַל־יַשִׂיא אִישׁ אֶתְכֶם בְּדִבְרֵי רִיק כִּי
בִגְלַל־אֵלֶּה חֲרוֹן אֱלהִים יָבֹא עַל־בְּנֵי הַמֶּרִי
However there is hope. If the wicked transgressors truly repent, turn to the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע,
and submit themselves to His rule, He will cleanse them by His blood, deliver them, and redeem them.
And such were some of you: but you were washed,
but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah,
and by the Spirit of our God.
וְכָאֵלֶּה לְפָנִים הָיוּ מִקְצָתְכֶם
אֲבָל רֻחַצְתֶּם אֲבָל קֻדַּשְׁתֶּם אֲבָל הָצְדַקְתֶּם
בְּשֵׁם הָאָדוֹן יֵשׁוּעַ
וּבְרוּחַ אֱלהֵינוּ
Among the children of Israel also there were some individuals who chose not to submit themselves to the rule of the Messiah נמשיח. They had interpretations of the Torah תורה that they had received from the diaspora in Babylon since the time of Nebuchadnezzar. They had developed customs, traditions, and laws from these Babylonian interpretations of the Torah. They chose to remain in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They walked in the wisdom of the natural man. They were a large group among the Pharisees and the Scribes.
There was also a group of the priests that the Romans had appointed to officiate in the sacrifices and the feasts at the Temple in Jerusalem. This group also had their own doctrines, and they were sympathizers to Rome. Another group of Roman sympathizers called themselves Herodians. They honored and esteemed the accomplishments of Herod the Edomite whom the Romans had titled as king while he was under the supervision from Rome. These groups chose to remain in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They refused to submit to the rule of the Messiah המשיח.
The Roman sympathizing priests were covetous. Their iniquity increased to such a degree that they eventually hoarded all the tithes of the Levites, and they left the other Levites who did not have their position and influence to starve on the steps of the Temple.
These groups among the priests of the Temple, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the Herodians were proud and they walked in their own wisdom and their own strength. They walked according to their own counsels and desires, and they did not seek the counsel or listen to the voice of HASHEM. There arose a rebellion from their midst, and they determined in their own strength to overthrow the tyrannical yoke of the Romans. Eventually they started a war against Rome.
The Romans invaded the land of Israel with their armies. They wasted cities and massacred people. Their armies approached Jerusalem and they laid siege to the city. During the siege the Romans made a gruesome display by crucifying as many as 500 Israelites in one day outside the city walls. In 70 A.D. after a prolonged siege they broke down the walls and they destroyed the Holy Temple. They took the spoils and carried them to Rome. They took captives from among the children of Israel, and used them as slaves to build their mighty Colosseum in Rome. In this Colosseum they staged bloody games, where spectators viewed with delight the contests that ended in suffering and in death.
In Jerusalem the Romans set a garrison of soldiers to occupy the city and to watch over it. The Temple had been razed to the ground, and the houses had been pillaged and burned.
In the land of Israel the children of Israel chafed under the blasphemous control of the Romans. After about sixty years had passed since the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, there arose a false prophet named Akiva who promised them a deliverer. Akiva was a proselyte who had become a rabbi. He had the opportunity to submit himself to the rule of the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע. He refused the opportunity and instead elevated a false messiah whom he named Bar Kokhba. He told his students that Bar Kokhba would overthrow the Roman rulers. He helped to incite an armed rebellion against Rome.
Hadrian was the emperor of Rome at that time. Hadrian was an abominable, perverted sodomite who broadcasted his perversions and abominations. Hadrian brought his Roman legions into the land of Israel, and he began a scorch and burn campaign against the children of Israel who dwelt in the province of Judea. The Judeans were called “Jews.” Hadrian captured and flayed the false prophet Akiva. He killed the false messiah Bar Kokhba.
The Roman legions slaughtered the inhabitants of Judea, and the students of Akiva. So great was the slaughter that the blood reached up to the horses’ bridles.
The Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע had warned his followers about false messiahs.
And Yeshua answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you and lead you astray.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Messiah; and shall deceive many and lead many astray.
ויַּעַן יֵשׁוּעַ וַיּאמֶר לָהֶם רְאוּ פֶּן־יַתְעֶה אֶתְכֶם אִישׁ
כִּי רַבִּים יָבֹאוּ בִּשְׁמִי לֵאמור אֲנִי הוּא הַמָּשִׁיחַ וְהִתְעוּ רַבִּים
Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is the Messiah, or, Behold there; believe it not.
For there shall arise false messiahs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
וְכִי־יאמַר אֲלֵיכֶם אִישׁ בָּעֵת הַהִיא הִנֵּה־פה הַמָּשִׁיחַ אוֹ הִנּוֹ־שָׁם אַל־תַּאֲמִינוּ
כי יָקוּמוּ מְשִׁיחֵי שֶׁקֶר וּנְבִיאֵי שֶׁקֶר וְיִתְּנוּ אותוֹת גְּדולוֹת וּמוֹפְתִים לְמַעַן הַתְעוֹת אַף אֶת־הַבְּחִירִים אִם־יוּכָלוּ
After the defeat of the Jewish armies in the year 135 CE, Hadrian sowed the city of Jerusalem with salt, and issued an edict forbidding any of the children of Israel to enter its perimeters on the penalty of death. In Jerusalem the Romans built a temple to their profane god Jupiter in the place where the Holy Temple of HASHEM had once stood. A little distance from it they built another temple to Venus, or Astarte, the goddess of lust and impurity. In derision against the children of Israel the Romans renamed the land of Israel “Palestine” after the name of the Philistines who had been their ancient enemies. The dispersion of the children of Israel among the gentile nations was complete. This fulfilled the prophecy that HASHEM had spoken through Moses:
And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
And you will I scatter among the nations,
and I will draw out the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת-עָרֵיכֶם חָרְבָּה, וַהֲשִׁמּוֹתִי אֶת-מִקְדְּשֵׁיכֶם; וְלֹא אָרִיחַ, בְּרֵיחַ נִיחֹחֲכֶם
וַהֲשִׁמֹּתִי אֲנִי אֶת-הָאָרֶץ; וְשָׁמְמוּ עָלֶיהָ אֹיְבֵיכֶם הַיֹּשְׁבִים בָּהּ
וְאֶתְכֶם אֱזָרֶה בַגּוֹיִם
וַהֲרִיקֹתִי אַחֲרֵיכֶם חָרֶב
וְהָיְתָה אַרְצְכֶם שְׁמָמָה, וְעָרֵיכֶם יִהְיוּ חָרְבָּה
Leviticus 26:31-33 ויקרא כו:לא-לג
And the LORD shall scatter you among the peoples (gentiles)
and ye shall be left few in number among the nations,
where the LORD shall lead you away.
וְהֵפִיץ יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם בָּעַמִּים
וְנִשְׁאַרְתֶּם מְתֵי מִסְפָּר בַּגּוֹיִם
אֲשֶׁר יְנַהֵג יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם שָׁמָּה
Deuteronomy 4:27 דברים ד:כז