The Restoration

The original priesthood was a royal priesthood. The first priest, the first Adam, failed. Yahweh raised up a firstborn nation and redeemed them out of Egypt, but they transgressed the covenant also at Sinai and needed redemption from the curses outlined in that covenant. The second Adam, Y'shua, came and brought eternal redemption for Adam's sons.

Y'shua clearly said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” So we no longer have an authority problem in the Kingdom. Y'shua took back the authority that was forfeited to the enemy.

For those of us in covenant with Him He has given us the authority and the power to do what needs to be done, to do what He did in fulfilling the mandate to be kings and priests in the earth. That is the restoration of authority.

The Father has now empowered Renewed Covenant Israel.

The Second Man

Y'shua was the 'firstfruits' from the earth of a redeemed man. He was the first man to come to perfection as a Son of God and thereby became the first of a new order, of a redeemed kind of man.

In speaking of His forthcoming death, resurrection and glorification, Y'shua said, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." (John 12:24)

When He arose, He became the first-of-a-kind to come to maturity, of the seed the Father had planted in the earth. He was the first to arrive at mature manhood as a Son of man. He fulfilled the type of the Firstfruits offering, the first sheaf that was waved before Yahweh of the harvest that was yet to come from the earth, (Leviticus 23: 9-14)

"But now Messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep"

"Messiah the firstfruits, afterward they that are Messiah's at His coming." :1 Corinthians 15:20,23

Adam, as the first man had also been created as a son of the Father in His image and likeness by the Spirit, but failed to endure the testing and come to maturity.

This 'second man', Y'shua, who is the second Son to be 'born' of the Father, (1 Corinthians 15:47) was faithful in His commission to the priesthood Himself having "learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" :Hebrews 5: 8, 9 When the enemy came and presented the lusts of the flesh to tempt Him as he had done with Adam and Eve, Y'shua resisted the temptation and said, "It is written Satan, 'You shall worship Yahweh your God and Him only shall you serve"

(Luke 4: 8)

As a 'second man' in the image and likeness of Yahweh, He obeyed the Word and kept the covenant as a faithful Son of the Father.

The Fulfillment of His Priesthood

He, as a faithful priest, made an atonement by the offering of Himself, as a 'lamb' without spot or blemish for the sins of the people. Hebrews 9:26b-28a Priests ordained under the Adamic order of mankind could not officiate a complete redemption for sin. It was only temporary until one came who could, under the power of a sinless life, offer an atonement which was sufficient once and for all, for sin.

"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." Hebrews 10: 4 of 1-4

"But He, because He continues forever has an unchangeable priesthood .." "For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, " "For this He did once for all when He offered up Himself" Hebrews 7:24a, 26, 27b

By one offering He made a complete atonement for all sin, for all time. Hebrews 10:12

By reason of the fact that He was without sin, the grave had no legal claim upon Him, and the Spirit of God made Him alive and raised Him from the dead (1 Corinthians 6:14).

He thereby became the 'Second Man' to be born by the Spirit of Yahweh as was Adam, the 'first man'. He thus became the "firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1: 5) He was the 'firstborn' of a new order, a second 'man' who was of a spiritual order of 'man'. As the first of this new order He became King as well as a High Priest over all the earth.

He regained the dominion lost by Adam over the earth in yielding to Satan, and became King of all earthly kings as well as having authority over every power and dominion of the enemy. (Ephesians1:20-21)

His priesthood was of a different order than that of the contemporary Levitical priesthood of His era, and having no inheritance in that order (being of the tribe of Judah and not of Levi), He attained to the eternal Melchizedek order that was originally assigned to Adam, that of the Firstborn Son.

This spiritual 'man', the Firstborn of the Most High, originated a new order of priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, which is as a king/priest. He has become King of kings and Lord of lords. He is both the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God, the King and the Priest of the Most High. Rev.5:5-6

David speaking prophetically, says that Yahweh swore to His Son with an oath, that He would be a priest of the ETERNAL Melchizedek order. "Yahweh has sworn, and will not repent, You art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Psalm 110: 4

"(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek:)" Hebrews 7:21

As His Firstborn Son, He qualified for the Melchizedek priesthood.

The Order of Firstborn Sons

He became the first of a new order of spiritual king/priests on the earth, "For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Hebrews 2:10-11

Y'shua obtained eternal redemption for us so that we might also become spiritual sons of the Father.

"the last Adam (Y'shua) became a life-giving Spirit"

"And as we have borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly (spiritual) man." i.e. Y'shua 1 Corinthians 15:45b, 49

"As He is, so are we in this world" This is a spiritual reality now! 1 John 4:17b

Those of us who have been born of His Spirit are of this new order of 'man'. We are of the order of the spiritual man Y'shua the Messiah. We have been raised up out of the natural order of Adam, the first order of 'man' that is natural and soulish, into the spiritual order of the second, 'Man', Y'shua.

" .. .. even when we were dead in trespasses, (He) made us alive together with Messiah .. .. .. .. and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Messiah Y'shua." Ephesians 2: 5b-6 & Colossians 2:13

We have been made alive together with Him, out of our previous state of spiritual death that resulted from our sins and transgressions, and changed into His spiritual state.

As well as being made alive together with Him, we have also been raised up together with Him into His position in the heavenly realms.

"When He had by Himself purged our sins, (He) sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high"

He is now seated there at the right hand of the Father. Hebrews 1: 3, 13; 10:12 That is the position of power and authority to which the Father raised Him from death, "far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named," (Ephesians 1:21)

Having gained the dominion lost over the earth, everything is now subject unto Him (Philippians 2:5-8), and He is now seated there as King and ruler over all, and from there He exercises His ministry as High Priest over all the earth. (Romans 8:34)

That is the position to which we have been raised IN HIM. We have been made to sit together WITH HIM in His position with the Father at the throne of God in the spiritual realm.

Not a physical reality, but a spiritual one - we have been enthroned with Him in the spiritual realms.

That is our spiritual position in Y'shua the Messiah. As co-heirs with Him, the spiritual reality is that we have inherited His position of enthronement with the Father.

The heart of the Father was to have sons in His own image and likeness with whom He could share His creation and entrust to them the power and the dominion to rule and reign with Him for all eternity.

This was His eternal purpose which was fulfilled in Y'shua the Messiah and bequeathed to all who would be co-heirs with Him. Ephesians 3: 8-11; Revelation 22: 5b

Now in Y'shua the Messiah Adam's progeny have been returned to their original status and mandate and so we see the outworking of the Father's eternal purpose.

The Firstfruit Company

Y'shua is the Firstfruit unto Father God and we have become a "kind of firstfruits of His creatures" through being one with Him (James 1:18).

He has given to us an impartation of His Spirit whereby we partake of His image and likeness, which acts as a partial installment of the fullness of what has been purchased for us. This deposit of the Spirit in our lives seals us as His future inheritance and acts as a guarantee of what has been promised, until the complete redemption is effected at the end of this age when the "firstfruits" harvest which has come to the fullness of Messiah will be reaped. Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Corinthians 15:23

Not only does the Father wait in expectation for the revelation of His sons to come to maturity, but also the whole creation "groans and labors with birth-pangs together until now" as we do also, eagerly awaiting the redemption of this mortal flesh to be transformed to the image of His Son, that He might be "the Firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:21-22, 29-30)

"For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, .. .. that mortality might be swallowed up by life." - 2 Corinthians 5: 2, 4

"For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:53

The Spirit of Yahweh Himself travails to bring to the birth these 'firstfruit' sons, to completely transform them from the corruptible image of the first Adam and to conform them to the incorruptible of the second Adam, Y'shua the Messiah. To this end, we are exhorted to work out our salvation with "fear and trembling" and enter into the spiritual warfare involved to bring us forth into the full stature of the 'firstfruits' company of sons, of the Firstborn. Romans 8:26-28; Philippians 2:12

For this harvest of the 'firstfruits' who will become His firstborn son Israel, the Husbandman of the earth patiently waits until it receive the early and the latter rain of the Spirit. James 5: 7-8

The former rain is a 'sprinkling' rain, a teaching rain; and the latter rain is the rain which brings on the crop to be ready for the harvest. Joel 2:23 The Hebrew word used for "latter rain" is the spring rain which brings the crop to maturity. The word MALQUOSH which is used, is a derivative of the word 'kingdom'. The Theological Wordbook says, "When God returns to his people, it is like the coming of the latter and former rains upon the earth" - Hosea 6: 3. Also, "Proverbs uses the appearance of the spring clouds preceeding the latter rains as a simile of the king's favour" (Proverbs 16:15)

The King of the Universe awaits with pleasure the "firstfruits" harvest of His kingdom on earth.