Our Royal Blue Priesthood

NOTE:
This article should be read after the Festival of Shouting Reading (an excerpt from Discovery Segment #9 of Discovering Mysteries of the Lost Calendar)

Anciently, the nations understood that tassels represented royalty, as only nobility wore them. But Israel was peculiar. Everyone was elevated to wear them, for they were to serve the nations as kings of righteousness, for it is by living in full compliance to the Torah that they ruled under Jehovah. This gave them authority over all the nations, which could destroyed if they did not reform after repeated warnings. Yet in the times that Israel failed to walk in the Torah, they succumbed to the nations, having lost their royalty.

But more than this, the thread of blue represented priesthood, for the priests of Israel wore much blue. They were set apart, or holy, in this way. Thus, Israel was to be a light to the nations, ministering the gospel to them in types. Together, the tassels and the blue strand they contain, convey royal priesthood. But just like modern Seventh-day Adventists, they forgot that their purpose was to serve the nations. They took pride in their nation, that they were the remnant favored by Elohim.

But for many centuries, non-Messianic Jews no longer wear blue on their tassels. Why is this? It is because of the judgments of Elohim: the two Roman wars left them so much in poverty, they could not even afford one thread of blue. They providentially lost their priesthood! It is now the Messianic Jews, who largely come from the nations, that are to wear the priestly blue. We are purposely set apart from the world (nations) unto holiness; and that is for the purpose of serving the nations as priests (mediators) between Elohim and man. We are to show them the Way.

Currently the Kingdom of Elohim (where the Son co-reigns with the Father) is of grace; it is an internal kingdom (“within you,” Luke 17:21)—by the reign of the Messiah’s righteousness, which we especially attain through the Supper of the Lord (partaking of Him, His sacrifice). But on the Day of Covering (aka. Atonement) probation closes, the wedding takes place. Grace is no more. The Father hands over their shared Kingdom to the class=”names”>Son, who shall reign with Israel over the whole earth. It is set up in stages through the seventh month shabbaton holy days. On the Day of Shouting (aka. Trumpets) it is made manifest to the nations when the 144,000 all gather to hear the words of the eternal covenant. It is the official fall of the nations, who must give up their reign.

Remember the whole purpose of John the Baptist’s message and of the Messiah. It was the coming of the Kingdom of Elohim. The reign of Elohim‘s righteousness was made known to Israel. They had a choice to be royal priests or not. They chose not. And after the Roman wars, their blue was taken away, and they lost knowledge of it.

Today we can wear our tassels of blue with a full knowledge of these things, knowing that we are priests to minister the grace of Elohim (the gospel) to the nations by proclaiming it to them; it is not a purity commandment that is no longer in force but, like the Sabbath and holy days, is a testimony for every generation that is born or adopted into Israel. The end goal is for the grace to produce the glory of the Kingdom in the seventh month. The nations are invited to join the royalty of Israel, where every member is elevated to royal priesthood. Elohim‘s way of equality is to lift everyone up, not to bring anyone down to a lower status.

The nations will recognize us by our tassels of blue and our Advent Festival of Tabernacles, and the honest among them will flock to us that they may learn the Sabbath truth, for they will see the beauty of holiness in our good works. So, our tassels are to remind us of who we are. As Israelites of the covenant, we are the royalty of Jehovah; His Royal Torah commandments being written in our hearts makes it so.

As kings, we are to take dominion of this earth by gaining territory little by little until each and every place on earth has a Sabbath memorial—a sign indicating the meeting place of a Sabbath fellowship set up to claim it. I do not believe every memorial will have a designated building associated with it, nor should that be, though every situation is unique. If there is a designated building erected, it should be very simple, like a metal garage or a hut, due to massive increases of building and property expenses since the 1800s; but as long as the sign is up, the fellowship table can be moveable—especially outdoors when the weather cooperates, such as by a lake or in some other scenic natural area, befitting for the Sabbath theme of creation. Our time and resources should be dedicated to planting many memorials declaring the Kingdom unto the glory of Elohim.

It is the sign of the place of worship that is most meaningful, because it is a display of the Sabbath sign. ‘sabbath’ or ‘seventh-day’ should always be part of the wording, and a good way to do this is just to have the name of the city or town followed by ‘sabbath Fellowship’. They can be engraved in stone to denote permanency (though this may not always be able to be done), and there can be blue to denote the royal purpose of the fellowship. The significance of the Sabbath is that it reveals Jehovah as the One whose territory is the heavens, earth, and sea, with the purpose of the Assembly to reclaim it for Him, which He will then give to His class=”names”>Son.

Thus is our work as kings, reigning in righteousness from our Sabbath fellowship thrones. Four corners mark a property, and the four tassels on the edges of our garments indicate both that we are acknowledging ourselves as the property of Jehovah and that we are here to reclaim His property of this earth from the nations and worldly powers of Satan that now control it. As kings of Messiah‘s Kingdom, now in the phase of grace, we are to enlarge the Kingdom, and as His priests we are to seek to administer that grace through the gospel to give everyone an opportunity to be part of the Kingdom.

Let us each day wear our royal blue of nobility as a reminder of who we are and why we are here and how we are to live. Everything we do should be in reference to the Kingdom. And since that Kingdom reigns through the Messiah‘s Torah righteousness, we have no right to wear the royal blue without that righteousness.

Elohim shares His sapphire blue throne with His righteous saints, and as a token of this, through the tassel commandment, He gives each one four blue strands. We are on a mission that Satan has wanted us to completely forget. We are not here to live to please ourselves or to just “go to church” or even to merely share our faith in acts of kindness. Our very practical goal is to raise up a local assembly in every city area, with Sabbath fellowships scattered throughout it in various townships or villages. Don’t think that Elohim‘s people will be too small to accomplish this, for we now know that 144,000 is only representative of the great multitude that will be sealed in the end, including a multitude of just Jews. And don’t think that there is not enough time for this to happen before the end either. No matter how much we may think the mark of the beast is about to be enforced and that we are just preaching that and waiting for it to happen, none of it will until the world has first been warned of it—and this through Sabbath memorials set up all over the world, for it means that Elohim has His noble representatives claiming the territory as belonging to His Kingdom.

Where can you start? Establish your territory. If you don’t already have one, get a map of your area, and mark out borders. Here in America we have townships. Each one is locally governed, though there are still areas of unorganized territory. These all need Elohim‘s representatives living in them who attend a Sabbath fellowship. The Sabbath is His seal, so it denotes His kingly authority. When His people come together to have communion, it is a royal banquet. The fellowship (communion) table is their throne, for they are partaking of the sacrifice of the ROYAL Messiah; they are partaking of His righteousness that fulfills the Royal Torah. But more than this, as brought out in the study Proclaiming the Death of the Lord, the decree made at this holy throne is a collective resolution to sacrifice, and sin not, with the proclamations going forth being living testimonies of the glory of Elohim in their acts of agape love fulfilling their decree. This is made more clear in the closing quote of this article.

It is at the festival holy meal that the saints, at least ceremonially, receive reigning power—though their lives are but one continual feast on the Messiah and His righteousness, becoming what they partake of. And they are strengthened on Sabbath not just by that meal but by their sharing of testimonies proclaiming the goodness of Elohim. The kings’ proclamations of the Lord‘s death—as partakers of His sacrifice, to become it in action—are the proclamation of the Kingdom of the Messiah, which is His righteousness. A holy influence proceeds outward to the local communities—everywhere the saints go.

Biblically, Sabbath fellowships are not the local assembly, or ecclesiastical government. But the churches of modern Christendom makes no distinction. We need a revival of every divine ordinance. The word “church” fails to convey ‘ecclesia’, which literally means ‘called out ones’, implying an ‘assembly’. “Church” has come to usually mean that place down the road where people gather for worship, or a denominational sect, but this is not very biblical. We prefer using “Assembly” (capitalized) as it conveys to the mind ideas of order and unity and is etymologically more true to the original meaning of ‘Ecclesia’.

The biblical Ecclesia, or Assembly, is simply the collection of all believers who assemble themselves together as part of governed societies covering local areas, which can also be called ‘assemblies’ (lowercase); they are to govern concurrently within the worldly governmental jurisdictions (cities, townships, etc.) in order to administer the gospel of the Kingdom to them so that eventually the Kingdom takes their place as the representatives of righteousness win the war over evil. It especially refers to believers of the Messiah that are commandment-keepers organized for service. But it includes all in the world, regardless of organizational names they are a part of, who assemble themselves together for fellowship and are part of the body of the Messiah; both definitions are used in the Spirit of Prophecy, according to context. Whatever organization we belong to, we should not be bigoted to claim that we are the true church and that others who do not believe as we do are not part of Elohim‘s Assembly.

As far as local assemblies are concerned, again, they are not buildings. They are not even believers that meet in the same building or location every week. Throughout the New Testament Scriptures, it is evident that believers of the Messiah met in homes, and those who lived within the vicinity of a certain city were called by that city—such as “the Assembly of Elohim which is at Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2)—and they were considered an assembly, or organized society, collectively, regardless of the house they frequently worshiped in.

This understanding of how the apostolic Assembly was structured is important, because assemblies should not form large weekly gatherings. They should spread out and have more influence by representing themselves in various locations, also being more personal so that everyone knows each other and they are closely-knit.

There is no need for the standard audience-seating arrangement for the chapel, and it would be far better to sit in a square (with three sides for seating and the fourth side for a leader, speaker, or musicians) so that everyone can see each other and connect. After all, the meetings are supposed to largely be social anyways, whether for the Sabbath School, the social testimony meeting, Bible studies, or the Supper of the Lord. Short and occasional sermons will work as well, as long as the fourth side of the square is free for the preacher. Tables can be lined up along the other three sides—forming a single table—so that people are encouraged to take notes and have their Bible open at the same time. The same table(s) can be used for the communion supper.

If more people join the Sabbath fellowship and space runs out, there can be multiple Sabbath services until another meeting location is secured in a different town or suburb or township, so that memorials are established in many places in the upbuilding of the Kingdom of Elohim. The Sabbath fellowship does not have to meet at the same location each Sabbath, so there can be a memorial in each of several townships, but it can be cycled as to which one is attended.

There can be a single assembly for every decent-sized city (big enough to have a hospital or a Walmart) and the district can be spread out to the surrounding area to border with other districts surrounding such cities, with the goal of having a Sabbath fellowship for each of the many townships in the district. This will allow for many elders, with preferably (but not necessarily) one or two for each Sabbath fellowship, creating balance and unity, for the many elders can council together. It also allows members to freely visit different meeting houses to get to know more people. A member would be of the assembly rather than the Sabbath fellowship.

Different areas within a local assembly district can be divided into ‘fields’ (as was done in the Seventh-day Adventist pioneer days). An elder can be assigned to one of the fields to both shepherd it and to lead out in working it each year in an organized way through missionary meetings, which can be held each New Moon, with all members in assembly attending, making for a large meeting, which will be a special blessing; but if it gets too large, just the members in a particular field can meet in such a New Moon meeting. There can also be time for music, prayer, and sharing testimonies, especially missionary ones. Such meetings could be held outdoors (weather permitting), in a large tent, or a rented hall or even Sunday church building, with longer sessions during the Christian feasts of Pesach and Pentecost. Smaller missionary meetings covering just a field may be held more frequently if necessary—weekly or biweekly.

The New Moon missionary meeting can also include a baptism session, so that all in the local assembly (or field if a large assembly) can witness it. And what more fitting time to have a baptism than on the covenantal day of renewal? Now, a word on baptism. It should not be long delayed. The Bible is clear that those who were baptized in the apostolic time were done soon after they became believers in the Son of Elohim, whom they were being baptized into. They would only then receive the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to be able to reach the entire world quick enough, then people will need to be baptized, so that they too can soon be missionaries and the gospel can spread like wildfire.

From the very beginning, the new disciple should be taught how to have personal devotions. The readings can go through the gospels and the disciple can receive a book that goes through the gospels in a consolidated way so that each event is covered by the gospel writer that expounds most fully, hastening the time to the baptism; the Torah and the prophecies, especially of Daniel and Revelation, can be linked to the gospel story, including such subjects as the state of the dead, the Judgment, the sanctuary, the second death, etc. Such a book is in development at the time of this writing, and the following quote from the Testimonies makes it clear that a study of the life of the Messiah is prerequisite to baptism:

Concurrently, the gospel worker can meet with the disciple at least twice a week to answer any questions the student may have of the readings. We must keep in mind that our main goal of the Assembly is to provide discipleship unto Jehoshua the Messiah, not mere indoctrination. This is what the great commission calls us to do, not mere proselytizing.

On the New Moon prior to a person’s expected New Moon baptism, it can be brought to the attention of the assembly who the baptismal candidates are so that everyone can be praying for them, and a weekly newsletter can keep members up to date with the progress of the students. Special prayers can be made where any candidates may be struggling to die to the world in areas such as diet, dress, entertainment, and speech. The earnest prayer for baptismal preparation and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit can replace what used to take many months for people to be prepared for baptism, and we can expect much greater power of the Holy Spirit in those who join the body of the Messiah! Let us expect a revival wherever the gospel goes!

If anyone is not quite ready to fully die to the world (symbolized by baptism), then they can be given an extra month for preparation. And upon baptism, each new member can be gifted a good Bible, and, if funding is available, Desire of Ages and the Testimonies for the Church, but for sure helping them learn how to access Ellen White’s writings online. Elders and deacons (for males) and deaconesses (for females) should especially be working closely with new members to get them established into the holy lifestyle.

Many of the Sabbath fellowships can be in rural areas where agriculture can be done to feed the poor members and elders so that the elders can work less hours, if not even working the farm for at least some of their employment, so that they have time, especially in the winter, for visiting members and training them for service, as well as leading out in meetings, which together may take many hours per week. Though they should not receive a salary like a minister (evangelist) would, tithe could be reserved to compensate for their regular traveling expenses to members’ homes (which is essential), for missionary endeavors (with the continual goal of planting new memorials in each surrounding township or community), and to elders meetings. Some elders might do part-time canvassing work. Some might work at an Adventist industry, such as a health food store or sanitarium. But they should not be working as many hours as the regular members.

But all members, unless distinctly directed by Elohim to do otherwise, should be encouraged not to work for worldly employers but to work for our own institutions, largely agriculturally-based (restaurants, health food stores, treatment centers, modest clothing textiles, publishing houses, etc.), for most worldly businesses either play worldly music or provide immoral goods and would not allow vacation time for Sabbaths, New Moons, holy days, and festivals. Neither should our children be attending worldly schools or go to college; many youth are lost in this way.

We need simple yet systematic training for elders, industry workers, teachers, and students; this can largely be done online and inexpensively. This system of independent education and industry will go a long ways in allowing us to quickly raise up Elohim‘s Kingdom around the world and prepare us for the time when we cannot buy or sell, for we will be independent of the world. It also allows us to better access the world with the gospel, for our products will be healthier, less expensive, and otherwise of higher excellence than those of the world; people will flock to our industries and we can freely share spiritual material with them in the process—which cannot be done at worldly businesses.

Elders should be fully dedicated to their work. They should not be involved with social media and other unnecessary hobbies. They have a very important work and should be well-cared for by the Assembly so that they need not spend much time with home maintenance and repair work. They also need time for their own training by ministers and conference teachers.

If these principles are followed, we will see amazing things take place, beyond anything that can be described in words. The gospel work will be completed!

But it must be remembered that fellowship is only for those who forsake sin. Elders are to continually visit members to encourage people to live faithfully and not in sin; known sins are not to be allowed to persist in our fellowship, though it may take a period of labor to help people to overcome. And for those that are not members, they should not be attending our Sabbath fellowship services, especially since the fellowship meal is the centerpiece of our services, which is for the Assembly, not the world, or worldly-minded “Christians.”

Instead, our Adventist pioneers had activities designated for non-members. They had a branch Sabbath School, which was largely dedicated to non-members, and they also often had first-day preaching services for the public. This is where they can more intimately get to know our people. A Torah Reading is a biblical alternative to the traditional Sabbath School, for the apostolic Assembly attended their local Jewish synagogue to hear the Torah and Prophets read, as well as discussed. Jews would allow Gentiles to come to the synagogues. And in our Torah readings we can also have a portion from the apostolic Scriptures as well as commentary, not limited to Ellen White’s. It can be made interesting with quiz and discussion questions as well as crossword puzzles. We have a Facebook chat group designated for this purpose.

Now that we have established a basic blueprint of building up the Messiah‘s Kingdom in a district, let us return back to the geographical aspect of it. The border can be drawn around a city area which might include dozens of whole townships (the building blocks of districts as they are the jurisdictions of land that each need representatives of Elohim intervening and ministering) as well as many smaller cities. Then, once an area is drawn out, the perimeter townships and cities can be claimed as territory—though not officially as belonging to the Kingdom until they are filled with memorials. How? Through visiting each one and claiming them through prayer as gospel territory. A loop can be driven that goes through each one, and then once the loop is closed, all the cities and townships within can be claimed as well. The drive may take a number of hours to complete—all the time in prayer. Existing churches can be prayed for. We can pray for revival to take place in them, so that hearts will be better prepared to receive the full gospel when it comes to them in the fourth angel’s message.

But that is only the beginning. Prayer should always be the foundation of our priestly ministry. We should follow the local news and events. Our weekly prayer meetings should be more outward than inward. We should be praying, earnestly praying, for what is happening in our local area and for the governing leaders or magistrates; our prayers should be very specific and intensive.

One or more persons can be appointed for especially following the news and just before the prayer meeting there can be a news rundown so the people know what to pray for. Events can be not just prayed for but evangelized, always circling around ahead of time to undo any curses and allow the Holy Spirit to work on hearts—the same can and should be done when circling the entire assembly district initially as well. We need to realize that as kings, we hold power and authority in the Name of Jehoshua, even over principalities and powers of darkness. Our prayers, which the angels bring up to the heavenly sanctuary, have mighty power. We can thus intervene in the affairs of men and thus assist in the upbuilding of the Kingdom. It is a spiritual warfare, and we need to study how spiritual warfare works and understand how to deal with it. Everywhere there are secret societies or meetings; curses are placed.

There are also people suffering everywhere and we should do all in our power to relieve human suffering—both through our prayers and hands and feet on the ground to bring comfort, sympathy, and aid; in fact, this is the most effective way to prepare people to be interested in receiving Bible studies, so this is really the next step after establishing territory through prayer. But even if winning souls through this means were not a possibility, we should always pray for and exercise love and sympathy for our fellowmen that the Messiah died for anyways. It should be our very nature.

Our people need to awake to kingly and priestly service! We are generally not doing any of these things! This is all the more reason to wear our tassels to remind us of who we are and our mission of proclaiming the love of Elohim by our actions, and thereby obtaining Bible study candidates and then baptismal candidates and then kingly representatives for the Kingdom of Elohim. And we are to reign not in a domineering way like the worldly nations do but through righteousness—supplying both the physical and spiritual needs of suffering communities, thus exalting our great resurrected King, Jehoshua the Messiah, and pointing all souls to Him!

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation

Called out from darkness into His marvelous light,
A chosen generation, shining bright,
A royal priesthood set apart,
To serve the nations with love in heart.

Tassels of blue upon our garments gleam,
Symbols of priestly dignity, a royal theme,
To lead the world in righteousness and grace,
And lift His praise in every place.

We bear our covenant, with humble hearts,
To carry His love to all of earth’s parts,
To serve, to love, to heal, to restore,
Till earth His forevermore.

In every city, across each land,
We build memorials with our hands,
A sign of Sabbath, sign of grace,
A beacon of hope in every place.

Our mission clear, our calling high,
To lift the fallen, heal the sick,
To feed the hungry, clothe the poor,
Reflect His love forevermore.

Priests to mediate, kings to reign,
In righteousness we stand again,
Building His kingdom with active hands,
Fulfilling divine commands.

Every act of kindness, every word of truth,
A testament to His everlasting booth,
Reflecting the Messiah’s pure, holy light,
Bringing darkness into sight.

Lift your voice in sacred praise,
Proclaim His kingdom all your days,
Royal priests, His chosen race,
Shining forth His saving grace.

Till earth is made His holy place,
His righteousness and love embrace,
We are His royal priesthood,
A holy nation, redeemed and true.

The Royal Thread of Blue

If you will hearken to My voice, indeed,
And keep the covenant which you have decreed,
Then you shall be My treasure, a peculiar prize,
For all the earth is Mine before Mine eyes.
A Kingdom of priests, a nation set apart,
To bear My holy law upon the heart.

Ye are a chosen generation, royal, holy, true,
Called out of darkness into marvelous light, in you.
No people once, but now the people of our Elohim,
Who have obtained mercy where once the lost had trod.
As strangers, pilgrims, from the flesh refrain,
Let your good works among the nations reign,
That seeing your beauty, they may glorify the Lord,
And find the King whose righteousness is poured.

The tassel on the border, a thread of azure hue,
To bid you look, remember, and all My precepts do.
To turn not to the eyes, nor after your own heart,
But be holy to your Elohim, set fully apart.
For royalty it spoke, a sign for all to see,
That every soul was elevated unto Me.
A royal priesthood set, a light to minister,
But when the blue was lost, the holy life did blur.

Now the Messianic seed, we wear the blue once more,
To be ambassadors of grace and open wide the door.
The Kingdom now is internal, the reign within,
By the Messiah‘s righteousness, triumphant over sin.
But at the Day of Covering, the wedding takes its start,
And the Father‘s shared domain is given to the class=”names”>Son’s own heart.
The twelve tribes gather, a voice for all the earth,
Proclaiming covenant’s power, the Kingdom’s sudden birth.

We wear the sign of nobility, knowing we are here,
To minister the gospel, and make the truth appear.
To plant the Sabbath memorial, a banner wide and strong,
To every city, village, where lost souls still belong.
The Sabbath is My seal, the sign that I create,
A place of holy rest, where we inaugurate
A royal fellowship table, a throne where grace is found,
Where righteousness is poured out and reigning power is crowned.

So wear your blue each day, for all you do and say,
Must point to the Kingdom, to the Truth, the Way.
To seek His righteousness before all earthly gain,
For this is peace and joy, where the Holy Spirit reigns.
We claim this earth’s territory, from darkness we reclaim,
A people awakened, in the Great King‘s holy Name.
Let our prayers be a warfare, our hands bring help and ease,
Until the world is flooded by the gospel’s perfect peace.

Behold your Elohim! The King’s reward is here,
His light of glory shining, and making all things clear.