Maria Merola אריאל
© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, July 2004
There are several proofs from Scripture explaining why he is wrong about this, and I will list them below.
#1.) In Luke 4:25, Messiah Compared his Ministry to Elijah’s Ministry of 3.5 years.
Our Messiah compared his ministry to that of Eliyahuw (Elijah) in Luke 4:25, and he even made a point of telling us that his ministry lasted for 3 years plus 6 months, or in other words, 3.5 years (1,260 days).
Luke 4:23 And he said unto them, You will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal yourself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country.
Luke 4:24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luke 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Yisra’el in the days of Eliyahuw (Elijah), when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luke 4:26 But unto none of them was Eliyahuw (Elijah), sent save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
You will notice in the above verses that the widow is symbolic of the nation of Yisra’el. We know this by reading Isaiah 54:4-5:
In 1st Kings 17:1, we learn that Elijah commanded that it would not rain in Yisra’el except by his prophetic utterance. In 1st Kings 18:1, the word of YaHuWaH came to Elijah in his third year of ministry. He was instructed to appear before King Ahab, and to inform him that Yah was going to send rain (after three years of drought and famine).
In the previous chapter, Elijah was sent to the home of a widow whose only son died in the third year of Elijah’s ministry. And what did the prophet Elijah do? In 1st Kings 17:20, he stretched upon the boy’s body three times, and cried out to YaHuWaH for the boy’s life to be restored back to him.
These three times are an allusion to our Messiah’s prophecy, when he compared himself to the prophet Jonah who would be “Three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).
Are you seeing parallel yet? The boy died at the end of Elijah’s three years and six months of ministry, followed by his resurrection after Elijah prayed three measurements of time over the boy.
The widow represents Yisra’el, and the boy is symbolic of our Messiah, who was telling them that he would die after three and a half years, followed by his resurrection after three days and three nights! This is why Yahuwshuwa made a point of comparing his ministry to that of Elijah’s three years and a half!
In the preceding verses, (Luke 4:16-25) our Messiah read from the scroll of Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 61, and he told us plainly that he was “The anointed one,” the Mashiyach (Messiah). He also hinted that he was “The High Priest” (Melchizedek), who was coming to us in a Jubilee Year, (27-28 A.D.) which is called “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH.”
This is language that is used on Yom Kippur, and in a Jubilee Year! Therefore, we know our Messiah began his ministry in the 80th Jubilee Year (since the creation), and it was also on Yom Kippur, a High Sabbath. To learn more, please see my other blog entitled: Jubilee Cycles Reveal the Possible Second Coming of Messiah.
The role of the High Priest had been temporarily handed over to the Sons of Aharown (Aaron) after Yisra’el sinned with the golden calf in the wilderness. This is what Sha’uwl (Paul) meant, in Galatians 3:19-24 when he wrote that “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Messiah....and the law was added because of transgression, until the seed should come..”
The law that made mortal, finite humans into High Priests, was a temporary one. Yahuwshuwa’s first coming was to restore the role of the High Priest, back to Melchizedek, thus, he came to “Preach the acceptable year of YaHuWaH!”
The High Priests, from the Sons of Aharown (Aaron) were charged with blowing two silver trumpets every 50th year, in a Jubilee Year (Numbers 10:2). Our Messiah was not a Levite, therefore, for him to be announcing “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH,” meant that he was now stepping into the role of the High Priest, from the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah), which is where Melchizedek comes from (Hebrews 7:14).
Our Messiah was showing us a pattern, and giving us a hint that his ministry would last for the same time-period as Eliyahuw (Elijah), as well as the future Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:4).
#2.) The Ministry of the Corporate Two Witnesses, will last for 1,260 Days.
In Revelation 11:4, the Two Witnesses are described as “Two Olive Trees & Two Candlesticks.” To learn more about who they are, please read my other blog: Who Are the Two Witnesses?
The same time-period is assigned to these two witnesses, as was assigned to the prophet Elijah (Eliyahuw), which is 1,260 days or 3.5 years. On a 360-day biblical calendar, there are 12 months of 30-day lunar cycles. Currently, our calendar has been affected by polar shifts, (due to the flood in the days of Noah) as well as tsunamis and earthquakes.
However, during the last 3.5 years of tribulation, “The Days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22, Mark 13:20). To learn more about what our Messiah meant when he said “Except those days should be shortened,” please see my other blog entitled: Except Those Days Should Be Shortened.
#3.) The Corporate Two Witnesses will Finish the Latter Half of Daniel’s 70th Week.
Leading up to Messiah’s second coming, the corporate two witnesses, (represented by the Two Houses of Yisra’el, and the Two Overcoming Assemblies), will begin their ministry, picking up where our Messiah left off. There has been a 2,000-year gap, between our Messiah’s ministry, and the ministry of the two witnesses. How do we know this? In Luke 4:19, our Messiah read only “half” of Isaiah 61:2, leaving the other verse unread! He then closed the scroll, and gave it back to the temple scribe.
Why would he do this? It’s because in the first half of this verse, he was declaring the purpose of his first coming, which was to “Preach the Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH!” In other words, he came to restore the role of the High Priest, (back to Melchizedek), as it was originally with the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 14:18; Psalm 110:4).
When our Messiah returns, it will also be on Yom Kippur in the 120th Jubilee since the creation. This is when he will finish the latter half of Isaiah 61:2 “And the day of vengeance of our Elohiym, to comfort all that mourn...”
This verse will be perfectly fulfilled at his second coming, described in Revelation 19:2 “For true and righteous are his judgments: for he has judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”
The fact that our Messiah read only “half” of Isaiah 61:2 at the beginning of his ministry, illustrates that there had to be a 2,000-year gap in history. During these past 2,000 years, we have been in a time called “The fullness of the gentiles” (Romans 11:25). In Hebrew, this is referred to as “Melo ha’Goyim,” which is translated in the King James Version as “A multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:19).
Our Messiah allowed his ministry to be “divided in half,” so that through the preaching of the gospel to the nations, he could “Stand in the gap,” (Ezekiel 22:30), ultimately causing the “Breach to be repaired!” (Isaiah 58:12).
Therefore, our Messiah had to allow himself to be “Cut off....in the midst of the week,” according to Daniel 9:26-27. Also read my other blog entitled: Messiah’s Earthly Ministry Revealed in Daniel.
To learn more about why Daniel’s 70th Week was divided in half, please see my other blog, entitled: Who Confirms the Covenant of Daniel’s 70th Week?
#4.) The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree Tells Us Messiah’s Ministry Was Three Years.
In this parable from Luke, (the 13th chapter), our Messiah was referring to the nation of Yisra’el as the barren fig tree. The “certain man,” who had planted the fig tree in his vineyard is Elohiym. The word “vinedresser” is a Greek word that means “a vineyard worker, or a pruner.”
This person would be akin to Yahuwchanon (John the Baptist), who was working to bring forth spiritual fruit from the kingdom of Judah. Then came our Messiah, who worked three years, hoping to bring forth spiritual fruit from the nation.
John even used the same metaphor of a tree to describe the nation’s condition:
Mattityahuw (Matthew) 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
In Mark chapter 11, our Messiah had previously seen no figs on the tree, and therefore, he cursed it, telling it to bear no more fruit:
Mark 11:20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
Mark 11:21 And Keefa (Peter) calling to remembrance said unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away.
Therefore, the parable in Luke 13 is obviously speaking about our Messiah as the owner of the fig tree.
Luke 13:6 He spoke also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
Luke 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbers it the ground?
Luke 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Master, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
Luke 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that you shall cut it down.
We can see from this parable, that the owner of the fig tree is our Messiah. He preached three years, hoping that Yisra’el would repent, and bear fruit. The vineyard worker wanted to fertilize this tree for one more year, hoping to give the soil nutrients, so that the tree would bear fruit.
This extra year was symbolic of “The one year old male lamb” for Passover (Exodus 12:5). After our Messiah died on Passover, he remained on earth preaching to his disciples forty more days. This was the extra fertilization given to the fig tree. He finally poured out his spirit on the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost or Shabuoth).
Thus, we can see that our Messiah told us of his three-year ministry with the inspection of the fig tree. The final six months, (or half of a year), lead up to his crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension. The total amount of time allotted to the fig tree was 3.5 to four years. The Red Heifer is required to be between 3-4 years old, for the ordinance in Numbers 19.
Even though our Messiah officially began his ministry after his 40-day fast in the wilderness, he performed the miracle of the water into wine, prior to baptism. He even told his mother that his time had not yet come (John 2:4). But he still performed the miracle anyway. Hence, his ministry lasted roughly 3.5-4 years.
#5.) Michael Rood Says our Messiah’s Ministry Lasted 70 Weeks.
In Shemoth (Exodus) 12:5 it says “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.”
Therefore, we are told that the Passover Lamb had to be a one-year old male lamb. Because of this, Michael Rood supposes that our Messiah’s ministry lasted for only one year. However, a year is 52 weeks, and this means that the 70-weeks theory does not fit!
Our Messiah did indeed, fulfill the requirement of the “One year old male lamb,” when the High Priest (Caiaphas) prophesied in John 11:50, that Yahuwshuwa would die for the sins of the nation. Even though Caiaphas was an impostor, and not from the Sons of Aharown (Aaron), the office of the High Priest that he held was still recognized by YaHuWaH.
Yahuwchanon (John) 11:49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, You know nothing at all,
Yahuwchanon (John) 11:50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
Yahuwchanon (John) 11:51 And this spoke he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Yahuwshuwa (Jesus) should die for that nation;
Caiaphas prophesied this on the previous Passover. It was customary for the High Priest to select the lamb that would be slaughtered the following year for Passover.
#6.) Our Messiah Fulfilled the Pattern of the 3-Year Old Heifer, Goat, & Ram.
In the original covenant established between Abraham, and YaHuWaH, Abraham was instructed to slaughter a three-year old heifer, which is for the High Priest on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:6).
He was also told to slaughter a three-year old she-goat, which is given as a sin offering for the nation of Yisra’el, on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:9). Abraham was also told to slaughter a three-year old ram, which is killed to sanctify “The firstborn son” at Passover.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:9-10 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
*Explanation: Yom Kippur and Passover are like two bookends, that accomplish the same thing, which is redemption, and blood atonement. The male lamb (which is the same as a ram), was offered up for Isaac, as well as Yisra’el, the firstborn son.
The Red Heifer was first killed for the High Priest to be sanctified (since it was Aaron who caused the nation to sin with the golden calf). And finally, the female goat was killed for the nation of Yisra’el, as she is the bride. The birds of prey in Revelation 19:17-21 are not divided, because they represent the unclean wicked gentiles that are killed and then eaten on that final day of wrath.
In Genesis 22:13, Yitzqach (Isaac) was offered up as a burnt offering, but the malak (angel) of YaHuWaH intervened, and provided a ram instead. This is why 430 years later, YaHuWaH called the nation of Yisra’el “My firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22), and commanded that a one-year old male lamb, or a goat, or a ram should be offered up as a burnt offering. An adult male lamb is also called “a ram.”
Shemoth (Exodus) 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.
Now we know why our Messiah’s ministry lasted for 3.5 years. It is because all the sacrifices involved in Abraham’s covenant, had to be 3-years old, for three groups of people. In Matthew 13:33, our Messiah taught a parable about a woman (figurative of Jerusalem), who measured “three measures of meal,” and kneaded it, until the “three parts” had been fully incorporated with the leaven.
The leaven in this parable represents the gospel, as the Greek word for “leaven,” in Matthew 13:33 (zume), means “To scatter, to cast away, to disperse.” This is exactly what happened with all twelve tribes of Yisra’el, at various times in history!
In Deuteronomy 19:10-13 & 21:8-9, we are shown that when the nation sins by allowing the blood of an innocent person to be spilled (whether intentionally, or unintentionally), the entire nation becomes “Guilty of innocent blood!”
Therefore, the ordinance of the “Red Heifer” must be performed in such cases. The Temple leadership of Yisra’el shouted “Crucify him...let his blood be upon us, and upon our children!” (Matthew 27:22-25).
This is what caused the entire nation to become guilty of innocent blood, and therefore, the ordinance of the “Red Heifer” was fulfilled by our Messiah! For a deeper study on the ordinance of the Red Heifer, see my other blog: The Red Heifer Ordinance Fulfilled in Messiah.
In Numbers 19, this involves Eleazar the priest escorting a spotless red heifer outside the camp (Numbers 19:2-3); slaughtering it, and then finally burning it down into ashes (Numbers 19:5). The ashes of the red heifer was burned together with scarlet, hyssop, and cedarwood (Numbers 19:6).
The cedarwood is symbolic of the cross; the scarlet is symbolic of the Messiah’s blood sacrifice, and the hyssop was used to sprinkle the blood on the door posts at the first Passover in Exodus 12:22.
The ashes of the red heifer had to be collected into a “A clean place” (Numbers 19:9). Joseph of Arimathea donated his tomb for the body of our Messiah to be laid, and it was a brand new tomb that had never been used (Matthew 27:57-60). In other words, our Messiah’s body was placed in “A clean place!”
Thus, our Messiah fulfilled the pattern of the one-year old, Passover Lamb, (for the firstborn sons of Yisra’el); the three-year old Yom Kippur she-goat (for the divorced bride), and the three-year old Red Heifer, (for those that had shed his innocent blood).
What is amazing, is that Yahuwshuwa fulfilled all the sacrifices from the Abrahamic Covenant, all in one fell swoop! In other words, “He confirmed the covenant,” described in Daniel 9:27!
But since, his ministry was “divided in half,” his gospel was largely received by the gentiles in the nations, but not by the leadership of national Yisra’el at that time. Nevertheless, we are shown in Romans 11:11, that these past 2,000 years were meant to “Provoke them to jealousy!”
Just before Messiah’s return, these same converted gentiles, will join together with born-again Yahuwdiym (Jews), forming the Corporate Two Witnesses.
This is the “one new man,” spoken of in Ephesians 2:15, and they will finish the latter half of Daniel’s 70th Week, causing the other half of the bride to finally accept their Messiah at the Mount of Olives!
#7.) To make his theory work, Michael Rood has to remove John 6:4, from the Scriptures.
Beloved, this is a very a dangerous thing to do, as we are commanded not to add, nor subtract from the word of YaHuWaH:
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 4:2 You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish ought from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your Elohiym which I command you.
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Mishley (Proverbs) 30:6 Add you not unto his words, lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.
Chazown (Revelation) 22:18 For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, Elohiym shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Chazown (Revelation) 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Elohiym shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
To learn more about the Ordinance of the Red Heifer, I highly recommend listening to this teaching by Rico Cortes. Rico also gives documentation for the Red Heifer needing to be at least three years old, but preferably 3.5 years old!
The Laws and history of the Red Heifer Talmud (in dedicated Tractate Parshah Parah) says a red heifer is valid only if:
*It is at least three years old (younger is a “calf,” not a “cow”) [Par. 1:1].
*It is natural-born (not by caesarian) [Par. 2:3].
*It has not mated with a bull sent to mate with it (but if the bull does it on its own, it is valid) [Par. 2:4].
*It has no more than one hair that is not red [Par. 2:5; Av. Z. 24a].
*Only nine red heifers were ever prepared:
*One by Moses, - One by Ezra [1,000 years later].
*Seven since Ezra [in the next 500 years, until the destruction of the Second Temple] [Par. 3:5].
*Rambam: The tenth and last will be prepared by the Messiah [Rambam, Yad, Parah Adumah 3:4].
*So finding one today would be a harbinger of the Messiah!
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