Tag: Jesus

Who He Is To You

The Mystery of Solomon’s Chok!

As with all posts this subject cannot be taken as a separate focus, as everything is connected.

Other facts and information have to be included in order to make sense of it all as we fit all the seemingly unrelated pieces of this puzzle together. Having said that, before we look at the reason behind Solomon’s Chok, included is a brief pictorial recap. on the fact that Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, is typified as the Alef.

See the last post for reference to the Hebrew Alef Bet (Alphabet). Click links below.

NAIL I AM

https://www.minimannamoments.com/alef-bet-alphabet/

Each area we look at is like the Word itself, it cannot be contained within finite parameters and it is a huge challenge to condense all the relevant material for one area of focus, into a single meal! If anything is left out it’s due to lack of space and not to the lack of its importance.

This is part 1 of 2, to allow us to take time to absorb the pictures and text, which will enhance our understanding of both the seriousness and the joy, with which our Messiah fulfilled His destiny; and gave us the perfect WAY back to Himself.

Jesus/Yeshua is the Aleph-Bet (Alphabet).The beginningand the end

The Alef/Aleph and the Tav  Alpha and Omegathe First and the Last.He IS the first from Genesis to the last in Revelation.The alef or first letter is an OX head in the pictograph and as mentioned that Jesus/Yeshua is not only symbolized in scripture by a Lamb and a Nail and a Lion and Fire but also as the Red Heifer.There is also the reference in Ezekiel to the Red Heifer/Ox/Bull with the Four Faced Man. 

Ezekiel 10:14 Describing the cherubim each had 4 faces. 

“… And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.” (Ezekiel1:5). “Four” is the number of creation and signifies the world.

Also each of the 12 tribes of Israel positions in the wilderness. (Again, everything is connected).

The Four Faces of A Spiritual Man exemplified in Jesus/Yeshua

 Ezekiel: He is the “Wonderful Four-Faced Man” (Ezekiel 1:5-6)

In Daniel: He is the “Fourth Man in the Burning, Fiery Furnace” (Daniel 3:25)Ezekiel 1:10″As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle”. Both the bull and the ox are ‘cattle’, (heifer and cow).

Having established Yeshua is typified as Alef/Ox/Red Heifer.. (it was also referenced in the last post;)

..here is the unusual ritual law of the parah adumah (red heifer) and it is identified as the subject of Solomon’s Chok.

In fact, the Talmud states that of all the taryag mitzvot (613 commandments), this is the only one that wise King Solomon could not figure out.

This ritual is considered “chok” within the Jewish tradition, meaning that it defies rational sense. It is a Hebrew word meaning beyond the range of human reason, though some of the sages speculate that although the priest obediently offered the sacrifice as demanded by God, Solomon apparently did not understand why Numbers 19 declared that the priest would be “unclean until evening.”

Chok from Chukkim (חֻקִּים) are statutes divine decrees given without a reason.

These laws can seem irrational to human reason!

Mishpatim (מִשְׁפָּטִים) are laws given for a clearly specified reason (i.e., logical laws, for the prohibitions against theft and murder.)

Note: eidot (עֵדוֹת) are testimonials (from the root ‘ed, “witness”) that commemorate or represent something, they commemorate or symbolically represent something, (e.g. to wear tzitzit, eat matzah on Passover) the eidot occupy a sort of “middle ground” between the rationally understandable mishpatim and the supra-rational chukkim.

The Scriptures are filled with various imperatives of one kind or another. The Hebrew word mitzvah (מִצְוָה) generally means “divine commandment” (mitzvot is the plural form). The various mitzvot found in the Torah may be further divided into the subcategories of chukkim u’mishpatim (Deut. 4:5):

Why was this sacrifice so puzzling to King Solomon and the Jewish sages? Well, the sacrifice of the red cow just doesn’t fit the pattern of any of the other sacrifices given in the Torah.It’s a paradox, a puzzle, a question…

Here is the hidden mystery in the symbolism of the red heifer for its meaning is a clear foreshadowing of the sacrifice of the Jesus the Messiah /Mashiach Yeshua to deliver us from death and here are 8 reasons why:1 It was the most unique sacrifice in the Torah. Unlike other animals that could be offered to the Lord, a completely red cow was extremely rare and one of a kind.

2 The red heifer (Parah Adumah) had to be a perfect specimen that was completely red, without blemish in which there is no defect. (Possibly alluding to uncorrupted DNA; Yeshua the Last Adam = to First Adam, whose DNA was also perfect and uncorrupted.) The rabbis interpreted ‘without blemish’, as referring to the color, that is not having so much is a single white or black hair.This is the only sacrifice in the Torah where the color of the animal is explicitly required. Furthermore the parah adumah was never to have had a yoke upon it, meaning that it must never have been used for any profane purposes. Yoke also alludes being in captivity and in bondage to a master who placed the yoke upon the subject as slavery.  3 It was the only sacrifice where all the rituals were carried out outside of the camp (and later, outside the Temple precincts).

Unlike all of the sacrifices that were offered at the brazen altar, the parah adumah was taken outside the camp to be slaughtered before the priest, took some of its blood and sprinkled it seven times before the Mishkan, that by designating it as a purification offering.

That is, the “blood applications” of this sacrifice occurred in a location apart from the Levitical altar.

Then the red heifer would be burned in its entirety unlike other Levitical sacrifices including the fact that all the blood of the sacrifice was to be burnt in the fire as well.

4 It is the only sacrifice of blood in the Torah of Moses. In other words, the blood of the red cow was not drained out but rather was burned in the fire.(All the items that God required them to use were significant and heavy with meaning that would only be fulfilled and make sense when Messiah, Jesus fulfilled them in every detail.)

5 It was the only sacrifice in Torah that ritually contaminated the priest who offered it, but made the one who was sprinkled by it clean and that explicitly cleansed from the contact with sin and death. Anyone or anything that came into contact with a corpse, (the embodiment of sin and death) was required to be purified using the water of separation.The purification procedure took seven days, using stalks of hyssop dipped into the water and shaken over the ritually defiled person on the 3rd day and then again on the 7th day. After the second sprinkling the person undergoing the purification process would be immersed in a mikveh (water) and then be unclean until the following evening.

Purification on Third and Seventh Days Required In order to be fully purified from contact with a dead body, a person had to be sprinkled with the ashes of the Red Heifer (mixed with water) on the third and seventh days: Numbers 19:11-13

 

Based upon the understanding that the Biblical Holy Days, (the Appointed Times of the Lord, Leviticus 23), provide the prophetic pattern and timetable of God’s Master Plan of Redemption pointing to the true Messiah; we can see that Yeshua’s death and resurrection follow this detailed prophetic timetable. 

There may also be a prophetic connection between the 3rd and 7th days for purification with the ashes of the Red Heifer and the 3rd and 7th days of the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread prophetic cycle.

In the Spring: 

Passover – (Death of the Lamb) (Deliverance of Israel)

Feast of Unleavened Bread – (Yeshua, the Bread of Heaven was without sin.) 

         Firstfruits – (The Risen Christ was presented in Heaven before His Father.)

Pentecost – (The Spirit was poured out. 

            Messiah began to write His Law on the hearts of Israel.)

     In the Fall: 

Feast of Trumpets – (Warnings of Judgment Day approaching) 

Day of Atonement – (Judgment Day) 

Feast of Tabernacles – (We will tabernacle with Him.) 

In preparation for Passover, purification from sin was necessary.

For those who had been in contact with the dead, purification by the sprinkling of the ashes of the Red Heifer was the only way purity could be restored.

According to this prophetic picture, Yeshua, as God’s Red Heifer, provides the purification necessary to partake of Messiah Yeshua as God’s Passover Lamb.

According to this prophetic timeline, Yeshua was crucified on the day that the Passover Lambs were sacrificed (14th of Nisan) and He resurrected on the third day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (17th of Nisan). The Feast of Unleavened Bread covered a period of seven days from the 15th through the 21st of Nisan, the first and seventh days being days of holy convocation, annual Sabbath days when no work was to be done. 6 The items used to cleanse tzaraat (“leprosy”) were burned along with the sacrifice. In other words, the sacrifice would incorporate the means of cleansing from defilement and uncleanness.

It was the only sacrifice that paradoxically contaminated the priest who offered it, that made the one who was sprinkled by it clean.

7 It was the only sacrifice with the ashes were preserved and used (all of the sacrifices required at the ashes be disposed of outside the camp).

8 It was the only sacrifice in Torah that explicitly cleansed from the contact with sin and death. Anyone (or anything) that came into contact with a corpse (the embodiment of sin and death) was required to be purified using the mei niddah/‘water of separation’.

Hyssop (ezov, in Hebrew,) (symbol of humility); a Scarlet thread, (symbol of blood that ties everything together); (the scarlet thread dye color came from the crimson worm!)

a cedar stick,(that pierced Messiah side would then be thrown upon the burning parah adumah (these were the same items used to cleanse tzara’at). In other words the blood was assimilated into the ashes of the sacrifice, which were then gathered and mixed with water to create the, ‘water of separation’ mei niddah, for the Israelite community.

The life is in the blood to deliver from death and why Jesus/Yeshua had to die and shed His Blood to give us life.The word separation harkens to Zechariah 13:1 ‘on that day there shall be a fountain open for the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and from niddah.’ It means moved, (i.e. separated), and generally refers to separation due to ritual impurity. Medieval Biblical commentator Abraham ibn Ezra writes that, the word niddah, is related to the term menadechem (מנדיכם), meaning those that cast you out.

According to Jewish tradition this sacrifice was to atone for the sin of the Golden calf, though the Torah it self does not make this Association.

The Lord Jesus/ Messiah Yeshua is the perfect fulfillment of the parah adumah, since He was completely without sin or defect. 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 8:46.

He was sacrificed outside the camp. Hebrews 13:13.

He made Himself sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21;

The sprinkling of His blood makes us clean, (1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 12:24; Revelation 1:5;) and the water of separation that His sacrifice created, is the means by which we are made clean from the impurity of sin. Ephesians 5: 25– 26; Hebrews 10:22In learning that the sacrifice of the red heifer was meant to create the “waters of separation” (i.e., mei niddah: מֵי נִדָּה) for the community.

The sages state in this regard: “God created the cure before the plague,” meaning that His love is the foundation of all things: עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה / Olam chesed yibaneh: “steadfast love built the world” (Psalm 89:2).Just as God created mankind only after He created the pathway of repentance (i.e., the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”: Eph. 1:4, Heb. 4:4, Rev 13:8), so the purification from death was likewise foreseen and provided. 

The “waters of separation” ultimately refer to our purification (i.e., identification) with the death of Yeshua (Rom. 6:3, 1 Cor. 10:13; Gal. 3:27).

There were four types of sin offerings. Three of these were killed or slaughtered at the slaughtering arenas within the temple proper, “before the presence of the Lord. (Lev 4:4) All three had their blood sprinkled seven times before the Inner Curtain which veiled the Holy of Holiest. All three sin offerings had their bodies carried out of the camp to be burned to ashes on the altar outside the camp.By understanding the crucifixion of Jesus with all the shadow-pictures of the Hebrews, we seeJesus as the fulfillment of the sacrifice of the Red Heifer.  

The Holiest of all the sin offerings was the sin offering of the Red Heifer.

The red heifer, offered as a sin offering for purification of the collective congregation of Israel was slaughtered according to the dictates of the Lord of Hosts to Moses outside the camp of Israel. (Numbers 19:3)The blood of the red heifer was sprinkled outside the camp, the body burned to ashes, and then the ashes through some mystical process, (chok) that transcended even the wisdom of Solomon, when it was mixed with pure spring water, it bestowed holiness and purification as it was sprinkled over not only people, but over the land.  They purified the temple with it. They could purify the entire city of Jerusalem if needed or the entire Land of Israel.  

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, our way to holiness would come only through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus/Yeshua, the Son of God.  It was Jesus/Yeshua, who was sacrificed as a ‘sin offering’ not only to bring holiness for His brethren the Jews and the “Lost Sheep of the House of Israel” but to all people.  It was they, who by belief in the sacrifice of the blood of Yeshua are “adopted” and “grafted” into the literal and spiritual House of Israel.    

SYMBOLISM:

Yeshua (Jesus) IS the red heifer. His blood (the scarlet) is cleansing when applied by Yeshua Himself (the “clean man”) using the water (Holy Spirit) and Hyssop (a symbol of cleansing).

During the 3rd millennium, from the first sin, the LORD made a promise covenant with with Abraham concerning his “seed”. All of the faithful ARE children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29). 

It is interesting that the LORD commanded Abram to bring a heifer, as one of the animals to be sacrificed for the covenant ceremony (Gen. 15:9). The ashes of the red heifer, would one day be used for cleansing.  Four hundred thirty years later (to the day) the Children of Israel left Egypt, at midnight on the 15th of Nissan – after a meal of unleavened bread (Exo. 12:41).  This means the LORD entered into covenant with Abraham on the night which would later see the Passover Meal – The Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

During the 7th millennium, Yeshua will “sprinkle” us (cleanse us) while we spend a thousand years with Him. At the end of this 7th day – we (redeemed Israel) will be “clean” of the harmful effects of our life on this earth, where we have all “touched death.” 

NOTE: Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus were not able to keep the Passover after touching the body of Jesus. They would have kept the “Passover” 30 days later, as prescribed by the Law (Num. 9:10-12). Today is the 30th day of the Omer and Pesach Sheni—a Second Passover! Pesach Sheni 2018 is observed on April 29 (14 Iyar).

The holiest of all the sin offerings, was the fourth sin offering, the Red Heifer.

Unlike the other sin offerings, the Red Heifer was walked over to the Altar on the Mount of Olives (outside the camp of Israel/Jerusalem) and there burnt in its entirety.

The difference of the red heifer and the other sin offerings was that the other three were absolving sin, giving the recipient freedom from sin or in a sense, salvation.  On the other hand, the ash of the red heifer was to bring purification and holiness. 

Just as the Red Heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” in contrast to all other sacrifices that took place in the Tabernacle or Temple, Jesus was sacrificed outside the city of Jerusalem. In contrast to the normal male animals sacrificed, the Red Heifer was the only female animal the Law commanded to be sacrificed. Significantly, our Lord was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a female slave.”

Alfred Edersheim gives this explanation of the deep meaning of the Red Heifer.

“As the first manifestation of sin which separates man from God, defilement by the dead required a Sin-offering, and the ashes of the red heifer are expressly so designated in the words: “It is a sin-offering.” (Num. 9:17) But it differs from all other sin-offerings. The sacrifice was to be a pure red color; one “upon which never came yoke; and a female, all other sin-offerings for the congregation being males….

But what distinguished it even more from all the others was, that it was a sacrifice once for all, (at least so long as its ashes lasted); that its blood was sprinkled, not on the altar, but outside the camp towards (westward) the sanctuary; and that it was wholly burnt, along with cedar wood, as the symbol of imperishable existence, hyssop, as the of purification from corruptions, and “scarlet” which from its colour as the emblem of life.

Thus the sacrifice of Highest Life, brought as a sin-offering, and, so as far as possible, once for all, was in its turn accompanied by the symbols of Imperishable existence, freedom from corruption, and fullness of life, so as yet more to intensity its significance. But even this is not all. The gathered ashes with running water were sprinkled on the third and seventh days on that which was to be purified. Assuredly, if death meant “the wages of sin,” this purification pointed in all its details, to “to the gift of God,” which is “eternal life” through the sacrifice of Him in whom is the fullness of life.” (The Temple, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Michigan. 1987, pages 348-349)

View towards Temple Mt from Mt of Olives.

Jerusalem showing location of Red Heifer Bridge.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES ALTAR FROM THE TIME OF ADAM

Most Jewish scholars believe that from Adam to Abraham (Genesis 22:2) this particular altar was located on Mount Moriah (Temple Mount). According to The Torah Anthology, Adam constructed the first sacrificial altar vs.16 and it was successively rebuilt by Abel, Noah (or his son Shem), and Abraham. But it is essential to understand that there were TWO altar sites in Jerusalem of central importance to God’s Master Plan of Redemption: the altar on Mount Moriah which is profoundly significant in God’s plan of redemption.

The Lord told Abraham to take his “only son, whom you love” and offer him as a burnt offering: Since Isaac was no longer a child, as is generally depicted, but rather a young man in his thirties, it is clear that he voluntarily allowed his father to bind him for the sacrifice. v21This picture foreshadows the willing sacrifice of Yeshua in accordance with His Father’s will. And like Abraham laid the wood for the sacrifice on his son Isaac, the crossbar for His crucifixion was laid on Jesus/Yeshua’s shoulders to carry to the place of sacrifice:

They took Jesus [Yeshua] therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross[bar], to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha (John 19:17).

“YOU HAVE NOT WITHHELD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY SON, FROM ME” (Genesis 22:11-12), The translation that can be made from the original Hebrew of Genesis 22:8, regarding Abraham’s reply to Isaac concerning the lamb for the sacrifice.The conventional translation is: And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8a).

The alternative translation is:
“God will provide Himself AS the Lamb for the burnt offering…” vs.23. Wow!

What a profound prophecy regarding the promised Lamb of God, Messiah Yeshua, who offered Himself in our place as the atonement sacrifice for our sins!

The lamb is described as a burnt offering, meaning that the entire lamb was to be burned as an offering to God.

A burnt offering also represents complete submission to God’s will.In prophetic fulfillment, Yeshua totally submitted Himself to the will of Father God, offering Himself entirely as the sacrifice required to pay the price for all humanity’s sins.

As YHVH-Yeshua (pre-incarnate) provided a ram in place of Isaac, YHVH-Yeshua (incarnate) provided Himself, the Lamb of God, as the sin atonement sacrifice for each and every human being. Note that a ram was provided in place of Isaac, not a lamb (Genesis 22:13). This seems to confirm the true meaning of Abraham’s words as a prophecy about the Lamb of God, Messiah Yeshua.

As the ram’s horns were caught in a thicket (interwoven branches of a bush), vs.24. Yeshua’s head was caught in a crown woven out of thorn branches:

24 The Hebrew word sobek (Strong’s #5441) refers to “branches interwoven, a thicket” (William Wilson, New Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies, p. 443; Spiros Zodhiates, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, p. 81).

Here, the Temple was built, where the Shekinah (Divine Presence) manifested inside the Holy of Holies above the Ark of the Covenant. And here, the Messiah will seat Himself on His throne in His Temple during the Millennial Kingdom; AND equally important is the altar on the Mount of Olives.

The site for the sacrifice and burning of the Red Heifer, and the burning of the Day of Atonement bull and goat sin offerings. It is believed that it was here that the first altar for, sin sacrifice, was established at the place where Adam and Eve first sinned; and it was here, Messiah Yeshua offered Himself as the ultimate sin sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of all humanity.David went to the summit of the Mount of Olives, the place “where God was worshipped”. Not until David’s son, Solomon, was the Temple and its altar built on Mount Moriah. This clearly shows the summit of the Mount of Olives as a place of worship prior to the Temple and such a place of worship would have included an altar for sacrifice. 2 Samuel 15:30, 32

As previously explained, it is highly probable that the altar on the Mount of Olives goes back to the time of Adam, when the first animal sacrifice for sin was made. David was shown a vision of the crucifixion (which he recorded in Psalm 22) at the very place where his descendant, Messiah Yeshua, would be crucified, on the summit of the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. Yeshua spent much time with His disciples on the Mount of Olives (Luke 21:37; 22:39; John 8:1).It was on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Temple Mount, that Yeshua wept over the city of Jerusalem and prophesied concerning the destruction of the Temple, the end of the Age, and His Second Coming (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:3-4).

It was over the Mount of Olives that Yeshua rode on the donkey foal during His entry into Jerusalem, crossing over the Kidron Valley to the Temple Mount (Matthew 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29, 37).

Yeshua spent His last night on the Mount of Olives prior to His arrest (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39).

And Yeshua was crucified, buried, and resurrected on the Mount of Olives (Hebrews 13:11-13).

The Word of God shows that the Gate of Heaven is located above the Mount of Olives. This is place of Jacob’s Beth-el; where the angels ascended and descended from the Heavens.

Here the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the Shekinah (Glory Cloud) leaving the Temple and moving to a position above the Mount of Olives before it disappeared into Heaven (Ezekiel 10; 11:23).

Messiah Yeshua ascended into Heaven from the Mount of Olives (Luke 24:50-52 Acts 1:9-12).

Therefore, logically as there is no co-incidence with God; it would follow, that the altar on the Mount of Olives was located directly under the Gate of Heaven.

Somewhere on the top of the Mount of Olives was once located the Red Heifer altar. No ruins of the altar remain, unless buried deep under cement or buildings.

This is probably the best EXAMPLE of what the Red Heifer Altar might have looked like on the Mount of Olives.

In 1980 by Adam Zertal uncovered an altar at Ebal Israel believed to be the altar of Joshua, with a later altar built over it.This altar had been purposely covered with stones to either hide it, or preserve it. It is 10 feet high and  around 25 x 30 feet in width and length.  The walls are 5 ft thick with a fill to make it flat on top. There is a 23 x 3 foot wide ramp leading up to it with the same ledge and smaller ramp along side the larger one. Beneath this altar is another smaller, 6.5 ft round, altar built on the bedrock. The smaller altar is thought by many to be the altar of Joshua that we read about in the scripture. It was built around 1250 BC. The larger, rectangle, altar above it is dated to around 1400 BC.The front portion of this altar had two large stalls where the animals were kept. Also different compartments were found within the stalls was used to contain the items needed for the sacrificing of the animals.When the Temple was built in Jerusalem the altar on Mt Ebal was abandoned.  

The Red Heifer sacrifice was performed on the summit of the Mount of Olives in a direct line of sight to the entrance of the Temple on its eastern side. The animal was placed on its left side, head toward the south, and face turned westward toward the entrance to the Temple.

According to the Mishnah, the High Priest who sacrificed and burned the Red Heifer was able to look directly into the entrance of the Temple when the blood was sprinkled (Middot 2.4):

All the walls that were there [on the Temple Mount] were high, with the exception of the eastern wall, so that the [High] Priest who burned the [red] heifer stood on top of the Mount of Olives and was able to see directly into the entrance of the Sanctuary [Temple] when the blood was tossed. vs.3 God gave the commandment regarding the Red Heifer sacrifice:

Based upon God’s instructions, the Red Heifer (Hebrew parah adumah):… refers to a red-brown, unblemished, and unworked cow that was sacrificed and burned (Num. 19:1-8); its ashes were then kept “for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin” (v. 9). The cleansing in view had to do with corpse contamination (vv.11-22). This ritual included several unusual features, such as the requirement that the slaughtering take place OUTSIDE THE CAMP (instead of on the altar [of the Temple])… (emphasis added). The Red Heifer had to be entirely red (reddish-brown); at least three years old, although an older animal was acceptable; perfectly free of any physical blemish or defect; and never previously yoked or used for physical labor (Numbers 19:2).

The Red Heifer Bridge

Several references are quoted confirming the same details.

(Significantly, during the second Temple. The high priest performed the ceremony facing the temple while on top of the Mount of olives). (the Talmud recounts that the high priest performed the blood applications of the red heifer while gazing out the temple and at the holy of holies from a mountain opposite the temple mount.)Yeshua was led like the holiest sacrifice, the Red Heifer, from the Temple Mount through the Eastern Gate along the ritually clean, arch-over-arch causeway/ramp that connected the Temple Mount to the summit of the Mount of Olives.

This was the only path from the Temple to the summit that afforded ritual purity necessary for an acceptable sacrifice.

From the summit of the Mount of Olives, there was a clear view into the Temple. Just as the Red Heifer’s head was turned to face the Temple as it was sacrificed, so too Messiah Yeshua faced the Temple as He was crucified – the ultimate and holiest of all sacrifices for the atonement of humanity’s sins.

This heifer must be brought to the “Mount of Anointment”, A PRECISE LOCATION ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, OPPOSITE THE EASTERN GATE OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT. There the heifer must be slaughtered and burned. Afterwards, its ashes are mixed together with natural spring water. It is this solution, called by the Bible “the waters of sanctification,” which is used to sprinkle on those who are impure (emphasis added).5

During the Second Temple period, the Red Heifer was led out of the Temple area through the Eastern Gate, over the Kidron Valley and up to the summit of the Mount of Olives via a ritually clean, stone arch-over-arch causeway/ramp. The Eastern Gate: There was no need to change this system during the Herodian period [the time of Messiah Yeshua], so it can safely be assumed that it would have been through this gate that the Red Heifer was led out to the Mount of Olives during that time period as well.As previously explained, the Red Heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp”, “outside the gate”, meaning outside the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount. Certain other sacrificial animals were also burned at the same site, but the Red Heifer was the only animal actually sacrificed at this location.

Certain instructions were given to Moses concerning the sacrificial altar of the Red Heifer. It was to be built “outside” the city. Outside the city was given as 2000 cubits (2,916 ft @ 17.5 cu) to the east from the tent tabernacle. It was to be made of un-hewn natural stone from the immediate area and have four walls, filled in with layers of stone until it had a flat surface on top. It must have a ramp, not steps, and a ledge around the altar on three sides and along the ramp down one side.  From the altar the priest was to sprinkle the blood seven times towards the tabernacle.The place “outside the camp” was 2000 cubits (3000 feet) east of the city, according to God’s commandment for marking city limits:

“You shall also MEASURE OUTSIDE THE CITY ON THE EAST SIDE TWO THOUSAND CUBITS, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities” (Numbers 35:5, emphasis added).

What does “outside the camp” mean?

Conclusion coming in part 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

NAIL I AM

 

How does a NAIL join everything from Genesis to Revelation, and what is the connection between the Alphabet and Messiah Jesus/Yeshua?

First last? … Alef Tav?

Nothing Jesus said was without deeper meaning … so to what was He referring? and why did He say that?It was a direct confirmation of the prophetic statement in Isaiah 44:6

In the book of Genesis and in the very 1st verse, the plan of God, (YHVH) was clearly revealed; sadly, we miss it’s impact because we read our english translations and not the original language in which it was written. 

Everything is connected and that is why we cannot neglect what we call the old Covenant/Testament and especially the fact it was written in the Hebrew language. God chose and created it specifically. When some of the secrets and mysteries, hidden within the texts, are revealed and become clear, in the light of our current position in His timeline; it gives us the unique ability to look back and see the fulfillment of His plans so far.

First, we need to reference the alphabet, without which we would have no text and no written scriptures! The decree by the King of the Universe to not add, or take away from His Word; and the precise copying of the original scrolls, ensures the accuracy of His original meaning to be maintained for millennia.

The Hebrew language is the Alef Bet.

If unfamiliar with the alef bet, it’s the root source of our alphabet, comprising the 22 consonants, letters of the Hebrew language. (No vowels like our a,e,i,o,u, but speech marks to indicate where to pronounce them, so the word makes sense.)

Alef is the first letter and tav is the last letter.

In the Greek language: Alpha/Alfa is the first letter and Omega is the last letter, (as referenced in many translations.)

For more details of the Hebrew language click links:

ALEF BET Our Alphabet

https://www.minimannamoments.com/ancient-pictographic-hebrew-language/ 

Over time the shapes of the letters have changed, just as they have in other languages, and that’s why we miss so much of their definitions.Each letter has meanings and is a picture describing those meanings.

Pictured here is the first and last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet known as the “Alef & Taw/Tav.”These two letters represent eternity or (the beginning and the end). ancient above, modern belowThey were created from the beginning by YHWH at creation. (Phonetic pronunciation adding in missing vowels, YaHuWaH).Here, Alef is the first letter, Tav is the last and the letter Mem is in the middle. Together they spell Emet, the Hebrew word for TRUTH.Jesus said of Himself, I AM the TRUTH …

In the original Hebrew Scriptures we can actually see these letters in the text but the English translators left them out:Bereshiyth (Genesis) 1:1 In the beginning Elohiym created את ALEF & TAW the heaven and ואת WAW, ALEF & TAW the earth.The Alef Tav appears in the first verse of the Bible:

Genesis 1:1 King James Version (H853)
“In the beginning God created H1254 the heaven and the earth.”

H853 Genesis 1:1 Hebrew Old Testament ברא ית H7225;  ברא H1254;  אלהים H430; את ה מים H8064;  ואת H853 האר׃ H776

Here is how it reads in the original Hebrew Old Testament:

Bereshiyth (Genesis) 1:1 In the beginning Elohiym created את ALEF & TAW the heaven (shamayim) and ואת WAW, ALEF & TAW/TAV the earth (erets).The first and last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet is called the “Alef” (A) and the “Taw”/Tav” (T).

These letters are seen in Ancient Paleo Hebrew Pictographs as “the ת and the two sticks, the cross א red heifer”, or the ox head.

 The letter Vav or Waw is a picture of the nail or the tent peg.

The ‘Vav‘ pictures a tent peg or nail.It means to secure, connect, or establish.Hence, the message in these three letters is: “the red heifer sacrifice, the nail, and the cross!” 

Here also the TOKEN or SIGN or COVENANT

Since there are 22 Letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and YaHuWaH created us in His image and by the ‘spoken word‘, (made up of letters,) these letters contain ‘frequencies’, by which everything in the material world exists! There is an interesting ‘coincidence’ that there are 22 strands in the human DNA. (Wow!)

In our English Bibles, Genesis 1:1 reads like this, “In the beginning H7225 God H430 created H1254 (H853) the heaven H8064 and the earth.” H776

Remember Hebrew reads from right to left.

This Hebrew word (H853) is a word that appears hundreds of times in our Bibles.

Two examples of this are: One in Ruth where the Name of God is not found in that book, except as Alef Tav.and second in Numbersin connection to the prayer shawl/tallit and recalling His commandments by looking at the zitzit.

BUT, (H853 את ‘eth) is not translated.

This is the Hebrew word th which is comprised of the two Hebrew letters EP. The Hebrew literally reads, “In the beginning God created (ALEPH/TAV) the heavens and the earth.”  iIn “Or orah”, Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, explained first words of Torah:Bereshit Bara Elohim Et – “In the beginning God created et” (Gen 1:1). Note that et is an untranslatable word used to indicate that “a definite direct object is next”; (thus there needs to be an et before the heavens and the earth). However, Dov Ber points out that et is spelled – Aleph-Tav, an abbreviation for the Aleph-Bet. Aleph is the first letter letter of the Hebrew alphabet and Tav the last, so, he reasoned, in the beginning God created the Aleph-Bet.Since God did this before creating the heavens and the earth, the letters are considered to be the primordial “building blocks” of all of creation.

The “otiyot yesod” (foundational letters – the Hebrew alphabet).

In other words the Hebrew Alphabet was given prior to the creation of heaven and earth and subsequently used to create all things.At creation, Elohiym first created the Hebrew Alphabet and then He used those letters in His alphabet to “speak the word” whereby everything was created: Ibriym (Hebrews) 11:3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of Elohiym, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.As there are 22 letters in the Hebrew Alphabet, and our Mashiyach (Messiah) is the WORD who became flesh in John 1:1, it means that the Hebrew Alphabet is a schematic of him.

Every single letter in the Ancient Paleo Alphabet is also a pictograph/picture of our Messiah/Mashiyach, and we are created ‘in HIS image’ with 22 strands in our human DNA! These letters contain ‘frequencies’ or sound waves by which everything in the material world came into being and is held together.

In other words, life itself and all matter. However this word et, is not a translatable word and therefore goes unnoticed.YHWH (YaHuWaH) used the Alef Tav in the Hebrew alphabet to illustrate a prophetic picture of our Mashiyach (Messiah), as the sacrificial animal (the red heifer) being nailed to a cross!After the Exodus when the children of Yisra’el were in the wilderness, they began to murmur and complain against YaHuWaH, and so He sent fiery serpents to bite them and many of them died (Numbers 21:6). But many of them began to repent and when they did, YaHuWaH instructed Mosheh (Moses) to make a pole and put a fiery serpent on the pole for them to look upon and then they would not die from being bitten by the serpent.This was a prophetic shadow picture, of the future Mashiyach (Messiah), who would become a curse for us (John 3:14). But later on this image of the serpent on a pole became an idol that was used for worship and YaHuWaH was against this.Being far from an expert on Hebrew studies, however, up till now the subject is fascinating, as the Hebrew alphabet is very unique and quite amazing. It consists of twenty-two letters that are all consonants. A combination of dots and dashes placed either above or beneath the individual letters give further indication of how the words sound. The Hebrew alphabet comes to us from its earliest form, pictographs/pictures/glyphs.

Words were constructed by putting pictures together illustrating a characteristic of a word. An example is the word “father”. The Hebrew word for father is spelled “ab” in English. (Now familiar as ABBA and also as AV, as in AVINU.)  In Hebrew it consists of the letters aleph and bet. The aleph represents an ox for strength or leadership and the bet represents a family or house. From this we get the beautiful picture the Father Who is the strength and leader of His house and family.

Explanation: The ‘Ox Head’ is the pictograph for the ancient letter ‘Aleph’; the first letter of the Hebrew language/alphabet.

The ‘Crossing of the two sticks’ is the pictograph for the ancient Hebrew letter ‘Tau’ that is the last letter of the Hebrew language/alphabet.

However it is not the end, signifying the initiation of a covenant ‘without end’.

These two words placed together called Aleph-Tau/Tav constitute a sacred Paleo Hebrew word, which cannot be translated into any earthly language, other than the ancient Hebrew text, i.e.: Gen 29:35. Psalm 34:1;117:1; 2Chron 31:2; Jer 33:11; Zeph 3:20 and others. Written in its original form the Alef Tav. Source: Strong’s Hebrew Paleo Hebrew Dictionary No.853In this illustration of the “Alef & Taw,” in it’s earliest ancient form it shows us a picture of the red heifer

(the ox head) being nailed to the “two sticks” of Eze- kiel 37:16 (the stick of Ephrayim & Judah).Mashiyach is the “Alef & Taw” which means “the first and the last” or “the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8; 1:11; 21:6; 22:13).The last Hebrew letter, the “Taw” is shaped like a cross because it means that we must come to the “end” of the old sinful nature. In Tehilliym (Psalms) 51:5 Dawiyd (David) declared: “Behold I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”Our Mashiyach came to put an end to this sinful nature—not the Mosaic Law! This is precisely why Jesus/Yeshua commanded us to deny ourselves, take up our cross (stauros) daily and to follow Him (Matthew 16:24).

Exodus 12:13 Now the blood shall be a SIGN (Hebrew word – OHT) for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.As we have just seen, the word for “sign” in ancient Hebrew is “oht”. It was also used in Genesis to designate God’s covenant sign with Noah, (the rainbow). And we see now the same word again, in Exodus, identified with the deliverance of the Jewish people from the tenth plague, when the angel of death passed through all Egypt to strike the firstborn. Anyone under the “sign” of the blood was spared.This “sign” of deliverance for the ancient Israelites, spelled “aleph”-“vav”-“tav” in ancient Hebrew letters, explicitly, the sign of blood on doorposts and lintel, also clearly spells out, “leader”, “nail”, and “cross”.Just as blood on the doorposts was the only sign of deliverance for Israel, the cross of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus, the Christ), is the only sign of deliverance from eternal death for all mankind. [Acts 4:12]

The mystery of salvation was originally revealed in the very letters God used to unfold its story.In the ancient Hebrew He speaks to us from the beginning of time, that the sign of the covenant would be “the leader who was nailed to the cross”.

We should have no doubt of the Father’s love for us! What is even more interesting is that the word “Taw” is the Hebrew word for “mark” as seen in Ezekiel 9 and it is a mark that Elohiym puts on the foreheads of his elect who are sealed. The letters in the word “Taw” even tell a further message:

Taw, Waw, AlefThis means: “the cross, the sacrificial animal, and the nail.”
 The Apostle Sha’uwl (Paul) spoke of this “mark” as being a “mark” that he bore in his own body:

Galatiym (Galatians) 6:17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of יהוה YaHuWaH יהו ו Yahuwshuwa.

Below is an illustration of how the progression of the letter “Taw” (Tav) has undergone changes over the centuries, as seen by the illustration above. The “cross” or the “Taw” was never meant to be an idol or an object of worship to be used as some sort of “talisman.” The “cross” or the “Taw” is a symbol of self-denial.

 

Hebrew for Jesus  

I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. (Isaiah 43:11)

Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach is YHVH in the flesh.

Jesus’ statement in Revelation 22:13 now has even greater meaning:
 Jesus said “I am the Alpha and the Omega”. In Hebrew He would have said “I am the Alef and the Tav”.
 Isn’t this just like our God, “declaring the end from the beginning”? Isaiah 46:10 Chazown (Revelation) 1:8 I am the Alef and the Taw, the Beginning and Ending, says יהוה YaHuWaH which is, and which was, and is and who was and which is to come, the Almighty. Mashiyach was revealing himself as YaHuWaH in His resurrected state!

Chazown (Revelation) 1:11 “….I am the Alef and the Taw, the First and the Last.”In Revelation 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, 22:13, the Messiah is called “the Alef & Taw” (Alpha & Omega) in Greek. The entire Hebrew Alphabet is a schematic of him! Could this be that the “restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21), includes being restored to the Edenic Language from creation? 

A clear picture of God’s plan!
The ALEPH (God robed in the flesh) dying on a CROSS (the TAV).

Psalm 119, the longest Psalm in the scripture, is divided into 22 sections.

It titles each section by a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet from Alef to Tav.

Psalm 119 is all about the Word of God.

Jesus is the Living Torah!

We see a perfect picture in Zechariah of Messiah, the Aleph Tav, being pierced and mourned. The King James Version inserts ‘Him’ however it’s not there in the Hebrew.

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

(H853)

whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)The numeric value of ALEPH is ONE! The ALEPH therefore represents first and foremost the oneness of God.
In some Hebrew translations of the New Testament we find the Aleph and the Tav inserted:

John 1:1 King James Version

(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1 Hebrew New Testament

Jesus is the Aleph Tav!

Interestingly the ALEPH and the TAV reveal the Plan of Redemption right from the beginning!

The Ancient picture  is a type of “mark”, probably of two sticks crossed to mark a place similar to the Egyptian hieroglyph of , a picture of two crossed sticks. This letter has the meanings of mark, sign or signature. The Modern Hebrew, Arabic and Greek names for this letter is tav (or taw), a Hebrew word meaning, mark. Hebrew, Greek and Arabic agree that the sound for this letter is “t”.

The King James Bible wanted to give the phonetic sound to the name of Jesus, so in the story of Luke’s Gospel they transliterated the name that the angel is heard to say to Mary…

Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (transliterated Joshua) and He shall save His people from their sins, that is prevent them from missing the mark.

Matt 1:21 She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins, [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God].

The apostle John writes, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (I John 3:4). The Greek word for “sin” is hamartia, an archery term for “missing the mark.” We could say that sin is not just making an error in judgment in a particular case, but missing the whole point of human life; not just the violation of a law, but an insult to a relationship with the One to whom we owe everything; not just a servant’s failure to carry out a master’s orders, but the ingratitude of a child to its parent.

The apostle John declares that sin is the transgression of God’s commandments (I John 3:4, KJV), including the two great commandments Jesus spoke in Mark 12:28-31. The word translated as “sin” literally means “to miss the mark.” Combining these principles gives us a very broad definition of sin: Sin is imperfectly loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and imperfectly loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Sin is missing the mark of what God wants us to do. James 4:7

The word “sins” found here in Matthew 1:21 is the Greek Bible word “hamartia.” It is the most common New Testament word for “sin”, and the basic meaning of it is “to miss the mark.” But it does NOT mean “miss the mark” in the way many of us would think of it: like an archer, who was trying to hit the right target, but just couldn’t do it. No, this word means “to miss the mark” of the standards that God set for us regarding the way that we should live:

I Peter 2:24 says “He Himself bore our sins (our “hamartia”, that same word used in Matthew 1:21 for missing the mark) in His body on the cross” so that we could be reconciled to God. Our Judge loved us, and paid the penalty for our sins.Mary was told to name her son “Salvation” for He would save His people. Simeon, the old man in the temple waiting for the Messiah, held up Yeshua and said, “Mine eyes have seen the Salvation of Israel.”

And now we can see why Yahuwshuwa called himself “the first and the last” in Revelation 1:8, for he came to represent the “the firstborn” symbolized by the first letter in the Hebrew Alphabet, the א “Aleph” and he also came to represent the last-born symbolic of the last letter in the Hebrew Alphabet, called the ת “Taw!”

Or also known as the Alpha and omega

Alef is an ox strong or first as in AV or AB which is Father also written Avina= or Abba 

 ayin vav shin yod

The etymology of “Jesus” is simple. In the Greek Scriptures, Ὶησους, Iesous is a transliteration of the Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ, Yeshua. Exchanging the “y” for an “i” at the beginning, and adding an “s” on the end is common in Greek, i.e. יְהוּדָה, Y’hudah (Judah) becomes Ὶούδας, Ioudas (Judas). From the Greek, Ὶησους, Iesous was transliterated into the latin Iesus, and finally came into English as Jesus. Yeshua (Hebrew) to Iesous (Greek) to Iesus (Latin) to Jesus (English).The Meaning of Word “Mashiach”

The word “Messiah” (mashiach) comes from the verb mashach, which means to smear or anoint with oil, usually for the purpose of dedicating or consecrating something (such as a temple vessel) or someone (such as a prophet, priest or king) for the service of Adonai.

Also, for the title “Messiah” the Hebrew word Mashiyach from the Hebrew text; the letters appear as: Mem, Shin, Yod, Chets (MSYC)

The sacred names of deity as they have been removed 7,000 times from the original Hebrew Scriptures. Instead of “the LORD” four English letters to represent the four Hebrew letters in our Creator’s name: Yod, Hey, Waw (or Vav), Hey as YHWH (called the Tetragrammaton).

Hebrew Letter “vav” at one time was a letter “waw” pronounced as a long “u” sound when used as a vowel. But it also doubles as a consonant that has the “w” sound. Sometimes, this letter “waw” makes the same blowing sound as in the word “who” as if you are going to “whistle.” Below are a few resources that show the historic evidence for how the Hebrew letter “waw” became a  “vav” in Modern Hebrew through the Germanic influence.

Pictured above are the four Modern Hebrew Letters that make up the name of our Heavenly Father, and then you will see the Ancient Paleo Pictograph Letters above them as they were written by Moses and the Yisra’elites about 3,000 years ago and earlier. In Exodus 3:14-15, YaHuWaH told Mosheh what proper name He is to be called for all generations:

Yod, Hey, Waw, Hey: YHWH

In Ancient Paleo Pictographs, these letters are seen below from right to left as follows: Yod (hand or arm); Hey (breath or spirit); Waw (nail or tent peg); Hey (breath or spirit); 

These four letters are called “the tetragrammaton.”

The Father’s name has 4 Hebrew Letters (YHWH).

The latter 6 commandments in the Ten Commandments tell us how to love our fellow man, and Yahuwshuwa Messiah came as “the son of man” so it is fitting that there are 6 Hebrew Letters to his name (YHWSWA).

The Yod, Hey & Waw are unique to the Father’s name which is the name of salvation! If you remove the Hey (the breath or spirit of Yah) and you remove the Waw (the nail), you are removing the prophetic pictures of his name YaHuW. By calling our Messiah with these Hebrew letters we are making a prophetic declaration every time we use his name:

YaHuW means “hand, behold, nail” and then the other word for “salvation” (shuwa) is added to say “hand, behold, nail, is salvation.”

This end-time prophecy tells us that people will be calling upon the Father’s name for salvation:

Yowel (Joel) 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of YHWH shall be delivered: for in mount Tziyown (Zion) and in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) shall be deliverance, as YHWH has said, and in the remnant whom YHWH shall call.

Original Hebrew Name: YaHuWaH יהוה

I and My Father are One

Lower case letters have been inserted into YHVH, YaHuWaH to aid in pronunciation.

The word “God” has been restored to the Hebrew “Elohiym”, and the Messiah’s name has been restored from “Jesus” to ancient Hebrew for “Joshua” which is represented by six Hebrew Letters: Yod, Hey, Waw, Shin, Waw, Ayin (YHWSWA).The spelling of the name of our Messiah as Yahuwshuwa can be seen in the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance #3091. The modern spelling is Yehowshuwa because of something called “the pre-tonal shortening rule” that was purposely invented to conceal the name of our Heavenly Father. After the Babylonian Captivity, the House of Judah deliberately placed a “ban” on pronouncing the name of our Creator and today in Judaism, they simply refer to him as “ha’Shem” (the name) or “Adonai” (master).

(The difference between a transliteration and a translation. A transliteration is a spelling to make you sound the word. A translation is the use of another word in another language that means the same thing.)

Then Christian scholars learned of their transliteration mistake and went back to use the Greek transliteration which was even further away from worse than Joshua. The Greek text had tried to do the same thing and tried to phonetically sound the name with “Iesous.”

Then Christian scholars translated the Greek Iesous into Jesus.

Christ christos = anointed is the same as messiah which = anointed.

This is not stir up controversy on different spelling or variation on pronunciation but rather to highlight the Alef Tav and the prophetic meanings.

The Alef & Taw is prophetically a picture of Yahuwshuwa Mashiyach. He is the “Alef” because he is also the “Red Heifer” which sanctifies the altar of our hearts. He is also the “Taw” as He is the physical representation of the Two Sticks or Two Trees for the Two Houses of Ephraiym & Yahuwdah.Yahuwshuwa Mashiyach laid down his life as the “Alef” or the Red Heifer, on the “Taw” or the “two sticks” for both Yahuwdiy (Jew) and Gentile to gather together his sheep from the Two Houses of Yisra’el!

The Congregation in the Wilderness Arranged in the Shape of a Cross or Taw

Many people in the Messianic and Hebraic Roots community are offended at the Roman symbol called “the cross,” because it was used as a pagan symbol for Tammuz and Mithras. But long before the pagans hi-jacked this symbol, it was used as an illustration for the Alef & Taw.

Pictured above, we see that the Twelve Tribes of Yisra’el were arranged in the shape of a “cross” or a “Taw” in the wilderness. Each of the four creatures shown above are also mentioned in Ezekiel 1:10 as “the living creatures.” The fact that our Mashiyach Yahuwshuwa was nailed to two trees in the shape of a “Taw” (two crossed sticks) is highly significant because this shows that His bride (Yisra’el) is His body, and He bore our sins upon His own body:

1st Keefa (Peter) 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed. Romiym (Romans) 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Mashiyach, and every one members one of another.Once again we see that the bride—the body of Messiah is joined by the two crossed sticks or the Taw!

  All Hebrew letters also double as numerical quantities and so each letter represents a number. Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin

Yod: has a numerical value of 10 and its meanings include: Work, Hand/Arm, Activity, Deed.

Shin: has a numerical value of 300 and its meanings include: Destroy, Consume, Devour

Vav: has a numerical value of 6 and its meanings include: Join, Nail, Establish, Secure, Attach, Man’s number (created on the sixth day)

Ayin: has a numerical value of 70 and its meanings include: Eye, See, Understand The four-letter name of Yeshua therefore, has a numerical ‘weight’ of 386 and can meaning something like:

The hand/activity/work or deed that destroys/consumes or devours the established/security/man’s eye/understanding.

Or more simply, it could mean something to the effect of:

The work that destroys the establishment of the eye!

We can also look at it this way: Yeshua is…

The hand that destroys the establishment of the eye!

This is a great description because Yeshua (Jesus) is the one who has and will destroy all the work of the devil!

In Hebrew, the name of God is spelled with the letters, YHVH [Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey]. Therefore, again reading right to left, we can derive the following meanings from those letters 

Yod: has a numerical value of 10 and its meanings include: work, hand/arm, activity deed.

Hey: has a numerical value of 5 and its meanings include: reveal, show, mercy, grace or when used at the end of a word means: “who/what/that comes from.”

Vav: has a numerical value of 6 and its meanings include: join, nail, establish, secure, attach,man, man’s number (created on the sixth day)

Hey: has a numerical value of 5 and its meanings include: reveal, show, mercy, grace or when used at the end of a word means: “who/what/that comes from.”

The four-letter name of God, therefore, has a numerical ‘weight’ of 26 and can mean something like:

What comes from the activity/work or deed revealed in the nailed/man (of Mercy/Grace).

Or more simply, it could mean something to the effect of:

The work of Mercy that comes from the nailed man of Grace.

The doubling of the meaning of the letter Hey in this word shows us that the two are of each other, or in other words, they are one and the same: Grace and Mercy revealed/what comes from or through Father and Son, who are both one; a concept Jesus Himself said was true,

NAIL I AM

Please don’t leave this page before making 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? 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 Hidden Mystery of the Kallah

The Hidden Mystery of the Kallah כַּלָּה ; phonetically pronounced (kal-law’).

These days there is much chatter about the signs of the times, end of days and Jesus soon return. The catching away from 1 Thessalonians is often termed the rapture.

Also called the Parousia and the blessed hope of Titus 2:13

 The rapture is an eschatological term used by certain Christians, particularly within branches of American evangelicalism, referring to a end time event when all Christian believers will be “caught up”, translated into the clouds, in a moment in time, to join the Lord in the air. 

In fact the specific word ‘rapture’ itself does not appear anywhere in the scripture text however It has become a much used by word and originated right out of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible.

…deinde nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Domino in aera et sic semper cum Domino erimus.. –1 Thessalonians 4:17 (Latin Vulgate)

In the New American Standard Version, the English phrase, “caught up,” is used. The same phrase is used in the King James and New International Versions. .” In the Latin Vulgate, one of the oldest Bibles in existence, the appropriate tense of rapio appears in verse 17. (Raptus is the past participle of rapio, and our English words “rapt” and “rapture” stem from this past participle.)

So this term “Rapture” comes from a Latin word, “rapio,” that means “to catch up, to snatch away, or to take out.” It is, in turn, a translation of the Greek word, “harpazo. the Harpz, the “snatching up” of the Church.

The Latin equivalent of the Greek Harpazo is the Latin verb rapio, “to take away by force.

The very definition of the word “harpazo” that we get the word “rapture” from, is: to openly and forcibly snatch something from someone.

Strong’s Greek Concordance #726 harpázō – properly, seize by force; snatch up, suddenly and decisively – like someone seizing bounty (spoil, a prize); to take by an open display of force (i.e. not covertly or secretly).

Notice in the preceding definition, “harpazo” means to “openly seize” – not covertly or secretly.

 Used in the late 16th century (in the sense ‘seizing and carrying off’): from obsolete French, or from medieval Latin raptura ‘seizing,’ partly influenced by rapt. This post is not attempting to focus on or to prove/disprove any of the options proffered by believers. Intended only to show Messiah’s use of and reference to ancient Israel and the Jewish/Hebrew wedding and how it relates to forthcoming events; and to those that have already occurred, including the fulfillment of the promise which our Lord confirmed at the Last Supper: John 14:1-3

This is a wide subject however this focus is on the wedding part.

The elements of a Jewish wedding normally include the following: one chosson (the groom), one kallah (the bride), and a ceremony sometimes referred to as kiddushin. Separate steps usually accompany a traditional wedding: Shidduch – it’s a match! Vort – formal engagement; Ketubah – or Betrothal marriage contract.

We the believers in Jesus the Messiah/Yeshua Ha Mashiach are His kallah /Calah. kallah /Calah is Hebrew for bride. (Seems both spellings are used.)

It may be easier for ladies than for men, in identifying with being a bride. The likeness is simply for God’s purposes, and to reveal His covenant and the deep close relationship that the children of Israel have with Him; which would be a reminder for them beginning with Moses at Sinai.

This mystery is hidden in the Hebrew covenant of a marriage and the wedding ceremonies in which the focus was originally more on the groom than the bride!

Looking at Isaiah 62:5: “For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee. And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.”

In the first part of this verse in Isaiah it appears that Israel is playing the role of a bridegroom rather than a bride if we consider the word sons as male. Then in the second part he is addressing Israel as if they were to be a husband to God, as this second part of the verse declares that the ones he is addressing are now the bride to God who is in the role of the bridegroom.

The word bridegroom here is katan, which is another word for marriage. This word for marriage has the idea of joining together in complete truth and honesty.  When God as the bridegroom is married to us He is joined to us in complete truth.  Remembering here Jesus words, “They that worship God must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.”  John 4:24.

So that is God’s side of the deal, He is the bridegroom, but what are we as the bride or Kallah? In it’s primitive form the word Kallah has a double lamed which represents prayer with uplifted hands.

Hebrew letter Lamed

This word is a picture of reaching up to your lover with an open empty heart asking him to fill your heart with his presence.   The root word is a little strange because it means both a filling or completion and a wasting away.  However, the sages chose this word to represent a bride because a bride is to fill her heart with the desires of her bridegroom while her own desires waste away. Hard for us to understand, as this flies in the face of our modern thinking.

 God gave us a marriage relationship to help us understand our relationship with Him.  It cannot be just one sided, looking to God as a bride to a bridegroom, there is the other side of the coin to consider, our beloved God has a heart similar to the heart He breathed into us.

Just as our hearts can be broken, so too can we break His heart. He has chosen to make Himself vulnerable to those He loves and love Him in return.

We must make sure we do not break His heart.

כַּלָה is the Hebrew word for bride is Kallah, (Calah) which comes from the root word Kalah meaning; to finish, complete, prepare, to make perfect (in the sense of totality rather than of being unblemished) and to consume. (Strong’s #3618 and 3634).

There is also the meaning in this word of something fulfilling its purpose. Also means daughter in law.

From the Cross Jesus said, “It is finished” or in keeping with our Hebrew word for completed/fulfilled.

Jesus returns to initiate the catching away of believers.

Lekhah Dodi means “come my beloved,” and is a request of a mysterious “beloved” that could mean either God or one’s friend(s) to join together in welcoming Shabbat that is referred to as the “bride“: likrat kallah (“to greet the [Shabbat] bride“).

Chatan: Hebrew word for groom.

Strongs 2860 Chathan חָתָן

phonetic pronounced (khaw-thawn’) חָתָן

The biblical word chatan means both son-in-law and bridegroom, (most scholars believe that the initial meaning was only son-in-law, and that bridegroom was a later development) and ‘ka•la’ also means daughter-in-law.

In the Hebrew wedding song: “The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom [hatan] and the voice of the bride [kalah].” the voice of those who shall say, Praise the Lord of Hosts; for the Lord is good; for his mercy endures for ever; and of those who shall bring the sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, says the Lord’.

Jeremiah 33:11

The wedding in Jesus day began with an agreement between the bride and groom, like engagement today. The bridegroom Journeys to the bride’s house for the covenant is made at her house.

Applying the process to believers, the Bridegroom has already made his visit! We are engaged, we are betrothed to Him.

At the time of this agreement a formal document called the Ketubah , was signed.

The Ketubah Agreement or covenant of marriage/ betrothal, included a price to be paid for the bride. In Hebrew the Mohar/Mohair.

We sometimes know it as a Dowry.

It was considered that the husband and his family were gaining an asset and the bride’s family were losing one.  And the price was according to the wealth of the Groom’s Father. The choice of whom the Bride would be and the Bride price or Mohar as it was called, was to reflect the Father of the Groom’s honor, integrity and stature; His future generations were at stake. Even if the Bride’s family was not wealthy, if the Groom’s Father was, the price was to reflect his wealth.

At that time the couple was considered to be married, even though the marriage was not consummated. She belongs to him now, for she has been “bought with a price’, and this purchase has been witnessed and confirmed.

Matthew 26: 27-28
“Then having taken a cup, after He gave thanks He gave the cup to them saying, “You must all drink from this, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out on behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.”

Luke 22:20
“This is the cup of the New Covenant in My blood which is being poured out on your behalf.”

Considering the stature and wealth of the heavenly Father, what would be a better fitting price for the Bride of Christ, the Church other than the life of His Son.

Jesus already paid the ultimate price for us His bride. By giving up his life for us at Calvary’s cross. The father of the bride may accept the bridal price.  If he does, then it is up to the bride to accept the offer of marriage.  She (the bride to be) accepts his offer when she drinks from the cup filled with wine or grape juice.

In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the renewed covenant in My blood. As often as you drink it, do this in remembrance of Me.”  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Master until He comes.  1 Corinthians 11: 25-26

After the wine is drunk, the young man says the words in John 14:2-3:  “In My Father’s house are many rooms.   I go to prepare a place for you.  And, if I go to prepare and place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also”.

This is not so we can have a mansion of our own and do nothing but sit around. It is so we can be with Him and to share eternity with Him and be a part of the future He has planned for us.

The groom then went back to where he came from, his father’s house. He prepared a place, usually on family property, for the couple .

This Ketubah has 2 parts involving a shared cup of wine, with one at the initiation of the agreement and the other at the consummation.

The first part happens at the initial acceptance of the agreement with the sharing of the first cup of wine.The second part happens when the wedding actually happens with the sharing of the second cup of wine. 

The groom steps on the glass breaking it to indicate that this is a serious commitment and just as serious as the shattered glass is not repairable. 

Notice how Jesus says to do the New Covenant, Communion, in remembrance of Him. He is the Groom going away. But He will return for His Bride and bring her unto Himself.

I Corinthians 11:25-26
“Likewise also the cup after supper saying, “This cup is the New Covenant by means of My blood: you must regularly do this, as often as you would drink it, in remembrance of Me.”  For as often as you would eat this bread and you would drink the cup, you are proclaiming publicly the death of the Lord until He would come.”

Mark 14:24-25
“And He said to them “This is My blood of the covenant which is being poured out on behalf of many. Truly I say to you that never again am I drinking from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

When we take the Cup, Communion, we are remembering Him, the price He paid with His Body and His Blood; this is symbolic of the first cup of the Ketubah.

We should also stop, pause and rejoice in that: The next time the Lord takes the cup of wine again, it will be with us, His Bride. This will be symbolic of the second cup of the Ketubah. We should take Communion in honor of Him as He has asked, but also with the comfort and intent of someday, being with and sharing the Wedding Cup with Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 
The entire New Testament (New Marriage Covenant) is a reflection of the Ancient Jewish Wedding, whereby Yeshua, the Bridegroom, will one day come back for His Bride (all 12 tribes and those grafted into the olive tree, One New Man).

Right now He is preparing many dwelling places in his Father’s house (John 14:2) for his Bride.

When we choose to accept the offer of the Lord, as Lord and Savior, we enter into a covenant relationship.  We are betrothed to the Lord spiritually and we reject all other gods and idols and stay faithful to Him. We are like the Bride of those days, in that we have all the legal rights of being betrothed, even though the marriage is not complete until the final ceremony. 
Having been bought with a price, the Bride now keeps herself for him.

During this time, the Bride is to be eagerly awaiting his return.

Then the Father of the Groom will tell his Son to go snatch up his bride.

1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17

It is important to realize that in the Ancient Jewish Wedding, there is no date set for the wedding unlike in our western world.  The custom back then was that the date was to remain a mystery and only the father of the groom had an idea of when the wedding would take place.

Only when everything was completed to the fathers satisfaction would he tell his son to go and get his bride.

This is where at the reference (Matt 24:36).  that no one knows the day nor the hour when he will become for his bride, but the father only.

Because neither the bride nor groom knew when the father would say it was good enough, it was critical that they both needed to be ready as the finishing touches were about to be completed.

This prophecy is a reflection of the Fall Appointed Feast Days of Yom Teruah (The Feast of Trumpets) as it is accustomed for the High Priest to say, “No man knows the day or the hour.”  The reason for this saying is that no one would know on which day the sighting of the crescent moon would appear that would be necessary in order to initiate the feast day celebrations starting with Yom Teruah.  Here we see the connection with the wedding as well as with Yom Teruah.

Scriptures attributed to Yom Teruah are (1Thess 4:16-17)(Rev 19:7-9).

The couple do not see each other again until the day of the wedding but spend their time in preparation for it.

As was the custom, the bride was to prepare herself for the wedding ceremony that would take place from one to two years from the acceptance of the proposal.

(For us it has been 2000+ years (1000 years as a day?) and we are still waiting for Him to come and get us, His Bride). There is much anticipation of this event and it is meant to be a surprise for the Bride as the Bridegroom comes as a thief in the night at the Appointed Time/Feast (Mow’ed).

For the bride, life seems the same, she lives with her family doing daily activities, she is married but What has changed? Everything! For she is now CALAH.

God came to our house as Jesus 2000+ years ago and made a covenant with us if we said yes to Him. Then the bridegroom according to the Hebrew custom leaves to return to His home, His Father’s house. Jesus returned to heaven and where we are now, these are the days of separation. The bride in her house, Earth. The groom in His House, heaven.

John 14:2-3:  “In My Father’s house are many rooms.   I go to prepare a place for you.  And, if I go to prepare and place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also”.

We are still in this in the present world, still in the same House, everything seems the same it looks unchanged. But, something unseen has changed, not the exterior House or the world around us. However, we have changed inside, and we are no longer OF this world even though we are still IN it.

The time of preparation:

Again, it’s important to realize that the custom was, the wedding date was to remain a mystery and only the father of the groom had an idea of when.

The wedding was a prophetic type of the coming Messiah set in for the children of Israel as a symbolic preparation of the spiritual life enacted as the marriage process. The wedding, the covenant, the betrothal, the holy convocation, the rehearsal. This was on purpose so every time two individuals became a couple they enacted God’s eternal plan out in their own lives.

Just as many modern Western ceremonies today, have a rehearsal dinner or Church rehearsal meetings to go through the order of ceremony to be performed at the appointed time. So the cycle of 7 appointed times of the Lord throughout the year are also a rehearsal and a preparation for the fulfillment of God’s plan of the ages through Jesus and His coming as Messiah in fulfillment of those prophetic events.

So is the wedding a type and shadow of His relationship with us and why He referred so much to it. The people of His day who were around Him listening to Him were familiar with such events and understood the process. It made sense to them and it’s why He used it to explain His mission, Ministry and ultimate future in relationship to us, His Calah.

After the building of the wedding chamber/room is complete, and after the father has determined that his son is ready, then the father would send His son back to where the bride would be eagerly awaiting his return from her hometown (Earth) to retrieve her for the Wedding.

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Master is coming. Matt 24:42

Then the groom would go for the bride, often at night and she would have to be ready.

The guests too would be notified at the last minute.

At that time, there would be a procession led by the bridegroom back to where the bride is from (Earth).  The processional wedding party would stop outside the town, and there would be a cry made for the bride with the sounding of the shofar to go out to meet the Bridegroom.

14 For if we believe that יהושע died and rose again, so also Elohim shall bring with Him those who sleep in יהושע.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Master, that we, the living who are left over at the coming of the Master shall in no way go before those who are asleep.

16 Because the Master Himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, (archangel) and with the trumpet (Yom Teruah) of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. 

17 Then we, the living who are left over, shall be caught away together with them in the clouds to meet the Master in the air – and so we shall always be with the Master. 1 Thess 4:14-17

50. And this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood is unable to inherit the reign of Elohim, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.

51. See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound,

and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.1 Corinthians 15: 50-52

 

The following is a parable by Yeshua describing how there will be those who would not be made aware of the times of His second coming and will miss this moment.

“Then the reign of the heavens shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matt 25:1-13)

 

“Now while the bridegroom took time, they all slumbered and slept.

6. “And at midnight a cry was heard, ‘See, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him!’  (Matt 25:5-6)

At the voice of the Bridegroom calling them up, Messiah Yeshua comes out of heaven with a trumpet blast, to gather His whole Bride for the wedding, and the 7 days in the chuppah. The “bride has made herself ready”.  He collects His Bride who is alive and waiting for Him on the earth. As betrothed brides, they were supposed to be preparing for their wedding, sewing the various garments, purifying, learning, etc. in anticipation of the Big Day… but 5 grew drowsy and were sleeping.

They were to keep a light in the window during the nighttime and have more oil on hand, ready to make the journey to meet the Groom.

Without a light in the night, how would they find their way to meet the Groom? They would stumble and fall, stray off the path being unable to navigate in the dark.

They were to “meet up” with the Groom and head for the Wedding Ceremony, Honeymoon and Marriage Supper.
Five of the betrothed made it, Five did not…. All ten had the opportunity. 

Five had their heart in it were focused and kept to their purpose. These 5 stayed on course with well supplied lamps, trimmed wicks and fresh oil on hand. This is how we must be as the betrothed Church waiting for our Groom, Messiah Jesus/Yeshua.

Only the “prepared ones” will make it. There will not be any second chances.

Those arriving late will be locked outside the door. We must remain passionate for our Lord and be able to stay on course through the darkness, and many times that darkness can seem very heavy.

We must set our hearts and live our lives as the prepared Bride of the Lord.

The parable of the wise virgins, of Matthew 25:1-11, shows us that only the prepared Bride gets to go into the chuppah with Him.  The guests are shut out.

“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.  (Matt 25:10)

The bride, and her family would go out to meet the bridegroom.  The bridal company (bridesmaids) would join the procession back to the bridegroom’s hometown (Heaven). It is clear in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 that Paul was speaking to a Jewish audience who understood the cultural idoms of the day.

The true meaning is to “take by surprise.” And the Lord makes it clear to His church through His Word, that He does not want us to be taken by surprise but on the contrary for us to be faithful, alert and watching.

The phrase is not about the Lord being like “the kind” of a “thief” that would come in the night by sneaking in and sneaking out. In the day and age of Jesus and the apostles, most people lived in one or two room houses. Anyone would know when someone came in or out, including in the night. Jesus will be coming “like” a “thief in the night” in that “He will take the world by surprise” when He comes to get His church.

When he spoke of, “as a thief in the night,” those listening would realize that he was possibly speaking about the Captain of the Temple that may have been the high priest.  The Captain’s job was to make sure that the watchman or guards were not sleeping but rather doing their job. If the Captain of the Temple found any guards asleep, then he would set their garments on fire with his torch. ‘Not found naked’, as he would have ripped off his clothes to save from being burned.

Thus, the Captain of the Temple was known as a Thief in the Night.  The term/idiom, A Thief in the Night, was used by Jesus/Yeshua Himself and is used to identify a sleeping or dead church.

1 Now, brothers, as to the times and the seasons (mow’ed), you do not need to be written to. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of יהוה comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. (1 Thess 5:1-5)

Returning to the wedding reference:

and when his father approved of the apartment or house, the son would come for his bride and the wedding ceremony would take place. Today the ceremony takes place under a chuppah, a prayer shawl over 4 supports representing the room that was prepared.

Once the ceremony is over, the two would go into the bridal chamber (chuppah) for 7 days (now known as a honeymoon). The tradition of a husband staying home with his new wife for the first year of marriage symbolizes the millennial reign the 1000 years, (1day=1000 years), when we rule and reign with Him

Revelation 14:1-3; 20:1-4; Romans 8:17

Picture this: It was in the early morning while it was still dark, the Morning Star Shone upon his opening tomb.

Everyone was sleeping as it was still during the hours of darkness and rest for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Jesus arose, His rising did not disturb the slumbering citizens. The watchmen of the night saw and heard nothing to alert them that in the spiritual realm everything has changed. For them it was just another early morning and that they would begin in the natural realm just like any other.

It may well be that it is very early in the morning while it is still dark, when 1 Thess 4:16 occurs; when only the morning star is shining that the believers who make up Messiahs body on earth shall be called up to Him joining the dead in Christ who have been raised exactly a twinkling of an eye before them.

Like Him, somewhere in the earth His saints will awake, while the children of the night and darkness are still sleeping. Not one will be disturbed and as on that morning in Jerusalem, the rest of the world will not hear the voice of the archangel, nor the trumpet that calls them to His side.

He will awaken each one when the hour arrives. The words of Isaiah 26:19 Will accompany the quickening. ‘awake and sing you that dwell in dust.’

 What does the phrase “in the twinkling of an eye” mean? Many say it is “faster than a blink.” Whatever it means, it’s very very fast! The next question is, “what happens in the twinkling of an eye?” This verse in 1 Corinthians 15, may be one of the most misquoted verses of all time.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

It says “we shall be “changed” in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. It does not say that the Rapture happens in the twinkling of an eye.
In the previous verses..

“As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

 For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

This whole section of scripture seems to be about “how we shall become like the Lord.” How “corruption” is not fit for heaven. The flesh and blood bodies that we now have are mortal and of corruption.

Both the bodies of the saints in heaven and those who are still alive, must be made “fit for heaven.” It is about the speed of the changing of the bodies and remains, not about the speed of the Rapture.

Our very DNA miraculously revived and made alive supernaturally as the power of the risen Savior re-creates all bodies new and in His image.

The first rays of the sun penetrate the darkness of each saints grave, one massive unprecedented miracle around the globe simultaneously re-creating each and every child of God who died in faith believing in His return.

The rays of His glory will penetrate each one, pouring into the depths and as the shadows of the morning and the eastern clouds slide away hope is rewarded and mortality is flung aside and all at once the uprising glorified bodies changed at the speed of light, faster than an eye blink we meet Him in the air, the Lord of glory, Creator of the heavens and the earth, the King of the universe.

(From quantum physics considerations, this transformation, “in the twinkling of an eye,” will possibly occur digitally in 10-43 of a second.) 

His Glory like the Star of Bethlehem which heralded His first coming and shone beams of light guiding those seeking Him into His presence;the star of the morning will again shine beams of light to direct us Heavenward. A new path for us but also the last leg of the journey along life’s Way, in the Truth and to the everlasting Life He promised.

The sleeping church, or believers who do not understand the Appointed Feasts, may miss the wedding!

1“And to the messenger of the assembly in Sardis write, ‘He who has the seven Spirits of Elohim and the seven stars, says this, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

2“Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before Elohim.

3“Remember, then, how you have received, and heard. And watch and repent. If, then, you do not wake up, I shall come upon you as a thief, and you shall not know at all what hour I come upon you.  (Revelation 3:1-3)

The wedding takes place and the bride and the bridegroom are married in the bridegroom’s hometown (Heaven).

(Maybe under the grooms prayer shawl/ chuppah)

The bride and the bridegroom would consummate the marriage in the bridal chamber built by the bridegroom at their new home, while the entire wedding party would wait outside the bridal chamber. 

Once the consummation had taken place, there would be a great celebration as the wedding party would last for 7 days or less. (Marriage supper of the Lamb 7 years)

And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” Revelation 19:9

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him praise, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife prepared herself.”

8And to her it was given to be dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the set-apart ones.

9And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true words of Elohim.”  Revelation 19: 7-9

After 7 days or less of celebration, a processional of the entire wedding party would return back to the Bride’s hometown (Earth) to continue with the celebrations. (Messiahs second Coming.)

They really DO live happily ever after!

 The Archangel whether it be Michael, Gabriel, Rafael or another, whose voice we shall hear is like a morning call for all of us. It’s time to wake up to arise, weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning of our resurrection.

Encourage one another with these words.

He will receive us and so shall we ever be with Our Messiah.

“He came among His own people, but His own did not take* Him. And so many as did receive Him, He gave them authority to become children of God, to those who believed in His name, they are not from blood and not from the desire of flesh and not from the will of man but were begotten from God. ” John 1:11-13

*take: This word means to take as your betrothed, speaking of the intimate relationship Y’shua came to seal.

Jesus did not come just to be lightly received. He came from the Father to bring us back to Him. To “take Jesus, to receive Him,” meant to “believe in His Name in a life changing manner.” It was (and is) entering into a Covenant relationship with our Holy God. Because He called us out, chose us. Note it says, He gave them authority to become children of God, not just became children of God.

 “The coming of the Lord” will be “unexpected” by those who “are not watching and waiting” for Him.

This great day will surprise the lost “as” a “thief in the night.” But God’s people – who are not of the night nor of darkness – will be looking for Him. God’s people know the signs and nearness of His coming and are watching for Him.

The Amplified Bible has verse 4 as this: “But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief.”
There may not be much more time to trim the lamps or seek more oil… We should decide which of the groups we are a part.

For the bridegroom cometh and when ever He comes, let‘s make sure that we are awake, prepared and ready to go with Him.

The wedding process is already in motion and we are His Calah/Kallah, כַּלָּה,  pronounced (kal-law’).

Even so, maranatha, come Messiah!

Extra Point of interest to explain what were Jewish Night Watches:

The Jewish people in the Old Testament divided the 12 hour night into three military watches instead of hours. Each watch was 4 hours long.

The first or “beginning of the night watches” was from sunset (or for practical purposes, 6pm) until 10pm and was mentioned in Lamentations 2:19.

The “middle watch” is from 10pm until 2am and was mentioned in Judges 7:19.

The “morning watch” was from 2am until 6am and was mentioned in Exodus 14:24 and 1 Samuel 11:11.

“Night watches” are also mentioned in Psalm 63:6 and Psalm 119:148.

Each new 24 Jewish day began at sundown (or 6pm.) That is why the Jewish Sabbath begins at sundown.

In contrast our Roman days begin at midnight.

Jewish Daytime began at 6am; and ends at 6pm for counting hours. The first hour is therefore 7am; the second hour is 8am; the third hour is 9am, the sixth hour is noon or 12pm; and so forth.

Examples of some time references

Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44 – “from the sixth hour” refers to noon and “until the ninth hour” refers to 3pm

Matthew 20 – In verse 3 “third hour” refers to 9am/ “Sixth and ninth” hours in verse 5 refers to noon and 3 pm/  “eleventh hour” in verse 6 refers to 5pm

Acts 2:15 – “third hour of the day” is 9am

Acts 3:1 – “ninth hour” is 3pm

Acts 10:3 – “ninth hour” is 3pm

Acts 10:9 – “sixth hour” is noon

Acts 10:30 – “during the ninth hour” is 3-4 pm

Acts 23:23 – “third hour of the night” is 9pm

 Roman Night Watches: Rome takes over in the time period between the Testaments and rules the Jewish people. The Romans broke their number of military watches into four 3-hour watches. These were called:

First Watch, also called Evening Watch  – sundown, 6pm to 9pm

Second Watch, also called Midnight Watch – 9pm to midnight

Third Watch, also called Cock-crow or Cock-crowing Watch – midnight to 3am

Fourth Watch, also called Morning Watch – 3 am to sunrise, 6am

Some Roman watches are mentioned in the New Testament:

Matthew 14:25 – “fourth watch of the night” refers to 3-6am

Mark 13:35 – “evening”, “midnight”, “when the rooster crows”, “morning”

Luke 12:38 – “second watch” refers to 9pm to midnight and “third” refers to midnight to 3am

Note this was the reference to Peters 3 denials by Jesus!

 Older versions of the Bible say the Gospel of John used Roman time. (Again, Roman time is how we keep time.) Newer versions of the Bible say the hours mentioned in John are Jewish time. Looking at the context of the verses, I would agree with Jewish time.

John 1:39 – “the tenth hour” could refer to the Roman time of 10am or the Jewish time of 4pm.  (4pm makes more sense.)

John 4:6 – “the sixth hour” is perhaps Roman time of 6am or Jewish time of noon  (The heat of the day at noon makes more sense.)

John 4:52 – “the seventh hour” is either 7am Roman time or 1pm Jewish time.  (Again, Jewish time makes more sense.)

It’s not clear why scholars of the newer versions have decided it is Jewish time in the Gospel of John. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written between AD 58-67. John was written about AD 80-90 when the Roman Empire ruled and the Jewish people had been scattered after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Perhaps when John wrote the gospel most people kept time by Roman standards and that is why older versions say it was written with Roman time. But John being Jewish, the advancement in scholarship of ancient texts and the context of the verses makes the thought feasible that he wrote using Jewish hours.

When reading the Bible is it critical to know the Jewish hours and the Roman watches? Not really, but it helps with context of the passage. For instance in Matthew 14:25 when Jesus comes walking to the disciples on water it was the “fourth watch” or 3:00 to 6:00am. Matthew 14:22 tells us Jesus had the disciples get into the boat and go before Him. Verse 23 tells us Jesus went to pray and then evening came. This means the disciples had been in the boat over nine hours and may have been battling the storm a long time before Jesus came to them. That would be enough time to become really terrified! Is that crucial to the text to know that? No, not really – you get the point of the passage without that knowledge, however knowing the context makes your understanding richer. 

Please don’t leave this page before making 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? 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.

WHAT DID JOHN SEE THAT WE MISSED?

WHAT DID JOHN SEE THAT WE MISSED?

As this week began with Resurrection Day, let’s say, (or sing) with Job, ‘For I know that my Redeemer liveth’ and echo the statement in 2Timothy 2:12 ‘For I know whom I have believed.’

Turn up the volume and take a moment to immerse your soul in His presence…. 

The 16th Nisan was the 2nd day of the week of Passover/ Pesach/Unleavened Bread Chag HaMazot and continues for 7 days (vs.18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.)

16 Nisan was also 1st day of the Omer: (click link https://www.minimannamoments.com/counting-our-blessings-with-omer/or see the very bottom of the Homepage for more).

Here is the extra study as mentioned in the post ‘In His Deaths’, as this whole Passover week we are celebrating the fact that He is Risen;

He is Alive forevermore and…

An important note concerning the content of this post.

Readers who have been following mmm over the previous 15 months are aware that we are concerned not to pass on information just for the wow effect alone. This site is for scriptural informational subject matter and not sensational and because of this MMM takes extra time to ensure the accuracy of the material shared plus the reliability of each source.

For some years a very meaningful and poignant story has been ‘doing the rounds’ with some slight variations at each retelling; and the intention was to add it as a paragraph at the end of last weeks post. Even though initially some stories may sound wonderful, in the long term they do not aid in the maturing of our faith. It is the truth that will make us free. MMM heart is to share those truths and not to mislead or misdirect in anyway and it is not our intention to perpetuate any inaccuracies if at all possible. MMM decided to do due diligence before publishing.

Interestingly in the process of confirming the material included, some surprising information was revealed. The findings are presented below in a post of its own for your consideration and all readers are encouraged to be like Bereans recorded in Acts 17:11 check it out for yourselves.

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

While many today might say they were being critical or judgmental, Luke commended the Bereans for wanting to make sure that what they were being taught was biblical. Many of the details in focus are not critical to our salvation but rather enhance our understanding of scripture content.

As Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun, it is only new to us because we haven’t heard it before.

…because He is alive.. we live.

This week highlights that this is, THE message, of hope, freedom and eternal life. If we live as He taught us, ‘His deaths’, have made us resurrection recipients. He completed the work He came to do. We live because He is Risen and the cross and the tomb were and are empty…except for what did John see that we missed….it may not be what we thought!

The tomb… the shroud…. A folded cloth.. Was it Jesus’s Prayer Shawl/Yeshua’s tallit?

First we need to set the scene:

The preparation for the burial was initiated by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

It was risky to ask for the body as a crucified criminal was denied a proper burial and unceremoniously tossed into a mass grave which was little more than a trench or ditch.

Joseph of Arimathea already had a brand new tomb cut in preparation for himself as he was a wealthy man.

He was a secret disciple who did not consent to the Sanhedrin condemning Yeshua. Nicodemus was a Pharisee a member of the ruling council and also a secret follower of Yeshua.

 He offered his tomb and they brought a burial shroud

and linensLinen strips

and about 75lbs (100 lbs in KJV) of myrrh and aloes in which to wrap Messiahs body.

This was a huge amount this much was usually only used for burying Royalty.

To understand where we are headed… first some pictures are included of the wrapping of a body according to Jewish custom old and modern.

This will aid in visualizing what John saw. Before the Diaspora they did not use coffins so the body shape is very obvious.

There are some pictures showing the way we thought it was. The way we assumed it was, and the way it more than likely was.

ציצת

Prayer Shawl and Bible Manners and Customs

The Prayer Shawl, (aka. tallis, tallit, talis) is a religious symbol, a garment, shroud, canopy, cloak which envelops the Jew both physically and spiritually, in prayer and celebration, in joy and sorrow.

While some other Jewish garments or objects might be treated more casually, the tallit is a special personal effect, generally used for many years or a lifetime and never discarded. Most Jewish men (and some women) own very few tallitot in their lifetimes.

Knotted Tachrichim

A threadbare tallit is treated with great respect, as if it had a mantle of holiness, acquired from years of use. Although there is no mandatory tradition, in Conservative, reform, and otherwise non- religious families a tallit, as well as tefillin, is likely to be given as a special gift, from father to son, from father-in-law to son-in-law, or from teacher to student. It might be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding, a bar/bat mitzvah, or a trip to Israel. When a man dies, it is traditional that he be buried dressed only in his kittel, with his tallit is draped over him.

Anyone attending an orthodox synagogue today will see that the men are all wearing prayer shawls. It is a very important part of Jewish life and would have been in the life of Jesus /Yeshua too..

It is used at all major Jewish occasions: circumcisions, bar mitsvahs, weddings and burials. It protects the scrolls of the Torah when they are moved.

They are wrapped in it when they are buried.After a ritual washing of the body, called taharah it is dressed in a kittel (shroud) tachrichim and then a tallit.

Before the tallit is placed on a body for burial, one of the sets of fringes, the tzitzit, is cut off to demonstrate that the person is no longer bound by the religious obligations of the living.

In the Land of Israel, burial is without a casket, and the kittel and tallith are the only coverings for the corpse. In addition to tahrihim, the shroud, some Jews are wrapped in the prayer shawl (tallit) in which they prayed.

Every tallit is tied with four sets of knotted fringes (tzizit), which symbolize the commandment (mitzvot) incumbent upon Jews.

Meaning of the knots and zitzit.

Back to Jesus’s/Yeshua’s burial.

He was laid in Josephs tomb

 The stone was rolled in front of the entrance

often needing 4 or more men to move it

The tomb was sealed

close up of wax seals

and Roman soldiers guarded the entrance until there was an earthquake and the soldiers were in fear for what they saw.

John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.

Matthew 28:2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.

 John 20:1 and Mark 16:3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” think they should’ve remembered the words of our Lord and simply trusted Him.

Meanwhile, the women who stayed at the Tomb, went into the Tomb to investigate it, and they met the angel sitting inside the Tomb!

Matthew 28:5-8: But the angel answered and said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

HE IS NOT HERE; for HE IS RISEN, as He said. Come, SEE the PLACE WHERE the LORD LAY. 
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you. So they WENT OUT quickly FROM the TOMB with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word

 Mark 16:5-8 records the same event: ENTERING the TOMB, they SAW a young man clothed in a long white robe SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. HE is RISEN! He is NOT HERE. SEE the PLACE WHERE they LAID Him. But go, tell His disciples, and Peter, that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you. So they WENT OUT quickly and fled FROM the TOMB, for they trembled and were amazed. And they (initially) said nothing to anyone for they were afraid.

These passages give us some very specific information about the Tomb, which shows that it was not entirely typical for its time. Mark 16:5 says that as they entered they saw the angel (who looked like a young man) SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE. This is a very significant statement, for it reveals the layout of the Tomb, a layout that is unusual for a First Century Tomb. Normally, you would walk through the entrance into the Weeping Chamber,and then you would go down further into the Grave area, which would straight ahead, just as with Lazarus’s tomb in Bethany,  but in this case, the angel, who was sitting by the Place where Jesus was laid, was on the right hand side, as they entered through the Doorway into the Weeping Chamber. It was only because of this arrangement that later on from the door, John could see the grave-clothes where He lay. 

The Arrival of the Second Group of women led by Joanna: It is Luke, (who tells the story from Joanna’s viewpoint), who describes the arrival of the 2nd Group of women at the Tomb. They had come from Herod’s Palace, and arrived just after the others had left in a hurry, after their encounter with the angel.

Luke 24:1,2: Now on the 1st day of the week (Sunday), very early in the morning, they (the women described in Luke 23:55,56), and certain other women with them (under Joanna).

 Looking at the Garden Tomb above, (and also next picture), there’s a small window in the upper right-hand face of the Tomb, above the modern block-stone. It was cut into the Rock-Face as an original feature of the Tomb, when it was first built. It is too narrow to be another entrance.This was a nephesh (lit. “soul” hole), through which, by Jewish tradition, the spirit of the dead departed after 3 days in the Tomb. The morning sunlight shining through this window illuminated the Tomb, so that Peter and John could see into what otherwise would have been a dark Tomb interior.

So, because of the light shining through the window, as they stood at the door and looked to the right, they would have clearly seen where Christ had been laid. They saw His grave cloths lying by themselves where His body had been, but there was no body. They could see the Tomb was empty. 

When Peter and John (who, most scholars agree, was “the other disciple”) heard the excited report of Mary Magdalene, they rushed to the tomb. John “outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in” (John 20:4-5).

John looked into the tomb, but did not enter. The Greek word used here for “look” is blepo, “which denotes simple sight” [Dr. Alvah Hovey, An American Commentary on the NT, p. 396], as distinguished from a deeper perception of that which is seen by the eyes.

In other words, John’s eyes saw what was before him, but he didn’t yet fully grasp “how to interpret the phenomenon” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 189].

Peter, on the other hand, when he got to the scene, went immediately into the tomb, and “he saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (John 20:6-7, NIV).

Peter “saw” — this is the Greek word theoreo, meaning “to gaze upon, contemplate, consider; to view with interest and attention; to come to a knowledge of” [The Analytical Greek Lexicon of the NT, p. 194].

It was a “closer and more careful, vivid, and instructive gaze” than that of John [The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 17, pt. 2, p. 465].

John glanced at the scene; Peter gazed at it.

“The bolder Peter is rewarded with bright evidence of what had happened” [Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Practical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, p. 1076].

“The change of word seems to have been intentional. Peter’s survey of the tomb was more searching and exact than that of John” [Dr. Hovey, p. 396].The Tomb and its contents could have been for the disciples to believe because we are told in John 20:9

“Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to their homes” (John 20:8-10). Like Peter, John now “saw” — which resulted in belief. This is yet a third Greek word employed in this passage: eidov (a form of horao), meaning “to perceive; to observe with understanding.”

We see a powerful progression here from seeing to scrutinizing and contemplating to understanding, which then results in belief. Peter and John were still struggling with the events of the past few days, and their faith was not yet firm, as they still had questions and doubts, but they could not deny the reality of what was before their eyes: Jesus was not just away, He was arisen!

There was something in the scene before them that convicted them of this truth: not just an empty tomb, but something to do with the burial garments, proclaimed a powerful, convincing message of resurrection.

What exactly was the message of the garments they found within the tomb of our Lord that morning of the first day of the week?

With regard to the ‘burial clothes’ of our Lord, there were two different parts. 

First, we find the “strips of linen” (NIV) that were used to wrap the body of Jesus. The practice at that time was to take a number of strips of cloth and wrap the body with these strips, binding it up much like a mummy.

“Aromatic spices were strewn between the layers of linen, and these layers, one wound over the other, were numerous, so that all those spices could be held between them” [R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, p. 1342].

This would have greatly limited the movement of the body (although few expected a dead body to actually move)!

We see this in the coming forth from the tomb of Lazarus. When he came out, “his hands and feet were wrapped with strips of linen, and he had a cloth around his face.” Therefore, Jesus said, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11:44). 

Secondly, as noted in the account of the resurrection of Lazarus, there was, in addition to the body wrappings, a covering for the face/head. The Greek word used for this item is soudarion, and it is used in both John 11:44 and 20:7. It denoted “a headcovering for the dead” [The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words, p. 1372].

It was a “piece of cloth, a yard or so square” [Dr. James Hastings, Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. 2, p. 226], that was used to wrap around the head of the deceased: a head shroud. A picture of just such a head cloth can be seen in the accompanying picture.When Peter, and then later John, entered the tomb they found something intriguing about these burial garments: something so utterly astounding that it erased their doubts and established their faith in our Lord’s resurrection from the dead.

They did not see the body of Jesus; but they did see the grave clothes…. And they saw the clothes in a certain order. 

John covers the exact arrangement of the clothes. It is the sole purpose of nine verses of the Gospel history. Why so great a detailed account? It was the linen strips that caused him to believe. Scripture clearly tells us that when John “saw the arrangement of the grave clothes, he believed, beyond all doubt, that Jesus was risen.”

These grave garments were arranged in a unique way. When John saw “the linen clothes lying,” he believed. The word “lying” does not merely refer to the fact that they were “remaining on the floor of the sepulcher,” but rather, the word used, means that they were 

“lying precisely as the body had lain in them.” 

The grave clothes were in exactly the position the body had occupied.

They “saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (John 20:7, NIV).   In reading this statement, we may not find much to astound us; but, most translations have not really captured, in their English rendering of the text, what Peter and John were beholding and perceiving in that tomb. Indeed, in some translations, the wording is even misleading.

For example, there are a few versions where the face/head wrap is referred to as a “napkin”, the sort used to wipe the mouth while eating a meal. (King James Version, American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, Young’s Literal Translation, New English Bible).

These are major translations that have greatly influenced our religious language. Another unfortunate rendering of the Greek term is “handkerchief” (New King James Version, Darby Translation, the modern translation by J. B. Phillips, and even the version by Hugo McCord).

Most versions, however, simply render the Greek term as “the wrapping” or “the cloth.” The words “napkin” and “handkerchief” leave the wrong impression in our minds, and can lead to some strange interpretations (such as the alternate story/account/eRumor, making the rounds on the Internet in which a “folded napkin at the dinner table” is supposed to convey to a servant that the master is coming back –

As mmm heart is for truth and no evidence was found to coroborate the reference to the napkin at the dinner table; only that (“2000 yrs ago as there was no such Jewish custom in that day; such “dinner napkins” were not even used by rough fishermen, and a number of Orthodox Jewish rabbis and scholars in Jerusalem, when questioned about this, stated they had never even heard of such a thing”).   It may have been a custom of the Roman Elites and of Royals. The way of life, lack of internal plumbing and European/western etiquette are things we take for granted but it was not as we are today; and many countries are still struggling for the basic necessities of life. Our Greek mind set and mistranslations may have helped to paint a not so accurate picture. 

Presented below are some referenced studies from original texts, which reveal a truly amazing possibility!

This was not a napkin or handkerchief, but as already stated it was probably either rather a large linen cloth that was wrapped around the head of the deceased and/or His tallit.

Some translators also did not serve their readers well by translating the Greek word entulisso as “folded” (New International Version, Darby Translation, English Standard Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible, New Century Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, and a few others).

Most translations have “wrapped up” or “rolled up.” The Greek word entulisso only appears three times in the NT (Matt. 27:59; Luke 23:53; John 20:7). The word itself means “to roll up; to wrap together” [Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the NT, p. 219].

The picture above may not be exactly what they saw… the one below maybe nearer the reality..

So it was Not This…

But this is what they saw!!!!

“It implies that the cloth had been wound around the head into the shape of a sphere and not folded flat like a table napkin. In the NT this word is used only in the description of Jesus’ entombment” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 189].

Thus, the text is actually suggesting that what Peter and John saw was NOT a “folded napkin,” but rather the head shroud still in its “wrapped up” condition, only with no head in it.

The same was the case with the burial linens. 

They were there, still “lying in place” as they had been, with the head wrap separate from the body wrap, but the body was gone.

“Unfortunately, neither the Authorized Version nor the Revised Version gives the exact translation of the Greek text. The literal rendering of the passage makes it clear that the cloth which had been placed about Christ’s head before burial was discovered by the two disciples lying where His head had been, in the undisturbed form of a coiled or twisted head-wrapper …

just as if His head had somehow slipped out of it.

This rendering of the passage is confirmed by the impression made upon the two disciples by what they witnessed on entering the tomb. It is said that they ‘saw and believed’ — saw something, that is, which persuaded them so completely that their Master was risen from the dead that their doubts were immediately resolved” [Dr. James Hastings, Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. 2, p. 227].

Dr. H. A. Ironside concurs: “They saw the linen cloths just as they had been wrapped around the body, like the shell of the chrysalis after the butterfly has emerged. The cloths were there, but the body had gone!” [Addresses on the Gospel of John, p. 861].

“This means the headcloth still retained the shape that the contour of Jesus’ head had given it, and that it was still separated from the other wrappings by a space that suggested the distance between the neck of the deceased and the upper chest, where the wrappings of the body would have begun” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 188].

Esteemed Jewish scholar Simon Greenleaf, founder of Harvard Law School, meant to use his “laws of evidence” to challenge the theory of the resurrection, and became a believer.

LINEN THAT COULDN’T LIE

Linen clothes, refer to the manner in which they prepared the body for burial in that day. They would wrap the body with a wide long cloth, somewhat like a bandage is applied to an injured leg or arm; the wrappings continued until they reached the neck. This was the method they used to prepare the body of Jesus for burial. Like a giant bondage, these wrappings were wound around the body of our Lord, beginning at the feet, and ending at the head. John saw these ‘linen clothes lying’ undisturbed, just as they had been when the body of Jesus lay within them, but now there was no body, the linen clothes were empty!

John 19:39-40 tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea brought about a 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes spices and wound the body of Jesus in the cloth wrappings with the spices. As they wrapped the cloth strip around and around Jesus’ body, they poured in 100 pounds of spices into the wrappings and upon the body. 

LIQUID SPICES SETTLED AND SOLIDIFIED AROUND THE BODY SHAPE!

All these liquid spices would soon harden and would cause the cloth wrappings to become an encrusted cocoon around the body of Jesus.

All the wrappings followed the contours of the body; it would be a tight solid covering that would protect the body, and from which the body could not be pulled by any human means. 

The only way, humanly speaking, a body could be removed from such encrusted wrappings, would be by cutting the cloth from end to end and laying back each side so the body could be pulled from its wrappings.

PROOF – THE BODY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN STOLEN

It is inconceivable that the body had been stolen, and that enemies would have spent the time to abstract the body from the clothes and so arrange them as to look like a body was still there. Who would do that and why?

When the disciples saw the “linen clothes lying” –- uncut, undisturbed, lying just as they had been, yet they were empty –- it convinced them that the body had been miraculously, supernaturally removed. Had some human hand stolen the body, he would have been forced to slit open the bindings in order to remove the body. 

Likewise, Greenleaf concluded, HAD JESUS REVIVED AND EXITED THE TOMB HE COULD NOT HAVE LEFT THE WRAPPING UNDISTURBED.

The Greek words translated, “wrapped together” in John 20:7, actually mean, “twisted together” or “rolled up” –- it speaks of a fixed position – much like a cocoon. The linen cloths were “wrapped” or “rolled together,” however the body was missing.

The “linen clothes” had not been unfolded, loosed or disturbed in any way!

They just lay there!

An empty shell of the linen clothes that had been wrapped around and around the body of Jesus. 

The primary point of this physical testimony was to thwart the lie that was going to be spread abroad that the body of Jesus had been stolen (either by His disciples or unnamed others). Because guards were posted at the tomb, and the entrance was sealed, even if robbers managed to distract the guards, they would still have to snatch the body in haste and make off with it, which would not allow them time to leave the burial wrappings in such a condition.

Indeed, they would most likely steal the body fully wrapped, rather than carefully unwrap it, remove the body, then rewrap the linen pieces to its previous shape, making off with a corpse. It wouldn’t make any sense, nor would they have the time. If they did choose to remove the burial wrappings, it would have been done in haste, and the cloths would be strewn about the tomb.

This was not the case. Clearly the hand of God was involved for the body to be gone and the wrappings to be preserved in this condition, and given the fact that the tomb was sealed and guarded. Peter and John took in the whole scene … and believed! He was risen!

“The grave clothes were left as if Jesus had passed right through them. The headpiece was still rolled up in the shape of a head, and it was at about the right distance from the wrappings that had enveloped Jesus’ body.

A grave robber couldn’t possibly have made off with Jesus’ body and left the linens as if they were still shaped around it” [footnote in the Life Application Bible, p. 1926]. As Dr. W. Robertson Nicoll rightly observes, in The Expositor’s Greek Testament, “Had the authorities or anyone else taken the body, they would have taken it as it was” [vol. 1, p. 862]. Matthew Henry’s point is well-taken: “Anyone would rather choose to carry a dead body in its clothes than naked” [Commentary on the Whole Bible, e-Sword].

(Naked in the Hebrew means except for a loincloth.)

Thus, the condition of burial garments “became the fullest proofs against the lie of the chief priests: that the body had been stolen away by the disciples. If the body had been stolen away, those who took it would not have stopped to strip the clothes from it, and to wrap them up” again [Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary, vol. 5, p. 656].

“Peter must have been wondering why the grave clothes were left in this position if the body had been stolen. A robber would not have left them in good order. He would have stripped the body completely, leaving the clothing in a disorderly heap; or he would have taken the body, grave clothes and all” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 188].

These linen wrappings, and the condition in which they found them, convinced Peter and John “that this was no violent grave robbery or the grave clothes would have been tossed in a heap or carried off with the body. The careful arrangement impressed the sensitive apostles with the marvelous truth that their Lord had risen from the dead” [The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 4, p. 373].

THE ‘COCOON’ WAS EMPTY…

The tomb was empty…

What do you think? A Mmmm moment!

(Makes the analogy of the butterfly’s lifecycle even more interesting as ‘the worm’ exits the cocoon in a brand new body and flies away.) 

Dr. Lenski sums up what we find in this passage, and the marvelous truth it proclaimed to Peter and John … and us: “They lay just as they had been wound about the limbs and the body, only the body was no longer in them. … No human being wrapped round and round with bands like this could possibly slip out of them without greatly disturbing them.”

“They would have to be unwound, or cut through, or cut and stripped off. They would thus, if removed, lie strewn around in disorder or heaped in a pile. … If the body had been desecrated in the tomb by hostile hands, this kind of evidence would appear. But hostile hands would have carried off the body as it was, wrappings and all, to get it away as soon as possible and to abuse it later and elsewhere.”

“But here the linen bands were. Both their presence and their undisturbed condition spoke volumes. Here, indeed, was a sign to behold. It corroborated what the women had told Peter and John on the way out to the tomb: Jesus was risen from the dead!” [The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, p. 1342].

Final thoughts…

Is this Proof of Resurrection that Jesus folded his Tallit when he arose from the dead?

Yeshua, the Messiah, also was put in the tomb with His prayer shawl about His head/covering His Body as was the custom of burial. The TALLIT, (which the KJV calls the napkin), is one of the many great infallible proofs, as Jesus showed Himself ALIVE after his death on the cross.

As Peter and then John entered the empty tomb, they saw something that immediately convinced them that the resurrection of Jesus/Yeshua was irrefutable fact.

This is just a single small example of the richness of the proof of the resurrection. It also shows why Gentiles should rejoice that the Jewish Roots of the Gospel are being restored by the modern Messianic movement.

Jesus/Yeshua knew that when Simon Peter burst into the tomb and found it empty, Peter would think the Romans had somehow disposed of the body.

Is that why Jesus/Yeshua, at the time of His resurrection, on Saturday, the Sabbath, Nissan 17, three days and nights after His death on the cross on Wednesday, Nissan 14, 30AD, took the time to precisely fold His prayer shawl, His Tallit, and lay it apart from the other grave wrappings?

When Peter saw the tallit, as only Jesus/Yeshua would fold it, he knew that the Romans did not take the body; because, if they had, it is not at all likely would they have folded, or even known how Jesus/Yeshua folded His tallit. Jesus/Yeshua MUST be alive to have folded His tallit, in the precise way that Peter and John were familiar with.

So in perfect conclusion for Passover week let the music minister to us… Shalom as He raises us up! We are each and every one precious in His sight and greatly loved.

How appropriate..Yeshua began and ended His earthly life in swaddling clothes! WOW!As today is key to understanding the faith of believers… Please don’t leave this page without assurance that your resurrection day is set. In days of uncertainty, here, there is complete confidence that we can trust the words of His promises and be encouraged in the hope and future of life eternal in the presence of a loving Heavenly Father…

Who gave His life for us.

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? 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.