There is an old saying I've heard. "A picture is worth a thousand words". As it is with many ancient languages, Hebrew words incorporate a pictorial view into their meaning. The "Alef" was made to look like an ox and means "strength of YHVH". The "Tav" is made in the shape of a cross and means "a sign or covenant". Hence, "Alef Tav" is the "strength of the cross".
As told from the beginning, Yeshua (Alef Tav) was foreordained to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
"Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things...but with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot...Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." 1 Peter 1: 18-20
The "Alef Tav" appears throughout the Hebrew texts of the prophetic word, yet, is somehow left out of or hidden within English translations. In possibly the most beautiful of Messianic prophecies, Isaiah writes of the reason Yeshua (Alef Tav) was chosen from before the foundation of the world.
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him (Alef Tav) the iniquity of us all". Isaiah 53: 6
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him (Alef Tav) the iniquity of us all". Isaiah 53: 6
Concerning the path Alef Tav trod to the cross, Zechariah writes the following.
"And I said unto them, 'If you think good, give me My price; and if not, forebear'. So they weighed for My price (Alef Tav) thirty pieces of silver." Zechariah 11:12
The Prophet also speaks of the death of the Shepherd and the scattering of His sheep. Speaking of Himself, Matthew also records in 26: 31 Yeshua confirming Zechariah.
"Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My fellow, says the LORD of hosts: smite the Shepherd, (Alef Tav) and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones." Zechariah 13: 7
In foretelling of the coming Messiah, Father God issued the following promise to Moses.
"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and will put My words in His mouth; and He (Alef Tav) shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in My name (Alef Tav), which I have not commanded Him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die." Deuteronomy 18: 18-20
Zechariah further spoke of "Alef Tav" in regards to the the house of David.
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me (Alef Tav) Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." Zechariah 12: 10
The Spirit of Grace has been bestowed upon us from even before the foundation of the world. With Its foundation in perfection before the world was, that which we could never achieve while bound in our human frailty was completed upon the cross. It is as Paul wrote to the Romans.
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yeshua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Messiah Yeshua has made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8: 1-2
Truly, it is as Messiah (The Alef Tav) spoke through John in Revelation.
"It is done! I am the Alef and the Tav, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts." Revelation 21: 6
According to the rabbis, Alef Tav represents perfection and completion. In Him, our redemption is made complete. All that now remains is the "perfecting of the saints", or "(working) out (our) salvation", as Paul said in Philippians 2: 12 This subject will be discussed in my next article.
Click Here For Part Three--The Rest Of The Story
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