Glad-U-See

Mat 28:18a Yeshua came and spake unto the Twelve...

In this verse, the "Twelve" included Judas, the only Jewish apostle (the remaining eleven were Ephraimites). Consider these verses:

Luk 6:13-16 When day came, he called his students and chose from among them twelve to be known as emissaries: Simon (whom he named Kefa) and his brother Andrew; James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon (who was called the Patriot), Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became the traitor.

Joh 20:19,24,26 In the evening that same day, being the first week of the seven weeks of Shavout, when the students were gathered together behind locked doors out of fear of the Judean leaders, Yeshua came, stood in the middle and said, "Shalom aleikhem!" Now Thomas (the name means "twin"), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Yeshua came. A week later his students were once more in the room, and this time Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Yeshua came, stood among them and said, "Shalom aleikhem!"

Luk 24:12-13,33 Kefa got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping down, he saw only the burial cloths and went home wondering what had happened. That same day, two of them were going toward a village about seven miles from Jerusalem, called Emmaus. They got up at once and went back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven students (everyone except Thomas) gathered together with the others.

1Cor 15:3-5 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that the Messiah of Israel died for the sake of our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Kefa, then to all twelve (including Judas Iscariot).

The parenthetical events of Mat 27:3-10 occurred between Act 1:9 and Act 1:11.

Judas was called the "son of perdition" in Joh 17:12 because Judas' father was a Pharisee, Joh 13:2 & Luk 7:36-45.

Mat 28:18b-19a Saying, “All authority and privilege is given to me by Heaven (a euphemism for YHVH), when upon earth (this "authority and privilege" is the keter kehunah, the Crown of the Priesthood that the Pharisees coveted). Go ye therefore, and have the gentiles taught, and have them baptized (immersed into a ritual bath called a mikvah) for the Name (another euphemism for YHVH).

Mat 19b-20 The father and the son and the holy spirit teaching the gentiles to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, forever and ever. Amein”.

The customary triplet that we read in the Torah is: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Or, we could say "father, son, and supplanter (Gen 27:36)". The word spirit in context with the family referred to a son who supplanted his firstborn brother (see Gal 4:21-31 in the chapter entitled "Under Law"). In contrast, the term flesh conveyed the firstborn who was supplanted (see Rom 9:7-13). A holy spirit was a set-apart or promised son who superseded the firstborn. In our text, the one superseding is the Tribe of Levi, who replaced the firstborns, relieving them of their responsibilities and their sacred status (see the Sidebar above right).

Num 3:12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every first-born that opens the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be Mine.

The firstborn had been given to Elohim and were called sons of God. The sons of God were the priesthood (Exo 13:2;22:29 & Num 3:44-45 + Num 8:16).

If the Tribe of Levi is the successor to the order of the firstborn (the sons of God), then who are the Father and the Son? (The Hebrew word for "son" means a builder or a member of an order). They are the High Priest and the Officer or Prince (2 Chr 24:8-11; Eze 45).

Levi was given the teaching responsibilities.

Lev 10:11 And that you Aaron may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which YHVH has spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

Deu 33:10 Levi shall teach Jacob Thine ordinances, and Israel Thy Torah; they shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt-offering upon Thine altar.

Eze 44:23 And the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok shall teach My people the difference between the uncommon and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

Mal 2:7 (Tanach, Stone Edition) The lips of the priest shall safeguard knowledge, and the People shall seek teaching from the mouth of Levi; for Levi is an agent of YHVH of the Armies of Israel.

Paul reminds Israel that these teachers were given to them as gifts.

Eph 4:7-8 But unto every one of us is given a gift according to the portion of the offering of the Messiah of Israel (Lev 6:16-18). Wherefore it says in Targum Psalm 68:18, "You have ascended up Mount Sinai O prophet Moses. You have led Pharaoh and his army captive (Exo 15:1-19). You taught the words of Torah. You gave gifts (the priests and judges) to men, yea indeed the rebellious (Deu 19:16-17), in order that YHVH Elohim might dwell there (Exo 25:8)".

Eph 4:9-12 Now that Moses ascended, what is it but then he also descended to the lower portions --- the earth (terra firma, Isa 44:23, Exo 19:25)? The one descending (the Prophet like Moses, Act 7:37, see Act 1:11) is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens (i.e. "out of sight", Act 1:9), that he might fulfill all things pertaining to the Prophet (Deu 18:15-22). And he gave gifts to the Sons of Men yea, indeed the rebellious: some apostles (in Hebrew, an apostle is a shaliach. It means someone who has been dispatched. Think of this shaliach as a judge in the Old West, who holds a circuit court, Mat 19:28), that is, some circuit-judges as spokesmen, and some circuit-judges as heralds, and some circuit-judges as shepherds (2Tim 1:11 & Jer 3:12-15); and he gave the Levitical teachers (Deu 24:8; 33:8-11), equipping those who have been set-apart (the Priests, Exo 19:22) for the work of the Temple ministry; rebuilding the body of the Messiah of Israel (Amo 9:11; Act 15:16).

The apostles', the judges', and Levi's commissions (1Cor 12:28-30) will be realized in the Millennium. The House of Israel and the House of Judah live in a murky sea of exile. The murky sea is described in Mic 3:6-7: "Therefore, it will be night for you--without visions; it will grow dark for you--without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them. Then the seers will be ashamed and the diviners disappointed. They will all cover their mouths because there will be no answer from Elohim". (Also, read Deu 4:27-28; 2Chr 15:3-7; Psa 107:10-11; Isa 29:9-14; Eze 39:22-29).

As in the time of the Judges, Israel has been left with the lack of a leader from Elohim. And because there is no king in Israel everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes.

Jer 33:20-21 "If you can break My covenant with the Day and My covenant with the Night so that Day and Night cease to come at their regular time, then also My covenant with My servant David may be broken so that he will not have a Son reigning on his throne, and the Levitical priests will not be My attendants".

Israel is to be a realm for the Priests (see 1Pet 2:5 below). To assume all Israelites have somehow become imitation Levites and counterfeit Priests, is to repeat the sin of Korah (Num 16:3) or King Jeroboam (1Kin 12:31). It would also nullify each tribe’s portion of land, because physical and incorporeal Levites have no inheritance (Deu 18:1-2).

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the Poor of spirit (see Isa 58:7; the poor are the homeless. The "Poor of spirit" are the Levites, Deu 14:27-29; Jdg 17:9), because the Kingdom of Israel (1Chr 28:5) is their commission.

Each of the blessed in Mat 5:3-16 (the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers, the persecuted, the salty, and the lamps) represent the 12 Tribes of Israel.

1Pet 2:5 (NASB) You also, as living stones, are being restored into an awakened House (the reassembled Davidic Dynasty, Isa 9:6; Jer 33:7-8; Zec 6:12-13; Act 15:16-17) for a unique priesthood to offer up stirring slaughters, acceptable to Elohim through Yeshua, the annointed High Priest. (The priesthood remains unique to the tribe of Levi throughout the Millennium, Eze 44:15).

Rev 1:5-6 And from Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, the faithful witness, the firstborn from being dead, and the ruler of the kings of the Land. To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins (1Kin 8:47-53) by his blood (his death, 1Cor 15:36), and prepared us a kingdom of priests to Elohim, even his Father -- to the Father be the glory and power forever and ever. Amein.

Rev 5:8-10 When He took the scroll; the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Servant (see the discussion about the Aramaic word talya in the chapter entitled "Sin of the World"). Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the Children of Israel (Psa 148:14). And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; because you were put to death (... in order to be resurrected, 1Cor 15:4,17-19; Act 13:32-33; 26:6-8), that is to say, rescued them for Elohim by your blood (by your death), from out of every tribe and language and people and nation (Eze 20:33-37). You prepared them a kingdom and priests to our Elohim (Num 3:12). And they (the Levitical priests) will rule upon the Land (Eze 44:15-31)".

Rev 20:4-6 Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them (Deu 19:16-17) who were given authority to judge the individuals, who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Yeshua and because of Elohim's Word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their arms. The people seated on the thrones came to life to reign with the Messiah for 1,000 years. The rest of the dead judges did not come to life until the 1,000 years were completed (see Joh 5:24-25 in the chapter called "Flesh and Blood"). This judgment is the first resurrection. Blessed and privileged is the judge who shares in the first resurrection! The verdict of second death has no power over these with the testimony about Yeshua and the Torah. Indeed, the people seated on the thrones will be priests of Elohim and the Messiah, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years (Eze 44:15-31).

To summarize, Yeshua instructed the gentiles to be taught by the High Priest, the Prince, and the Tribe of Levi, in order to observe all things whatsoever Yeshua had commanded his disciples.

The Name they are to implore, when immersed into a mikvah, is YHVH

Jer 16:21 I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is YHVH.