Messianic Viewpoint

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: He himself comes down and experiences our fate and suffering and gives himself completely for each one of us. Genesis 3:15 speaks of Jesus. It speaks of Yeshua. Now, this is the best part of it all. And this is what we will see today.

Guest (Male): God does give himself completely by suffering for us and by taking on our sins. But God does not only control the damages we bring about in our own lives. Amazingly, he controls all things despite the damage that we do to his name.

How do we damage God's name? We do this when we push our own message of truth and not his. We do this when we don't consult with him first, when we forget to pray and talk to God about decisions that we make. Are we walking by true faith in the sight of all? Is our behavior exemplary of a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled individual, or is our behavior in any way damaging people's being drawn to the Lord?

Think about Peter for a moment. What was his behavior like on the night of Yeshua's trial? He denied the Lord. He warmed himself around a fire and flatly denied even knowing the Messiah. And what more damage could Peter have caused by swording off the guard's ear in Gethsemane, taking matters into his own hands as we often do?

Yet the damage of the reputation that Peter could have brought against Yeshua was most beautifully dealt with when Jesus, on the shores of the Galilee, did not reprimand Peter, but rather reinstated him. God is sovereign. So while we are damaged goods, we are also renewed and transformed into the image of Messiah. And though damaged, our value does not depreciate in any way but instead, as we draw closer to him and are repaired by him, our value is actually enhanced.

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: Shalom and welcome to Shalom Ariel as we continue our study in the book of Genesis. Be blessed as you listen in and Shalom. Before we start, I just want to tell you we've got a few calls concerning the red moon. Have you heard of red moon theory, everybody? Yes, you did this.

How should we understand this? What red moon says is somebody who came up and found out that this year and next year at Passover and Sukkot, there's going to be an eclipse of the moon. The moon will appear red. And so he went to the scriptures and he saw that, in fact, they speak about the red moon.

And so he says then the end of the world is coming soon. And of course, I listened to what he was saying and he says actually in September, it's going to be the end of the world. The rapture will occur in September 2014. Should we believe this?

Let me tell you because the red moon in the scriptures is mentioned in three passages. You have it in Joel chapter 2, in Acts chapter 2, and in Revelation chapter 6. The reason for the red moon is because of wars, wars that will darken the sky and so on. But it's not speaking about an eclipse of the moon at all.

And besides which, Joel is a prophecy to Israel and these eclipses would not be visible from Israel at all. They'd be visible from other parts of the world. So we cannot go for these things. It's as if I tell you that the president of United States will die on July the 4th. Why? Because four presidents died on July the 4th, so he must die on July the 4th, right?

Also, you heard of Rabbi Kaduri. He died in 2006. This is a prophecy from Israel because there are many types of prophecies coming these days. So Kaduri said in 2006 that when the ex-president Sharon dies, this would be the year when the Messiah would come. And Sharon died actually this year.

So some people actually say that this is the end. And of course, Kaduri is the one who before he died, he wrote down the name of the Messiah and he wrote Yeshua. Yehoshua he wrote. So what do we do with this? We don't know. But in any case, let it be the end. We're ready, right?

Hamas also came out with a prophecy this week. It said that Israel, actually this is the interior minister of the Palestinian Hamas, says that Israel has eight years left to exist. How does he know that? No idea. So there are many prophecies going on.

But we as believers, first of all, we're not going to go through the tribulation time as the red moon say. We're going to be taken before that. So we ought to wait for the Lord or expect the Lord to come at any time, even tonight. Let's open up our scriptures to Genesis chapter 3.

Now what we're about to see today in Genesis 3 is another fixing up, another remodeling of the creation. At the beginning, God created a heaven and the earth and the earth became tohu vabohu. And God went to work and fixed the void, the formlessness, the darkness until everything was, God said, very good. And then he added another element to his creation, man and woman.

But another tohu vabohu occurred. Men disobeyed one simple command. And God went back to work again and now we're witnessing another fixing up. This is where we're at in our study of this book. And as we are about to look at the outcome of man's action, the judgments, I want to attract your attention to the manner with which God controls the damages, how he recreates again.

In our reading of this section, don't lose sight of God. Follow him. See how he reacts, what he says, and you will be amazed. Because beyond the fall, past the judgments, you will be refreshed to see how gentle, how moderate, how affectionate he is in the midst of such a catastrophe as the fall.

And there is one verse that comes to mind which well covers the whole section, something Solomon and Peter both said. They said love covers a multitude of sin. As the light came to shine in the darkness in Genesis chapter 1 verse 3, so is his love here. It is good for us to know about the serpent and about Adam and about Eve and what they did and said. But it is so sanctifying to see our father in action.

And the story of the fall does not end here, by the way. As we read on in Genesis, things do not get better. They get worse for humanity and God's love is revealed even more, so the story itself gets better for us as we see him acting. We're going to see that after the second fixing, we learned that a vast majority of humankind again falls and corrupts itself to the point that God eventually triggers the flood.

Another tohu vabohu, a third one. And again, God fixes it up. This story begins in just a couple of chapters from here, in Genesis 6. It doesn't take time. This is when God chooses another Adam named Noah, with whom he prolongs humankind. And then later he chooses another man, Abraham, from where one nation Israel came.

This begins in just a couple of more chapters later in Genesis 12. The whole story goes so fast, but sadly it is again a story of damage control that lasted for 2,000 years and kept its course until Acts 2, until out of the nation of Israel God creates another entity, the church. Again it is a story of damage control that lasted another 2,000 years until our day, and it would last until God comes at last.

He will create again a new heaven and a new earth and something special, a new heart for man so that these things won't happen again. This then is the whole story of humanity and it begins in our text. But in all this confusion, do not be disappointed by the repetitiveness of the fall. Just do not lose sight of God. Watch him. He is worth our full attention.

But the best part I didn't tell you. The best part of the whole story is found in our section today in one verse, Genesis 3:15. There we will learn that God does not only control our damages. He is much more involved than this. He himself comes down and experiences our fate and suffering and gives himself completely for each one of us.

Genesis 3:15 speaks of Jesus. It speaks of Yeshua. Now this is the best part of it all and this is what we will see today. And as we're about to read the story of the judgment, again stay close to the wonderful God and be blessed. Now before reading, there's a symmetry, a fine one in the verses in front of us.

First the serpent approaches Eve, then she goes to her husband Adam. Then God reverses the order. He first goes to the man, the head, and then to the woman. And now as he is about to pronounce the judgment on the three of them, he begins as it was at the beginning with the serpent, then to Eve and then to Adam. Let us read Genesis chapter 3 verses 14 and 15.

As he speaks to the serpent: "So the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel."

The first thing we notice is that God goes right into pronouncing a judgment on the serpent. He does not ask any questions, nor does he engage in a conversation as he will do with Adam and Eve. There was really no point to it. The devil at this point was already fallen. And this episode showed even more the level of his pride. And see also that the serpent is speechless. He says nothing because when God pronounces a judgment, what can anyone say?

The first part of the judgment is that the serpent is cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field. What does that mean? We need to go beyond the actual animal, to the serpent that is the snake, in order to grasp the magnitude of these words as they're addressed to Satan himself, not to the actual animal.

Consider the fall of this angel. From wanting to be above the mountain of God and be like God, he is brought lower than the lowest of beings, that is the animals. He is cursed above, more than all animals. From being next to God down to the lowest point. This is the story of pride, which at the end goes from fame to rags.

And the story is repeated many times in the Bible. Many times we see it with men. For instance, we remember Nebuchadnezzar. After seeing the action and the power of God and experiencing even his power, he turned away from God and he said, "Is this not great Babylon that I have built for the royal dwelling with my mighty power for my majesty?" It was at the time when he spoke these words that he became like an animal.

Like in Genesis 3 again, from fame to rags. This is the story, the prophecy of all pride. As Isaiah also prophesied the outcome of the serpent in Isaiah 14. There he is told that at the end, he will be cast not only in Sheol, but in the lowest part of it. Verse 15: God said, "Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit." When he says that I'm going to go above God. Lowest to the worst parts.

This is similar to crawling on one's belly. From wanting to be God to being lower than the lowest beings. And when in Genesis 3 it says that the serpent will crawl on its belly all the days of your life, it means forever in the case of the fallen angels.

Because in the prophecy of the millennium, when the animals will return to their precondition like in Isaiah 65, it says that the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw with the ox, but look what it says about the serpent. He will still eat dust. No redemption for Satan, for the fallen angel. Even then, when the creation will be restored for a thousand years, the serpent's food will still be dust. There is no remission for it. Eating dust is an expression used against fallen enemies. It speaks of utter defeat after experiencing God's judgment.

Guest (Male): Don't go away, we'll be right back with the second half of our program coming up just after this message. As we wind up for the second part of our program today, we would like to remind our listeners how blessed and privileged we feel to be part of your radio day. We pray that the messages you hear will instruct you, edify you, and encourage you to love the Lord more and follow him into obedience in even greater ways.

We are all changed by the challenges and transformed by the trials of life. And as we walk them together, we keep looking up to him who is mighty to break down the walls of Jericho that stand before us and to hand over to us the spiritual victories in life. Yeshua has broken down the greatest barrier, the greatest wall that has separated us from God the Father.

Thank you, listeners, for joining us in prayer and in financial support for this ministry. If you have it on your heart to give to this ministry, then you can by logging onto our congregation website at BethAriel.ca. That's B-E-T-H-A-R-I-E-L.ca. And if God leads you to contribute from the treasures that God has blessed you with for the continuation of this radio ministry, Shalom, Shalom as we begin part two of today's program.

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: We believe God is real, the Bible is real, Yeshua is alive, and because of that we work with all our hearts. We invest our time, our money, and energy in children's ministry, youth ministry, music ministry, evangelism. We demonstrate our faith by our works. Do actions speak louder than words? They often do.

Two men had their kingdoms taken from them, both because of what they did. The gauge of our faith is based on what we do. It's not just what we do, but if what we do is done in obedience to the word. When it came to Adam and Solomon, both of them did do things, yes, but they also caused the downfall of their respective kingdoms.

Adam saw the closing of the Edenic garden and Solomon saw the fall of the united tribes of Israel. How important is obedience? God sees obedience even more important than sacrifice. For many of us, we would rather show a little bit of religious sacrifice than be obedient.

Obedience to the word is hard, but if we are obedient, we don't need a sacrifice. Disobedience results in a need for a sacrifice. A good example of disobedience is a young lady who may choose to marry a non-believer. She is showing disobedience to the word of God and might find that throughout her life she will be sacrificing much.

Remember what Yeshua said? He did not say, "If you love me you will sacrifice," but rather he said, "If you love me, you will obey my teaching." May our obedience to your word, O Lord, be a sweet-smelling sacrifice. Welcome to Shalom Ariel and welcome to our continuing study in the book of Genesis. Be blessed as you listen in and Shalom.

In the judgment we're about to read here, the one for the serpent and also for Adam and Eve, there is this concept of measure for measure. One that we find not only here but throughout the scriptures. The expression measure for measure comes to us from Shakespeare. It is the title of one of his comedies, and he was inspired by the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 7 verse 2.

He says, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." The serpent tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Now he will eat dust. He wanted to be higher than God. He now will be the lowest of all the lowest part of creation. The same thing with another proud being, Pharaoh. Do you remember? As he killed the firstborn of Israel by drowning them, his army was drowned in the sea.

Even in Romans 1, as people gave themselves up to uncleanness, God gave them up to their uncleanness by removing his restraining gracious power from them. This is what happens when people stay in sin and do not want to repent. Even in history, we can see the hand of God in action and applying this concept.

As Spain, if you remember, forced Israel, forced the Jews out of their territory in 1492 during the Inquisition because they saw in them as a hindrance of their growth. In less than 50 years later, the mighty Spanish Empire went bankrupt. When the Egyptian president Nasser swore to push the Jews out to sea, it was his own soldiers who were fleeing the Jews, swimming across the Suez Canal.

Measure for measure. Eye for eye, right? Shakespeare was right. This is a concept that will stand as well in the last judgment. But have you seen how the verse begins? "Because you have done this." God knew the heart of this fallen angel. He has seen it long before he created him. However, he waited until the action was done. Then he proceeded to the judgment.

See how important an action can be. While the thought was brewing in the mind of the serpent maybe for years and years, it is the action that brought about the judgment. And this again we see recurring in the scriptures with Solomon. Solomon, who broke down Israel, who was given so much wisdom.

Then God came to him in 1 Kings 11 and he says, "Solomon, because you have done this and have not kept my covenant and my statutes, I'm going to remove the kingdom from you." And from then on, it fell. God waits for one's action and then he goes into action himself. While we can choose our actions, we do not determine the consequences. Justice will.

Solomon's action triggered what Yeshua called the times of the Gentiles, even though it was about 400 years later. The action of Adam and that of Solomon are very similar in this case as they both drag down everyone along with them. And we can turn the tide, by the way, and act well and bring blessing to us, like Abraham, right?

God waited for Abraham in Genesis 22. He says, "Because you have done these things and have not withheld your son, your only son," he says, "blessing, I'm going to bless you." Same with us. Our life is very much determined by our actions, the actions we do and those we do not do.

Faith itself is seen through our action. James said, "I will show you my faith by my action. Show me your faith." Someone said faith and works are inseparable as sun and light. If faith is the sun, good works are its rays. This is how we see believers by their action. Let's see your faith, James says.

And all this speaks to us as a congregation. How do we recognize a congregation that excels in faith? One way is by the works they do, the ministry they sustain. We believe God is real, the Bible is real, Yeshua is alive, and because of that we work with all our hearts. We invest our time, our money, and energy in children's ministry, youth ministry, music ministry, evangelism. We demonstrate our faith by our works.

It is then that God will bless and say again, "Because you have done this, blessing, I will bless you." It is all a question of measure for measure, for the good and for the worst. Now there's one more thing we learn from this one verse 14. It is that the serpent will be more cursed than all the cattle and more than the beast of the field.

More, what does that mean? More than all the animals. This tells us that the animal world and even nature itself was dragged down in the fall. The curse of sin also affected the world. That animals eat each other is not the normal state of creation. It is not nature as it was originally created. And this is Paul's argument in Romans 8:21.

He speaks of the bondage of corruption concerning the animal world. Bondage of corruption, that is they were pulled down with all the rest. So our sin affected the whole world we live in. Nature suffers because we fell. But when the Messiah comes back, we read in Isaiah 65, if you remember, that the wolf will eat with the lamb. It will not eat the lamb.

You see how the Bible goes the opposite direction from the belief that this chaotic state of our world is so natural. They speak of the survival of the fittest, reaching unto the ideal race of men and an ideal animals. But it is really an all-out war of all species who without the restraining power of the creator would have disappeared long ago. It is not the survival of the fittest. It is really the survival by the grace of God. This is what it is.

And how is this world going to be saved out of this mess? The next verse will tell us. Genesis 3:15. In there is found condensed the whole history on earth, of the Messiah, our history in just a few words. Let's read it again. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel."

Enmity between the serpent and the woman. We understand that as the whole story began with a fake friendship between the serpent and Eve, now and forever it will be enmity between them. Measure for measure. And as we consider now the seed, the first thing, a first oddity actually in this verse, is that the seed is of the woman. In the scriptures it is mainly the seed of man.

And even in genealogies are almost always that of man, not of woman. So who is this woman? Miriam. Mary, the mother of Jesus, the mother of Yeshua. Let me show you the road of the woman, the woman's road. If you put these three verses together you'll understand what happens. Genesis 3:15, the virgin, the seed of the woman is coming.

Isaiah 7:14, 700 years later it speaks of the virgin giving birth. And in Matthew 1:23 you see the fulfillment when Miriam gives birth. And this prophecy of the seed of the woman was fulfilled so literally as all other prophecies. Literal interpretation. Jesus was born of a young Jewish virgin girl through the Ruach HaKodesh.

And who is the seed of the woman? Let me show you another road, the seed road itself. Genesis 3:15, the prophecy of the seed. And in Isaiah 53:10 where we see the seed as one individual who comes and he dies for the sins of the world. "It pleased the Lord," it says, "to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make him his soul offering for sin, he shall see his seed," whom you are actually.

And then Matthew 1:23 again when we see the birth of the seed. But who is the seed of Satan? If Jesus is the seed of the woman, it will be the Antichrist. From Cain to Judas Iscariot to many other Antichrists to the final one, the Antichrist spoken of by John in Revelation and in his letters.

He will be the evil one's last attempt to bring down the world. He would be so intelligent, so charismatic that people are going to listen to him. For us, it is fairly easy to look back and put these verses together. What about the Israelites of the time of Jesus? How did they understand this prophecy? Did you know that they understood that it was Messianic?

Let me tell you about the Targum of Neofiti and that of the Targum of Jonathan, how they translated these verses. These translation, that's what Targum means, translation, were done around the 3rd century before Christ. So this Targum represents the Bible of the time of Christ, what they were reading. Let me tell you what this verse says where it is long, I shorten it.

It says, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your sons and her sons. For her sons, however, there will be a remedy, but for you, O serpent, there will not be a remedy since they are to make appeasement in the end in the day of King Messiah." This is the first time they mention King Messiah in the scriptures.

They understood that this prophecy actually speaks of the Messiah, even though today in modern Judaism they just brush it off. And see the end of it. How does the Messiah subdue the serpent? He will bruise his head. That is, he will give him the final blow. He will make an end of him.

This actually will come later when we read in Revelation that he will be thrown into the lake of fire forever and ever. But the serpent will bruise his heel. What does that mean? How can we understand this? You see the word heel has two meanings, one positive, one negative.

The translators of the Targum saw the positive side. The word is "akev" and it means anything that is last, at the rear, like the last days or the times of the Messiah. They saw in this phrase the bruising of man until the Messiah comes. We will be bruised. We will be overwhelmed, because the word bruise means also overwhelm by the devil. They understood the work of the devil that he will come until the Messiah comes and puts an end to him.

Guest (Male): Shalom Ariel is a daily radio program emphasizing the Jewish perspective of scripture. God is not through dealing with Israel, nor will he renege any of the promises he has made to her. Our teacher for this program, Jacques Isaac Gabizon, is a Messianic Jewish believer and Messianic leader at Beth Ariel congregation right here in Montreal.

If you've been encouraged by the messages, we'd love to hear from you. Give us a call at 1-888-685-5902 or you may write us at info@bethariel.ca. That's B-E-T-H-A-R-I-E-L all one word dot C-A. You are also welcome to join us for our Saturday morning services. We are located at 6297 Monkland Avenue, corner of Madison in NDG.

The message is given in English but we do offer simultaneous translation into French and Russian. Services begin at 11 AM. We have Shabbat school for children of all ages up to and including teens. You may also download audio messages from our website at BethAriel.ca and enjoy other in-depth teaching from Jacques Isaac.

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