A Kinsman Redeemer

What EXACTLY is “The Kinsman Redeemer”? Without a kinsman redeemer we could not go to Heaven! That is how important this is for our salvation!
 
         A kinsman redeemer has a legal right to have land owned by another transferred back to the original owners under certain conditions.  Jesus had to come to the Earth in the flesh to be our kinsman redeemer and “pay the price” to have the right to regain the ownership of the Earth. But does he actually want the Earth?  No, He doesn’t! He wants what is in the Earth!

     Jesus provides us with a simple parable in Matthew and tells us “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure [us, the bride] hid in a field [the earth]; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath [gives his life], and buyeth [pays the price] that field.” (Matt 13:44).  This parable is about how Jesus Christ died to pay the price to regain rights to the earth in order to obtain us, the Church [the treasure] that was in the earth.   His goal wasn’t to obtain the field itself but the treasure within it.

     The Old Testament provides us a similar example in the Book or Ruth which details this process. Boaz [type of Christ] desired to marry Ruth [type of the Church] but the only legal way in which he was able to do so was to purchase the parcel of land owned by Elimelech [Ruth’s mother-in-law’s deceased husband]. By purchasing the land, he also obtained all that was attached to the land which included Ruth [the treasure, or bride].  The right of buying back the property was in every sale so when the time came to “redeem” the land back to its original family, a relative could step in to purchase it.  This relative was referred to as “the kinsman redeemer”. 

     Only the kinsman redeemer could purchase back the land and therefore they had to be a kinsman [relative] and also had to pay the price. In order for Christ to be a kinsman he had to come to the world [in the flesh] and live as a man and he also had to pay the price [his death].  Jesus had to become a man to have the legal right to redeem the Earth from Satan so that He could take His bride from the Earth having purchased. The Earth was originally given to Adam, but its ownership was transferred to Satan through Adam’s sin. [A master owns everything their servant possesses, and Satan gained the Earth since Adam sinned.] Jesus is restoring the possession back to the original family as the kinsman redeemer. Satan currently owns and rules the world, and the land deed grant was wrapped up in a scroll with seven seals. This is the scroll that the crucified lamb of God takes from the Father’s hand in heaven and opens in Revelation to reclaim the Earth.

     The Ancient Jewish legal process to sell and purchase land back is not like we do today. Land was never sold permanently but only temporarily (Lev 25:23-28) and it always went back to the original owner if the original owner could meet the terms of the contract. In the Jubilee Year (Lev 25:8-10) all debts and slaves are freed, and all redeemed land was returned even if it was redeemed before that date (Lev 20:10,13,28; 27:24). Redemption rights were given to the nearest kinsman during any time before the Jubilee. Even though the land could be redeemed in advance, it was never returned to the kinsman until the Year of Jubilee. (Lev 25:27; Jer 32:6-9; Ruth 4:8).

     Proper legal documents were prepared and sealed for the Redemption. After the necessary price was paid (Jer 32:6-9) the proper legal documents of two identical scrolls are prepared with the particulars written on the inside and witnesses on the outside.  One is sealed for sure evidence and given to another for safekeeping.  One is used for reference until final redemption takes place in the future when the sure evidence of redemption (held in safekeeping by an absolutely trustworthy source) is opened for the final return of the land (Jer 32:10-14).  Then at the Jubilee Year, the original owner shall have the land returned to him to lease out, performing legal contracts again, as he pleased before (Jer 32:41-44). Only the kinsman redeemer has the legal right to take the scroll and open the seals to redeem the land.

     In Revelation, God the Father was holding the sealed scroll in safekeeping, and only Jesus Christ, our kinsman redeemer had the legal right to take it and open the seals and retake possession of the earth. But this possession would only be taken in the Year of Jubilee. At that time Christ will take possession and expel the usurpers from the earth (Acts 3:21).  If Jesus did not come in the flesh to be our kinsman redeemer then He would not be able to claim us from the Earth as it would always remain in Satan’s possession. This is why John was crying before Jesus came forward to claim his status and authority to open the scroll in Revelation.      Even though Jesus will have the right to the Earth and all in it, He will not take what is not His and only those that follow Him are His. The New Testament provides God’s plan of salvation and the manner in which we should live our lives to serve him, and if we do, we will become his adopted children and live in Heaven with him eternally. Over the centuries, definitions of individual words have been slowly changing, and the original meanings of each of the 5,624 Koine Greek root words used in the New Testament have come to light.

Beginnings/Bereshit

Beginnings (2): Genesis 1

By Julia BlumJanuary 8, 20202 comments

As we advance with the days of this year, we are also advancing with the days of Bereishit  and continuing to watch in awe God’s work of creation. Today, first of all let us consider different verbs that describe His work during these days.

VaYomer – and He said

And God said: “Let there be light.” And there was light.

Nine times, during six days of creation, we read: “And God said” –   וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים.  For me personally, these verses are the most wonderful evidence of that glorious beginning—that glorious order of things, when everything was so different from now.  In our fallen world we live by faith, by the evidence of the things not seen, and seldom in our lives do we experience this amazing turn of events: “God said” – and that is how it was, without any pause or delay in between. There are many things that we know God said – and we also know that these things will eventually come to be; but this glorious immediate embodiment of God’s word, this immediate visible fulfillment of what He said, is called and perceived as a miracle in our fallen world. Mostly, we see these things by faith, not by sight. But it was not a miracle then—it was the normal course of events in a world not distorted by evil.

Moreover, from this verb  VaYomer – and He said – we see absolutely clearly that not only is God the only one who has life-giving power, but the source of this life-giving power is His word—that He gives life by the authority of His Word only. According to the New Testament, Jesus is the Word of God, and therefore, we are not surprised to find almost the same description of the beginning of the creation in the New Testament—in the Gospel of John. The language of John clearly and purposely echoes the language of Genesis 1:1: both in the Genesis account and in John’s Gospel, it is the Word of God that brings forth life. This is one of the foundations of New Testament faith: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.”[1]

For instance, we see a huge difference between how people restore life in the Tanach, and how Jesus restored life. Read, for example, the description of how the prophet Elisha raises a child from the dead. He prays, he stretches himself out on the child’s body to warm him, he prays again—then the Lord answers Elisha and the child is restored to life.[2] Jesus, on the other hand, restores life in exactly the same way God creates it, by the authority of His Word only: In every gospel story where Jesus raises the dead, He simply speaks: “Talitha, kumi!” “Lazarus, come forth!” “Young man I say to you, arise!” This means that the gospel writers clearly saw His spoken word having the same life-giving, creative power as in Genesis: for the New Testament writers, the same Word creates life in Genesis, and restores life in the gospels.

VeYavdel  –and He separated

And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

We have to understand that during the first days of creation, God’s main action is lehavdil, “to separate”. We find this verb “separate” used several times in these verses. It occurs in Gen. 1:2, 6,7,14,18. On the first three days of creation, God separates 1) light from darkness, 2) the waters above from the waters below, 3) dry ground from the waters. The very first fruits of the land come only on the third day, after the work of havdala, separation, is complete. Like everything else in the Tanach, it definitely has profound spiritual meaning: God always wants to separate darkness from light, and in order to do the work of God, we must choose light and separate ourselves from darkness. One can bring forth fruits in one’s life only if the work of separation comes first—only if one separates oneself  from the darkness.

VaYikra –and He called (gave names)

As we have already seen, God’s word is the main part of the whole creative process – and this verb, VaYikra, also reflects this.

God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night[3].

And God called the firmament Heaven[4].

And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas[5].

God gives names to elements of His creation, and this becomes an essential part of their existence. In this light, it is extremely significant that the very first thing we see Adam doing is giving names – VaYikra – to all the animals (Gen. 2:19, 20). We will address this subject at length in my next posts, when we will talk about Adam.

The Creation of Man

The First, Second and Third days of creation prepare us for days Four through Six. On these days, He creates by 4) by providing lights in the firmament; 5) filling the sky and sea with winged life and sea creatures; and 6) finally creating animals and man to fill the dry land. Undoubtedly, there is a deep structure to this chapter: a careful reader gets a clear sense that there is a plan, and we are going somewhere with this. The first chapter of the Torah presents the ascent of the cosmic drama culminating in the creation of man. As we read the description of each day of creation, we feel the story building up, then in Genesis 1:26-27 we come to the crescendo: “So God created man in His own image…“[6] Everything that has been created so far, has to be seen now in the light of this verse—according to Jewish understanding, it is only when a man was created that the whole of creation became meaningful.

That is why, by the way, the day Jewish people celebrate as Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) – the first of Tishrei – is not perceived as the anniversary of Creation, it is the anniversary of the sixth day of Creation, when Adam and Eve were created. The anniversary of the first day of Creation would be five days before, on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. Why? – Because once again, in rabbinic tradition it is the birth of humanity that made the whole creation meaningful by adding to the universe the possibility for God to be proclaimed King. Next time, will speak more about this fascinating Sixth Day, and discuss in detail the creation of a man, and his relationship with his Creator.

[1] Heb. 11:3

[2] see 2 Kings 4:32-36

[3] Gen.1:5

[4] Gen.1:8

[5] Gen.1:10

[6] Gen.1:27