most prophecies about Yeshua/Jesus with a staggering
125 prophecies
164‐288
Isaiah contains so many prophecies about Messiah Yeshua/Jesus that some have called it the Fifth Gospel!
Judgment and restoration is promised for Judah, Jerusalem and the nations in Isaiah 1–33, and chapters 34–66 presume that judgment has been pronounced and restoration follows soon. It can also be read as an extended meditation on the destiny of Jerusalem/Yerushalayim into and after the Exile.
In the 2nd Temple period between 515 BC – 70 AD, Isaiah was one of the most popular works among Jews. Isaiah’s influence extends to English literature and to Western culture in general, far beyond Christianity itself: e.g. in the musical form of Handel’s Messiah and also in everyday phrases such as swords into ploughshares.
Yeshua /Jesus fulfilled all 125 prophecies in Isaiah.
Book of Jeremiah
ירמיה yir-me-yah / yir-me-yahu / Yirmyahuw
{yir-meh-yaw’-hoo}; Jah will rise
This Book of Jeremiah was intended for the Jews in Babylonian exile. Its’ purpose was to explain the disaster that befell the nation describing YHWH/God’s response to Yisrael/Israel’s pagan worship. Jeremiah said the people, are like an unfaithful wife and rebellious children: their infidelity and rebelliousness made judgment inevitable, although restoration and a new covenant are foreshadowed as a hope for the future.
The Book of Jeremiah contains 5 prophecies
(289‐293)
about Jesus, He fulfilled all five.
The Book of Ezekiel
יְחֶזְקֵאל Yechezqel Yĕchezqe’l
meaning: God will strengthen,
God strengthens or God’s Strength.
The Book of Ezekiel records 6 visions received by the prophet Ezekiel while exiled in Babylon for 22 years, between 593–571 BC. The visions, and the book, are centered around 3 themes: First in chapters 1–24: Judgment on Israel; Secondly in chapters 25–32: Judgment on the nations; and third, in chapters 33–48: Future blessings and return for Yisrael/Israel. The contents of Ezekiel include the concepts of Gods presence, purity, Yisrael/Israel as a divine group of people, and each individuals responsibility to Yehoveh/God.
The Book of Ezekiel contains 2 prophecies
(294‐295)
about Yeshua/Jesus and both prophecies
in Ezekiel were fulfilled by Him.
The Book of Daniel
דָּנִיֵּאל Daniel
Judge Of God,
God Is My Judge
The Book of Daniel is written in exile in Babylon during the 6th century B.C. Daniel was a nobleman like Ezekiel, he had been taken captive as a young man to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel’s superior way of life earns him great respect in the Babylonian government. In chapters 1-6 He writes about his own life in captivity. He was selected to work for the Babylonian King. It focuses on Faithfulness During Persecution.
It also contains much prophecy and in chapters 7-12 gives the interpretation of dreams that Daniel received from God, dreams and visions which were given to the King Nebuchadnezzar concerning the rise and fall of empires including Visions of Babylon’s Future and of Israel’s Future Destiny; the latter end reaching even to today. Daniel also contains 12 specific prophecies
(296‐307)
about Yeshua/Jesus; all 12 prophecies in Daniel He fulfilled.
The Book of Hosea
Hoshea
salvation
הושע:
is set around the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Yisrael /Israel, the Book of Hosea denounces the worship of gods other than Yahweh, comparing Yisrael/Israel’s abandonment of Yahweh to a woman being unfaithful to her husband. According to the written account, the relationship between Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer is likened to the relationship between Yahweh and his unfaithful people Yisrael /Israel. The eventual reconciliation of Hosea and Gomer is treated as a hopeful comparison for the eventual reconciliation between Yahweh/Yehoveh and Yisrael /Israel.
The Book of Hosea contains 2 prophecies
(308‐309)
about Yeshua/Jesus and both were fulfilled.
The Book of Joel
יוֹאֵל Yoel
contains a grieving over a severe drought and a great locust plague. These events had a severe effect on agriculture and the farmers, which in turn affected the supply of agricultural offerings for the Temple in Yerushalayim/Jerusalem. The narrative is mixed in with a call to national grieving.
In Joel 2:1–11 is a more apocalyptic passage which compares the locusts to an army, and revealing that they are an army sent/allowed by God. Next in Joel 2:12–17 there is a call to national repentance/teshuvah in the face of God’s judgment, and then in Joel 2:18–32 a promise of future blessings. Joel 2:28–32 and 3:1–5 declares that future prophetic gifts are promised to all God’s people, and their safety in the face of cosmic cataclysm which is very clearly in process today. Joel also describes the coming judgment on YHWH/God’s (Israel’s) enemies and the vindication of Yisrael/Israel.
The Book of Joel/Yoel contains 1 prophecy
(310)
about
Yeshua/Jesus which He fulfilled.
The Book of Jonah
Yonah
יוֹנָה֙
yō-w-nāh
describes how God commands Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to prophesy against it
“for their great wickedness is come up before me,”
but Jonah instead attempts to flee from “the presence of the Lord” by going to Jaffa (sometimes transliterated as Joppa or Joppe), and sailing to Tarshish. A huge storm arises and the sailors, realizing that it is no ordinary storm, cast lots and find out that Jonah/Yonah is to blame. He admits he is the problem and says that the storm will cease if he is thrown overboard. At first, the sailors refuse to do this and continue rowing, but all their efforts are in vain and eventually they are forced to throw Jonah/Yonah over the side of the ship.
The storm calms as a result and the sailors then offer sacrifices to God. Yonah/Jonah is miraculously saved by being swallowed by a large fish, in whose belly he spends three days and three nights. While in the great fish, Yonah/Jonah prays to Yahoveh/God from Sheol in his affliction and commits to thanksgiving and to paying what he has vowed. Yahoveh/God then commands the fish to spit Yonah/Jonah out on the shore.
The Book of Jonah contains 1 prophecy
(311)
about Yeshua/Jesus which He fulfilled.
The Book of Micah
מיכה
is one of the prophetic books in the Tanakh/Old Testament, being one of the 12 minor prophets. He prophesied over the kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the First Temple era. Micah reproaches unjust leaders, defends the rights of the poor against the rich and powerful; while looking forward to a world at peace centered on Zion under the leadership of a new Davidic monarch. Micah can be roughly divided into three equal parts:
first the Judgment against the nations and their leaders,
secondly the restoration of Zion and
third, Yahoveh/God’s lawsuit against Yisrael/Israel and expression of hope.
The Book of Micah contains 3 prophecies
(312‐314)
about Yeshua/Jesus, He fulfilled all three.
The Book Of Haggai
Chaggay Chaggai חַגַּ֞י חגי
is possibly derived from the Hebrew verb
חגג hagag ,
meaning: to celebrate
it was written in 520 BC some 18 years after Cyrus had conquered Babylon and issued a decree in 538 BC allowing the captive Jews to return to Judea. Cyrus saw the restoration of the temple as necessary for the restoration of the religious practices and a sense of freedom after a long exile. In Chaggai /Haggai 1:14–15 it records that the rebuilding of the Temple began on September 7 521 BC. just three weeks after his first prophecy.
They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the twenty‐fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the King
and the Book of Ezra 6:15 indicates that the construction was finished on February 25 516 BC.
“The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.”
The Book of Haggai contains 2 prophecies
(315‐316)
about Yehshua/Jesus both were fulfilled.
The Book of Zechariyah / זכריה
From the Hebrew name:
זְכַרְיָה Zekharyah
meaning: Yahweh remembers
from זָכַר zakhar
meaning: to remember
and
יָה yah
referring to the Hebrew God.
Zechariah’s prophecies were contemporary with Haggai in a post‐exilic world after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. And took place during the reign of Darius the Great. Ezekiel and Jeremiah wrote before the fall of Jerusalem, while continuing to prophesy in the early exile period. Scholars believe Ezekiel, with his combination of vision and ceremony, had a strong influence on the prophetic writings of Zechariah in chapters 1–8.
Zechariah dated his writing specifically at 520–518 BC. During the Exile many Judahites and Benjamites were taken to Babylon, where the prophets told them to make their homes, indicating they were about to spend a long period of time there. When Cyrus the Great overtook the Babylonians in 539 BC., freedom did eventually come to many Israelites, In 538 BC, Cyrus’ famous decree was released, and under Sheshbazzar the first return from exile took place.
The Book of Zechariah contains 30 prophecies
(317‐346)
about Yeshua/Jesus. He fulfilled all 30 of them.
Malachi מַלְאָכִי
mal-aw-kee’
from the Hebrew name:
מַלְאָכִי Mal’akhi
meaning: my messenger
or
my angel
or messenger of God.
Malachi is the last book of the TaNaKH/Old Testament, in many Bibles making Malachi the last book before the Brit Chadashah/New Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, the order of books is slightly different; see charts below, and in this order the last book is
2 Chronicles not Malachi.
The Book of Malachi was written to correct the negligent religious and social behavior of the Israelites in Jerusalem after returning from their exile; and in particular the
כֹּהֲנִ֖ים kohanim priests.
Although the prophets urged the people of Judah and Israel to see their exile as punishment for failing to uphold their covenant with God, it was not long after they had been restored to the land and to Temple worship that the people’s commitment to their God began, once again, to decline. It was in this setting that Malachi delivered the Word of the Lord.
The Book of Malachi contains 5 prophecies
(347‐351)
about Yeshua/Jesus all of which He fulfilled.
There is no one else before or since like Yeshua/Jesus.
He was not just a prophet…
But the fulfillment of ALL prophecy
The impressive detail and sheer number of these prophecies cause the Bible to stand alone as the truly inspired Word of God. Only He could have the foreknowledge and power to undertake and perfectly complete all that was written and spoken about His coming Messiah. Together with its’ reliable historical accuracy, it sets the Bible/TaNaKH apart from any other book or record.
The Brit Chadashah/ New Testament/Covenant was written after the death and ressurection of Yeshua HaMashiach/Jesus Christ.
Archeologists have found thousands of manuscripts of the Brit Chadashah /New Testament and some of them are dated less than 100 years after the original letters were written. In terms of historical reliability, the Hebrew Bible is superior to any other ancient writings which brings us to the conclusion that only the Bible is the true Word of God.
This surely is the miracle…. Our Heavenly Father gave us these written prophecies and ensured their continued protection through the millennia in order to build our faith and to point the way to His Only Begotten Son, Yeshua/Jesus.
As 1 John 1:1‐3 states:
“The One who existed from the beginning is the One we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of Life. This One who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen Him. And now we testify and announce to you that He is the One who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then He was shown to us.
We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ”.
We should do well to remember the Scriptures must be spiritually discerned to be understood spiritually..
1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.
to “spiritually discern“
is to look beyond the physical (metaphysical)
into the realm of the unseen.
As Yeshua/Jesus was quoted as saying
“the Kingdom comes without observation” …
meaning you can’t see it.
Just as we cannot see air, or breath, or Spirit (pneuma).
The flesh, that is, the carnal mind,
cannot make sense of that which is spiritual in nature.
1Corinthians 2:10-12
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Some have questioned why did so many Jewish people living 2000 years ago miss the 1st coming of Messiah? The first believers were all Jewish/Hebrews and Israelites. Yeshua/Jesus said He came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel and then to the gentiles/heathen.
He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24
The house of Israel is Abraham, Isaac & Jacob and his 12 sons and their descendants; remembering they were scattered abroad in the Diaspora. The leaders, Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees and Rabbis/Teachers/ of the Torah, were very knowledgeable yet they did not interpret the signs/signals correctly; and feared for their own positions of power and seats of authority over the people which gave them prestige and a wealthy lifestyle.
The Pharisees or Perushim in Hebrew, were an elite, ancient group of religious Jews who were strict adherents to the Law and esteemed themselves more highly than others. These were the most educated of Jews and spent their lives in the study of Torah Law. They not only studied Law, they taught it. They believed the Law was the only way to God.
Their minds, indeed, were closed; and to this very day their minds are covered with the same veils they read the books of the old covenant. 2Cor 3:14
Many Pharisees will form their own version of truth based on what suits them. The rules that apply to others, do not apply to them. They had a picture of who the Messiah would be and Yeshua did not match their image of Messiah.
They looked with natural eyes saying in
John 1:41; Luke 4:22
“oh he is Josephs son”
And with their intellect they said the scriptures declare that we will not know where Messiah comes from and we know where this one is from.
They did not look with spiritual eyes but rather relied on their carnal minds for understanding and interpretation.
Matthew 23:17,19, 24, 26
John 9:39,40 Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and he hardened their heart; Lest they should see with their eyes,and perceive with their heart, And should turn, And I should heal them.
Matthew 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah/Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
We know that this did not apply to all of them, as many came and listened to Messiahs teaching…Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and Saul/Paul all became disciples of Yeshua/Jesus.
They have no knowledge or wisdom; for he has put a veil over their eyes, so that they may not see; and on their hearts, so that they may not give attention. –Is 44:18
They were blinded because it had been prophesied and so had to be fulfilled.
The Word of God always interprets itself however but has to be spiritually discerned. This is the meaning of having eyes to see and ears to hear and an understanding heart.
1Kings 3:9 and Psalm 119:34
The Word tells us there is a veil over Gods chosen people on purpose so that the heathen/gentiles can be brought/grafted in when that time is fulfilled the veil will be removed and they will see and all Israel will be saved.
The key passage to the doctrine of Israel’s
blindness or hardening
is found in
Romans 11:25—”For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits—, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn ungodliness from Jacob.”
Romans 11:25 indicates a predicted time when Israel’s blindness will be ended.
Heavenly Father/Avinu, give us eyes to see
Let The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the holy ones, Eph. 1:18
It is with these alone that we discern the things of God. Being first opened, and then enlightened – – By his Spirit.
Lets us not miss the day of our visitation because our eyes failed to see and spiritually discern the times upon us.
The Odds of Prophetic fulfillment???
Truly phenomenal and beyond all chance or coincidence. His written Word and His Word made flesh can be completely relied upon, totally trusted in; we should leave this page full of faith and hope that every other prophetic word not yet made manifest will come to pass in its perfectly prepared timing.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Matthew 5:18
He is without any doubt
King of Kings.
Hebrew Translation. מלך המלכים.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah
Shalom shalom
‘Mishpachah’
‘Family/Tribe’
משפחה
Mish-pa-KHa,
friends, visitors and every reader…
Please don’t leave this page before making certain you are His
and are truly born from above.
Know of a certainty that Jesus/Yeshua is
your Redeemer, Savior, Lord
and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry.
I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Mysterious Secret of the Hilazon – Dyeing to be Holy.
This is part of the mystery of the Tzitzit (fringe), and not the Tallit (Prayer Shawl) itself. Scriputre shows that our Hebrew Savior, Lord Jesus/Yeshua did wear Tzitziot, (the plural of Tzitzit), on His Prayer Shawl. This was a matter of keeping Torah, the Law, the Instruction of God; and Messiah kept Torah perfectly!Numbers 15:37-41 verse 38, ‘And the Lord/YHVH/Adonai spake unto Moses, saying, “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue.”Each of the four corners of the garment, ‘Tallit’ (prayer shawl), had to have Tzitzit (fringe) on it. This was made very clear to the children of Israel. They were to look on fringes and ‘Remember (Zikkaron) the ‘Words’ of Torah.’
For God to place this instruction in scripture, commanding His people to make the fringes with the blue thread, He was in effect saying: ‘You are a kingdom of priests to Me.’ This is echoed in Rev. 1:6: “He has made us kings and priests (lit. ‘a kingdom of priests’) unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”
The scriptures also teach that it was a violation ordinarily for one to mix two fibers such as wool and linen.
The fringes were to be made of wool, but this blue thread was to be made of linen.
So only in this instance, did God allow this to be done. It goes without saying that wool comes from sheep and of course the significance that Jesus/Yeshua being not only the Shepherd but also the Lamb of God is not without deep meaning.
A talit gadol (or a talit katan) must be primarily white with black stripes and made from at least 51% natural fibers.‘Who is this that comes from Edom, with DYED garments from Bozrah? This glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness mighty to save’. (Isaiah 63:1)The word tallit תַטִלּי is pronounced TAH-LISS by those who use the East European Hebrew dialect. The plural, “tallesim,” is pronounced as TAH-LAY-SIM.” The more modern Israeli pronounciation you will hear most often, is “TAH-LEET.” The plural is “tallitot.” Pronounced as TAHLEE-TOHT.” The fringes on the talit are “tzitzit.” Pronounced zeet zeet “TSI-TSIT.”The term Tallit, or talith is two Hebrew words, “TAL, meaning “tent” and ITH, meaning “little.” The tallit, when wrapped around the shoulders and pulled over the head, forms for the owner a “little tent” or “prayer closet where he may meet privately with God. The Psalmist writes:
I will dwell in your tent for all ages; I will take refuge in the shelter of the corners of your Tallit.”Tassels added to the hem were not worn by commoners, but by the nobility or royalty. The second significance of the tzitzit, then, is that they showed the wearer to be more than a commoner. He was a noble, or a royal personage.Not just the presence of the tzitzit but their colors also carried meaning. The color was white, but among the white cords on each tassel there was to be one blue strand. This color combination was part of the trappings of royalty, as were the colors blue and purple:The third significance of the tzitzit, therefore, was in their colors. They spoke of royalty and kingship. Even today we talk of “royal blue” and “royal purple” from the custom of Roman emperors who wore purple mantles.
The Tzitzit had to have a cord of blue (techlet) in it, according to the command of God. Why Blue and where did the blue color come from?
Tekhelet or techlet is a blue dye mentioned 49 times in the Hebrew Bible/Tenakh.It was used in the clothing of the High Priest,the tapestriesof the Tabernacleand the Tassels.Blue stripes were to be used: as with techelet, the sages explain why tekhelet blue is so significant.
The symbolism of tekhelet is manifold;the rich blue colors recall the oceans and the sea. The sea is like the sky of the infinite Heavens, reminding us of God’s presence in the world and of the bond between the wearer and God; and the Heavens are like God’s Throne of Glory, (kisei ha’kavod), the foundations of which are said to be sapphire. It is also to remind us of God Himself and where the Divine Presence dwells.
In the old testament The tallith of a prophet or master teacher would have dark purple-blue threads in the corner tassel. People believed that the purple thread contained miracle power.This is why the woman with the issue of blood wanted to touch the hem of Jesus’ tallith or garment. When she was healed, Jesus said, “Who touched Me?…I felt virtue leave Me.” Then He told her, “Your faith has made you whole,” clarifying it was not a purple thread but her faith in Him as Messiah (see Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48).
According to the Talmud, the color was obtained and dye produced from a marine creature. A species of snail called Murex trunculus,known as the Hilazon or Chilazon.
It took some 12,000 of these to fill a thimble with blue dye.
This small animal’s body contains a special gland.
The liquid from this gland was dried and became a powered dye.In Acts 16, Lydia, a resident of Thyatira;being a seller of purple, would have been a wealthy and influencial woman. The clients who purchased garments or fabric from her, were the very rich. (Acts 16:14-16:40)This color was so expensive, that all but royalty were to wear it. When Messiah Jesus/Yeshua haMashiach returns riding in the heavens on His majestic white war horse, He will be clothed in glorious royal, garments of a King.
The zitzit with one thread of blue.
Why Blue and where did the blue color come from?
Some three thousand five hundred years ago, Moses gave instructions for the making of “tekhelet” (blue dye) that was to be used in the veil that covered the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and in the ribbons along the edges of the tallit – the Jewish prayer shawl.
One of the contributions Adonai requested in the wilderness was blue which is tekhelet תכלת in Hebrew. Tekhelet blue, known as Divine Blue, identifying Israel and her God.Numbers 15:38, established the cord of blue as a necessity for all generations of Israel: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.”
Much of the Wilderness Tabernacle utilized tekhelet blue:
Exodus 26:1 “ten curtains of fine twisted linen and tekhelet blue”Exodus 26:4 “loops of tekhelet blue on the edge of the outermost curtain … likewise on the edge of the curtain in the second set.”
Exodus 26:31 “You shall make a veil of tekhelet blue…”Exodus 26:36 “a screen for the doorway of the tent of tekhelet blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen…”
Exodus 27:16 “a screen of twenty cubits, of tekhelet blue…”
This fact alone is very curious, as the Israelites must have had access to a significant amount of this dye and they were in the wilderness! The interesting question is, did they bring it with them from Egypt? Was it part of the wealth of Egypt that they left with?This is probably the case as the coast of Egypt which included Goshen where they were enslaved was part of the Mediterranean Sea; and also as expensive as this color was to own, no doubt the Egyptians had it and it was something to be desired.Location of wilderness tabernacle and where they were in the wilderness at Mount Sinai.Here they received Torah and instructions for building the Mishkan.The distance from Goshen to Mediterranean Sea was about 40 kilometers, approx. 25miles.
Lost and Found — The Tale of a Snail
Tekhelet blue, known as Divine Blue, has come to symbolize the hope of redemption; with its loss and amazing rediscovery after nearly 2,000 years.
Extracting blue and purple dyes from a snail that grew in the Mediterranean became an important industry for centuries. However, with the Islamic invasion of the Holy Land in the seventh century, the industry disappeared. For the past 14 centuries the formula has evaded Jewish scholars.
Thus, until recently, Jewish prayer shawls have had only black ribbons.
When the Romans conquered Israel in 63 BC they seized control of the production of tekhelet blue. By the third century AD, under the Emperor Constantine, only Romans, and primarily royalty, were allowed to use and wear the tekhelet blue. Jews were prohibited from its use—especially after the Council of Nicaea which established harsh laws restricting Jews (and Christians) from observing biblical commandments from the Old Testament.
Jewish dyers went underground. By around 600 AD, as the Jews were scattered, persecuted, and confined to ghettos, the identity of the creature from which the dye was extracted and the process of producing tekhelet blue was lost all together.From that time until very recently, tallits, the traditional prayer shawl that held the tzitzit, or tassels, as commanded in Numbers 15:38, on its corners, could not contain the cord of blue.
The sages believed the loss of the tekhelet blue was attributed to the disobedience of Israel, suggesting that its rediscovery would be a sign of restoration and signal the coming of Messiah in His glory to Israel.
The miraculous rebirth of Israel in 1948, and the reunification of Jerusalem following the Six Day War in 1967 inspired zeal and renewed hope among the Jewish People. They thought redemption may truly be at hand. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has painstakingly recreated the Holy Vessels and Garments in anticipation of the rebuilding of the Holy Temple according to biblical descriptions. Missing were the tekhelet blue and the ashes of the Red Heifer.
Tekhelet Restored!
Tekhelet, (Strong’s 8504) the color (violet). Strong’s feels this sapphire blue comes from the Cerulean mussel in which the dye was obtained. This was the color, blue, representing the firmament of the heavens that was used as fabric and curtains to drape the ceiling of the Wilderness Tabernacle. It was the Zohar, when it refered to tekeleth, that stated, “This color had to appear in the Tabernacle for this reason:”Genesis 1:6 – “And God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’”
It was this dye, the color sapphire blue that became one of the rarest and most costly of dyes to be obtained in the ancient world. It was always known to come from the gland of a snail in the Mediterranean, which disappeared soon after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, and the process of how to extract it was lost.One source reports that in 1984, Irving Ziderman, a biochemist at the Israel Fiber Institute in Jerusalem, was able to identify the source of the ancient dye. After years of research, trial and error, he perfected the process, using the mucus of the “banded dye murex,” a spiny shellfish once thought to be extinct.Not until 1985, one Sabbatical week of years, was this snail rediscovered in the Mediterranean. Out of it came the royal purple and the royal blue. It was also this blue dye that was used to dye the blue cord on each tzitzit, which was the hem or fringe of the prayer shawls of the Hebrews as commanded by HaShem.
Murex branfaris and Murex trunculus Snails
Numbers 15:37 – “HaShem said to Moses saying, Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tzit-tzit on the corners of your garments, and with a blue cord on each tzit-tzit, You will have these tzit-tzit to look at and you will remember ALL the commands of the Lord, and you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lust of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.’”
The secret to reviving this ancient formula to fulfill the commandment in Exodus 25:4 and produce tekhelet blue was a riddle waiting until the 1980s to be solved.
The Biblical True Blue from the Murex Trunculus The Murex Trunculus snail had been identified in the early 20th century by the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. Ezekiel 27:7 speaks of Tekhelet blue from Tyre and the coastlands of Elishah. Archaeologists uncovered mounds of Murex shells in Tyre and the surrounding area that dated to the biblical period. Blue stains on large pots and vats from 1200 BC were tested, and found to be consistent with the modern day Murex trunculus.However, until the 1980’s all experiments on the Murex extract only yielded purple dye …
until one sunny day.
Otto Elsner, a professor at Shenker College of Engineering and Design near Tel Aviv, took the process outside in the sunlight, and found that the dye specimen turned a beautiful, perfect tekhelet blue.
As soon as the gland is exposed to oxygen, the liquid in that gland undergoes a fascinating chemical transformation from a clear liquid to a yellow, to a green, a greenish blue, aquamarine, then blue and ultimately ends up a dark purple the purple liquid is dried and then ground into a powder. By exposing this new compound to sunlight, the blue described in the ancient Jewish sources is achieved.Dr. Baruch Sterman describes one of the most dramatic aspects of the tekhelet:
“The molecules of any specific color can be measured in exact wavelengths. This measurement is read in increments called nanometers. When the molecules of the blue color called Tekhelet, extracted from the murex trunculus snail are measured, the reading peaks at exactly 613 nanometers. What a marvelous coincidence that this number matches the total number of commandments in the Torah, written by the finger of God in sky-blue sapphire.”Because eventually the tekhelet was lost, until recently, an observant Jew could not fulfill the directive of gazing upon the blue cord or meditate on the “twist of blue” and recall the eternal Torah, hewn from sapphire under the Throne of Glory. However once again he can and very soon the non-Jew, who loves God, Torah and Israel, can look forward to the days when;
Zechariah 8:23 – “Ten men of all languages and nations will take hold of one Jew by the corner Tzit-tzit of his garment and say, ‘Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you.’”
Once again—for the first time in almost 2,000 years, the Jewish People are able to fulfill this commandment in the Land of Israel. And once more, they wear a cord of blue in their tzitzit as commanded.
The Talmud (Menahot 44a) says that once every 70 years the shores of the land of Israel are visited by the segulit snail from which the tekhelet, used to mark certain religious items, was made.
On November 10, 1990, The Jerusalem Post reported that these snails had begun to surface by the thousands along the Mediterranean coast!!
Some Orthodox Jews believe the reappearance of the snails are a sign of the approaching of the Messianic Age.
Today, in Israel those praying at the Western Wall are wearing prayer shawls with beautiful blue ribbons.
Below is a 2,000-year old textile that contains the mysterious blue dye described in the Bible.Isaiah writes: and come let us reason together that our sins though they be as scarlet, κόκκινον, can become as white as snow.
This color of “sins like scarlet or κόκκινον, red as crimson” of Isaiah 1:18, is Tyrian or Phoenician purple, crimson of murex shellfish from φοινός phoinós “blood red” Mycenaean…
The miracle of this techlet is now being made once again in Israel. They have found the snail, (murex trunculus), that is needed to make the blue dye.
Today as we are literally seeing Bible prophecy fulfilled before our eyes; in so many ways and in such precise detail helps us to realize we are in close proximity to His appearance. Are we truly living by the fringe of a wing and a prayer?
Let’s continue praying with intent, ‘within tent’!
Remembering, taleh means lamb, and also comes from the word that means covering!
God provided Himself a lamb.
The TalehElohim the Lamb of God.
The Lamb is our covering – The Taleh is our Taletha !
This small snail has returned to the waters of Israel, and is seen as a “Sign that Messiah is coming soon.”
Even so.. come Lord Jesus!Make sure we are ready when He does..
Please don’t leave this site without knowing you are saved and assured that you belong to Him; with a deep conviction that you know where you will go, when your body can no longer sustain you in this realm.
Make certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
Its all about Life and Relationship not Religion.
NOT SURE?
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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