Hello, if you are here because you saw one of us protesting the mandates, and I gave you a card, Please Watch the Video Below. We cannot link a YouTube video as our Testimony has been banned from YouTube, as has the Testimony of Nurses all across America (besides the few who play into the plot of Big Pharma). Below is just one of the Testimonies of the Nurses here at Friends from Zion. If you would like to work for us or become a protestor yourself, please see our page: https://www.friendsfromzion.com/become-a-protestor.html
What we want: To be allowed back into the Nursing Program where we left off or, for those who successfully completed 1 year in the RN program, to be allowed to challenge the NCLEX-PN and be given LPN qualification. RN students used to be allowed to challenge the NCLEX and become LPNs in NYS, and we ask for this privilege again.
And/Or: A complete forgiveness of the loans of the Nursing Students who were forced to drop out of college due to not taking the COVID Vaccine, as well as a refund of the money they spent on tuition.
In her own words:
We spent four years in intense study and went into considerable debt to pay for Nursing classes. However, we were kicked out only a few months before graduation for refusing to take the COVID Vaccination. 30% of our class was kicked out. None of our nursing credits were transferable. We were supposed to graduate as registered nurses, instead, we were kicked out and left with nothing.
The week before we were kicked out of nursing school, I was also fired from Garnet Health Medical Center, where I worked in the Hospital’s ICU and COVID unit during the height of the “pandemic.” I worked face-to-face with Covid positive patients without any issues. Then the COVID-19 vaccine was mandated. The hospital did not even inform me that I could not finish my internship; they simply deactivated my card key so that I could not sign in when I arrived at work because I refused the vaccine.
All the nurses who refused the vaccine were similarly fired. That was the thanks the hospital gave those who worked in their COVID units during the pandemic.
We were discriminated against by an administration and government with a strong bias against the unvaccinated. I was certified to draw blood, give IVs, change enteral feeding tubes, dress wounds, traction broken bones, crich emergency airways, make RN diagnoses, understand all the meds, insert catheters, run, and read EKG’s but now it all doesn’t mean anything. I and thousands of nurses and doctors will never be able to work these jobs again due to loosing credentials, and also because of the trauma of being betrayed so thoroughly.
Still, hospitals have the gall to complain of short staffing, when they are the ones who enforced immoral, murderous mandates.
The News said hospitals were overwhelmed; people having to sit in the waiting room for 14 hours before being seen. Surgeries being performed in hallways, people dying before being treated; all a result of the mandates. THAT was the reason for the deaths, not because of the unvaxxed. There were no more good nurses or doctors to care for the sick because they were all fired. My uncle died at home after waiting 14 hours to be seen at a hospital, but was sent away without receiving any care. His death could easily have been prevented.
My father died of a blood clot only weeks after receiving a Covid vaccine.
The world lost an uncountable number of health care workers because of the mandates. The reason the government did this could only be that they wanted people to die to jack the numbers up. The hospitals didn’t care as the new protocols made them millions. When I worked s a nurse during the pandemic, I routinely saw trauma victim’s with “covid” listed as their reason for death, when it clearly wasn’t. It was never about keeping people safe and healthy; it was about money.
Nurses who worked with Covid patients during the height of the pandemic were called “Front Line Hero’s,” but then those same nurses were cruelly fired and had their lives ruined by the mandates. At any moment, a group of people can be unfairly targeted, demonized, and then persecuted by Big Pharma. This kind of power should not be tolerated. We must fight Big Pharma and demand our rights back.
Below is my testimony against the Covid vaccine. At one point I expound on the "From Fast to Feast" biblical idea. I just want to add, that it was I who started the protesting ministry here at FFZ. What started this was being called into work on one of God's fast days. I complained to the administration that they should not order people to work on a fast day but they said if I did not show up, I would be fired. It was there that day that it just so happened my boss heard me joking to my friend about how I should just dress up as a homeless nurse and protest the mandates at this point because I was so exhausted from all the student debt and being forced to work for barely any money. I was fired the very next day for making such a joke, and since this all occurred because of observing one of God’s fast days, which is how I feel God has been speaking to me, because of this, I feel that God Himself has given this ministry His blessing and that we should continue to protest and spread awareness of what is going on. To date, this has been the most successful thing we have done here at FFZ in getting connected to people who can help us including lawyers and assembly members as well as educating the public.
What we want: To be allowed back into the Nursing Program where we left off or, for those who successfully completed 1 year in the RN program, to be allowed to challenge the NCLEX-PN and be given LPN qualification. RN students used to be allowed to challenge the NCLEX and become LPNs in NYS, and we ask for this privilege again.
And/Or: A complete forgiveness of the loans of the Nursing Students who were forced to drop out of college due to not taking the COVID Vaccine, as well as a refund of the money they spent on tuition.
In her own words:
We spent four years in intense study and went into considerable debt to pay for Nursing classes. However, we were kicked out only a few months before graduation for refusing to take the COVID Vaccination. 30% of our class was kicked out. None of our nursing credits were transferable. We were supposed to graduate as registered nurses, instead, we were kicked out and left with nothing.
The week before we were kicked out of nursing school, I was also fired from Garnet Health Medical Center, where I worked in the Hospital’s ICU and COVID unit during the height of the “pandemic.” I worked face-to-face with Covid positive patients without any issues. Then the COVID-19 vaccine was mandated. The hospital did not even inform me that I could not finish my internship; they simply deactivated my card key so that I could not sign in when I arrived at work because I refused the vaccine.
All the nurses who refused the vaccine were similarly fired. That was the thanks the hospital gave those who worked in their COVID units during the pandemic.
We were discriminated against by an administration and government with a strong bias against the unvaccinated. I was certified to draw blood, give IVs, change enteral feeding tubes, dress wounds, traction broken bones, crich emergency airways, make RN diagnoses, understand all the meds, insert catheters, run, and read EKG’s but now it all doesn’t mean anything. I and thousands of nurses and doctors will never be able to work these jobs again due to loosing credentials, and also because of the trauma of being betrayed so thoroughly.
Still, hospitals have the gall to complain of short staffing, when they are the ones who enforced immoral, murderous mandates.
The News said hospitals were overwhelmed; people having to sit in the waiting room for 14 hours before being seen. Surgeries being performed in hallways, people dying before being treated; all a result of the mandates. THAT was the reason for the deaths, not because of the unvaxxed. There were no more good nurses or doctors to care for the sick because they were all fired. My uncle died at home after waiting 14 hours to be seen at a hospital, but was sent away without receiving any care. His death could easily have been prevented.
My father died of a blood clot only weeks after receiving a Covid vaccine.
The world lost an uncountable number of health care workers because of the mandates. The reason the government did this could only be that they wanted people to die to jack the numbers up. The hospitals didn’t care as the new protocols made them millions. When I worked s a nurse during the pandemic, I routinely saw trauma victim’s with “covid” listed as their reason for death, when it clearly wasn’t. It was never about keeping people safe and healthy; it was about money.
Nurses who worked with Covid patients during the height of the pandemic were called “Front Line Hero’s,” but then those same nurses were cruelly fired and had their lives ruined by the mandates. At any moment, a group of people can be unfairly targeted, demonized, and then persecuted by Big Pharma. This kind of power should not be tolerated. We must fight Big Pharma and demand our rights back.
Below is my testimony against the Covid vaccine. At one point I expound on the "From Fast to Feast" biblical idea. I just want to add, that it was I who started the protesting ministry here at FFZ. What started this was being called into work on one of God's fast days. I complained to the administration that they should not order people to work on a fast day but they said if I did not show up, I would be fired. It was there that day that it just so happened my boss heard me joking to my friend about how I should just dress up as a homeless nurse and protest the mandates at this point because I was so exhausted from all the student debt and being forced to work for barely any money. I was fired the very next day for making such a joke, and since this all occurred because of observing one of God’s fast days, which is how I feel God has been speaking to me, because of this, I feel that God Himself has given this ministry His blessing and that we should continue to protest and spread awareness of what is going on. To date, this has been the most successful thing we have done here at FFZ in getting connected to people who can help us including lawyers and assembly members as well as educating the public.
Esther Altschul's Anti-vaccine Testimony
Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/video/LalyaTRAIRmY/
Rumble: https://rumble.com/v2pwf3f-my-testimony-against-the-covid-vaccines-warning-contains-disturbing-content.html
Dailymotion: https://dai.ly/x8l89qm
Sample Chapter from Rainbow Colored Crows:
The video below is not our testimony (for that you must click one of the links above), but it is a chosen excerpt from a free Audiobook that we provide (Link to the full Audiobook is below). Thank you for your donation!
About Rainbow Colored Crows:
"Rainbow Colored Crows" provides young adults with a free, Christian, fictional, and entertaining Audiobook which discourages drug use and LGBT behavior. It is also a survival guide for the End Days based on the Book of Revelation.
Where to Purchase Rainbow Colored Crows
*Paperback... $9.36
*Kindle... $0.99
*Word Doc or PDF... Free!
*Audiobook... Free on YouTube, Rumble, Dailymotion and BitChute or $15 on Audible (Coming Soon to Audible)
For the Paperback/Hardcover:
www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRLRSZCR
For the Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRY6MRCW
For the Word doc or PDF: (Below Cover Image)
Where to Purchase Rainbow Colored Crows
*Paperback... $9.36
*Kindle... $0.99
*Word Doc or PDF... Free!
*Audiobook... Free on YouTube, Rumble, Dailymotion and BitChute or $15 on Audible (Coming Soon to Audible)
For the Paperback/Hardcover:
www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRLRSZCR
For the Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRY6MRCW
For the Word doc or PDF: (Below Cover Image)
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For the YouTube Audiobook Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcptJhKUH1VO3xrI5wW4eJeKS7hAnSBhs (This playlist is in order)
For the Rumble Audiobook: https://rumble.com/c/c-2361665 (This playlist is not in order)
For the Dailymotion Audiobook Playlist: https://www.dailymotion.com/library/playlist/x7rlcx (This playlist is in order)
For the BitChute Audiobook Playlist: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/SDlKTAesfBhE/ (This playlist might not be in order)
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How to Read a Word or PDF file
*PDF and Word documents can be read on the free Android App ReadEra. Your place in the book will be kept. Font size can only be changed on ReadEra if the book is added as a Word Doc. If ReadEra is having trouble opening a Word or PDF file (this usually only occurs with PDF files) then try downloading the document directly through ReadEra. When opening up a Download on your cell you are given a option of a variety of Apps to open the file with. Choose ReadEra as oppose to Word or PDF Viewer.
How to Read Any Word or PDF file as an Audible
*Rainbow Colored Crows will become available on Audible by August 2022. The Free Midrashim below will not be
*Word Docs can be Read Aloud on any Android or iPhone by opening the document in Word on your cell, then clicking the ⋮ symbol, and then clicking the Read Aloud icon. However, it will not keep you place in the book
*Kindle Books can be Read Aloud on the Amazon Fire tablet. Your place in the book will be kept
*Documents can be copy and pasted onto the Android Speechify App and a professional voice will read them and keep your place in the book. The App has a fee
The book is provided for free at a great cost, and book sales do not generate any profit to the author. If it is on your heart to donate to help provide for this service you can donate to...
If you wish to make a donation please go to...
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*Buymeacoffee does not charge me fees, Patreon does. One Time Donations do not take fees
One-Time Donations:
Paypal: @friendsfromzion paypal.me/friendsfromzion?locale.x=en_US
Zelle: friendsfromzion@gmail.com
Thank you!:)
(Tax EIN: 92-0685029)
How to Read a Word or PDF file
*PDF and Word documents can be read on the free Android App ReadEra. Your place in the book will be kept. Font size can only be changed on ReadEra if the book is added as a Word Doc. If ReadEra is having trouble opening a Word or PDF file (this usually only occurs with PDF files) then try downloading the document directly through ReadEra. When opening up a Download on your cell you are given a option of a variety of Apps to open the file with. Choose ReadEra as oppose to Word or PDF Viewer.
How to Read Any Word or PDF file as an Audible
*Rainbow Colored Crows will become available on Audible by August 2022. The Free Midrashim below will not be
*Word Docs can be Read Aloud on any Android or iPhone by opening the document in Word on your cell, then clicking the ⋮ symbol, and then clicking the Read Aloud icon. However, it will not keep you place in the book
*Kindle Books can be Read Aloud on the Amazon Fire tablet. Your place in the book will be kept
*Documents can be copy and pasted onto the Android Speechify App and a professional voice will read them and keep your place in the book. The App has a fee
Esther Altschul's Anti-vaccine Testimony
Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/video/LalyaTRAIRmY/
Rumble: https://rumble.com/v2pwf3f-my-testimony-against-the-covid-vaccines-warning-contains-disturbing-content.html
Dailymotion: https://dai.ly/x8l89qm
The following are chosen excerpts from Rainbow Colored Crows and the Midrashim without any formatting...
evils_of_pharmakia__beware__warnings_from_the_book_of_revelation._please_read._also_includes_a_short_story_detailing_the_terrors_of_big_pharma.docx |
pdf_evils_of_pharmakia__beware__warnings_from_the_book_of_revelation._please_read._also_includes_a_short_story_detailing_the_terrors_of_big_pharma.pdf |
EVILS OF PHARMAKIA! BEWARE!PLEASE READ. WARNINGS FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION. Also short excerpt from my book Rainbow Colored Crows. I could not make things anymore concise! Please share with your friends.
The Mark of the Beast and Pharmakia
A. The Caduceus
The Caduceus symbolizes big Pharma and represents everything evil about health care. A Caduceus depicts two serpents mating around a rod, topped by a pair of wings and resembles a Qliphoth. A Qliphoth is the satanic inversion of the Tree of Life Sefirot. The Caduceus, also known as a magic wand, belongs to the Greek God Hermes or the Roman God Mercury. These gods are supposed to be the messengers of gods, inventors of magic, communicators to the “dead,” and one who protects business and thieves (drblayney.com/ Asclepius.html). Many in witchcraft and sorcery still use the Caduceus for magic and spells. The Caduceus is known to “restrain and control” its victims in sorcery.
The Caduceus has nothing to do with medicine, healing, or health in Greek mythology and the occultic world. Modern medicine has adopted the Caduceus as their symbol of medicine to protect the merchants of the earth that make billions of dollars poisoning people.
The satan depicts himself as a goat known as Baphomet with two wings and a Caduceus between his crossed legs. Yes, the Caduceus is shown as the satan’s phallus. Any image search for Baphomet reveals this. The Caduceus sums up who is really behind the poisonous drugging system of Babylon; the symbol embodies everything that the beast is. The satan is behind the drugging system and much of so-called health care. This systematic poisoning is of Babylon, and God’s people need to get out.
One of the main reasons the satan has decided to take the Caduceus as a symbol of himself is that the antichrist spirit desires to copy the real Christ, albeit in twisted and tainted ways. Jesus compared himself to the snake tied to a rod that Moses lifted (John 3:14). By doing this, Jesus testified that he would be lifted as a sign of our healing. Therefore, the satan does the same, comparing himself to the Caduceus, but this is not the same rod as Moses. We need discernment to see the differences.
B. Pharmakia and the Book of Revelation
The ancient Greek word for “pharmacy” is “φαρμακεια.” Many Bibles have inaccurately translated this word into “sorcery,” but the Greek for sorcery is μαγεία, pronounced as “mageía.” God is not warning us of the occult in the book of Revelation but a tyrannical pharmaceutical force. Nowhere else is Pharmacy/druggist found in the Bible as a tool of the satan against the world (Lost & Saved) than in the book of Revelation.
Scripture says that those who won’t take the mark will have their finances decimated (Revelation 13:16-17), which happened to those who refused vaccination during the Covid pandemic. Receiving a vaccination is not a sin, but it is immoral for people to use their vaxxed status to get privileges that others are denied. Scripture connects the mark of the beast to a pharmaceutical agent in the following verses,
“The light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy Pharmakia were all nations deceived.” (Revelation 18:23, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon)
Scripture says those who force people, especially youth, to sin, will be killed. Jesus said:
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)
The book of Revelation says that the fate of the great city of Babylon will be to be drowned by a millstone:
“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more,” (Revelation 18:21-22, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon)
This specific punishment is reserved solely for those who force youth to sin. Scripture specifies how Babylon will force these youth to sin and therefore merit death by drowning by millstone in the verses immediately after and what I have already cited:
“For by thy Pharmakia were all nations deceived” (Revelation 18:23)
Many vaccines contain aborted fetal cells, which is, according to scripture, immoral and evil. Before drowning the future city of Babylon with a millstone, the Angel says:
“…a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more…” (Revelation 18:21)
Perhaps this is divine retribution on a sinful society that took away God’s people’s ability to work and have trades for themselves via vaccine mandates.
People took the vaccines because they feared getting sick. Still, scripture makes it clear that those who take the mark of the beast will get sick regardless, even worse for doing so:
“… harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.” (Revelation 16:2,3:10 and Isaiah 28:15-20, Matt.24:7-8)
Revelation 9:5-6 specifies:
“Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone”
This describes perfectly, in archaic language, the needle-like sting caused by a vaccine.
Israel was the first country on earth to fully vaccinate most of its citizens against Covid. Israel then went on to have one of the world's highest daily infection rates. So, if the vaccines don’t work or make things worse, why would the government mandate them? Scripture makes this clear as well:
“For thy merchants were the great men of the earth” (Revelation 18:23)
Whatever the mark is, it makes the merchants of it a lot of money. The future has already been written in the book of Revelation for everyone to read. We should heed its warnings.
Of the Angel of Death, the Talmud says he is made entirely of eyes (https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/179486?lang=bi).
Eyes are the gateway to the soul. Fetal Retinal cells are specifically used in the J&J Covid vax (https://www.chop.edu/.../vaccine-ingredients/fetal-tissues). Eyes and yet eyes that cannot see (Jeremiah 5:21).
Why of all the Fetal cells that could have been used in the vaccine, why would, specifically, the center of the eye be chosen and not better suited fibroblast cells? This is because they don’t want to heal you or make you healthier, they want to get into your soul and destroy you from the inside.
You do not have to eat babies sacrificed to Moloch to become a cannibal. You can take their communion with a simple injection.
“And he called out with a mighty voice, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.” (Revelation 18:2)
About the Map:
This Millennial Kingdom map categorizes every verse possible in the Bible to one of 34 characteristics of the 1000 year reign of the Messiah including Duration, Theocratic Rule, Representative Rule, Global Environment, Zion environment, Worship, Language etc
This Millennial Kingdom map categorizes every verse possible in the Bible to one of 34 characteristics of the 1000 year reign of the Messiah including Duration, Theocratic Rule, Representative Rule, Global Environment, Zion environment, Worship, Language etc
millennial_map.rtf |
About the Book:
The genre of Jewish literature known as midrashim is poetically described as “the hammer that awakens the slumbering sparks on the anvil of the Bible.” -Sefaria.org
In this book, in conjunction with the book “Rainbow Colored Crows” are the tools of how to create an Einstein-Rosen bridge, traversable Schwarzschild wormholes, and Imperishable Crowns that will cause the body to glow like neutron stars in the world to come. From the unholy pentagrammic orbits of planets to the zodiac and its connection with the Festivals of God, the secrets of scripture will be explored.
Did you know that Jesus time-traveled? Or that in often mundane moments in scripture, mountains were literally “leaping like lambs” but we didn’t notice? The Holy Temple was a tesseract not unlike the TARDIS in Dr. Who. The Golden calf was a golem that ate grass, and the never-ending repeating patterns of goats in scripture can be enough to drive anyone mad. In this crazy universe of ours God has created a “tzimtsum” a “conceptual space” in which finite and seemingly independent realms can exist, and here, for a moment, we can explore them. Hope you enjoy!
Most of the Midrashim in this book is a compilation of all the videos/articles from
www.randomgroovybiblefacts.com by Jeremy Chance Springfield
www.alephbeta.org
www.ladderofjacob.com by Ben Burton
This book is the condensed version of the over 1500 biblical exegesis articles and videos found on these sites. It is a deep study and a basic understanding of scriptures is required to understand the context.
For the Kindle Book:
www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRYJ7GJV
For the Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRZ1Q8JV
For the Word Doc:
The genre of Jewish literature known as midrashim is poetically described as “the hammer that awakens the slumbering sparks on the anvil of the Bible.” -Sefaria.org
In this book, in conjunction with the book “Rainbow Colored Crows” are the tools of how to create an Einstein-Rosen bridge, traversable Schwarzschild wormholes, and Imperishable Crowns that will cause the body to glow like neutron stars in the world to come. From the unholy pentagrammic orbits of planets to the zodiac and its connection with the Festivals of God, the secrets of scripture will be explored.
Did you know that Jesus time-traveled? Or that in often mundane moments in scripture, mountains were literally “leaping like lambs” but we didn’t notice? The Holy Temple was a tesseract not unlike the TARDIS in Dr. Who. The Golden calf was a golem that ate grass, and the never-ending repeating patterns of goats in scripture can be enough to drive anyone mad. In this crazy universe of ours God has created a “tzimtsum” a “conceptual space” in which finite and seemingly independent realms can exist, and here, for a moment, we can explore them. Hope you enjoy!
Most of the Midrashim in this book is a compilation of all the videos/articles from
www.randomgroovybiblefacts.com by Jeremy Chance Springfield
www.alephbeta.org
www.ladderofjacob.com by Ben Burton
This book is the condensed version of the over 1500 biblical exegesis articles and videos found on these sites. It is a deep study and a basic understanding of scriptures is required to understand the context.
For the Kindle Book:
www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRYJ7GJV
For the Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRZ1Q8JV
For the Word Doc:
midrash_haggadah__final_version_36_biblical_exegesis_studies_and_index_of_the_generations_of_our_earth_paperback.docx |
Below is the unformatted transcript of the Midrash Haggadah: 36 Biblical Exegesis Studies and Index of the Generations of Our Earth"
Introduction to the free Midrashim
Most of the Midrashim in this text is a compilation of all the videos/articles from
www.randomgroovybiblefacts.com by Jeremy Chance Springfield
www.alephbeta.org/
www.ladderofjacob.com by Ben Burton
This “audiobook” is the condensed version of the over 1500 biblical exegesis articles and videos found on these sites. It is a deep study and a basic understanding of scriptures is required to understand the context.
Table of Contents
Esoteric Midrashim
Hidden Crowns 1 of 4
Hidden Crowns 2 of 4: All of Israel has Hidden Crowns
Hidden Crowns 3 of 4: Crown of Thorns in the Torah
Hidden Crowns 4 of 4: Hidden Crowns become Crowns of Light in the World to Come
The Hidden Light 1 of 2
The Hidden Light 2 of 2: Light of the Seven Days
The Pierced One
The Birds Nest
Calls to Sacrifice
The Value of a Godly Life
Of Such Is the Kingdom
Our Messiah 1 of 2: His Birth
Our Messiah 2 of 2: His Death
The Garden of Eden is Being Unlawfully Guarded
The Red Dragon 1 of 5: The Dwelling Place of the Satan Today
The Red Dragon 2 of 5: The Dragon Before Eden
The Red Dragon 3 of 5: The Great Deceiver
The Red Dragon 4 of 5: The Dragon and the Chaos Sea
The Red Dragon 5 of 5: The Destruction of the Leviathan
Torah Midrashim
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 1 of 4: Basics
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 2 of 4: Joseph’s Betrayal
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 3 of 4: Judah
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 4 of 4: The King David Story is a Rectification of the Joseph Story
The Tribe of Benjamin 1 of 2: Twelve Stones of Israel
The Tribe of Benjamin 2 of 2: We are all Benjamin
The Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Tribe of Benjamin Conclusion
The Scapegoat Ritual 1 of 2: Yom Kippur
The Scapegoat Ritual 2 of 2: The scapegoat Ritual Throughout the Bible
Goats & Coats 1 of 3
Goats & Coats 2 of 3: Joseph
Goats & Coats 3 of 3: Judah
The Domino Effects of Sin 1 of 3: Sin Leads to Enslavement
The Domino Effects of Sin 2 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
The Domino Effects of Sin 3 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
The Red Ribbon 1 of 2
The Red Ribbon 2 of 2: Conclusion to the Scapegoat Ritual and Goats and Coats
Index Of All the Worlds
0. Pre-Eden earth
1. Eden
2. Pre-Flood Earth
3. Post Flood World (Today)
4. The Millennial Reign
5. New Earth and Heavens
Esoteric Midrashim
Hidden Crowns 1 of 4
Torah was created to give man the Letter crowns (Schwartz, 1993: 45-47, 1 Peter 5:4). These crowns are hidden in the Laws of the Torah. When Jesus said, “Not even one iota, nor one stroke of a letter, shall pass away from the law…” (Matthew 5:18), he was referring to the Law itself, but also these crowns. Many say they hate the Law, but this is a deception of the satan to try to get us to hate what is our reward.
Innumerable Crowns in the Torah
Letter crowns only appear in scripture; they can never be placed on letters used in other Hebrew writings. Crowns or “Taggin” appear as an accumulation of three tiny Hebrew letters called Zayen that sit on top of 7 specific Hebrew letters whenever they occur (Sefer HaChinukh 423:4, translated by Sefaria, 2018). The middle Zayin on top of these 7 letters appears slightly taller, and so together, they look like a “crown” on top of the letter. Zayen also means ‘7’, so together, a crown forms 777. Similarly, the devil has his own reverse fractals of “crowns” that do not redeem us but instead condemn us. The mark of the beast is 666.
Since the command is to write every biblical Zayin with a crown of Zayins, these crowns of Zayins also get crowns. Tradition specifies that every middle Zayin will get these crowns. You end up with an innumerable fractal of crowns stemming from it (So Many Crowns, and Sefer Hamoshiakh by Jeremy Chance Springfield). The scribe writing the scrolls cannot possibly draw these in as they would be much too small, so they are referred to as “hidden.” The ruled lines in scripture are mandated by tradition to be created by a thorn. Every Hebrew letter has a “Qeren” which means a ‘horn.’ It is from these horns that each letter is hooked onto the thorn impressed ruled lines of a Torah scroll, just as Jesus hung from a crown of thorns.
The Crown of Issacs’s sheep
Just as each letter in the Torah hangs on a “thorn” by its horn or “Qeren,” Issacs’s sheep caught itself in the thorn bush for Isaac by its horns. The sheep’s horns can also be known as a crown or shofar because a sheep’s horns are its glory. The Shofar is a musical instrument made of a sheep’s horn. Scripture specifies that a shofar will announce Jesus’s second coming as King (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Each little letter in the biblical narrative has its own Shofar or “Qeren,” adding to the sound of the collective Trumpet blast of God’s Word. These horns also announce the coming of Christ through the prophetic nature of the Bible.
The sound of the Shofar also represents a “breaking apart.” (Joshua 6:20). It was the horn of Issacs’s sheep that ultimately led to its “breaking apart.” Chapter 53 of Isaiah prophesizes the breaking apart of Messiah. Christ suffered at the Trumpeting of his ascending, but He will be triumphant at the trumpeting of his descending when he returns as a warring King (The Shofar of Brokenness, by J. Springfield)
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Hidden Crowns 2 of 4: All of Israel has Hidden Crowns
Just as God has crowned the Torah, so has He crowned all of Israel. Scripture has fractals of crowns that Zayins stem off from, and this phenomenon can be seen in God’s Holy objects and places.
The Crowns of the Holy Temple
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There were three crowns on the sacred vessels in the Temple: The crown of the altar, the Ark [the Ten Commandments], and the table. The regal appearance they provided symbolized power and authority: The crown of the altar signified the crown of the priesthood; Aaron was deserving and took it, and the priesthood continues exclusively through his descendants. The crown of the table symbolized the abundance and blessing associated with the crown of kingship; David was deserving and took it for himself and his descendants after him. The crown of the Ark symbolized the crown of the Torah. Anyone who wishes to take it may come and take it and be crowned with the crown of Torah. (Ein Yaakov En Jacob translated by SH Glick, 1916). The crown of Torah was the middle Zayin, of which innumerable crowns stem off of for me and you to take.
Zayins in the Ark of the Covenant
Ark’s innumerable crowns are represented in scriptures in many ways. The Ark is the only vessel in the Holy Temple that God commanded to be made in the plural (exodus 25:10). Every Israelite contributed to the Ark's construction by donating to it. The Ark is the middle zayin of the three Holy vessels, so it too can be divided into threes. The Ark consists of 3 boxes; a golden box, a wooden box, and another golden box. The father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One in three, three in one, and the one in the middle who died for you and me. Jeremiah buried the Ark in a cave underneath the spot of Christ's crucifixion. When the rocks split (Matthew 27:51), his blood spilled on the hidden Ark. Although the Ark was the most Holy vessel of the Temple for mankind, the most Holy Vessel to the Lord was the Golden Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10), and this Vessel also had horns (Exodus 30:3).
Crowns of Calvary
The Mountain range known as Zion consists of three mountains, three “Zayins.” the Holy Temple resided on the middle mountain, Mt Moriah. Along with Christ’s, there were two other crosses, one on each side of Jesus’s. A cross is precisely what a Zayin looks like when it sits atop a Hebrew Letter. The three crosses on Calvary hill formed what looked like, from a Hebrew perspective, 777; a crown. Jesus’s cross is the one in which we receive eternal life, innumerable crowns, and redemption. Like all middle Zayins, his cross also had three additional Zayins on it, in the form of the three nails that pierced his flesh.
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Hidden Crowns 3 of 4: Crown of Thorns in the Torah
Eden; the Land of the Dispossessed Child
After Joseph’s father died, he was expected to be buried in Egypt. However, Joseph promised to bury him in Canaan, the “Promised land.” Doing this was dangerous as it may offend Pharaoh, and also because burying the Israeli patriarch in the Canaanite's land would suggest Israel’s claim on that land.
The Canaanites were the cousins of the sons of Jacob, the Canaanites being the sons of Ishmael, Esau, and Keturah. The King of Canaan was Esau, Jacob’s dispossessed brother, and the princes of Egypt were the sons of Ishmael, Abraham's dispossessed son. These dispossessed children came to attack the children that their fathers loved, allegedly more than them. The Israelites were the children of Shem, loved by Noah, and the children of Isaac, loved by Abraham. As the Midrash goes, they gathered their troops to attack Joseph and his funeral entourage but “When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad [that is “Goren Ha-Atad” or “place that was surrounded by thorns”] they said, ‘This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.’ Therefore, the place was named Abel-mizraim” … (Genesis 50:11-12). The name Abel-mizraim means "Mourning of Egypt,"; and there can be no doubt that it was intended to suggest a connection with Abel.
According to the rabbinical accounts, when the Canaanites saw Jacob's bier and Joseph's crown carried behind it in state, the thirty-six princes among them sent their crowns also to be carried in the funeral procession. Hence the name “Goren Ha-Atad” or “place that was surrounded by thorns”; for Abel-mizraim was encircled by a row of crowns as to remind one of a threshing floor, which is usually surrounded by a hedge of thorns (Soṭah, 13a; Tan., Wa-yeḥi, 18, ed. Buber, i. 222). The Holy Temple was originally the threshing floor of Araunah. The only thing that stopped the Canaanites from attacking was seeing the crown of Joseph hanging over the coffin of Jacob. Joseph had been more greatly betrayed and dispossessed by his own family than them, but instead of leaving his family to die, he saved them from starvation and welcomed them back with honor and love. Due to Joseph’s forgiveness, the children of Canaan and Ishmael also choose to lay down their crowns around their patriarch. (The True Significance of Jacob’s Burial, Rabbi David Fohrman and Rashi on Geneses 50:11-12). This is like the crown of thorns that Jesus wore at his crucifixion, and it is why everyone will throw their crowns at Jesus's feet (Revelation 4:10-11). Jesus, too was dispossessed, but the Promise land is the land of the dispossessed. After it was called Eden and before it was called Israel, it was called “Canaan,” the dispossessed and cursed grandchild of Noah. In Eden, there were four rivers, Noah had three sons and was to have a fourth to symbolize these rivers, but Noah cursed Canaan, who became a failed “fourth son” (Gen 9:26). Jesus is the fulfillment whose return brings back these rivers, which will shoot forth from the Temple.
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Hidden Crowns 4 of 4: Hidden Crowns Become Crowns of Light in the World to Come
Crowns of Light in Scripture
The 7 Hebrew letters given crowns in scripture represent the 7 lights of the Temple menorah. The Word is described as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105). God’s Word shines through the darkness of secular wisdom to illuminate the truth, like how God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. The Menorah is designed to resemble a burning tree, and so is the Word of God. God commanded the Menorah to be made to resemble an almond tree (Exodus 25:31-40). Almond trees, consequently, produce fruit whose oil is used to create light. The entirety of the Torah is constructed to represent parts of the Temple Menorah. Psalm 119 says, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” God commanded that the Temple menorah be built with 7 branches; Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew contains 7 words. It was to be made with eleven bulbs; Exodus 1:1 contains eleven words. It was to have nine flowers; Leviticus 1:1 contains nine words. The menorah’s height was seventeen handbreadths; Numbers 1:1 contains seventeen words. It was to have twenty-two bowls; Deuteronomy 1:1 contains twenty-two words. The sum of all these numbers is 66, the number of books in the Bible. (The Word and the Lamp by Jeremy Chance Springfield).
Crowns of Light in Us
God told Abraham that his descendants would shine as bright as the stars (Genesis 26:4, Daniel 12:3, Philippians 2:15, Philippians 2:14-16, Matthew 13:43, 2 Corinthians 4:6). The righteous in this world have a hidden light, but this light will be revealed in the world to come when they are granted their crowns. “We do it for a crown that is imperishable.” (1 Corinthians 9:25, 2 Timothy 2:5, 4:8, Revelation 2:10). “… those who turn many to righteousness, [will shine] like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3, Philippians 2:15, Philippians 2:14-16, Matthew 13:43, 2 Corinthians 4:6). The crowns in Heaven are not things we wear on our heads, but the more we receive, the brighter the outshining of the body will be. “…There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:41-42).
Power of the Hidden Crowns
Even while hidden, the crowns give power to those who wield them in this life. When we put on the Torah, we are wielding a mighty sword. The zayin's noun meaning is “sword,” and its verb meaning “to arm.” Jesus’s cross forms the shape of a sword in stone, but unlike Excalibur or the Vorpal Sword, His is for anyone who will reach out and wield it. The sword of righteousness is the only piece of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and the only letter of the Hebrew alphabet depicted as a weapon.
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The Hidden Light 1 of 2
Messiah the Olive Branch
"The gates of the Garden of Eden were opened for the dove, and it brought the leaf from there" (Rabbi Biryei, Bereishis Rabah 33:6) "The dove got its leaf from Mt Olivet” (Rabbi Levi). Mt Olivet is where Jesus stood when he wept over Jerusalem just as David did (2 Samuel 15:30). At the foot of Mt Olivet lies the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-36). Olive oil represents Messiah as it is the oil used to anoint kings and priests. Like Jesus, the olives must be crushed as it is said, “Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.” (Leviticus 24:2) The dove found rest on the olive branch, that is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the light of the world, and plucked him so that those who have faith in him may share in that light so that He may rest upon them as well.
The Spirit Rests on Our Messiah
“The Spirit of G-d was hovering over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2). “The Throne of Glory was suspended in the air, like a dove, which hovers over the nest…” (Rashi). However, the spirit of God did not find rest over the turbulent waters.
“AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED: this alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.” (Isaiah 11:2). In the merit of what will [this spirit] eventually come? [For the sake of that which] HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS, i.e., in the merit of repentance which is likened to water, as it is written, “Pour out thy heart like water.” (Lamentations 2:19). (Genesis Rabbah 2:4). “Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts…” (Isaiah 31:5)
“Jesus, when he was immersed, went up directly from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16-17). As the Messiah comes up out of the waters, it is describing the beginning of a New Creation just as Noah’s flood had. The dove descended and found its ultimate rest on the Messiah. (The Descent of the Dove by Ben Burton).
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The Hidden Light 2 of 2: Light of the Seven Days
Hannukah and the Three Patriarchs
The Festival of Hannukah is about a “hidden light,” or the discovery of a hidden vile of oil that supernatural created light. This “hidden light” was symbolic of “the hidden light of the 7 days” because the fire burnt miraculously for eight days, 7 days longer than it was supposed to; the time needed for a proper dedication of the new altar (2 Maccabees 10:6-8). The Temple Menorahs' purpose was solely to provide light in the Holy of Holies.
According to legend, the oil that mediated this miracle was actually oil made from an olive that the dove brought back to Noah. The oil was given to Noah’s firstborn, Shem. Shem, otherwise known as Malchitzedek, the [gentile] priest to the Most High Hashem. When Malchitzedek was 465 years old, he sealed this little jar of oil and gave it to Abraham. Abraham, in turn, handed the jar of oil over to Isaac, who passed it down to Jacob when he died at the age of 180. According to our sages, Jacob forgot some small jars on the other side of the Jabbok River and returned to retrieve them. One of these jars was the oil from Noah’s Ark. Jacob prophetically hid this oil in a crevice that would someday become a part of the Shissins of the Holy Temple (Otzar Midrashim L’Chanukah). Jacob is the first person recorded in scripture ever anointing anything with oil. By hiding the oil at the site, he laid the foundations for the miracle of Hanukkah that would occur 2000 years later when the Maccabees found the jar in the rock crevice that had become a part of the altars Shissin. This oil originated with the dove, the symbol of peace, and continues to shine until the Messiah comes (Rabbi David Hertzberg, Imrei Noam).
Why Abraham?
Some say Malchitzedek gave Abraham the jar of oil for Abraham had donated to the Temple of God a tenth of the goods and provisions he had gained by defeating the Mesopotamian kings and rescuing Lot, his Nephew, and subsequently the kingdom of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Bera, king of Sodom, came to Abraham and thanked him, requesting that he keep some of the recovered property, Abraham refused so that they could never say they made him rich since it was God who had done so. Abraham did, however, accept the gift of Malchitzedek.
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The Pierced One
God’s Goodness
Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory, but God told Moses that He would show him his Goodness instead (Exodus 33-34). God wanted to reveal to Moses what He would ultimately do for humanity. Anyone who sees God’s face directly will die. Therefore, God had Moses hide inside a “pierced rock.” This is the same cave that God would show Elijah the “four worlds” mankind must pass through. Scriptures refer to Jesus as the chief cornerstone. Moses needed the goodness of the Holy One, but he could only experience it from the safety of the rock that was pierced while the open hand of the Holy One covered that pierced place, just as Jesus’s hands were pierced. This was a representation of Jesus’s sacrifice for us (My Goodness www.randomgroovyBiblefacts.com).
Judaism has a concept called “tzimtsum” to explain God’s creation process. To allow for a “conceptual space” in which finite and seemingly independent realms can exist, God had to contract Himself to create a “pierced place.” God’s first act of creation was allowing himself to be pierced to accommodate life, just as he did on the cross (Kabbalah Demystified by Jeremy Chance Springfield). “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...” (Isaiah 49:15-16 and Isaiah 53:5, Zechariah 12:10). In a similar way that Jesus was pierced, there are also pierced places in scripture (Connecting the Dots, by Jeremy Chance Springfield and Midrash Chapter 21). Caves represent this “pierced place.” Many important events occurred in caves in scripture, including Jesus’s birth.
The Tetragrammaton
When God revealed Moses His Goodness, He also showed him how to pray under the Tallit (Exodus 34:5-6) and his sacred name, the Tetragrammaton (Exodus 33:19). The name’s letters are Yōd, Hē, Vav, Hē. Since each Hebrew letter also has a word meaning, these letters form the sentence, “Hand, behold, hook, behold.” Jesus is the Word of God, and through these letters all things were made, yet he allowed those very letters to be torn apart and strung up and woven into a Covenant with mankind. In the same way, Jesus was a carpenter and used wood and nails to create beautiful things. Still, so that we could be redeemed, he allowed those very tools to pierce him and hook him from a cross (Isaiah 49:15-16, Isaiah 53:5, Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34). And yet the same type of utensil mandated to write a Torah scroll, a hollowed-out reed, was the utensil used to mock and beat Jesus in the moments before his crucifixion (Matthew 27:29-30). (Sefer Hamoshiakh www.randomgroovyBiblefacts.com).
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The Birds Nest
The greatest commandment that God gives us relating to how mankind interacts with mankind is “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). This commandment is the 4th of the Ten Commandments and is considered “the greatest” among the last six Commandments. The first three Commandments supersede all the others, for they are how we interact with God. Only two Commandments out of the 613 outlined in the Bible have the promise of a length of days added to their fulfillment. The greatest commandment leads to a length of days, but also, so does the least. It is agreed upon in Talmud Yerushalmi Kiddushin 20:2 that the least commandment is “If you come across a bird’s nest... You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.” (Deuteronomy 22:6-7).
Something as insignificant as “you shall let the mother bird go” can cause you to live a longer and blessed life. In truth, letting the mother bird go also hastens the coming of the King Messiah and the Millennial Reign. It is written: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” (Isaiah 6:8). The one that was sent was, symbolically, the mother bird. The mother bird is the Holy Spirit, and the baby birds symbolize Jesus at his death on the cross (The Greatest and The Least, by Jeremy Chance Springfield).
Tree of Souls
“The Baal Shem Tov was once praying with his Hasidim. That day, he prayed with great concentration, not only word by word but also letter by letter, so that the others finished long before he did. At first, they waited for him, but before long, they lost patience, and one by one, they left.” Later the Baal Shem Tov came to them and said: While I was praying, I ascended the ladder of your prayers all the way into paradise. As I ascended, I heard a song of indescribable beauty. At last, I reached the palace of the Messiah, in the highest heavens, known as the Bird’s Nest. The Messiah was standing by his window peering out at a tree of great beauty …I followed his gaze and saw that his eyes were fixed on a golden dove, whose nest was in the top branches of that tree. That is when I realized that the song pervading all of paradise was coming from that golden dove. And I understood that the Messiah could not bear to be without that dove and its song for as much as a moment. Then it occurred to me that if I could capture the dove and bring it back to this world, the Messiah would be sure to follow. So, I ascended higher until I was within arm’s reach of the golden dove. But just as I reached for it, the ladder of prayers collapsed.” (Tree of Souls, The Ladder of Prayers, Howard Schwartz, Oxford University Press, pg. 490 and Zohar 2:8a-b, Soncino Press Edition)
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Calls to Sacrifice
Even When Jesus Was Betrayed, He Was Still Honored
(Peter’s Denial & the Cock’s Crow, by Jeremy Chance Springfield)
When Peter denied Jesus three times as Jesus had prophesied, he was standing outside the High priest's Palace, which was on the Western side of the Temple. No roosters were allowed here (Baba Kama 7.7). Therefore, Peter thought he was safe from Jesus’s prophesy of betraying him before the rooster crows. However, Peter did not understand Jesus’s play on words. The term “cockcrow” meant a particular time of the morning when priests would be wakened to begin their sacrificial duties (Mishnah Yoma 1:8). The Aramaic term for “rooster” is also the same term for the man who would blow a trumpet to wake the priests. (Sukkah 5.4). The cockcrow, or better stated, the trumpet blast that Jesus was referring to, was a call to sacrifice. Jesus affirmed that no man but himself could have a part in the grim process of salvation.
Rainbow Colored Crows
In Hebrew, the term for crow is “evening” or “darkness.” The word crow can also mean calling or announcing something. Rainbow-colored crows can also be rainbow-colored cock-crows, rainbow-colored calls to sacrifice, rainbow-colored nights. The dark can be scary, but the darkness is made beautiful within the Lord. The light of God is an intermingling of both light and dark, bringing out the perfection of each. “God intermingles all things for good for those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28, Isaiah 45:7). The darkness is not dark to the Lord but shines like the day (Psalm 139:12).
To be “like God” is to experience this darkness, however, unlike God, mankind cannot handle or comprehend it (Isaiah 55:8). The first thing Adam felt after he sinned was shame for, he saw that he was naked… like a prince stripped by his enemies (Ezekiel 16:36-37). The antidote to having sinned is to live life with eyes on the sacrifice of the Lord, within whom all things are made beautiful once again.
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The Value of a Godly life
What made Queen Esther worthy of ruling over 127 provinces. God saw it fitting for Esther, the daughter of Sarah, who lived for 127 years, to come and rule over 127 provinces. (Gen 23:1) Since every day of Sarah’s 127 years was used to serve God to the fullest, never deviating even for a moment, Queen Esther was permitted to rule over all 127 provinces. From the fact that Sarah’s life of 127 years is equated to Esther’s monarchy over 127 provinces, we see that each year is worth a province. If each year is worth a province, then every month is worth a country, every week is worth a city; every day is worth a town; every hour is worth a street; every minute is worth a house, and every second is worth a room. This is a metaphor for the rewards a person will receive for their righteousness in the world to come. (Rabbi Y. Jacobson)
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Of Such Is the Kingdom
“Rabbi Meir said: When the Jews stood before Sinai to receive the Torah, God said to them: “I swear, I will not give you the Torah unless you provide worthy guarantors who will assure that you will observe its Laws.” The Jews responded, “Master of the world, our forefathers will be our guarantors!” “Your guarantors themselves require guarantors!” was God’s reply. “Master of the world,” the Jews exclaimed, “our prophets will guarantee our observance of the Torah.” “I have grievances against them, too. ‘The shepherds have rebelled against Me’ (Jeremiah 2:8),” God replied. “Bring proper guarantors, and only then will I give you the Torah.” As a last resort, the Jews declared, “our children will serve as our guarantors!” “They truly are worthy guarantors,” God replied. “Because of them, I will give the Torah” (Midrash Rabbah, Song of Songs 1:4). Benjamin was used as a guarantor by his brother Joseph, as Joseph wanted to ensure that he would be cared for. Jesus suffered on behalf of the world as a guarantee for mankind. (Vayigash: The Guarantor by Ben Burton ladderofjacob.com)
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Our Messiah 1 of 2: His birth
Jesus was not birthed in a dirty manger stall but in a sacred, specially attended manger in a cave at Migal Eder; the place of the “watchtower of the flock” spoken about in Micah 4:8. Migal Eder is a field between Jerusalem and Bethlehem where all the lambs used as sacrifices were born and raised (Mishnah, Shekalim, 7:4). Only Holy shepherds learned in the scriptures could care for these lambs and sheep. All birthing stables were ritually cleansed. The sacrificial animals were never to be worked and remained without blemish. These sheep did not pasture on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem but on flowing grassy fields. These lambs were treated exceptionally well, for they represented redemption.
For Jacob, though, this was the place of his mourning for his beloved Rachel, for it was in Migal Eder that she died giving birth to Benjamin. Moments before she died, Jacob changed Benjamin’s name so that it would contain in it the symbols of his undying love for her. Ten generations later, Boaz redeemed the land of Migal Eder for Naomi and passed the land on to his son Jesse, David’s father. David was born in Migal Eder, Bethlehem. One day, David would become King of Israel, but as a young man, David was a humble Sheppard to his father’s sheep. He kept watch over them in the hills and valleys of “Migal Eder.” After David’s future son, Solomon, built the Temple, these very sheep would be used in Temple worship, but David would not have been able to foresee this as he stayed up through the long hours of the night, a time when the lambs were the most vulnerable. After becoming king, David recorded some of the things he thought about as a young Sheppard in his book of Psalms. “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” (Psalm 63:6) “his delight was in the law of the LORD; and in his law, he meditated day and night” (Psalm 1:2).
Twenty-eight generations later, Jesus was born in this place that King David once attended and where Benjamin was born. It was to the Shepherds that attended the sheep of Migal Eder that the angel of the Lord appeared to announce that a savior had been born (Luke 2:8-20). The Sheppard’s hurried off to see him and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who would someday become the Passover Lamb of God. (Inspired by A Tabernacles Nativity by Jeremy Chance Springfield and Lamb of God by Mize Claiborne, Abrams, C. P. Where was the birthplace of the Lord Jesus? http://www.bibletruth.org/BirthPlaceofJesus.htm)
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Our Messiah 2 of 2: His death
As the High Priest
Jesus was anointed High Priest, went through the ritual rights of a sacrifice, and was ordained as the Holy Temple of God. Of the High Priest, it is said,
“Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil…the sin offering…and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.’” (Leviticus 8:1-4). Jesus was presented as the priest at the Temple’s entrance when the entire assembly was gathered there on Palm Sunday. Mary then anointed him with perfumed oil in Bethany. “Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece…” (Exodus 29:5-6). Jesus was dressed in a fancy robe when he was mocked by Herod and his soldiers (Luke 23:11). As well as in Matt. 27:28-31 and Mark 15:17-20.
As the Sacrifice
“Bring the bull [for the sacrifice] to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head [The future priests]” (Exodus 29:10). Annas and Caiaphas (the priests) laid hands on Jesus’s head when they struck and hit him. (John 18:13, 22).
“Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it... He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it…” (Leviticus 16:18; sin offering for the people). Seven times was Jesus’s bloodshed and on every side of the altar according to the surrounding areas. Sanhedrin to the south, where the priests beat him. Gethsemane to the east where he sweat blood. At the whipping post where he was scourged in the north. And when he was beaten at Annas’ a house to the west.
“Take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer. Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before Yahweh as a wave offering.” (Exodus 29:22-24). Jesus represents the unleavened bread. He was twice waved before Yahweh in the earthquake at his death and the earthquake at his resurrection. He was resurrected and offered before the Father as the wave sheaf offering exactly when the High Priest was offering the sheaf of barley before the Lord. Before the fall of the First Temple, Jeremiah took the Ark of the Covenant and hid it in a cave. They say that this cave was underneath the cross where Jesus was crucified. When the earthquake occurred at Christ's death, it opened the ground enough for his blood to fall and splash against the Ark (Leviticus 16: 15).
“And walk-in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2). When Jesus was resurrected from the dead inside the tomb, his entire body was consumed as a burnt offering (2 Corinthians 2:14, Genesis 8:21).
“And burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, an offering to the Lord.” (Exodus 29:18). Jesus’ whole body was burned on the 8th day at the resurrection, just as Aaron’s sons on the 8th day (Leviticus 9:1-7).
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The Garden of Eden is Being Unlawfully Guarded
God barred mankind from Eden by placing a Cherubim at its gate (Genesis 3:24). The holy of holies inside the Tabernacle was the first time since the Garden of Eden that Heaven and earth could meet and God could dwell with His people. The Tabernacle was also the next time after the Garden of Eden that Cherubim are mentioned (Exodus 36:8). This is because the Garden of Eden and the Holy Temple are intrinsically linked. “And he knew that the Garden of Eden is the holy of holies, and the dwelling of the Lord.” (Jubilees 8, Exodus 36:8). The image of the cherubim on the veil covering the holy of holies represented that mankind was still closed off from the presence of God. It has been said that Mary was one of the young women called to help weave this veil (Infancy Gospel of James Part 1). When Jesus died, he tore the curtain from top to bottom with its images of cherubim as verification that the entrance to the Garden of Eden was no longer guarded by Cherubim (Mathew 27). This was no small feat as it was said by Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel, the High-priest’s substitute, that “The thickness of the veil [of the Temple] was a hand-breadth thick”. However, another mighty Cherubim/Seraphim has taken the place of the Cherubim that once guarded the gate. As a prior guardian of God, the satan is unmatched in this ability. “You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.” (Ezekiel 28:14). Satan in his pre-fallen state was supposed to function in an intercessory nature like a Levitical high priest. Through feigned speeches of worldly love and pleasure disguised as spiritualty the devil is keeping many from the truth. The devil wears many faces, just like a Cherubim. When speaking through Judas Iscariot and as the snake in the garden the devil used words such as “peace” (Matthew 26:49), “You will not surly die” (Genesis 3:4-5), “rabbi, rabbi” and other words of honor and flattery (Matthew 16:22, Mark 14:45), the devil sweet talks us, but condemns us to God behind our backs.
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The Red Dragon 1 of 5: The Dwelling Place of the Satan Today
Dragons Around God’s Throne
The Red Dragon is the Leviathan, sometimes referred to as a “whale,” a Seraphim, and the snake that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. He is the satan and the devil, “the accuser” (Job 40:15–41:26, Revelation 12:3). He was once one of the 6 Seraphim that Isaiah saw over God’s throne. Seraphim means “fiery serpent.” Seraphim are dragons, although not fallen ones like the satan. The satan was the strongest of these Seraphim. When God gave Job a virtual tour of the “sea” and showed him the Leviathan, God was showing Job his and our accuser and his ultimate destruction. “In that day [the Day of the Lord] the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” (Isaiah 27:1)
The Dragon in the Aether
The satan can swim through the firmament and enter the 2nd Heaven “…God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament...” (Genesis 1:7 KJV). This “firmament” above is frozen water, but God describes the Leviathan as being able to swim through this “firmament” in the book of Job “He (the satan) makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired... He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.” (Job 41:31–34, Job 1:7). As a fiery spiritual creature, the Leviathan can melt through the firmament. Water cannot be made like a “pot of ointment” but the firmament can. The firmament above is just like another “sea” and sometimes referred to as the “crystal sea” (Revelation 4:6). A very hot asteroid could also theoretically melt through this frozen sea.
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The Red Dragon 2 of 5: The Dragon Before Eden
Genesis Gap Theory
It is said that before Adam and Eve were given Eden, it and also the Ephod (High Priest status) belonged to the Red Dragon (Ezekiel 28:13). Scripture says that the earth was never made to be void (Isaiah 45:18), yet the earth and heavens are described as void in Genesis. This means that the earth was teeming with life before the biblical account in Genesis. Angels existed before humans (Job 38:4, 7). Scripture describes the satan as a “king” in Eden, ruling before Adam and Eve. “You were the signet of perfection…You were in Eden, the garden of God… “You were an anointed guardian cherub…till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned...Your heart was proud because of your beauty…” (Ezekiel 28:11–19).
When the satan sinned, he corrupted nature and those he was given dominium over just as Adam and Eve did. However, life became corrupted on a much larger scale, creating horrifically vicious dinosaur beasts, as seen in the fossil records. Therefore, God destroyed the dragon’s world to stop the cycle of pain and misery that the insanity of sin created. The chaotic sea was the result. It is interesting to note that before any other living thing was created, the great sea monsters were created first, right after the sun and moon, which were meant to act as “rulers.” God may have done this because, in the previous world, the Leviathan was indeed the ruler, although he sinned and lost it (Genesis 1:21). The next creature to be created are the birds, which symbolize the angels, for they were created before man as lesser rulers.
According to Oxford Old Testament professor John Day, Leviathan and his battle with God are associated with a re-creation of the earth, with Genesis describing the calming of the chaos caused by the dragon [due to his destruction of the earth]. The story of creation in Genesis 1 is the demythologized version of the creation story given in bits and pieces in other parts of the Old Testament involving the Leviathan, such as the Psalms. “You divided the sea by your might… crushed the heads of Leviathan…you dried up ever-flowing streams. You have established the heavenly lights and the sun… fixed all the boundaries of the earth…” (Psalms 74:13-23).
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The Red Dragon 3 of 5: The Great Deceiver
The Dragon on Trial
Although the Dragon corrupted mankind and destroyed prior earth, God did not destroy the Red Dragon, for, unlike the animals, the dragon has a sovereign will, just as mankind does. God allotted him and his followers a fair trial. The Dragon is using this trial to his benefit. The dragon convinces mankind to rebel against God to accuse mankind to God so that God will allow him to continue to torment us. (Job 1:6-8; 41:34, Zechariah 3:1-7, Ephesians 6:11-16, Revelation 12:10). The dragon is comforted by his ability to deceive man into worshiping him and falling into sin. “…you are like a dragon in the seas…When Pharaoh [who is being compared to the dragon] sees them [all who go down to the pit], he will be comforted for all his multitude” (Ezekiel 32:2-32). Since most of society now worships the satan, creating television shows that show sympathy to the devil etc. God has allowed the dragon to rule the earth again.
Mankind; Made in the Image of God or the Beast?
God asked Adam if he could find an equal amongst the beasts knowing that the answer would be no so, he gave him women. (Genesis 2:18-20). In the same way, Jesus was not immediately revealed to the world. We must go through a lack to appreciate what we have. Adam needed to understand that he was not just a sophisticated animal but fundamentally different from them. The snake, however, tried to convince Eve otherwise. The leviathan was craftier than the other creatures, and he wooed Eve. The snake was already aware of his nakedness (Genesis 3:1 in Hebrew, the word is naked, not crafty), so he was an already fallen creature, the first “Naked King.” He convinced mankind to lower themselves and embrace the image of a beast just as he will again (Daniel 7, Revelations 13:12).
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The Red Dragon 4 of 5: The Dragon and the Chaotic Sea
The satan and those who follow him believe if they can’t have it, no one should. The dragon is actively trying to turn us and all of reality into primordial soup. Babylon and Tyre are called the “wilderness of the sea,” for in scripture, false religions, man’s corrupted civilizations, and the antichrist are said to rise out of the sea. In Israel the chaotic sea is in the west, but the east is where the sun rises, like a beacon of hope.
In Genesis, God took the darkness and disorder that the satan caused and brought life out of the nothingness. In the biblical story, the vocabulary of genesis one is used whenever the forces of evil are wreaking havoc in God’s world. The forces of evil try to uncreate the world back into a state of “darkness” and “chaos.” The narrative about the defeat of the pharaoh in the waters is full of this vocabulary. God split the seas just as he had separated the waters in creation. The pillars of fire symbolized the separation of light and dark, and God created a dry space for life to flourish, that is, a way for the Israelis to escape Pharaoh. God wanted to preserve life, but Pharaoh meant to destroy it despite God’s warnings. The Egyptian armies died the same way they killed all the innocent Jewish babies. When a man denies the Father, he rejects the brotherhood of mankind. The satan figure is anti-creation.
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The Red Dragon 5 of 5: The Destruction of the Leviathan
God has given the satan many chances. Each time he is punished, he feigns repentance, like the vain apologies of some men. “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook… Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?” (Job 41:1-4) God was showing Job his accuser in these passages and the eventual destruction of the said accuser. The devil repents to God, but he keeps violating the covenant God makes with him, just as God will destroy those who willfully continue to sin after repenting.
The Leviathan is closely related to the chaotic sea, one of the scriptures metaphors for evil. If money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), then we too can see the satan’s control over such things through terminology. “Currency” is “current sea,” “Banks” is something that holds money as well as water, “evil spirits” as in “spirit” also being a liquid.
The second heaven is where the satan currently resides. It is not a nice place to be. The Leviathan is closely related to the chaotic sea, one of the scriptures metaphors for evil. Money is also described as a source of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). We can see the satan’s control over money and the chaotic sea through terminology. “Currency” is “current sea,” “Banks” is something that holds money as well as water, “evil spirits” as in “spirit” also being a liquid.
This is where the Metaverse picks back up. Black screen technology is an extension of the chaotic waters. According to secular society, we are at sea and lost at sea, but there are “portholes” where we can receive temporary solace, and every computer device has one. “Device” like “devil’s vice.” English is the language of the new world order.
In Revelations 12:15, the primordial serpent casts water out of its mouth to destroy Israel, but the Earth helps her. Although the sea is chaotic and terrible, scripture says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall” (Matthew 7:24-27)
While God hovered over the waters of a ruined earth to still them, the satan was below, singing to himself… “I am, and there is no one besides me.” (Isaiah 47:10) Deep below, above, and in-between swims the leviathan snake. Through the Aether, the cosmos, the waters, and technology, the Leviathan swims to us through waters that are of shadows and waves of primordial dreams. From the darkness, over the face of the deep, the devil sings a song to lure us in so he can consume us until there is nothing left but him and his dark, void, bottomless lagoon. “…the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you... How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! … you have destroyed your land; you have slain your people.” (Isaiah 14:3-21)
Just as the satan caused the flood that destroyed the world, he tries to destroy God’s people with a flood. “The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman [Israel or the church], to sweep her away with a flood…. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.” (Revelations 12). When the Lord took on the cross for us, He entered the destructive sea, like Jonah. The Lord will again take on the chaotic sea when He returns for the Millennial reign. “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us… he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim…” (Isaiah 25:9-11) “In that day …he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” (Isaiah 27:1)
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Torah Midrashim
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 1 of 4: Basics
“Judaism” & the Twelve Sons of Jacob
Judah is where we get the name “Judaism.” Judah means “praise.” He is one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah. Each of the twelve sons represents one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Rachel, however, was the most favored. Each time Leah bore a son, she did so to receive praise from Jacob. “And Leah conceived and bore…Reuben, for she said, ‘Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me” (Genesis 29:31-34). Eventually, Leah stopped searching for the praise of man but instead praised the Lord at the birth of her sixth child. “And she conceived again and bore a son and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore, she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing” (Genesis 29:35).
Rachel’s two sons were Joseph and Benjamin. Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah like he tricked his father into thinking he was Esau. God gave Leah the kingship (Judah) and the priesthood (Levi). Due to Jacobs’s favoritism, the Lord implemented laws to protect the inheritance of the firstborn son and their mother’s (Deuteronomy 21:16-17, Exodus 21:10). The Jewish people are God’s firstborn, so they have the “double portion” and the priesthood. Laws in the Bible are direct consequences of mankind’s sins to each other (How Can the Laws of Mishpatim Help Correct Past Mistakes? AlephBeta.com). The scriptures have since abolished polygamy (Matthew 19:4-5).
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel
Because of Solomon’s sins, Israel split in two in 929 BC (1 Kings 11:11). The northern country was called Israel (whose royal house was in Ephraim), and the Southern country was Judah (whose royal house was in Judah). The land of Israel did not contain the Holy Temple. God quickly removed Israel in 722 BC by the hands of Samaria due to corruption (1 Kings 14:16). All ten tribes of Israel were lost to history. Although called Israel, the land of Israel today is the land of Judah, consisting of mainly the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The ten lost tribes of Israel will return at the start of the Millennial reign when Jesus returns and rescues Judah from the hands of Gog and Magog. Those who will make up the ten lost tribes of Israel will be righteous gentiles who have adopted God’s Word as their own. (Genesis 48:19, Romans 11:25, Amos 9:8-9).
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel 2 of 4: Joseph’s betrayal
Those that say “We Don’t Need to be Saved”
All Jacobs sons, besides Benjamin, disliked Joseph because he was must favored, having been born from Rachel. This irritation was made worse when Joseph dreamed of them “bowing” to him. The 13 heavenly bodies in Joseph’s meant 13 years. In exactly 13 years, Joseph saved his brothers from starvation as empathized by his next dream of the shafts of wheat bowing to him. Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him for having a dream about saving their lives.
Korah’s Revolt
Korah also plotted to kill Aaron even though Aaron essentially saved Korah’s life by performing his duties correctly. 210 years after Joseph’s betrayal, Korah revolted against Moses in the wilderness. Korah proclaimed, “all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (Numbers 16:3). According to Moses, Korah claimed this because he secretly sought the priesthood, something only the sons of Aaron possessed. Aaron and his sons’ job was to cover the Holy articles of the Temple because it was the sons of Korah’s job to carry them, and if Korah’s family were to touch uncovered relics, they would die (Numbers 4). In response to Korah’s desire to “be Holy,” God had the Earth swallow him and his followers to cover them, for as explained, this is what happens to Holy things; they become covered.
Other Repeating Patterns of the Joseph Story in Scriptures
The murder of Gedaliah in the 2nd book of kings followed the same pattern as Joseph’s betrayal in that 10 members of his family murdered a chosen heir and a subsequent exile ensued (Gedaliah by Rivkey Stern Alephbeta.com). Gedaliah’s brother, who began the revolt, was ironically named “Ishmael.” Gedaliah told the truth just as Joseph and Jeremiah did, but they killed him for it (Jeremiah 40:7-9, 41). Gedaliah was the Jew’s only hope to live freely in Israel again, but his death led to more being enslaved in Babylon. Christ too, was betrayed by his brothers. Similar to Gedaliah, if Christ was accepted after his resurrection, the kingdom of God would already be here, and we wouldn’t be in exile.
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel 3 of 4: Judah
Reconciliation
Judah suggested selling Joseph into slavery to the Ishmaelites as an alternative to killing him (Genesis 37:26). Judah suggested Ishmaelites because Ishmael was the “less favored” son of their great grandfather Abraham. Like him, they all also felt “less favored” than their brother Joseph. Before Reuben had a chance to rescue him and bring him back to their father, Joseph was sold to Midianite traders. The brothers lied to their father, claiming that a wild animal had killed Joseph.
A decade later, allegedly due to his actions, Benjamin was taken into custody and made into a slave. The destruction of the sons of Rachel seemed to be everything the sons of Leah had once wanted. However, Judah now understood the error of his ways. Judah admitted to Pharaoh’s court that Benjamin was his father’s favorite and that Benjamin’s loss would kill Jacob, unlike the loss of himself. Judah offered himself as a slave, willingly forsaking all his household and riches to redeem his father’s beloved son, saying that “Jacob's soul is bound to Benjamin's” (Genesis 44:30).
As Joseph listened to Judas’s plea for Benjamin, he heard a deeply felt apology for what Judah had done to him. Judah did not realize he was speaking to Joseph, the brother he had betrayed 13 years before, just as we do not truly realize that what we do for one person we do for God. “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40).
Judah knew that to redeem himself, he had to extend himself for the redemption of Benjamin and admit that “I am my brother’s keeper”. Judah does this to reconcile with his father, just as we must reconcile with our father in Heaven. (Midrash by, “The Guiding Voice of Our Moral Conscience” by Rabbi David Fohrman on www.alephbeta.org).
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel 4 of 4: The King David Story is a Rectification of the Joseph Story
Josephs and the Spies’ “Bad Reports” Rectified by David
Joseph was sent out by his father, Jacob to report on his brothers. Joseph would sometimes give bad reports of them (Genesis 37:2). The next time any of the sons of Jacob are sent out to give an account is two hundred and ten years later. The heads of the tribes, besides Joshua of Ephraim and Caleb of Judah, give a bad report of the land of Israel. Because of their bad report, they were made to live in the wilderness for another forty years, just as Joseph’s bad report led him into a pit. Caleb was a type of David; both were of the tribe of Judah and were ultimately loyal to their God and nation. The rest of the spies said that the land would “devour them” even though this was a lie (Numbers 13:32); Joseph’s brothers had also lied about him being “devoured.”
Unlike Joseph and those sent to spy out the land of Canaan, David did not give a bad report. Four hundred years after the spies’ sin, David’s father sent him out to get an account of his brothers. His brothers then put Davids’s life at risk by setting him up against Goliath, like Joepsh’s put his life at risk. Still, David redeemed his tribal brother “Benjamin,” just as Joseph rescued his brothers. King David was the scion of the tribe of Judah, just as King Saul was the scion of the tribe of Benjamin, and like the real Benjamin before him, Saul needed to be rescued. David paid the debt for Saul by defeating Goliath for him just as Judah pledged himself for Benjamin. These acts of redemption are why the Holy Temple sits on the border of Judah and Benjamin.
King David & Jonathan
David of Judah and Jonathan of Benjamin met because David defeated Goliath. In all regards, Jonathan should have been wary of David, for they competed for the throne, similar to how Judah had contested Joseph for patriarchy. However, Jonathan showed no covertness but only appreciation to David for defeating his enemy. “After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.” This is the exact Hebrew phrasing as what Judah had said of his father’s love for Benjamin (Genesis 44:30). Jonathan then gave David his coat in a symbolic act of friendship and love for their ancestors had once done the opposite and stolen a rainbow coat from the other and smeared it in goat’s blood.
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The Tribe of Benjamin 1 of 2: Twelve Stones of Israel
All of the 12 sons of Jacob are represented by stones, which represent the 12 tribes of Israel. “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions [to be worn by the High Priest] … There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel...” (Exodus 28 15-21). “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood... (1 Peter 2:9). We are all to act like Priests of God.
What the Stones Symbolize & Why the New Jerusalem is Constructed Out of Them
The last stone in the breastplate of the High Priest/righteousness is Jasper. Jasper represents the Benjamins tribe. Despite its reddish coloring, Benjamin’s stone is supposed to contain all the colors of the other stones and is therefore described as more of a rainbow color (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:7). The flag of Benjamin is rainbow (https://templeinstitute.org/priestly-garments-2/). We will be given a white stone by Jesus, a color that truly contains all the colors (Revelation 2:17).
The New Jerusalem city is made predominantly of this stone as its walls, and the 1st foundation is jasper. Benjamin wasn’t given this honor for anything he necessarily did but for the love that was created around him. The entire new Jerusalem is essentially a giant breastplate of righteousness; the breastplate is a square while the city is a cube (Revelation 21:16-21). The breastplate is worn to enter the holy of holies which is “20 cubits” on every side (1 Kings 6:20).
God’s throne is made up of an intermingling of Judah’s, Benjamins, and Reubens’s stones. “And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” (Revelation 4:3) Judah’s stone is represented as emerald, Reubens as Ruby. God’s throne contains the first (that is Reuben, who was the oldest) and the last, that is Benjamin, and these are all united by Judah, that is, Jesus Christ in the form of a rainbow. (Another example of such a stone; Joshua 15:6; 18:17). Reuben was the only brother that said in his heart that he would not allow Joseph to be killed but would return him to his father (Genesis 37:22). In this world, God is often silent like Reuben. However, God has plans to redeem us, but we must all first be “thrown in the pit,” that is, die before we can be redeemed and not face a “second death.” God will take us out of the pit.
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The Tribe of Benjamin 2 of 2: We are all Benjamin
Judah’s Relationship with Benjamin is a Metaphor for Our Relationship with Jesus
1) We are redeemed as Benjamin was by Judah, who accepted his punishment onto himself in exchange for his release. 2) We had a Goliath-like enemy we could not defeat “Sin” that Jesus defeated by not committing. 3) We were an enemy of God and crippled by sin, but we are healed and taken into the Kingdom by the Lord just as David accepted Mephibosheth, who had also been crippled by a “fall”. 4) Like Jesus, Joseph was thrown into a pit but then became ruler over all second to Pharaoh or, in Jesus’s case, next to God the father. 5) Joseph was thrown into a pit for it to lead him to Egypt, “…to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20). Jesus paid the price of sin so that many people could be saved.
Future Implications
Of all his children, Jacob named only Benjamin. Rachel originally named him Ben-Oni, meaning “Son of My Emptiness,” for she was dying due to his birth. Before she died, Jacob grabbed Rachels's hands and said that he was renaming Benjamin “son of my right hand” and wrote his name in such a way that within it would be two Hebrew letters “yods” for “yod” in Hebrew also means hands. One hand for Rachel and the other for his own, grasping the other in a symbolic gesture of love. In times of sorrow, the Torah writes Benjamin’s name with only one yod and in times of happiness with two. Before Jacobs's death, when he prophesied of the end of the world, Benjamin’s name is written with two yods. When Jacob died, he was reunited with Rachel, as will mankind be reunited with their creator in the New Jerusalem. (Two Hands for Benjamin and Looking at Leah by Jeremy Chance Springfield)
This dual aspect of Benjamin speaks of the dual aspect and paradox of the Messiah. He suffers greatly to atone for Israel, and yet he is to be exalted, even to the right hand of God. Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David in one person. As the Messiah is the “soul” of Israel, whatever happens to the Messiah will happen to Israel (Rashi on Genesis 35, Vol 1, Mesorah Publishers, pg. 395). If Rachel’s naming of Ben-Oni predicted the coming exile in Egypt, then Jacob’s naming of Benjamin, meaning “the Son of the Right Hand,” looked forward to the coming redemption as it is said, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalm 110:1). Tradition says that as Jacob died, his 12 children who would make up the 12 tribes of Israel stood around him in the same formation that the Israelite tribes traveled around the Tabernacle during their 40 years in the desert. This formation was reminiscent of a cross.
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel and The Tribe of Benjamin Conclusion
The Torah is The Foundation of The World
Just as the New Jerusalem will be built out of stones representing the Torah’s familiar relationships, David and the sons of Jacob became the Archetypes of the Temple, just as Jesus is the Archetype of the Temple and the Sabbath. The only psalm David wrote for the dedication of the Temple is psalm 30, and it is filled with parallels between his and the Joseph story (Joseph story alpha beta.com). David says “hear me” in his psalm, and he can ask this of God because Joseph’s brothers didn’t listen to his pain, but David listened to the pleas of King Saul and rescued him. David asks for the same mercy be done to him because “what profit is there in my death?” just as Judah said “what profit do we get in killing our brother?” Judah was described as a lion just as David, but when talking to Saul he says "I killed the lion" meaning he has control over the lion inside of him just as Judah did. Although powerful people, neither Judah nor David would use their power to harm their own family, even when they could gain the world by doing so.
The Anti-Christ Empire Destroyed by a Stone Just Like Goliath
It was a symbolic stone that represented Judah and Benjamin that David used to destroy Goliath since it was because of that stone that David of Judah met and made a covenant with Jonathan of Benjamin. This symbolic stone is exactly the stone that will someday slay another giant; the antichrist empire foretold by Daniel. “As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay [future Babylon of the book of Revelation], and broke them in pieces” (Daniel 2:34, 2:45). This symbolic stone is Jesus Christ. This stone can also be represented by the two tablets of the testimony, two stones, like Judah’s and Benjamin's testimony coming together in their ancestors Jonathan and David, written with the finger of God, that holds the hope of humankind (Exod. 31:18). These things were all prophesized through the merit of Jacob, concerning whom it is written, “From thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel” (Gen. 49:24).
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The Scapegoat Ritual 1 of 2: Yom Kippur
On Yom Kippur, before Jesus Christ's ultimate sacrifice, to atone for sins, people had to take two goats, sacrifice one and set the other free into the barren land, separated from God’s people. The scapegoat ritual was somewhat similar to the two birds in the sacrifice of the leper. We are like one of those birds, one set free but marked by the blood of Jesus. (Leviticus 14:4) The goat sacrificed on the altar represented Jesus, and the one set free into the wilderness to live in the world ‘without God’ represented the Red Dragon or Azazel. The goat “for Azazel” was marked by a red ribbon tied to its horns. The goat designated to God had the red ribbon tied around its neck. The scapegoat does not represent sin but is made a temporary carrier of the sin, just as Jesus Christ was (Hebrews 9:11-12). The satan can play no part in the sacrificial rituals of the Temple, and every animal used in the rituals must be clean and blemish-free, something that the satan is not.
A piece of the red ribbon is cut off before the goat for Azazel is set free into the wilderness. In theory, this goat set free in the wild would eventually die of predation away from the assembly of God’s people, a metaphor as to why we shouldn’t choose the world (sin) over God. To speed up the process and since if it returned, it would be deemed a bad omen, the people of Israel adopted the practice of taking the goat to a cliff and throwing it off.
After all the Yom Kippur rituals were complete, the scarlet ribbon would turn pure white to symbolize that God had forgiven Israel. When Jesus died, around 30 A.D, the scapegoat that year escaped, and the ribbon remained red. It would later wander back on cloven feet to remind Israel of the sin they had not repented of. “But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it.” (Matthew 12:43). Every year since, for 40 years until the destruction of the Temple as prophesized by Jesus and the book of Jonah, the Sanhedrin reported that the ribbon would no longer turn white when the priest atoned for sins (Talmud, Tractate Yoma 39b).
The Symbolism Behind the Ritual
When Jesus Christ returns, one of the first things he will do is perform His duties as our High Priest on Yom Kippur. He no longer has to offer a sacrifice, for he was the ultimate sacrifice (Hebrews 10:11-14). Jesus will instead banish the “goat for Azazel” that is the Satan, or our Accuser, from the midst of mankind and lock him in the abyss for 1000 years so that he can no longer deceive the nations (Revelation 20:2).
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The Scapegoat Ritual 2 of 2: The scapegoat Ritual Throughout the Bible
The first scapegoat was Cain; he was the goat designated for Azazel, while Abel was the goat designated for the Lord. Abraham had two sons. Just like the two goats on Yom Kippur, he “sacrificed” one and sent another, Ishmael, away to “wander” in the wilderness.
Origins of the Scapegoat Ritual
The symbiology of the scapegoat ritual stems from the patriarchs themselves. Jacob deceived his father Isaac with a goat, then Jacob was deceived by his sons with a goat, then one of those sons, Judah, was deceived by Tamar with a goat. Decades later, to leave Egypt, the ancestors of the sons of Jacob would have to perform a reverse ritual with a goat (Exodus 12:1-12). The actual Yom Kippur ritual was not founded until hundreds of years later, specifically to atone for the sins of the golden calf. Because of the golden calf, Moses had to go up to Mt Sinai for another 40 days. The last thing God told Moses after his first 40 days on Mt Sinai was good tidings of the Sabbath (Exodus 21:12-17). However, the last thing God commanded Moses the 2nd time he had to go back for 40 days after the sin of the golden calf was the infamous “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Exodus 34:26). Once again, a goat was a bookend to sin. The buck, or that is the goat, stops with Jesus Christ.
Scapegoat Ritual Performed by the Prophets
Every Yom Kippur, the book of Jonah is read. In the book of Jonah, Jonah is the
representation of the goat designated by lot for Azazel. “And he shall place lots upon the two goats…” (Leviticus 16:8-10). Jonah had lots cast for him, just like the goats had lots for them. After being thrown into the sea, red-colored seaweed wrapped around him. The same kind of seaweed that makes the red sea appear red. (Jonah 1:7 and Jonah 2:5). The red ribbon was wrapped around him just as it would be on both of the “Yom Kippur goats.” Judah knew he would be considered a false prophet if he traveled to Nineveh. Jonah had prophesied that they would be destroyed for their terrible sins no matter what they did. However, Jonah knew that God would revoke his decree of their destruction and forgive them if they all repented. Sure enough, the people repented, and the destruction that Jonah prophesized did not occur. God’s Spirit found comfort in even the ignorant people of Nineveh because they repented of their sins as Jonah did of his plant (Jonah 4:10-11). Jonah allowed himself to become ostracized by his religious community for speaking “falsely” so that Gentiles would seek redemption and be saved. Likewise, Jesus allowed himself to bear all the sins of humanity to redeem us.
Prophet Ezekiel also had to play the role of the scapegoat, as did many other prophets. He was exiled from Israel and ate terrible food for over a year to warn Israel of their coming punishment in the hope that some would repent and turn back to righteousness.
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Goats & Coats 1 of 3
Jacob Deceives his Father, Isaac
Jacob “stole” his brothers Esau’s blessing from his father Isaac with the use of goats and a coat. “So, Jacob went near to Isaac his father…and he did not recognize him” (Genesis 27: 9-23). Jacob was the first “prodigal son.” In both stories, the son admits to being unworthy (Genesis 32:10, Luke 15:19), and in each instance, it appears that the younger son “stole” the honors meant for the older one.
Arguably, Jacob did not steal the birthright since he legally purchased it from his brother when Esau exchanged it for soup. Esau hated his birthright, making him the firstborn priest of Israel. But he despised the birthright, for it meant he had to act “godly” and therefore traded it for “red stuff” (Genesis 25:30).
Joseph’s brothers also tricked their father into thinking Joseph had died using a coat and a goat. Jacob was tricked in the same way he deceived his father. “Then they took Joseph's coat and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please recognize whether it is your son's coat or not.” (Genesis 37: 31-32).
Goats and Coats Make Atonement
Goats and Coats are not bad things. Anything can be wrong if we use them for deceit. Just as goats were used to symbolize atoning for sin, so were coats. We are called to “put on” righteousness and salvation like we would a coat (Isaiah 61:10). Biblical instruction on sacrifices and priestly vestments are close because both can atone for sin. According to the Talmud, the coat atones for bloodshed, the breeches atoned for lewdness, and the mitre made atonement for arrogance as it was placed high up to atone for an offense of hauteur. The girdle atoned for [impure] meditations of the heart, i.e., where it was placed. The breastplate atoned for [neglect of] civil laws, as it is said, “And you shall make a breastplate of judgment.” The ephod atoned for idolatry (Zevachim 88b, Soncino Press Edition).
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Goats & Coats 2 of 3: Joseph
The Greatest Sin
Joseph’s ten brothers told their father that they didn’t know where Joseph’s body was, just as Cain told God he didn’t know where Abel was. Abel was the first person ever to die, so it was understandable for Cain to be confused and not be completely guilty of murder. Cain's greatest sin was not caring. A person should always try to help or search for their brother, no matter if they hate him or love him (Exodus 23:4). Joseph’s brothers did not intend to kill him, but as the brothers put it, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore, this distress has come upon us.” (Genesis 42:21).
Joseph’s Imprisonment Synonymous with Israel’s Escape
The night Israel fled Egypt, and every Passover since, God commands a male lamb be taken from the goats or the sheep per household and that it be killed and eaten in a specific way. The baby goat must not be cooked in water but roasted in or over a fire pit (Exodus 12:1-12). When cooked, the lamb/goat must be in the fetal position, and so the tradition has become to symbolize rebirth. When Israel walked throw the bloody entrance of their door frames the night after Passover, they were essentially born-again Israelites. The Passover lamb symbolized Joseph, just as the lamb symbolizes Jesus. The Bible has a peculiar way of rectifying sin through plot, character, and chiasmus. Through the replaying of similar events, Jesus did what Adam and Eve didn’t while in the desert for 40 days. Biblical patterns play out past events as if we have a chance to go back in time and redo things so that we succeed instead of fail. In music theory, repetition is part and parcel of symmetry and establishing motifs and hooks.
Joseph was thrown into a pit with no water, so when Israel left slavery, they were commanded to cook a lamb/goat in a pit with no water. The lamb was used as a substitute for their firstborn since Joseph was the spiritual firstborn. Joseph did not willingly go into the pit the first time, but he did the second time when he refused to sin with a married woman. Like Joseph, Israel voluntarily left “Egypt” and exiled themselves from the world to worship God. Exile covers a multitude of sins. God cursed king Jeconiah to be childless (Jeremiah 22:30), but after he was exiled, he was forgiven of his crimes (1 Chronicles 3:17-18, Sanhedrin 37b-38a, Soncino Press Edition).
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Goats & Coats 3 of 3: Judah
Judah Finally Repents After Sin Nearly Makes Him Kill What He Loves Most
Jacob’s sons were also tricked by someone using goats and coats. After Judah’s wife died, Tamar, his widowed daughter in-law disguised herself, kind of like how Joseph disguised himself, but with the coat of a prostitute. She agreed to sell herself to Judah in exchange for a goat. Judah did not have a goat with him (perhaps because he killed it to fake Joseph’s death). So, just as she had planned from the beginning, Tamar extracted objects that were symbols of Judas’s identity, such as his coat and his staff, just as Joseph collected collateral. These were symbols of Judah’s kingship, so in a way, she took his kingship from him due to his failure to enact Yibbum for her. When Judah was told that Tamar was pregnant, he used it as an excuse to sentence her to death, for he blamed her for the death of his other two sons and feared that she would lead to the death of his remaining son.
Tamar responded by sending Judah his coat, telling him to “recognize” the same Hebrew word Judah said to his father and what his father said to his father-in-law (Genesis 37:32, 38:25). The same word “recognize” is also used by God when he commands a husband to always “recognize” his wife, even if he hates her (Deuteronomy 21:17, 22:24). Jacob not “recognize” Leah he should have, which is why the brothers throw Joseph into a pit. Because of Tamar’s craftiness, Judah recognized that he was the father of her babies and exonerated her, claiming that “she is more righteous than I.” Priest daughters, in certain situations, could face the death penalty for adultery however, the man they slept with also had to be killed as well. This is what Jesus meant in John 8:2 and Jeremiah 17:13, for, without due process, all those that stoned the women would have been murders and would have cut themselves off from salvation.
Judah’s eyes were opened to the horrors of his sins, to what he had done to his father by taking his son Joseph from him. Perhaps this foreshadows a future time when all the tribe of Judah will recognize God’s love for His son. Only once Judah admitted his sins were the symbols of his kingship restored to him. The staff is a symbol of Aaron’s staff, the “rod of God,” which symbolizes the resurrection. “For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15). Out of Aaron’s dead branch, all 3 phases of life grew, almonds, buds, and flowers, all represented in the Menorah; these are all symbols of the Tree of Life (Numbers 17: 8). Judah had nearly killed two of his sons in misplaced revenge of his other two sons’ deaths, a perfect example of how sin causes us to destroy what we love most.
Judah symbolizes the Jewish people, and Joseph symbolizes the Messiah. As scripture says, “Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand...” (Ezekiel 37:12-19). Once the Jewish people accept the Messiah, they too will be given back the staff of their kingship, as symbolized by the two sticks becoming one. At that point, as the rest of the verse says, the resurrection will take place, “… And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land…” (Ezekiel 37:12-19).
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The domino Effects of Sin 1 of 3: Sin leads to Enslavement
Jacob’s Enslavement is a Microcosm of the Enslavement of the Twelve Tribes of Israel as well as the Future Antichrist
Jacob's escape from his father-in-law was much like the escape of the Israelites from Egypt. Jacob was essentially a slave to Laban, just as the Jews were in Egypt. Both Laban and Pharaoh were told on the 3rd day that all their “slaves” had fled. As Pharaoh chased after Moses, Laban chased Jacob. Laban originally made a covenant with Jacob (Israel) for 7 years. The antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years, but will betray them in the midst of that. Israel will have to flee 3.5 years from the antichrist just as Jacob (Israel) fled Laban and Pharoah after 3.5 days.
Both Jacob and the Egyptian Israelites winded up in slavery for the same reason. Jacob deceived his father Isaac with a goat, which led to him having to flee to Laban’s home. Joseph’s brothers deceived their father with a goat to stage Joseph’s death, which led to the brothers eventually moving to Egypt and becoming enslaved themselves.
Jacob’s Enslavement is Parallel to the Enslavement of Israel in Egypt
Sin causes you to go into slavery. Jacob served 21 years for his betrayal, and since 10 of his sons betrayed him, their punishment was multiplied by 10, so they served in Egypt for 210 years. Jacob may have gotten their fathers and God’s blessing, but he had to pay the price for it. God foresaw these events, which is why he said that Israel would live in a “land that is not theirs” for 400 years. The countdown began with Isaac's birth. However, on all accounts, Jacob’s sons would have had the promised land without going to Egypt if they had not betrayed their brother Joseph. God didn’t curse the Israelites with slavery; the consequences of their actions were their fault. However, God assured Abraham that He would bless them and eventually redeem them. (Genesis 15:13). In Joshua 24:3-4, God assumes responsibility for everything but Jacob's and his sons descending to Egypt.
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The domino effects of sin 2 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
Beware Words said Carelessly
In Genesis 31, Jacob decides to move his entire household away from his father-in-law’s lands. Before leaving, Rachel steals her father’s household gods. When her father overtakes them and demands his idols back, Rachel hides the gods underneath her and claims she cannot dismount her camel to greet him, for the coats she is sitting on are bloody from her period. Jacob does not realize Rachel stole the gods and proclaims, “anyone whom you find your gods shall not live, recognize what is yours from what is mine.” Jacob’s curse is attributed to Rachel's death as she died not long after this. We must be wary and never curse, for Noah cursed in a moment of anger as well, and Ham’s linage, essentially a third of the world, was affected.
Continued Effects of the Curse
This curse of Jacobs is said to follow Rachel to her son, Joseph. After Jacob made peace with his father-in-law, he broke bread with him right after he proclaimed his curse. The next time bread is broken is by Joseph’s brothers after they resolve to sell him to slavers. However, before the brothers sell him, Joseph is found by Midianites and placed on their camels. The same Hebrew word used to describe Rachel placing the idols on her camel describes how Joseph is carried away. The Midianites are specified as incense salesmen, so the bag pressed against Joseph’s face smelled pleasant on his way to Egypt, like how Jesus would have been comforted by the smell of Spikenard during his crucifixion, the oil that Mary of Bethany had anointed him with. The Torah then makes a point to mention that these slavers that took Joseph away, they had come from Gilead, the same place where Jacob had uttered his curse. The exact Hebrew words “find and recognize” that Jacob used when he proclaimed his curse to his father-in-law are then repeated to him by Joseph’s brothers when they present Joseph’s bloody coat that they used to fake his death, the blood being from a goat. What happens to Joseph due to this curse is a metaphor for us all, as we are all under the same curse since Adam & Eve ate from the tree. (The deeper significance of Gilead in the Bible by Rabbi David Fohrman at Alphabeta.com)
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The Domino Effects of Sin 3 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
From the Pit to the Palace
Before being sold into slavery, Joseph’s brothers stripped him of both his “coats” to symbolize his expulsion from the family; they then threw him into a pit. After he was sold, he worked for his boss Potiphar. Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph, but instead of committing adultery, he eluded her advances but “…she caught him by his coat.” With the coat as evidence, Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph, and he was sent to prison. Instead of “prison” the Bible used the Hebrew words for “pit,” so Joseph was essentially sent into another pit, but each time God rescued him and brought him from the pit to the palace.
A Guilty Conscience
When Joseph sent his brothers away, he hid the silver they had used to buy bread at the bottom of their sack, along with the “stolen” goblet he planted on Benjamin. Benjamin would be accused of stealing and sentenced to the pits of Egypt. An empty sack looks like a pit. The brothers were reminded of the other brother they had thrown into a pit and then sold for silver. The brothers told their father they searched for Joseph, but they didn’t. What they did was “ate bread” as Joseph sat in the pit alone... just as Jacob “ate bread” after uttering his curse to Laban. Joseph’s men threw “all the bread out” of the sacks, and there at the bottom of Benjamin’s was the “stolen” goblet. Unlike the brothers, Joseph’s men did a real search and discovered that the brothers were guilty.
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The Red Ribbon 1 of 2
The Dye of the Red Ribbon
The specific red dye used to color certain fabrics of the Holy Temple and the red ribbon of the scapegoat ritual was derived from the “scarlet worm,” or that is the “Tola’at Shani” worm. To give birth, the “Tola’at Shani” must affix itself to a tree. Its hatched eggs then consume it so that they may live. Similarly, Jesus Christ allowed himself to be crucified so that we may live. David prophesized this, “I am a worm and not a man. A reproach of men, and despised of the people.” (Psalm 22:7). In Hebrew, David said not “worm” but a “Tola’at Shani” specifically. Jesus was cloaked in a red robe at the crucifixion, most likely colored from this ancient dye. Another worm called “Solomon's Shamir” was used to cut the stones and masonry of the Temple.
The Red Heifer
After the sin of the golden calf, God commanded Israel to sacrifice a perfectly red heifer to atone for their sin. This red heifer symbolizes the red ribbon, a creature that acts as a baton handoff for one’s sin and, in many ways, represents Jesus. The Lord Jesus was “without blemish,” just as the red heifer was to be. As the heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” (Numbers 19:1-18), Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:11–12). Just as the ashes of the red heifer cleansed people from the contamination of death, the sacrifice of Christ saves us from the penalty and corruption of death.
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The red ribbon 2 of 2: Conclusion to The Scapegoat Ritual and Goats and Coats
The Red Ribbon Throughout the Scriptures
A red ribbon marks the goat designated for Azazel, the satan, which is consequently depicted as a red dragon (Revelation 12:3). This distinction is first seen in scriptures when Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for “red stuff.” Esau’s decedents are known as the “Edomites,” the Hebrew word for Edom meaning “red.” Sin is described as red, as it says, “Though your sins be as scarlet.” (Isaiah 1:18). God does not discriminate, however, as the righteous in Edom will inherit Heaven just as anyone else. “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen… that they may possess the [righteous] remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name” (Amos 9:11-12).
The next time the ribbon is seen is when Tamar gives birth to Judah’s children. It was Judah’s and Tamar’s son Perez that was the ancestor of David and Jesus. Perez and his brother were born in the same way as Jacob and Esau. Zerah’s foot came out first, so a red ribbon was tied around it to mark him as the first born. However, Perez overtook him and winded up being the first born. This is a metaphor for God choosing how much a person inherits in the New Heaven and Earth by their faith and not by their earthy status.
When Israel was reclaiming the land of Canaan, Rahab hung a red ribbon from her window, as it protected her and her family (Joshua 2:18, 6:25). The scarlet ribbon finds its culmination upon the back of Jesus, “They put a scarlet robe around Him… (Matthew 27:28-29). The red ribbon is woven throughout scriptures, just as a red ribbon is often used as a book mark. Because of Jesus, red will be made white. These are all things that had to be because what was yet future had to be; the past being determined by what had not yet happened. (Ecclesiastes 3:15).
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Generations of Our Earth
“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” (Genesis 2:4) The earth has generations just as mankind does. However, there is only one Earth. God refers to the old earth after the creation of the New Heavens and Earth as the “first earth,” but the New Earth may still be on the same foundation as the old earth.
0. Pre-Eden earth? (The following is heavily speculated)
Genesis Gap Theory
1. A. Life in Pre-Eden earth
It is said that before Adam and Eve were given Eden, it and the Ephod (High Priest status) belonged to the Red Dragon (Ezekiel 28:13). Scripture says that the earth was never made to be void (Isaiah 45:18), yet the earth and heavens are described as void in Genesis. This means that the earth was teeming with life before the biblical account in Genesis. Angels existed before humans (Job 38:4, 7).
Scripture describes the satan as a “king” in Eden, ruling before Adam and Eve:
“You were the signet of perfection…You were in Eden, the garden of God… “You were an anointed guardian cherub…till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned...Your heart was proud because of your beauty…” (Ezekiel 28:11–19)
God switches from describing the Prince of Tyre just as the Angel Gabriel refers to fallen angels as rulers over nations, and Jesus spoke to Peter while simultaneously the satan (Daniel 10:13, Matthew 16:23).
When the satan sinned, he corrupted nature and those he was given dominium over just as Adam and Eve did. However, life became corrupted on a much larger scale, creating horrifically vicious dinosaur beasts, as seen in the fossil records. Therefore, God destroyed the dragon’s world to stop the cycle of pain and misery that the insanity of sin created. The chaotic sea was the result.
It is speculated that the Dragons world existed for 3000 years, the same amount of time the earth will exist after the birth of Christ, before it is recreated (See 5. New Earth and Heavens).
It is interesting to note that before any other living thing was created, the great sea monsters were created first, right after the sun and moon, which were meant to act as “rulers.” God may have done this because, in the previous world, the Leviathan was indeed the ruler, although he sinned and lost it (Genesis 1:21). The Leviathans world most likely did not have a sun and moon as we know them today, which may be why demonic creatures often appear as shadow creatures. The next animals to be created in Genesis are the birds, which symbolize the angels, for they were created after the Levithan/Red Dragon as lesser rulers in the first world.
According to Oxford Old Testament professor John Day, Leviathan and his battle with God are associated with a re-creation of the earth, with Genesis describing the calming of the chaos caused by the dragon [due to his destruction of the first earth]. The story of creation in Genesis 1 is the demythologized version of the creation story given in bits and pieces in other parts of the Old Testament involving the Leviathan, such as the Psalms.
“You divided the sea by your might… crushed the heads of Leviathan…you dried up ever-flowing streams. You have established the heavenly lights and the sun… fixed all the boundaries of the earth…” (Psalms 74:13-23)
1. B. God’s Living Water
Only 1/7th of the Dragons world was water, while today 70% of the world is water. It is speculated that the Garden of Eden’s four main rivers branched out from the North and formed immense rifts in the world’s terrain. Evidence of these rivers are left behind as what is viewed today as the deepest rifts that form the edges of the tectonic plates.
1. C. Diet
Vegetarian until the Dragons sins caused the animal life to deform and become corrupted.
1. D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, the pre-Eden world would have been as it would have been if Adam and Eve were not preliminarily kicked out of Eden. That is, before the satan corrupted it.
1. E. God’s Holy City
Yes, there was a Holy City as 60% of the angels resisted the satan’s deceptions.
1. F. Holy Temple
The Holy Temple in the Heavens, may have rested on earth during pre-Eden times. The angels that had not sinned would have found refuge in this Temple when the pre-Eden earth was flooded, just as Gods Saints will when the 1st Earth and Heavens are destroyed with fire.
The satan might have set up his own “Un-Holy Temple” on this earth, most likely in the Yucatan as inside the mountains and under the waters of the Yucatan are a series of strange underwater rivers and caverns like the Shissin that are found under the Holy Temple… almost as if some dark, twisted temple once existed there. This is where the Mayans predicted the end of the world in their doomsday calendars.
Having nostalgia with the location, the Dragon may have influenced these cultures, granting the Mayans their understanding of the stars and time, but also demanding sacrifices from the Aztecs. On some days up to 20,000 people were ritually sacrificed by the Aztecs. Human sacrifice was a practice that the satan (Baal) readily partook in, as described in scripture.
1. Eden
1. A. Life in Eden
Of all the locations on earth, God chose Eden to make special and fellowship with man. There isn’t a trace of Eden today for the flood destroyed everything. (2 Peter 3:6). The garden of Eden was located in modern day Jerusalem. The garden was in the east (Genesis 2:8). The garden is linked to the Holy Mountain of God which is Mount Moriah,
“You were in Eden, the garden of God…on the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:13-14).
The entrance to the garden was in the “east,” but this entrance became an exit because of unfaithfulness. God cast Adam and Eve “east” out of the Garden. The same happened with Israel in Jerusalem, when they were exiled “east” into Babylon. The Bible says that Jesus will, upon his second coming, return to Jerusalem from the east (Zech. 14:4), indicating that he will restore what was lost. (Jared Wellman, senior pastor at Mission Dorado Baptist Church)
1. B. God’s Living Water
The water of Eden came from the Tree of Life as it is said,
“…because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:8-12).
Some say Adam and Eve did not have blood, but living water in their veins, however this living water became corrupted by sin and turned into blood after they fell, just as the first plague of Egypt was water turning into blood. Jesus implies that blood will be replaced by living water. (John 4:14, 1 Corinthians 15:50).
After the flooding of the 1st Earth, the Dragons earth before Eden, much of the earth is covered in water during the days of Eden, about 70% of it, similar to what we have today.
1. C. Diet
Everyone was vegetarian, no one ate meat. “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat” (Genesis 1:29; 2:16). It was not the original will of the Creator that His creatures should consume one another.
After the fall, vegetables were added to the diet. “And you shall eat the herb of the field” (Genesis 3:18). Due to the curse of sin, there was a partial change in diet due the quality of grains and nuts and fruits originally given to man were reduced to such an extent that man would need to supplement his diet with the eating of herbs.
1. D. Heaven on Earth?
All of Eden was like heaven. Man, and God fellowshipped with each other “face to face.” The Earth had the potential of becoming just like Eden because waters from Eden flowed throughout the earth “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.” (Genesis 2:10)
1. E. God’s Holy City
The Garden of Eden was God’s Holy City. If Adam had not sinned, the whole concept of areas that are sanctified and areas that are not would not have existed. The whole earth would have become like the Garden of Eden.
1. F. Holy Temple
None
2. Pre-Flood Earth
2. A. Life in Pre-flood Earth
Earth was much more intrinsically linked to the decisions of mankind than it is today. There was a smaller rift between humans and animals. The animals did not fear mankind, humans were still predominantly vegetarians.
God saw that he needed to destroy the earth, not necessarily because of the sins of the people, but because the earth itself had become corrupt because of those sins.
“Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-13)
God destroyed the Earth as to make another Earth that would be a comfort to future generations. That is why Noah’s name means “rest” or “peace”. The end days are compared to the days right before the flood, “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:26)
God remade the earth so that mankind would not so easily “corrupt their own flesh.” The Earth still rebels against mankind but not as much as it did pre-flood. With the potential for corruption, also comes the potential for blessing. Nature could have been made magnificent, but we lost that opportunity.
“Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” (Psalm 40:5 and Isaiah 14:24)
2. B. God’s Living Water
The Garden had miraculous healing abilities that the entire earth benefited from however these healing abilities were somewhat diluted due to the Garden being guarded by Cherubim. Rivers that flowed from the garden of Eden irrigated the pre-flood earth, as well as a mist that also contained these healing properties.
“Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.” (Genesis 2:10-14)
Because of these waters humans and animals had increased lifespans. Human lifespan, however, was capped at 1000 years as God said “The day you eat of the tree you will die” that is “start to die”, and a day to the Lord is like a thousand years.
All the earth was irrigated by a mist that would water the earth. Rain did not occur on the earth until the flood. “…for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land… and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground.” (Genesis 2:5-6).
C. Diet
Predominantly vegetarian
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, but mankind was completely barred off from Eden. There were rivers and a mist that traveled to the rest of the world from Eden however the full effects of these rivers were diluted due to the Garden being boarded up by the Cherubim. Human beings had much more contact with Angelic/demonic beings, but failed to listen to or adhere to the will of God. (Genesis 6:2-4)
E. God’s Holy City
None, because mankind is prohibited from entering Eden, that is the promise land or what we know as “Israel” today.
F. Holy Temple
None
3. Post Flood Earth (Today)
A. Life Today
With Jesus’s death the Kingdom of God is now on earth, however this is a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one. We are currently a kingdom without a king, but we steadfastly wait for Jesus’s return. Unfortunately, the world is still at war with God.
B. God’s Living Water
There is no more healing waters of Eden. God’s living waters are farther out of reach for us. They are hidden, as symbolized by Issacs struggle to dig wells. (Genesis 26:18-26). Rains instead of a mist now waters the earth.
C. Diet
Mankind and some animals eat meat due to no longer being able to drink God’s self-sustaining waters and eat of the fruit of Eden’s waters.
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, but only in the form of a ladder (Genesis 28:10–19)
The Holy Temple on mount Moriah is where the garden of Eden once was. It is meant to symbolize “heaven on earth.” Israel is supposed to be like God’s Garden of Eden but mankind fails to uphold this.
“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!” (Isaiah 5:7).
We are supposed to be like trees in Gods Garden (Mark 8:22-25).
God made a Covenant with mankind and implemented the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to act as a vehicle for God’s blessings to flow into the world just as the rivers from Eden once did.
The tree of life was where the Holy of Holies was in the Temple as symbolized by the Cherubim on the veil “guarding” it. The terms “cultivate” and “keep” in Genesis 2:15 are terms that are never used together anywhere else by Moses, except to describe the Levitical duties in caring for the tabernacle in Numbers 3:7-8, 8:26, and 18:5-6.
The word “garments” used to describe the covering provided for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21 is the same word translated as “tunics” to describe the priestly attire and many other parallels. (See midrash of how God plans to flood the world)
E. God’s Holy city
The land where Eden once was is opened up again for mankind to settle and is the earthly Israel/Jerusalem. However, Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2) The New Jerusalem is being prepared in heaven so that heaven and earth can once again be united, just as it was in the original garden of Eden.
F. Holy Temple
Yes, and Levites acted as our High Priests until Jesus replaced them as High priest (Hebrews 4:14).
4. The Millennial Reign
A. Life in the Millennial Reign
Life in many ways will continue as it had before, the most drastic change will be in Mount Zion from where Christ will reign. For those who live in the Millennial city many aspects of the curse will be reversed (Gen. 3:15-19). People who live around Mont Zion will live to a great age, but death will still occur. As before the flood, carnivorous animals who live around the holy mountain of the lord will revert to vegetarianism. God will heal sickness and disease all over the world. Many people will come to God’s Holy Mountain to be healed just as people once flocked to Jesus.
The Zion desert environment will blossom and become Eden like. While man destroyed the ecosystem, Jesus will return the desert to an Eden like paradise. “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1-2) “The LORD will comfort Zion… And her wilderness He will make like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD… (Isaiah 51:3 & Isaiah 41:18-20, Ezekiel 34:26-27, Psalm 72:16. Zechariah 8:19)
The Global environment will also be rejuvenated (Isaiah 19:24, 24:14-16, 25:6,42:10, 62:2, 63:16, 66:18, Jeremiah 51:47-49, Revelation 11:18).
The borders of the Land of Israel will be expanded, they will go from Tyre to Damascus in the east, and right down to the Sea of Galilee, and then it will taper in and follow the line of the Jordan. All of that west coast will be filled, from the Mediterranean to Jordan in the east, will be filled as the new land of Israel. The boundaries will be larger, substantially, to that that was told to Moses in the Pentateuch. It will be greater than that which we read in Numbers 34, detailed for us in the Old Testament. It will be greater than what Joshua inherited in the book of Joshua as he went into Canaan land - it will be far greater than all of that (Ezekiel 47:13-23).
B. God’s Living Water
God’s living water will flow from beneath the Holy of Holies (tree of life) of the Millennial Temple just as it once did in Eden. These rivers that branch out from the Temple will be similar to the rivers that flowed through the earth in the pe-flood world.
At Christs return there will be a great earthquake that the world has never seen before. Mount Olivet, which has a fault running through it, will cleft. The land of Israel will be raised up and the land around it be made a plain, mount Moriah will also be raised much higher than it is now. From the top of mount Moriah, a river of healing will come forth (Ezekiel 47:1). The waters will issue out from underneath the Temple, through the veil that Jesus’ tore, and flow eastward, it will flow south through the desert and the Jordan River to the Dead Sea, where its sweet waters will purify the whole of the nation and bring life to polluted waters. Eventually the river will meet the river of Egypt. It will make the whole land of Israel and Palestine flourish.
"It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim". (Joel 3:18).
“On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.” (Zechariah 14:8 & Ezekiel 47:12).
These rivers that branch out from the Temple will be similar to the rivers that flowed through the earth in the pe-flood world. The river will make the dead see fresh and it will teem with life (Ezekiel 40:2, Isaiah 40:1-5, Zechariah 4:7
Water flowing from the foundation stone was prophesied by the rock in the desert that God used to give water to Israel for 40 years. These rivers will bring life to the regions they water along with food that will sustain the once carnivorous beasts (Ezekiel 47:8-12, Joel 3:18, Zechariah 14:8, Isaiah 11:6-9).
The river will bring healing and also become a symbol for God’s new enforcement of justice and liberty in all the world. “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24, Isaiah 11:9)
This river will be a smaller version of the river that will flow from the Temple to all over the earth when the New Earth and Heavens are created.
For those who live near the Millennial city lifespans will be greatly increased as the water and food of the city will have advance healing/longevity qualities. "Never again [inside the Millennial city] will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed [that is still in their original human form].” (Isaiah 65:20).
C. Diet
People who live in the Millennial City will not need to eat meat, however many may still eat meat as the Israelites demanded meat while in the desert despite having the manna (Numbers 11:4). God gave people both dragon and Jesus to eat and many still wanted Chicken (Psalm 74:14, Numbers 11:5-6, John 6:53).
Animals will be respected and no longer mistreated. As described in the books of Ezekiel and Zechariah, normal everyday meat consumption will become a consecrated act that honors the animal.
“On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.” (Zechariah 14:20)
Carnivores will become vegetarians/piscivores once again as the food from these rivers will sustain them.
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them…” (Isaiah 65:25, 11:6-8)
“And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so, everything will live where the river goes…” (Ezekiel 47:8-11, Joel 3:18, Zechariah 14:8 & Ezekiel 47:12).
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, but only in Israel. The rest of the world will benefit from it however. Instead of God’s blessings coming to earth through a conduit of a “ladder” God’s blessings will travel throughout the entire world on a Highway. “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.” (Isaiah 35:8)
Mount Zion might resemble Mordor a bit, although surrounded by a lush garden. “… the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy.” (Isaiah 4:3-6)
All of Zion will be made to resemble Eden (Isaiah 35:1, Isaiah 51:3)
Some of “Israel” will be resurrected/raptured and given new “heavenly” bodies, but for all others death will still exist (Jeremiah 31:32-34).
E. God’s Holy City
The earthly Israel/Jerusalem which is brought into union with the heavenly New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem possibly acts as a satellite city suspended over the earth during the millennial reign of Christ. It is the dwelling place of resurrected and translated saints who also have access to the earthly scene. It will act as our Ark from the old earth and heavens into the new at the end of the Millennial reign. There will be a Holy Temple either in this city floating in the sky or on Earth during the Millennial reign as described and measured in Ezekiel 40-44. The end of the book of Ezekiel is his vision of the Temples Restoration (the Forth Temple). The millennial city itself is described here as well in chapters 44-48 along with what will happen to the lands of Israel when the Millennial reign starts.
F. Holy Temple
Yes, with Jesus acting as our High Priest (Zechariah 6:13).
G. Sacrifices
The daily sacrifice will be reinstituted in the Holy Temple (Zechariah 14:20-21, Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 33:18, Ezekiel 43:18, Malachi 3:3-4).
H. There will still be a sun and moon
5. New Earth and Heavens
A. Life in the New Earth
There is remarkably little revealed in the Bible concerning the character of the new heaven and the new earth, however there will no longer be any death.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 and 1 Corinthians. 15:24-26)
The beginning of the scriptures illustrates the closeness of God and man until the point of the fall. The end of the scriptures brings the entire story of God and humanity full circle, fixing what was broken through Adam and Eve to a full reconciliation with God. Similarities between Eden and the new earth
1. The tree of life is in both places. (Gen. 2:9, Rev. 22:2)
2. Eden had a river that watered the garden. The New Jerusalem has the river of life (Gen. 2:10, Rev. 22:1-2
3. The presence of God (Gen. 3:8, Rev. 21:3)
4. The lack of death (Gen. 3:22, Rev. 21:4)
5. The mention of gold and precious stones (Gen. 2:11-12, Rev. 21:18-20)
Israel may not be such a centerpiece of God’s new earth and heavens as they were during the Millennium although they will still be around, considering the fact that God plans to change the fixed order of heaven and earth.
“… Thus, says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’” (Jeremiah 33:23-26)
B. God’s Living Water
Instead of a ladder or just a highway, thousands of rivers will flow from God’s Holy Temple and the rivers will flow all throughout the earth so that all will easily be able to drink from it and be nourished by it. No longer will anyone have to travel all the way to the city.
The new earth will no longer have any seas or oceans as there are during the Millennial Reign, all these bodies of water will be replaced with God’s rivers of living waters.
“For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.” (Isaiah 66:12).
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1)
There will still be some “under the curse” that is who have not yet died and received their new heavenly body in the Holy city during the Millennial reign but this will not be the case in the new earth. No one in the world to come will be under the curse of death.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed…” (Revelation 22:1-3)
C. Diet
All will be vegetarians. People might not even eat or drink anymore at all as everyone will be connected to God’s and therefore the source of life. “…will never thirst again” (John 4:14)
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes! “… the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it [the new earth], and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:3-5)
E. God’s Holy City
Although the New Jerusalem may or may not reside directly on the earth during the millennial reign it definitely does in the new earth and heavens.
“… ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Revelations 21:9-14) The new Jerusalem descends from heaven and resides on earth.
Although similar, one major difference between Eden and the New Jerusalem is the entrance. Eden was sealed off from Adam with a powerful angel blocking the path to the tree of life whereas the twelve gates of Heaven are always open (Rev. 21:24) (Eden and the New Jerusalem, ponderingscripture.wordpress.com)
F. Holy Temple
While the Millennial reign had a Holy Temple, the new Earth does not. “But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21). There will no longer be any sacrifices.
G. The Moon and Sun may not exist
The New Jerusalem city will get its light from God directly, however, for those outside the city, there may be a sun and moon, but their cycles will be fixed, and there will no longer be a need for a separate lunar calendar from a solar calendar, as the planetary lights will be in perfect symmetry.
Introduction to the free Midrashim
Most of the Midrashim in this text is a compilation of all the videos/articles from
www.randomgroovybiblefacts.com by Jeremy Chance Springfield
www.alephbeta.org/
www.ladderofjacob.com by Ben Burton
This “audiobook” is the condensed version of the over 1500 biblical exegesis articles and videos found on these sites. It is a deep study and a basic understanding of scriptures is required to understand the context.
Table of Contents
Esoteric Midrashim
Hidden Crowns 1 of 4
Hidden Crowns 2 of 4: All of Israel has Hidden Crowns
Hidden Crowns 3 of 4: Crown of Thorns in the Torah
Hidden Crowns 4 of 4: Hidden Crowns become Crowns of Light in the World to Come
The Hidden Light 1 of 2
The Hidden Light 2 of 2: Light of the Seven Days
The Pierced One
The Birds Nest
Calls to Sacrifice
The Value of a Godly Life
Of Such Is the Kingdom
Our Messiah 1 of 2: His Birth
Our Messiah 2 of 2: His Death
The Garden of Eden is Being Unlawfully Guarded
The Red Dragon 1 of 5: The Dwelling Place of the Satan Today
The Red Dragon 2 of 5: The Dragon Before Eden
The Red Dragon 3 of 5: The Great Deceiver
The Red Dragon 4 of 5: The Dragon and the Chaos Sea
The Red Dragon 5 of 5: The Destruction of the Leviathan
Torah Midrashim
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 1 of 4: Basics
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 2 of 4: Joseph’s Betrayal
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 3 of 4: Judah
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 4 of 4: The King David Story is a Rectification of the Joseph Story
The Tribe of Benjamin 1 of 2: Twelve Stones of Israel
The Tribe of Benjamin 2 of 2: We are all Benjamin
The Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Tribe of Benjamin Conclusion
The Scapegoat Ritual 1 of 2: Yom Kippur
The Scapegoat Ritual 2 of 2: The scapegoat Ritual Throughout the Bible
Goats & Coats 1 of 3
Goats & Coats 2 of 3: Joseph
Goats & Coats 3 of 3: Judah
The Domino Effects of Sin 1 of 3: Sin Leads to Enslavement
The Domino Effects of Sin 2 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
The Domino Effects of Sin 3 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
The Red Ribbon 1 of 2
The Red Ribbon 2 of 2: Conclusion to the Scapegoat Ritual and Goats and Coats
Index Of All the Worlds
0. Pre-Eden earth
1. Eden
2. Pre-Flood Earth
3. Post Flood World (Today)
4. The Millennial Reign
5. New Earth and Heavens
Esoteric Midrashim
Hidden Crowns 1 of 4
Torah was created to give man the Letter crowns (Schwartz, 1993: 45-47, 1 Peter 5:4). These crowns are hidden in the Laws of the Torah. When Jesus said, “Not even one iota, nor one stroke of a letter, shall pass away from the law…” (Matthew 5:18), he was referring to the Law itself, but also these crowns. Many say they hate the Law, but this is a deception of the satan to try to get us to hate what is our reward.
Innumerable Crowns in the Torah
Letter crowns only appear in scripture; they can never be placed on letters used in other Hebrew writings. Crowns or “Taggin” appear as an accumulation of three tiny Hebrew letters called Zayen that sit on top of 7 specific Hebrew letters whenever they occur (Sefer HaChinukh 423:4, translated by Sefaria, 2018). The middle Zayin on top of these 7 letters appears slightly taller, and so together, they look like a “crown” on top of the letter. Zayen also means ‘7’, so together, a crown forms 777. Similarly, the devil has his own reverse fractals of “crowns” that do not redeem us but instead condemn us. The mark of the beast is 666.
Since the command is to write every biblical Zayin with a crown of Zayins, these crowns of Zayins also get crowns. Tradition specifies that every middle Zayin will get these crowns. You end up with an innumerable fractal of crowns stemming from it (So Many Crowns, and Sefer Hamoshiakh by Jeremy Chance Springfield). The scribe writing the scrolls cannot possibly draw these in as they would be much too small, so they are referred to as “hidden.” The ruled lines in scripture are mandated by tradition to be created by a thorn. Every Hebrew letter has a “Qeren” which means a ‘horn.’ It is from these horns that each letter is hooked onto the thorn impressed ruled lines of a Torah scroll, just as Jesus hung from a crown of thorns.
The Crown of Issacs’s sheep
Just as each letter in the Torah hangs on a “thorn” by its horn or “Qeren,” Issacs’s sheep caught itself in the thorn bush for Isaac by its horns. The sheep’s horns can also be known as a crown or shofar because a sheep’s horns are its glory. The Shofar is a musical instrument made of a sheep’s horn. Scripture specifies that a shofar will announce Jesus’s second coming as King (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Each little letter in the biblical narrative has its own Shofar or “Qeren,” adding to the sound of the collective Trumpet blast of God’s Word. These horns also announce the coming of Christ through the prophetic nature of the Bible.
The sound of the Shofar also represents a “breaking apart.” (Joshua 6:20). It was the horn of Issacs’s sheep that ultimately led to its “breaking apart.” Chapter 53 of Isaiah prophesizes the breaking apart of Messiah. Christ suffered at the Trumpeting of his ascending, but He will be triumphant at the trumpeting of his descending when he returns as a warring King (The Shofar of Brokenness, by J. Springfield)
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Hidden Crowns 2 of 4: All of Israel has Hidden Crowns
Just as God has crowned the Torah, so has He crowned all of Israel. Scripture has fractals of crowns that Zayins stem off from, and this phenomenon can be seen in God’s Holy objects and places.
The Crowns of the Holy Temple
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There were three crowns on the sacred vessels in the Temple: The crown of the altar, the Ark [the Ten Commandments], and the table. The regal appearance they provided symbolized power and authority: The crown of the altar signified the crown of the priesthood; Aaron was deserving and took it, and the priesthood continues exclusively through his descendants. The crown of the table symbolized the abundance and blessing associated with the crown of kingship; David was deserving and took it for himself and his descendants after him. The crown of the Ark symbolized the crown of the Torah. Anyone who wishes to take it may come and take it and be crowned with the crown of Torah. (Ein Yaakov En Jacob translated by SH Glick, 1916). The crown of Torah was the middle Zayin, of which innumerable crowns stem off of for me and you to take.
Zayins in the Ark of the Covenant
Ark’s innumerable crowns are represented in scriptures in many ways. The Ark is the only vessel in the Holy Temple that God commanded to be made in the plural (exodus 25:10). Every Israelite contributed to the Ark's construction by donating to it. The Ark is the middle zayin of the three Holy vessels, so it too can be divided into threes. The Ark consists of 3 boxes; a golden box, a wooden box, and another golden box. The father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One in three, three in one, and the one in the middle who died for you and me. Jeremiah buried the Ark in a cave underneath the spot of Christ's crucifixion. When the rocks split (Matthew 27:51), his blood spilled on the hidden Ark. Although the Ark was the most Holy vessel of the Temple for mankind, the most Holy Vessel to the Lord was the Golden Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10), and this Vessel also had horns (Exodus 30:3).
Crowns of Calvary
The Mountain range known as Zion consists of three mountains, three “Zayins.” the Holy Temple resided on the middle mountain, Mt Moriah. Along with Christ’s, there were two other crosses, one on each side of Jesus’s. A cross is precisely what a Zayin looks like when it sits atop a Hebrew Letter. The three crosses on Calvary hill formed what looked like, from a Hebrew perspective, 777; a crown. Jesus’s cross is the one in which we receive eternal life, innumerable crowns, and redemption. Like all middle Zayins, his cross also had three additional Zayins on it, in the form of the three nails that pierced his flesh.
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Hidden Crowns 3 of 4: Crown of Thorns in the Torah
Eden; the Land of the Dispossessed Child
After Joseph’s father died, he was expected to be buried in Egypt. However, Joseph promised to bury him in Canaan, the “Promised land.” Doing this was dangerous as it may offend Pharaoh, and also because burying the Israeli patriarch in the Canaanite's land would suggest Israel’s claim on that land.
The Canaanites were the cousins of the sons of Jacob, the Canaanites being the sons of Ishmael, Esau, and Keturah. The King of Canaan was Esau, Jacob’s dispossessed brother, and the princes of Egypt were the sons of Ishmael, Abraham's dispossessed son. These dispossessed children came to attack the children that their fathers loved, allegedly more than them. The Israelites were the children of Shem, loved by Noah, and the children of Isaac, loved by Abraham. As the Midrash goes, they gathered their troops to attack Joseph and his funeral entourage but “When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad [that is “Goren Ha-Atad” or “place that was surrounded by thorns”] they said, ‘This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.’ Therefore, the place was named Abel-mizraim” … (Genesis 50:11-12). The name Abel-mizraim means "Mourning of Egypt,"; and there can be no doubt that it was intended to suggest a connection with Abel.
According to the rabbinical accounts, when the Canaanites saw Jacob's bier and Joseph's crown carried behind it in state, the thirty-six princes among them sent their crowns also to be carried in the funeral procession. Hence the name “Goren Ha-Atad” or “place that was surrounded by thorns”; for Abel-mizraim was encircled by a row of crowns as to remind one of a threshing floor, which is usually surrounded by a hedge of thorns (Soṭah, 13a; Tan., Wa-yeḥi, 18, ed. Buber, i. 222). The Holy Temple was originally the threshing floor of Araunah. The only thing that stopped the Canaanites from attacking was seeing the crown of Joseph hanging over the coffin of Jacob. Joseph had been more greatly betrayed and dispossessed by his own family than them, but instead of leaving his family to die, he saved them from starvation and welcomed them back with honor and love. Due to Joseph’s forgiveness, the children of Canaan and Ishmael also choose to lay down their crowns around their patriarch. (The True Significance of Jacob’s Burial, Rabbi David Fohrman and Rashi on Geneses 50:11-12). This is like the crown of thorns that Jesus wore at his crucifixion, and it is why everyone will throw their crowns at Jesus's feet (Revelation 4:10-11). Jesus, too was dispossessed, but the Promise land is the land of the dispossessed. After it was called Eden and before it was called Israel, it was called “Canaan,” the dispossessed and cursed grandchild of Noah. In Eden, there were four rivers, Noah had three sons and was to have a fourth to symbolize these rivers, but Noah cursed Canaan, who became a failed “fourth son” (Gen 9:26). Jesus is the fulfillment whose return brings back these rivers, which will shoot forth from the Temple.
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Hidden Crowns 4 of 4: Hidden Crowns Become Crowns of Light in the World to Come
Crowns of Light in Scripture
The 7 Hebrew letters given crowns in scripture represent the 7 lights of the Temple menorah. The Word is described as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105). God’s Word shines through the darkness of secular wisdom to illuminate the truth, like how God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. The Menorah is designed to resemble a burning tree, and so is the Word of God. God commanded the Menorah to be made to resemble an almond tree (Exodus 25:31-40). Almond trees, consequently, produce fruit whose oil is used to create light. The entirety of the Torah is constructed to represent parts of the Temple Menorah. Psalm 119 says, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” God commanded that the Temple menorah be built with 7 branches; Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew contains 7 words. It was to be made with eleven bulbs; Exodus 1:1 contains eleven words. It was to have nine flowers; Leviticus 1:1 contains nine words. The menorah’s height was seventeen handbreadths; Numbers 1:1 contains seventeen words. It was to have twenty-two bowls; Deuteronomy 1:1 contains twenty-two words. The sum of all these numbers is 66, the number of books in the Bible. (The Word and the Lamp by Jeremy Chance Springfield).
Crowns of Light in Us
God told Abraham that his descendants would shine as bright as the stars (Genesis 26:4, Daniel 12:3, Philippians 2:15, Philippians 2:14-16, Matthew 13:43, 2 Corinthians 4:6). The righteous in this world have a hidden light, but this light will be revealed in the world to come when they are granted their crowns. “We do it for a crown that is imperishable.” (1 Corinthians 9:25, 2 Timothy 2:5, 4:8, Revelation 2:10). “… those who turn many to righteousness, [will shine] like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3, Philippians 2:15, Philippians 2:14-16, Matthew 13:43, 2 Corinthians 4:6). The crowns in Heaven are not things we wear on our heads, but the more we receive, the brighter the outshining of the body will be. “…There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:41-42).
Power of the Hidden Crowns
Even while hidden, the crowns give power to those who wield them in this life. When we put on the Torah, we are wielding a mighty sword. The zayin's noun meaning is “sword,” and its verb meaning “to arm.” Jesus’s cross forms the shape of a sword in stone, but unlike Excalibur or the Vorpal Sword, His is for anyone who will reach out and wield it. The sword of righteousness is the only piece of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and the only letter of the Hebrew alphabet depicted as a weapon.
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The Hidden Light 1 of 2
Messiah the Olive Branch
"The gates of the Garden of Eden were opened for the dove, and it brought the leaf from there" (Rabbi Biryei, Bereishis Rabah 33:6) "The dove got its leaf from Mt Olivet” (Rabbi Levi). Mt Olivet is where Jesus stood when he wept over Jerusalem just as David did (2 Samuel 15:30). At the foot of Mt Olivet lies the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-36). Olive oil represents Messiah as it is the oil used to anoint kings and priests. Like Jesus, the olives must be crushed as it is said, “Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.” (Leviticus 24:2) The dove found rest on the olive branch, that is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the light of the world, and plucked him so that those who have faith in him may share in that light so that He may rest upon them as well.
The Spirit Rests on Our Messiah
“The Spirit of G-d was hovering over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2). “The Throne of Glory was suspended in the air, like a dove, which hovers over the nest…” (Rashi). However, the spirit of God did not find rest over the turbulent waters.
“AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED: this alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.” (Isaiah 11:2). In the merit of what will [this spirit] eventually come? [For the sake of that which] HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS, i.e., in the merit of repentance which is likened to water, as it is written, “Pour out thy heart like water.” (Lamentations 2:19). (Genesis Rabbah 2:4). “Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts…” (Isaiah 31:5)
“Jesus, when he was immersed, went up directly from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16-17). As the Messiah comes up out of the waters, it is describing the beginning of a New Creation just as Noah’s flood had. The dove descended and found its ultimate rest on the Messiah. (The Descent of the Dove by Ben Burton).
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The Hidden Light 2 of 2: Light of the Seven Days
Hannukah and the Three Patriarchs
The Festival of Hannukah is about a “hidden light,” or the discovery of a hidden vile of oil that supernatural created light. This “hidden light” was symbolic of “the hidden light of the 7 days” because the fire burnt miraculously for eight days, 7 days longer than it was supposed to; the time needed for a proper dedication of the new altar (2 Maccabees 10:6-8). The Temple Menorahs' purpose was solely to provide light in the Holy of Holies.
According to legend, the oil that mediated this miracle was actually oil made from an olive that the dove brought back to Noah. The oil was given to Noah’s firstborn, Shem. Shem, otherwise known as Malchitzedek, the [gentile] priest to the Most High Hashem. When Malchitzedek was 465 years old, he sealed this little jar of oil and gave it to Abraham. Abraham, in turn, handed the jar of oil over to Isaac, who passed it down to Jacob when he died at the age of 180. According to our sages, Jacob forgot some small jars on the other side of the Jabbok River and returned to retrieve them. One of these jars was the oil from Noah’s Ark. Jacob prophetically hid this oil in a crevice that would someday become a part of the Shissins of the Holy Temple (Otzar Midrashim L’Chanukah). Jacob is the first person recorded in scripture ever anointing anything with oil. By hiding the oil at the site, he laid the foundations for the miracle of Hanukkah that would occur 2000 years later when the Maccabees found the jar in the rock crevice that had become a part of the altars Shissin. This oil originated with the dove, the symbol of peace, and continues to shine until the Messiah comes (Rabbi David Hertzberg, Imrei Noam).
Why Abraham?
Some say Malchitzedek gave Abraham the jar of oil for Abraham had donated to the Temple of God a tenth of the goods and provisions he had gained by defeating the Mesopotamian kings and rescuing Lot, his Nephew, and subsequently the kingdom of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Bera, king of Sodom, came to Abraham and thanked him, requesting that he keep some of the recovered property, Abraham refused so that they could never say they made him rich since it was God who had done so. Abraham did, however, accept the gift of Malchitzedek.
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The Pierced One
God’s Goodness
Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory, but God told Moses that He would show him his Goodness instead (Exodus 33-34). God wanted to reveal to Moses what He would ultimately do for humanity. Anyone who sees God’s face directly will die. Therefore, God had Moses hide inside a “pierced rock.” This is the same cave that God would show Elijah the “four worlds” mankind must pass through. Scriptures refer to Jesus as the chief cornerstone. Moses needed the goodness of the Holy One, but he could only experience it from the safety of the rock that was pierced while the open hand of the Holy One covered that pierced place, just as Jesus’s hands were pierced. This was a representation of Jesus’s sacrifice for us (My Goodness www.randomgroovyBiblefacts.com).
Judaism has a concept called “tzimtsum” to explain God’s creation process. To allow for a “conceptual space” in which finite and seemingly independent realms can exist, God had to contract Himself to create a “pierced place.” God’s first act of creation was allowing himself to be pierced to accommodate life, just as he did on the cross (Kabbalah Demystified by Jeremy Chance Springfield). “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...” (Isaiah 49:15-16 and Isaiah 53:5, Zechariah 12:10). In a similar way that Jesus was pierced, there are also pierced places in scripture (Connecting the Dots, by Jeremy Chance Springfield and Midrash Chapter 21). Caves represent this “pierced place.” Many important events occurred in caves in scripture, including Jesus’s birth.
The Tetragrammaton
When God revealed Moses His Goodness, He also showed him how to pray under the Tallit (Exodus 34:5-6) and his sacred name, the Tetragrammaton (Exodus 33:19). The name’s letters are Yōd, Hē, Vav, Hē. Since each Hebrew letter also has a word meaning, these letters form the sentence, “Hand, behold, hook, behold.” Jesus is the Word of God, and through these letters all things were made, yet he allowed those very letters to be torn apart and strung up and woven into a Covenant with mankind. In the same way, Jesus was a carpenter and used wood and nails to create beautiful things. Still, so that we could be redeemed, he allowed those very tools to pierce him and hook him from a cross (Isaiah 49:15-16, Isaiah 53:5, Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34). And yet the same type of utensil mandated to write a Torah scroll, a hollowed-out reed, was the utensil used to mock and beat Jesus in the moments before his crucifixion (Matthew 27:29-30). (Sefer Hamoshiakh www.randomgroovyBiblefacts.com).
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The Birds Nest
The greatest commandment that God gives us relating to how mankind interacts with mankind is “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). This commandment is the 4th of the Ten Commandments and is considered “the greatest” among the last six Commandments. The first three Commandments supersede all the others, for they are how we interact with God. Only two Commandments out of the 613 outlined in the Bible have the promise of a length of days added to their fulfillment. The greatest commandment leads to a length of days, but also, so does the least. It is agreed upon in Talmud Yerushalmi Kiddushin 20:2 that the least commandment is “If you come across a bird’s nest... You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.” (Deuteronomy 22:6-7).
Something as insignificant as “you shall let the mother bird go” can cause you to live a longer and blessed life. In truth, letting the mother bird go also hastens the coming of the King Messiah and the Millennial Reign. It is written: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” (Isaiah 6:8). The one that was sent was, symbolically, the mother bird. The mother bird is the Holy Spirit, and the baby birds symbolize Jesus at his death on the cross (The Greatest and The Least, by Jeremy Chance Springfield).
Tree of Souls
“The Baal Shem Tov was once praying with his Hasidim. That day, he prayed with great concentration, not only word by word but also letter by letter, so that the others finished long before he did. At first, they waited for him, but before long, they lost patience, and one by one, they left.” Later the Baal Shem Tov came to them and said: While I was praying, I ascended the ladder of your prayers all the way into paradise. As I ascended, I heard a song of indescribable beauty. At last, I reached the palace of the Messiah, in the highest heavens, known as the Bird’s Nest. The Messiah was standing by his window peering out at a tree of great beauty …I followed his gaze and saw that his eyes were fixed on a golden dove, whose nest was in the top branches of that tree. That is when I realized that the song pervading all of paradise was coming from that golden dove. And I understood that the Messiah could not bear to be without that dove and its song for as much as a moment. Then it occurred to me that if I could capture the dove and bring it back to this world, the Messiah would be sure to follow. So, I ascended higher until I was within arm’s reach of the golden dove. But just as I reached for it, the ladder of prayers collapsed.” (Tree of Souls, The Ladder of Prayers, Howard Schwartz, Oxford University Press, pg. 490 and Zohar 2:8a-b, Soncino Press Edition)
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Calls to Sacrifice
Even When Jesus Was Betrayed, He Was Still Honored
(Peter’s Denial & the Cock’s Crow, by Jeremy Chance Springfield)
When Peter denied Jesus three times as Jesus had prophesied, he was standing outside the High priest's Palace, which was on the Western side of the Temple. No roosters were allowed here (Baba Kama 7.7). Therefore, Peter thought he was safe from Jesus’s prophesy of betraying him before the rooster crows. However, Peter did not understand Jesus’s play on words. The term “cockcrow” meant a particular time of the morning when priests would be wakened to begin their sacrificial duties (Mishnah Yoma 1:8). The Aramaic term for “rooster” is also the same term for the man who would blow a trumpet to wake the priests. (Sukkah 5.4). The cockcrow, or better stated, the trumpet blast that Jesus was referring to, was a call to sacrifice. Jesus affirmed that no man but himself could have a part in the grim process of salvation.
Rainbow Colored Crows
In Hebrew, the term for crow is “evening” or “darkness.” The word crow can also mean calling or announcing something. Rainbow-colored crows can also be rainbow-colored cock-crows, rainbow-colored calls to sacrifice, rainbow-colored nights. The dark can be scary, but the darkness is made beautiful within the Lord. The light of God is an intermingling of both light and dark, bringing out the perfection of each. “God intermingles all things for good for those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28, Isaiah 45:7). The darkness is not dark to the Lord but shines like the day (Psalm 139:12).
To be “like God” is to experience this darkness, however, unlike God, mankind cannot handle or comprehend it (Isaiah 55:8). The first thing Adam felt after he sinned was shame for, he saw that he was naked… like a prince stripped by his enemies (Ezekiel 16:36-37). The antidote to having sinned is to live life with eyes on the sacrifice of the Lord, within whom all things are made beautiful once again.
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The Value of a Godly life
What made Queen Esther worthy of ruling over 127 provinces. God saw it fitting for Esther, the daughter of Sarah, who lived for 127 years, to come and rule over 127 provinces. (Gen 23:1) Since every day of Sarah’s 127 years was used to serve God to the fullest, never deviating even for a moment, Queen Esther was permitted to rule over all 127 provinces. From the fact that Sarah’s life of 127 years is equated to Esther’s monarchy over 127 provinces, we see that each year is worth a province. If each year is worth a province, then every month is worth a country, every week is worth a city; every day is worth a town; every hour is worth a street; every minute is worth a house, and every second is worth a room. This is a metaphor for the rewards a person will receive for their righteousness in the world to come. (Rabbi Y. Jacobson)
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Of Such Is the Kingdom
“Rabbi Meir said: When the Jews stood before Sinai to receive the Torah, God said to them: “I swear, I will not give you the Torah unless you provide worthy guarantors who will assure that you will observe its Laws.” The Jews responded, “Master of the world, our forefathers will be our guarantors!” “Your guarantors themselves require guarantors!” was God’s reply. “Master of the world,” the Jews exclaimed, “our prophets will guarantee our observance of the Torah.” “I have grievances against them, too. ‘The shepherds have rebelled against Me’ (Jeremiah 2:8),” God replied. “Bring proper guarantors, and only then will I give you the Torah.” As a last resort, the Jews declared, “our children will serve as our guarantors!” “They truly are worthy guarantors,” God replied. “Because of them, I will give the Torah” (Midrash Rabbah, Song of Songs 1:4). Benjamin was used as a guarantor by his brother Joseph, as Joseph wanted to ensure that he would be cared for. Jesus suffered on behalf of the world as a guarantee for mankind. (Vayigash: The Guarantor by Ben Burton ladderofjacob.com)
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Our Messiah 1 of 2: His birth
Jesus was not birthed in a dirty manger stall but in a sacred, specially attended manger in a cave at Migal Eder; the place of the “watchtower of the flock” spoken about in Micah 4:8. Migal Eder is a field between Jerusalem and Bethlehem where all the lambs used as sacrifices were born and raised (Mishnah, Shekalim, 7:4). Only Holy shepherds learned in the scriptures could care for these lambs and sheep. All birthing stables were ritually cleansed. The sacrificial animals were never to be worked and remained without blemish. These sheep did not pasture on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem but on flowing grassy fields. These lambs were treated exceptionally well, for they represented redemption.
For Jacob, though, this was the place of his mourning for his beloved Rachel, for it was in Migal Eder that she died giving birth to Benjamin. Moments before she died, Jacob changed Benjamin’s name so that it would contain in it the symbols of his undying love for her. Ten generations later, Boaz redeemed the land of Migal Eder for Naomi and passed the land on to his son Jesse, David’s father. David was born in Migal Eder, Bethlehem. One day, David would become King of Israel, but as a young man, David was a humble Sheppard to his father’s sheep. He kept watch over them in the hills and valleys of “Migal Eder.” After David’s future son, Solomon, built the Temple, these very sheep would be used in Temple worship, but David would not have been able to foresee this as he stayed up through the long hours of the night, a time when the lambs were the most vulnerable. After becoming king, David recorded some of the things he thought about as a young Sheppard in his book of Psalms. “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” (Psalm 63:6) “his delight was in the law of the LORD; and in his law, he meditated day and night” (Psalm 1:2).
Twenty-eight generations later, Jesus was born in this place that King David once attended and where Benjamin was born. It was to the Shepherds that attended the sheep of Migal Eder that the angel of the Lord appeared to announce that a savior had been born (Luke 2:8-20). The Sheppard’s hurried off to see him and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who would someday become the Passover Lamb of God. (Inspired by A Tabernacles Nativity by Jeremy Chance Springfield and Lamb of God by Mize Claiborne, Abrams, C. P. Where was the birthplace of the Lord Jesus? http://www.bibletruth.org/BirthPlaceofJesus.htm)
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Our Messiah 2 of 2: His death
As the High Priest
Jesus was anointed High Priest, went through the ritual rights of a sacrifice, and was ordained as the Holy Temple of God. Of the High Priest, it is said,
“Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil…the sin offering…and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.’” (Leviticus 8:1-4). Jesus was presented as the priest at the Temple’s entrance when the entire assembly was gathered there on Palm Sunday. Mary then anointed him with perfumed oil in Bethany. “Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece…” (Exodus 29:5-6). Jesus was dressed in a fancy robe when he was mocked by Herod and his soldiers (Luke 23:11). As well as in Matt. 27:28-31 and Mark 15:17-20.
As the Sacrifice
“Bring the bull [for the sacrifice] to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head [The future priests]” (Exodus 29:10). Annas and Caiaphas (the priests) laid hands on Jesus’s head when they struck and hit him. (John 18:13, 22).
“Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it... He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it…” (Leviticus 16:18; sin offering for the people). Seven times was Jesus’s bloodshed and on every side of the altar according to the surrounding areas. Sanhedrin to the south, where the priests beat him. Gethsemane to the east where he sweat blood. At the whipping post where he was scourged in the north. And when he was beaten at Annas’ a house to the west.
“Take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer. Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before Yahweh as a wave offering.” (Exodus 29:22-24). Jesus represents the unleavened bread. He was twice waved before Yahweh in the earthquake at his death and the earthquake at his resurrection. He was resurrected and offered before the Father as the wave sheaf offering exactly when the High Priest was offering the sheaf of barley before the Lord. Before the fall of the First Temple, Jeremiah took the Ark of the Covenant and hid it in a cave. They say that this cave was underneath the cross where Jesus was crucified. When the earthquake occurred at Christ's death, it opened the ground enough for his blood to fall and splash against the Ark (Leviticus 16: 15).
“And walk-in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2). When Jesus was resurrected from the dead inside the tomb, his entire body was consumed as a burnt offering (2 Corinthians 2:14, Genesis 8:21).
“And burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, an offering to the Lord.” (Exodus 29:18). Jesus’ whole body was burned on the 8th day at the resurrection, just as Aaron’s sons on the 8th day (Leviticus 9:1-7).
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The Garden of Eden is Being Unlawfully Guarded
God barred mankind from Eden by placing a Cherubim at its gate (Genesis 3:24). The holy of holies inside the Tabernacle was the first time since the Garden of Eden that Heaven and earth could meet and God could dwell with His people. The Tabernacle was also the next time after the Garden of Eden that Cherubim are mentioned (Exodus 36:8). This is because the Garden of Eden and the Holy Temple are intrinsically linked. “And he knew that the Garden of Eden is the holy of holies, and the dwelling of the Lord.” (Jubilees 8, Exodus 36:8). The image of the cherubim on the veil covering the holy of holies represented that mankind was still closed off from the presence of God. It has been said that Mary was one of the young women called to help weave this veil (Infancy Gospel of James Part 1). When Jesus died, he tore the curtain from top to bottom with its images of cherubim as verification that the entrance to the Garden of Eden was no longer guarded by Cherubim (Mathew 27). This was no small feat as it was said by Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel, the High-priest’s substitute, that “The thickness of the veil [of the Temple] was a hand-breadth thick”. However, another mighty Cherubim/Seraphim has taken the place of the Cherubim that once guarded the gate. As a prior guardian of God, the satan is unmatched in this ability. “You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.” (Ezekiel 28:14). Satan in his pre-fallen state was supposed to function in an intercessory nature like a Levitical high priest. Through feigned speeches of worldly love and pleasure disguised as spiritualty the devil is keeping many from the truth. The devil wears many faces, just like a Cherubim. When speaking through Judas Iscariot and as the snake in the garden the devil used words such as “peace” (Matthew 26:49), “You will not surly die” (Genesis 3:4-5), “rabbi, rabbi” and other words of honor and flattery (Matthew 16:22, Mark 14:45), the devil sweet talks us, but condemns us to God behind our backs.
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The Red Dragon 1 of 5: The Dwelling Place of the Satan Today
Dragons Around God’s Throne
The Red Dragon is the Leviathan, sometimes referred to as a “whale,” a Seraphim, and the snake that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. He is the satan and the devil, “the accuser” (Job 40:15–41:26, Revelation 12:3). He was once one of the 6 Seraphim that Isaiah saw over God’s throne. Seraphim means “fiery serpent.” Seraphim are dragons, although not fallen ones like the satan. The satan was the strongest of these Seraphim. When God gave Job a virtual tour of the “sea” and showed him the Leviathan, God was showing Job his and our accuser and his ultimate destruction. “In that day [the Day of the Lord] the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” (Isaiah 27:1)
The Dragon in the Aether
The satan can swim through the firmament and enter the 2nd Heaven “…God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament...” (Genesis 1:7 KJV). This “firmament” above is frozen water, but God describes the Leviathan as being able to swim through this “firmament” in the book of Job “He (the satan) makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired... He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.” (Job 41:31–34, Job 1:7). As a fiery spiritual creature, the Leviathan can melt through the firmament. Water cannot be made like a “pot of ointment” but the firmament can. The firmament above is just like another “sea” and sometimes referred to as the “crystal sea” (Revelation 4:6). A very hot asteroid could also theoretically melt through this frozen sea.
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The Red Dragon 2 of 5: The Dragon Before Eden
Genesis Gap Theory
It is said that before Adam and Eve were given Eden, it and also the Ephod (High Priest status) belonged to the Red Dragon (Ezekiel 28:13). Scripture says that the earth was never made to be void (Isaiah 45:18), yet the earth and heavens are described as void in Genesis. This means that the earth was teeming with life before the biblical account in Genesis. Angels existed before humans (Job 38:4, 7). Scripture describes the satan as a “king” in Eden, ruling before Adam and Eve. “You were the signet of perfection…You were in Eden, the garden of God… “You were an anointed guardian cherub…till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned...Your heart was proud because of your beauty…” (Ezekiel 28:11–19).
When the satan sinned, he corrupted nature and those he was given dominium over just as Adam and Eve did. However, life became corrupted on a much larger scale, creating horrifically vicious dinosaur beasts, as seen in the fossil records. Therefore, God destroyed the dragon’s world to stop the cycle of pain and misery that the insanity of sin created. The chaotic sea was the result. It is interesting to note that before any other living thing was created, the great sea monsters were created first, right after the sun and moon, which were meant to act as “rulers.” God may have done this because, in the previous world, the Leviathan was indeed the ruler, although he sinned and lost it (Genesis 1:21). The next creature to be created are the birds, which symbolize the angels, for they were created before man as lesser rulers.
According to Oxford Old Testament professor John Day, Leviathan and his battle with God are associated with a re-creation of the earth, with Genesis describing the calming of the chaos caused by the dragon [due to his destruction of the earth]. The story of creation in Genesis 1 is the demythologized version of the creation story given in bits and pieces in other parts of the Old Testament involving the Leviathan, such as the Psalms. “You divided the sea by your might… crushed the heads of Leviathan…you dried up ever-flowing streams. You have established the heavenly lights and the sun… fixed all the boundaries of the earth…” (Psalms 74:13-23).
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The Red Dragon 3 of 5: The Great Deceiver
The Dragon on Trial
Although the Dragon corrupted mankind and destroyed prior earth, God did not destroy the Red Dragon, for, unlike the animals, the dragon has a sovereign will, just as mankind does. God allotted him and his followers a fair trial. The Dragon is using this trial to his benefit. The dragon convinces mankind to rebel against God to accuse mankind to God so that God will allow him to continue to torment us. (Job 1:6-8; 41:34, Zechariah 3:1-7, Ephesians 6:11-16, Revelation 12:10). The dragon is comforted by his ability to deceive man into worshiping him and falling into sin. “…you are like a dragon in the seas…When Pharaoh [who is being compared to the dragon] sees them [all who go down to the pit], he will be comforted for all his multitude” (Ezekiel 32:2-32). Since most of society now worships the satan, creating television shows that show sympathy to the devil etc. God has allowed the dragon to rule the earth again.
Mankind; Made in the Image of God or the Beast?
God asked Adam if he could find an equal amongst the beasts knowing that the answer would be no so, he gave him women. (Genesis 2:18-20). In the same way, Jesus was not immediately revealed to the world. We must go through a lack to appreciate what we have. Adam needed to understand that he was not just a sophisticated animal but fundamentally different from them. The snake, however, tried to convince Eve otherwise. The leviathan was craftier than the other creatures, and he wooed Eve. The snake was already aware of his nakedness (Genesis 3:1 in Hebrew, the word is naked, not crafty), so he was an already fallen creature, the first “Naked King.” He convinced mankind to lower themselves and embrace the image of a beast just as he will again (Daniel 7, Revelations 13:12).
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The Red Dragon 4 of 5: The Dragon and the Chaotic Sea
The satan and those who follow him believe if they can’t have it, no one should. The dragon is actively trying to turn us and all of reality into primordial soup. Babylon and Tyre are called the “wilderness of the sea,” for in scripture, false religions, man’s corrupted civilizations, and the antichrist are said to rise out of the sea. In Israel the chaotic sea is in the west, but the east is where the sun rises, like a beacon of hope.
In Genesis, God took the darkness and disorder that the satan caused and brought life out of the nothingness. In the biblical story, the vocabulary of genesis one is used whenever the forces of evil are wreaking havoc in God’s world. The forces of evil try to uncreate the world back into a state of “darkness” and “chaos.” The narrative about the defeat of the pharaoh in the waters is full of this vocabulary. God split the seas just as he had separated the waters in creation. The pillars of fire symbolized the separation of light and dark, and God created a dry space for life to flourish, that is, a way for the Israelis to escape Pharaoh. God wanted to preserve life, but Pharaoh meant to destroy it despite God’s warnings. The Egyptian armies died the same way they killed all the innocent Jewish babies. When a man denies the Father, he rejects the brotherhood of mankind. The satan figure is anti-creation.
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The Red Dragon 5 of 5: The Destruction of the Leviathan
God has given the satan many chances. Each time he is punished, he feigns repentance, like the vain apologies of some men. “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook… Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?” (Job 41:1-4) God was showing Job his accuser in these passages and the eventual destruction of the said accuser. The devil repents to God, but he keeps violating the covenant God makes with him, just as God will destroy those who willfully continue to sin after repenting.
The Leviathan is closely related to the chaotic sea, one of the scriptures metaphors for evil. If money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), then we too can see the satan’s control over such things through terminology. “Currency” is “current sea,” “Banks” is something that holds money as well as water, “evil spirits” as in “spirit” also being a liquid.
The second heaven is where the satan currently resides. It is not a nice place to be. The Leviathan is closely related to the chaotic sea, one of the scriptures metaphors for evil. Money is also described as a source of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). We can see the satan’s control over money and the chaotic sea through terminology. “Currency” is “current sea,” “Banks” is something that holds money as well as water, “evil spirits” as in “spirit” also being a liquid.
This is where the Metaverse picks back up. Black screen technology is an extension of the chaotic waters. According to secular society, we are at sea and lost at sea, but there are “portholes” where we can receive temporary solace, and every computer device has one. “Device” like “devil’s vice.” English is the language of the new world order.
In Revelations 12:15, the primordial serpent casts water out of its mouth to destroy Israel, but the Earth helps her. Although the sea is chaotic and terrible, scripture says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall” (Matthew 7:24-27)
While God hovered over the waters of a ruined earth to still them, the satan was below, singing to himself… “I am, and there is no one besides me.” (Isaiah 47:10) Deep below, above, and in-between swims the leviathan snake. Through the Aether, the cosmos, the waters, and technology, the Leviathan swims to us through waters that are of shadows and waves of primordial dreams. From the darkness, over the face of the deep, the devil sings a song to lure us in so he can consume us until there is nothing left but him and his dark, void, bottomless lagoon. “…the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you... How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! … you have destroyed your land; you have slain your people.” (Isaiah 14:3-21)
Just as the satan caused the flood that destroyed the world, he tries to destroy God’s people with a flood. “The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman [Israel or the church], to sweep her away with a flood…. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.” (Revelations 12). When the Lord took on the cross for us, He entered the destructive sea, like Jonah. The Lord will again take on the chaotic sea when He returns for the Millennial reign. “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us… he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim…” (Isaiah 25:9-11) “In that day …he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” (Isaiah 27:1)
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Torah Midrashim
The Twelve Tribes of Israel 1 of 4: Basics
“Judaism” & the Twelve Sons of Jacob
Judah is where we get the name “Judaism.” Judah means “praise.” He is one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah. Each of the twelve sons represents one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Rachel, however, was the most favored. Each time Leah bore a son, she did so to receive praise from Jacob. “And Leah conceived and bore…Reuben, for she said, ‘Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me” (Genesis 29:31-34). Eventually, Leah stopped searching for the praise of man but instead praised the Lord at the birth of her sixth child. “And she conceived again and bore a son and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore, she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing” (Genesis 29:35).
Rachel’s two sons were Joseph and Benjamin. Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah like he tricked his father into thinking he was Esau. God gave Leah the kingship (Judah) and the priesthood (Levi). Due to Jacobs’s favoritism, the Lord implemented laws to protect the inheritance of the firstborn son and their mother’s (Deuteronomy 21:16-17, Exodus 21:10). The Jewish people are God’s firstborn, so they have the “double portion” and the priesthood. Laws in the Bible are direct consequences of mankind’s sins to each other (How Can the Laws of Mishpatim Help Correct Past Mistakes? AlephBeta.com). The scriptures have since abolished polygamy (Matthew 19:4-5).
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel
Because of Solomon’s sins, Israel split in two in 929 BC (1 Kings 11:11). The northern country was called Israel (whose royal house was in Ephraim), and the Southern country was Judah (whose royal house was in Judah). The land of Israel did not contain the Holy Temple. God quickly removed Israel in 722 BC by the hands of Samaria due to corruption (1 Kings 14:16). All ten tribes of Israel were lost to history. Although called Israel, the land of Israel today is the land of Judah, consisting of mainly the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The ten lost tribes of Israel will return at the start of the Millennial reign when Jesus returns and rescues Judah from the hands of Gog and Magog. Those who will make up the ten lost tribes of Israel will be righteous gentiles who have adopted God’s Word as their own. (Genesis 48:19, Romans 11:25, Amos 9:8-9).
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel 2 of 4: Joseph’s betrayal
Those that say “We Don’t Need to be Saved”
All Jacobs sons, besides Benjamin, disliked Joseph because he was must favored, having been born from Rachel. This irritation was made worse when Joseph dreamed of them “bowing” to him. The 13 heavenly bodies in Joseph’s meant 13 years. In exactly 13 years, Joseph saved his brothers from starvation as empathized by his next dream of the shafts of wheat bowing to him. Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him for having a dream about saving their lives.
Korah’s Revolt
Korah also plotted to kill Aaron even though Aaron essentially saved Korah’s life by performing his duties correctly. 210 years after Joseph’s betrayal, Korah revolted against Moses in the wilderness. Korah proclaimed, “all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (Numbers 16:3). According to Moses, Korah claimed this because he secretly sought the priesthood, something only the sons of Aaron possessed. Aaron and his sons’ job was to cover the Holy articles of the Temple because it was the sons of Korah’s job to carry them, and if Korah’s family were to touch uncovered relics, they would die (Numbers 4). In response to Korah’s desire to “be Holy,” God had the Earth swallow him and his followers to cover them, for as explained, this is what happens to Holy things; they become covered.
Other Repeating Patterns of the Joseph Story in Scriptures
The murder of Gedaliah in the 2nd book of kings followed the same pattern as Joseph’s betrayal in that 10 members of his family murdered a chosen heir and a subsequent exile ensued (Gedaliah by Rivkey Stern Alephbeta.com). Gedaliah’s brother, who began the revolt, was ironically named “Ishmael.” Gedaliah told the truth just as Joseph and Jeremiah did, but they killed him for it (Jeremiah 40:7-9, 41). Gedaliah was the Jew’s only hope to live freely in Israel again, but his death led to more being enslaved in Babylon. Christ too, was betrayed by his brothers. Similar to Gedaliah, if Christ was accepted after his resurrection, the kingdom of God would already be here, and we wouldn’t be in exile.
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel 3 of 4: Judah
Reconciliation
Judah suggested selling Joseph into slavery to the Ishmaelites as an alternative to killing him (Genesis 37:26). Judah suggested Ishmaelites because Ishmael was the “less favored” son of their great grandfather Abraham. Like him, they all also felt “less favored” than their brother Joseph. Before Reuben had a chance to rescue him and bring him back to their father, Joseph was sold to Midianite traders. The brothers lied to their father, claiming that a wild animal had killed Joseph.
A decade later, allegedly due to his actions, Benjamin was taken into custody and made into a slave. The destruction of the sons of Rachel seemed to be everything the sons of Leah had once wanted. However, Judah now understood the error of his ways. Judah admitted to Pharaoh’s court that Benjamin was his father’s favorite and that Benjamin’s loss would kill Jacob, unlike the loss of himself. Judah offered himself as a slave, willingly forsaking all his household and riches to redeem his father’s beloved son, saying that “Jacob's soul is bound to Benjamin's” (Genesis 44:30).
As Joseph listened to Judas’s plea for Benjamin, he heard a deeply felt apology for what Judah had done to him. Judah did not realize he was speaking to Joseph, the brother he had betrayed 13 years before, just as we do not truly realize that what we do for one person we do for God. “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40).
Judah knew that to redeem himself, he had to extend himself for the redemption of Benjamin and admit that “I am my brother’s keeper”. Judah does this to reconcile with his father, just as we must reconcile with our father in Heaven. (Midrash by, “The Guiding Voice of Our Moral Conscience” by Rabbi David Fohrman on www.alephbeta.org).
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel 4 of 4: The King David Story is a Rectification of the Joseph Story
Josephs and the Spies’ “Bad Reports” Rectified by David
Joseph was sent out by his father, Jacob to report on his brothers. Joseph would sometimes give bad reports of them (Genesis 37:2). The next time any of the sons of Jacob are sent out to give an account is two hundred and ten years later. The heads of the tribes, besides Joshua of Ephraim and Caleb of Judah, give a bad report of the land of Israel. Because of their bad report, they were made to live in the wilderness for another forty years, just as Joseph’s bad report led him into a pit. Caleb was a type of David; both were of the tribe of Judah and were ultimately loyal to their God and nation. The rest of the spies said that the land would “devour them” even though this was a lie (Numbers 13:32); Joseph’s brothers had also lied about him being “devoured.”
Unlike Joseph and those sent to spy out the land of Canaan, David did not give a bad report. Four hundred years after the spies’ sin, David’s father sent him out to get an account of his brothers. His brothers then put Davids’s life at risk by setting him up against Goliath, like Joepsh’s put his life at risk. Still, David redeemed his tribal brother “Benjamin,” just as Joseph rescued his brothers. King David was the scion of the tribe of Judah, just as King Saul was the scion of the tribe of Benjamin, and like the real Benjamin before him, Saul needed to be rescued. David paid the debt for Saul by defeating Goliath for him just as Judah pledged himself for Benjamin. These acts of redemption are why the Holy Temple sits on the border of Judah and Benjamin.
King David & Jonathan
David of Judah and Jonathan of Benjamin met because David defeated Goliath. In all regards, Jonathan should have been wary of David, for they competed for the throne, similar to how Judah had contested Joseph for patriarchy. However, Jonathan showed no covertness but only appreciation to David for defeating his enemy. “After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.” This is the exact Hebrew phrasing as what Judah had said of his father’s love for Benjamin (Genesis 44:30). Jonathan then gave David his coat in a symbolic act of friendship and love for their ancestors had once done the opposite and stolen a rainbow coat from the other and smeared it in goat’s blood.
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The Tribe of Benjamin 1 of 2: Twelve Stones of Israel
All of the 12 sons of Jacob are represented by stones, which represent the 12 tribes of Israel. “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions [to be worn by the High Priest] … There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel...” (Exodus 28 15-21). “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood... (1 Peter 2:9). We are all to act like Priests of God.
What the Stones Symbolize & Why the New Jerusalem is Constructed Out of Them
The last stone in the breastplate of the High Priest/righteousness is Jasper. Jasper represents the Benjamins tribe. Despite its reddish coloring, Benjamin’s stone is supposed to contain all the colors of the other stones and is therefore described as more of a rainbow color (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:7). The flag of Benjamin is rainbow (https://templeinstitute.org/priestly-garments-2/). We will be given a white stone by Jesus, a color that truly contains all the colors (Revelation 2:17).
The New Jerusalem city is made predominantly of this stone as its walls, and the 1st foundation is jasper. Benjamin wasn’t given this honor for anything he necessarily did but for the love that was created around him. The entire new Jerusalem is essentially a giant breastplate of righteousness; the breastplate is a square while the city is a cube (Revelation 21:16-21). The breastplate is worn to enter the holy of holies which is “20 cubits” on every side (1 Kings 6:20).
God’s throne is made up of an intermingling of Judah’s, Benjamins, and Reubens’s stones. “And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” (Revelation 4:3) Judah’s stone is represented as emerald, Reubens as Ruby. God’s throne contains the first (that is Reuben, who was the oldest) and the last, that is Benjamin, and these are all united by Judah, that is, Jesus Christ in the form of a rainbow. (Another example of such a stone; Joshua 15:6; 18:17). Reuben was the only brother that said in his heart that he would not allow Joseph to be killed but would return him to his father (Genesis 37:22). In this world, God is often silent like Reuben. However, God has plans to redeem us, but we must all first be “thrown in the pit,” that is, die before we can be redeemed and not face a “second death.” God will take us out of the pit.
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The Tribe of Benjamin 2 of 2: We are all Benjamin
Judah’s Relationship with Benjamin is a Metaphor for Our Relationship with Jesus
1) We are redeemed as Benjamin was by Judah, who accepted his punishment onto himself in exchange for his release. 2) We had a Goliath-like enemy we could not defeat “Sin” that Jesus defeated by not committing. 3) We were an enemy of God and crippled by sin, but we are healed and taken into the Kingdom by the Lord just as David accepted Mephibosheth, who had also been crippled by a “fall”. 4) Like Jesus, Joseph was thrown into a pit but then became ruler over all second to Pharaoh or, in Jesus’s case, next to God the father. 5) Joseph was thrown into a pit for it to lead him to Egypt, “…to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20). Jesus paid the price of sin so that many people could be saved.
Future Implications
Of all his children, Jacob named only Benjamin. Rachel originally named him Ben-Oni, meaning “Son of My Emptiness,” for she was dying due to his birth. Before she died, Jacob grabbed Rachels's hands and said that he was renaming Benjamin “son of my right hand” and wrote his name in such a way that within it would be two Hebrew letters “yods” for “yod” in Hebrew also means hands. One hand for Rachel and the other for his own, grasping the other in a symbolic gesture of love. In times of sorrow, the Torah writes Benjamin’s name with only one yod and in times of happiness with two. Before Jacobs's death, when he prophesied of the end of the world, Benjamin’s name is written with two yods. When Jacob died, he was reunited with Rachel, as will mankind be reunited with their creator in the New Jerusalem. (Two Hands for Benjamin and Looking at Leah by Jeremy Chance Springfield)
This dual aspect of Benjamin speaks of the dual aspect and paradox of the Messiah. He suffers greatly to atone for Israel, and yet he is to be exalted, even to the right hand of God. Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David in one person. As the Messiah is the “soul” of Israel, whatever happens to the Messiah will happen to Israel (Rashi on Genesis 35, Vol 1, Mesorah Publishers, pg. 395). If Rachel’s naming of Ben-Oni predicted the coming exile in Egypt, then Jacob’s naming of Benjamin, meaning “the Son of the Right Hand,” looked forward to the coming redemption as it is said, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalm 110:1). Tradition says that as Jacob died, his 12 children who would make up the 12 tribes of Israel stood around him in the same formation that the Israelite tribes traveled around the Tabernacle during their 40 years in the desert. This formation was reminiscent of a cross.
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel and The Tribe of Benjamin Conclusion
The Torah is The Foundation of The World
Just as the New Jerusalem will be built out of stones representing the Torah’s familiar relationships, David and the sons of Jacob became the Archetypes of the Temple, just as Jesus is the Archetype of the Temple and the Sabbath. The only psalm David wrote for the dedication of the Temple is psalm 30, and it is filled with parallels between his and the Joseph story (Joseph story alpha beta.com). David says “hear me” in his psalm, and he can ask this of God because Joseph’s brothers didn’t listen to his pain, but David listened to the pleas of King Saul and rescued him. David asks for the same mercy be done to him because “what profit is there in my death?” just as Judah said “what profit do we get in killing our brother?” Judah was described as a lion just as David, but when talking to Saul he says "I killed the lion" meaning he has control over the lion inside of him just as Judah did. Although powerful people, neither Judah nor David would use their power to harm their own family, even when they could gain the world by doing so.
The Anti-Christ Empire Destroyed by a Stone Just Like Goliath
It was a symbolic stone that represented Judah and Benjamin that David used to destroy Goliath since it was because of that stone that David of Judah met and made a covenant with Jonathan of Benjamin. This symbolic stone is exactly the stone that will someday slay another giant; the antichrist empire foretold by Daniel. “As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay [future Babylon of the book of Revelation], and broke them in pieces” (Daniel 2:34, 2:45). This symbolic stone is Jesus Christ. This stone can also be represented by the two tablets of the testimony, two stones, like Judah’s and Benjamin's testimony coming together in their ancestors Jonathan and David, written with the finger of God, that holds the hope of humankind (Exod. 31:18). These things were all prophesized through the merit of Jacob, concerning whom it is written, “From thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel” (Gen. 49:24).
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The Scapegoat Ritual 1 of 2: Yom Kippur
On Yom Kippur, before Jesus Christ's ultimate sacrifice, to atone for sins, people had to take two goats, sacrifice one and set the other free into the barren land, separated from God’s people. The scapegoat ritual was somewhat similar to the two birds in the sacrifice of the leper. We are like one of those birds, one set free but marked by the blood of Jesus. (Leviticus 14:4) The goat sacrificed on the altar represented Jesus, and the one set free into the wilderness to live in the world ‘without God’ represented the Red Dragon or Azazel. The goat “for Azazel” was marked by a red ribbon tied to its horns. The goat designated to God had the red ribbon tied around its neck. The scapegoat does not represent sin but is made a temporary carrier of the sin, just as Jesus Christ was (Hebrews 9:11-12). The satan can play no part in the sacrificial rituals of the Temple, and every animal used in the rituals must be clean and blemish-free, something that the satan is not.
A piece of the red ribbon is cut off before the goat for Azazel is set free into the wilderness. In theory, this goat set free in the wild would eventually die of predation away from the assembly of God’s people, a metaphor as to why we shouldn’t choose the world (sin) over God. To speed up the process and since if it returned, it would be deemed a bad omen, the people of Israel adopted the practice of taking the goat to a cliff and throwing it off.
After all the Yom Kippur rituals were complete, the scarlet ribbon would turn pure white to symbolize that God had forgiven Israel. When Jesus died, around 30 A.D, the scapegoat that year escaped, and the ribbon remained red. It would later wander back on cloven feet to remind Israel of the sin they had not repented of. “But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it.” (Matthew 12:43). Every year since, for 40 years until the destruction of the Temple as prophesized by Jesus and the book of Jonah, the Sanhedrin reported that the ribbon would no longer turn white when the priest atoned for sins (Talmud, Tractate Yoma 39b).
The Symbolism Behind the Ritual
When Jesus Christ returns, one of the first things he will do is perform His duties as our High Priest on Yom Kippur. He no longer has to offer a sacrifice, for he was the ultimate sacrifice (Hebrews 10:11-14). Jesus will instead banish the “goat for Azazel” that is the Satan, or our Accuser, from the midst of mankind and lock him in the abyss for 1000 years so that he can no longer deceive the nations (Revelation 20:2).
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The Scapegoat Ritual 2 of 2: The scapegoat Ritual Throughout the Bible
The first scapegoat was Cain; he was the goat designated for Azazel, while Abel was the goat designated for the Lord. Abraham had two sons. Just like the two goats on Yom Kippur, he “sacrificed” one and sent another, Ishmael, away to “wander” in the wilderness.
Origins of the Scapegoat Ritual
The symbiology of the scapegoat ritual stems from the patriarchs themselves. Jacob deceived his father Isaac with a goat, then Jacob was deceived by his sons with a goat, then one of those sons, Judah, was deceived by Tamar with a goat. Decades later, to leave Egypt, the ancestors of the sons of Jacob would have to perform a reverse ritual with a goat (Exodus 12:1-12). The actual Yom Kippur ritual was not founded until hundreds of years later, specifically to atone for the sins of the golden calf. Because of the golden calf, Moses had to go up to Mt Sinai for another 40 days. The last thing God told Moses after his first 40 days on Mt Sinai was good tidings of the Sabbath (Exodus 21:12-17). However, the last thing God commanded Moses the 2nd time he had to go back for 40 days after the sin of the golden calf was the infamous “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Exodus 34:26). Once again, a goat was a bookend to sin. The buck, or that is the goat, stops with Jesus Christ.
Scapegoat Ritual Performed by the Prophets
Every Yom Kippur, the book of Jonah is read. In the book of Jonah, Jonah is the
representation of the goat designated by lot for Azazel. “And he shall place lots upon the two goats…” (Leviticus 16:8-10). Jonah had lots cast for him, just like the goats had lots for them. After being thrown into the sea, red-colored seaweed wrapped around him. The same kind of seaweed that makes the red sea appear red. (Jonah 1:7 and Jonah 2:5). The red ribbon was wrapped around him just as it would be on both of the “Yom Kippur goats.” Judah knew he would be considered a false prophet if he traveled to Nineveh. Jonah had prophesied that they would be destroyed for their terrible sins no matter what they did. However, Jonah knew that God would revoke his decree of their destruction and forgive them if they all repented. Sure enough, the people repented, and the destruction that Jonah prophesized did not occur. God’s Spirit found comfort in even the ignorant people of Nineveh because they repented of their sins as Jonah did of his plant (Jonah 4:10-11). Jonah allowed himself to become ostracized by his religious community for speaking “falsely” so that Gentiles would seek redemption and be saved. Likewise, Jesus allowed himself to bear all the sins of humanity to redeem us.
Prophet Ezekiel also had to play the role of the scapegoat, as did many other prophets. He was exiled from Israel and ate terrible food for over a year to warn Israel of their coming punishment in the hope that some would repent and turn back to righteousness.
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Goats & Coats 1 of 3
Jacob Deceives his Father, Isaac
Jacob “stole” his brothers Esau’s blessing from his father Isaac with the use of goats and a coat. “So, Jacob went near to Isaac his father…and he did not recognize him” (Genesis 27: 9-23). Jacob was the first “prodigal son.” In both stories, the son admits to being unworthy (Genesis 32:10, Luke 15:19), and in each instance, it appears that the younger son “stole” the honors meant for the older one.
Arguably, Jacob did not steal the birthright since he legally purchased it from his brother when Esau exchanged it for soup. Esau hated his birthright, making him the firstborn priest of Israel. But he despised the birthright, for it meant he had to act “godly” and therefore traded it for “red stuff” (Genesis 25:30).
Joseph’s brothers also tricked their father into thinking Joseph had died using a coat and a goat. Jacob was tricked in the same way he deceived his father. “Then they took Joseph's coat and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please recognize whether it is your son's coat or not.” (Genesis 37: 31-32).
Goats and Coats Make Atonement
Goats and Coats are not bad things. Anything can be wrong if we use them for deceit. Just as goats were used to symbolize atoning for sin, so were coats. We are called to “put on” righteousness and salvation like we would a coat (Isaiah 61:10). Biblical instruction on sacrifices and priestly vestments are close because both can atone for sin. According to the Talmud, the coat atones for bloodshed, the breeches atoned for lewdness, and the mitre made atonement for arrogance as it was placed high up to atone for an offense of hauteur. The girdle atoned for [impure] meditations of the heart, i.e., where it was placed. The breastplate atoned for [neglect of] civil laws, as it is said, “And you shall make a breastplate of judgment.” The ephod atoned for idolatry (Zevachim 88b, Soncino Press Edition).
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Goats & Coats 2 of 3: Joseph
The Greatest Sin
Joseph’s ten brothers told their father that they didn’t know where Joseph’s body was, just as Cain told God he didn’t know where Abel was. Abel was the first person ever to die, so it was understandable for Cain to be confused and not be completely guilty of murder. Cain's greatest sin was not caring. A person should always try to help or search for their brother, no matter if they hate him or love him (Exodus 23:4). Joseph’s brothers did not intend to kill him, but as the brothers put it, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore, this distress has come upon us.” (Genesis 42:21).
Joseph’s Imprisonment Synonymous with Israel’s Escape
The night Israel fled Egypt, and every Passover since, God commands a male lamb be taken from the goats or the sheep per household and that it be killed and eaten in a specific way. The baby goat must not be cooked in water but roasted in or over a fire pit (Exodus 12:1-12). When cooked, the lamb/goat must be in the fetal position, and so the tradition has become to symbolize rebirth. When Israel walked throw the bloody entrance of their door frames the night after Passover, they were essentially born-again Israelites. The Passover lamb symbolized Joseph, just as the lamb symbolizes Jesus. The Bible has a peculiar way of rectifying sin through plot, character, and chiasmus. Through the replaying of similar events, Jesus did what Adam and Eve didn’t while in the desert for 40 days. Biblical patterns play out past events as if we have a chance to go back in time and redo things so that we succeed instead of fail. In music theory, repetition is part and parcel of symmetry and establishing motifs and hooks.
Joseph was thrown into a pit with no water, so when Israel left slavery, they were commanded to cook a lamb/goat in a pit with no water. The lamb was used as a substitute for their firstborn since Joseph was the spiritual firstborn. Joseph did not willingly go into the pit the first time, but he did the second time when he refused to sin with a married woman. Like Joseph, Israel voluntarily left “Egypt” and exiled themselves from the world to worship God. Exile covers a multitude of sins. God cursed king Jeconiah to be childless (Jeremiah 22:30), but after he was exiled, he was forgiven of his crimes (1 Chronicles 3:17-18, Sanhedrin 37b-38a, Soncino Press Edition).
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Goats & Coats 3 of 3: Judah
Judah Finally Repents After Sin Nearly Makes Him Kill What He Loves Most
Jacob’s sons were also tricked by someone using goats and coats. After Judah’s wife died, Tamar, his widowed daughter in-law disguised herself, kind of like how Joseph disguised himself, but with the coat of a prostitute. She agreed to sell herself to Judah in exchange for a goat. Judah did not have a goat with him (perhaps because he killed it to fake Joseph’s death). So, just as she had planned from the beginning, Tamar extracted objects that were symbols of Judas’s identity, such as his coat and his staff, just as Joseph collected collateral. These were symbols of Judah’s kingship, so in a way, she took his kingship from him due to his failure to enact Yibbum for her. When Judah was told that Tamar was pregnant, he used it as an excuse to sentence her to death, for he blamed her for the death of his other two sons and feared that she would lead to the death of his remaining son.
Tamar responded by sending Judah his coat, telling him to “recognize” the same Hebrew word Judah said to his father and what his father said to his father-in-law (Genesis 37:32, 38:25). The same word “recognize” is also used by God when he commands a husband to always “recognize” his wife, even if he hates her (Deuteronomy 21:17, 22:24). Jacob not “recognize” Leah he should have, which is why the brothers throw Joseph into a pit. Because of Tamar’s craftiness, Judah recognized that he was the father of her babies and exonerated her, claiming that “she is more righteous than I.” Priest daughters, in certain situations, could face the death penalty for adultery however, the man they slept with also had to be killed as well. This is what Jesus meant in John 8:2 and Jeremiah 17:13, for, without due process, all those that stoned the women would have been murders and would have cut themselves off from salvation.
Judah’s eyes were opened to the horrors of his sins, to what he had done to his father by taking his son Joseph from him. Perhaps this foreshadows a future time when all the tribe of Judah will recognize God’s love for His son. Only once Judah admitted his sins were the symbols of his kingship restored to him. The staff is a symbol of Aaron’s staff, the “rod of God,” which symbolizes the resurrection. “For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15). Out of Aaron’s dead branch, all 3 phases of life grew, almonds, buds, and flowers, all represented in the Menorah; these are all symbols of the Tree of Life (Numbers 17: 8). Judah had nearly killed two of his sons in misplaced revenge of his other two sons’ deaths, a perfect example of how sin causes us to destroy what we love most.
Judah symbolizes the Jewish people, and Joseph symbolizes the Messiah. As scripture says, “Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand...” (Ezekiel 37:12-19). Once the Jewish people accept the Messiah, they too will be given back the staff of their kingship, as symbolized by the two sticks becoming one. At that point, as the rest of the verse says, the resurrection will take place, “… And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land…” (Ezekiel 37:12-19).
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The domino Effects of Sin 1 of 3: Sin leads to Enslavement
Jacob’s Enslavement is a Microcosm of the Enslavement of the Twelve Tribes of Israel as well as the Future Antichrist
Jacob's escape from his father-in-law was much like the escape of the Israelites from Egypt. Jacob was essentially a slave to Laban, just as the Jews were in Egypt. Both Laban and Pharaoh were told on the 3rd day that all their “slaves” had fled. As Pharaoh chased after Moses, Laban chased Jacob. Laban originally made a covenant with Jacob (Israel) for 7 years. The antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years, but will betray them in the midst of that. Israel will have to flee 3.5 years from the antichrist just as Jacob (Israel) fled Laban and Pharoah after 3.5 days.
Both Jacob and the Egyptian Israelites winded up in slavery for the same reason. Jacob deceived his father Isaac with a goat, which led to him having to flee to Laban’s home. Joseph’s brothers deceived their father with a goat to stage Joseph’s death, which led to the brothers eventually moving to Egypt and becoming enslaved themselves.
Jacob’s Enslavement is Parallel to the Enslavement of Israel in Egypt
Sin causes you to go into slavery. Jacob served 21 years for his betrayal, and since 10 of his sons betrayed him, their punishment was multiplied by 10, so they served in Egypt for 210 years. Jacob may have gotten their fathers and God’s blessing, but he had to pay the price for it. God foresaw these events, which is why he said that Israel would live in a “land that is not theirs” for 400 years. The countdown began with Isaac's birth. However, on all accounts, Jacob’s sons would have had the promised land without going to Egypt if they had not betrayed their brother Joseph. God didn’t curse the Israelites with slavery; the consequences of their actions were their fault. However, God assured Abraham that He would bless them and eventually redeem them. (Genesis 15:13). In Joshua 24:3-4, God assumes responsibility for everything but Jacob's and his sons descending to Egypt.
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The domino effects of sin 2 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
Beware Words said Carelessly
In Genesis 31, Jacob decides to move his entire household away from his father-in-law’s lands. Before leaving, Rachel steals her father’s household gods. When her father overtakes them and demands his idols back, Rachel hides the gods underneath her and claims she cannot dismount her camel to greet him, for the coats she is sitting on are bloody from her period. Jacob does not realize Rachel stole the gods and proclaims, “anyone whom you find your gods shall not live, recognize what is yours from what is mine.” Jacob’s curse is attributed to Rachel's death as she died not long after this. We must be wary and never curse, for Noah cursed in a moment of anger as well, and Ham’s linage, essentially a third of the world, was affected.
Continued Effects of the Curse
This curse of Jacobs is said to follow Rachel to her son, Joseph. After Jacob made peace with his father-in-law, he broke bread with him right after he proclaimed his curse. The next time bread is broken is by Joseph’s brothers after they resolve to sell him to slavers. However, before the brothers sell him, Joseph is found by Midianites and placed on their camels. The same Hebrew word used to describe Rachel placing the idols on her camel describes how Joseph is carried away. The Midianites are specified as incense salesmen, so the bag pressed against Joseph’s face smelled pleasant on his way to Egypt, like how Jesus would have been comforted by the smell of Spikenard during his crucifixion, the oil that Mary of Bethany had anointed him with. The Torah then makes a point to mention that these slavers that took Joseph away, they had come from Gilead, the same place where Jacob had uttered his curse. The exact Hebrew words “find and recognize” that Jacob used when he proclaimed his curse to his father-in-law are then repeated to him by Joseph’s brothers when they present Joseph’s bloody coat that they used to fake his death, the blood being from a goat. What happens to Joseph due to this curse is a metaphor for us all, as we are all under the same curse since Adam & Eve ate from the tree. (The deeper significance of Gilead in the Bible by Rabbi David Fohrman at Alphabeta.com)
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The Domino Effects of Sin 3 of 3: Coats, Bread, and Blood
From the Pit to the Palace
Before being sold into slavery, Joseph’s brothers stripped him of both his “coats” to symbolize his expulsion from the family; they then threw him into a pit. After he was sold, he worked for his boss Potiphar. Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph, but instead of committing adultery, he eluded her advances but “…she caught him by his coat.” With the coat as evidence, Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph, and he was sent to prison. Instead of “prison” the Bible used the Hebrew words for “pit,” so Joseph was essentially sent into another pit, but each time God rescued him and brought him from the pit to the palace.
A Guilty Conscience
When Joseph sent his brothers away, he hid the silver they had used to buy bread at the bottom of their sack, along with the “stolen” goblet he planted on Benjamin. Benjamin would be accused of stealing and sentenced to the pits of Egypt. An empty sack looks like a pit. The brothers were reminded of the other brother they had thrown into a pit and then sold for silver. The brothers told their father they searched for Joseph, but they didn’t. What they did was “ate bread” as Joseph sat in the pit alone... just as Jacob “ate bread” after uttering his curse to Laban. Joseph’s men threw “all the bread out” of the sacks, and there at the bottom of Benjamin’s was the “stolen” goblet. Unlike the brothers, Joseph’s men did a real search and discovered that the brothers were guilty.
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The Red Ribbon 1 of 2
The Dye of the Red Ribbon
The specific red dye used to color certain fabrics of the Holy Temple and the red ribbon of the scapegoat ritual was derived from the “scarlet worm,” or that is the “Tola’at Shani” worm. To give birth, the “Tola’at Shani” must affix itself to a tree. Its hatched eggs then consume it so that they may live. Similarly, Jesus Christ allowed himself to be crucified so that we may live. David prophesized this, “I am a worm and not a man. A reproach of men, and despised of the people.” (Psalm 22:7). In Hebrew, David said not “worm” but a “Tola’at Shani” specifically. Jesus was cloaked in a red robe at the crucifixion, most likely colored from this ancient dye. Another worm called “Solomon's Shamir” was used to cut the stones and masonry of the Temple.
The Red Heifer
After the sin of the golden calf, God commanded Israel to sacrifice a perfectly red heifer to atone for their sin. This red heifer symbolizes the red ribbon, a creature that acts as a baton handoff for one’s sin and, in many ways, represents Jesus. The Lord Jesus was “without blemish,” just as the red heifer was to be. As the heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” (Numbers 19:1-18), Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:11–12). Just as the ashes of the red heifer cleansed people from the contamination of death, the sacrifice of Christ saves us from the penalty and corruption of death.
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The red ribbon 2 of 2: Conclusion to The Scapegoat Ritual and Goats and Coats
The Red Ribbon Throughout the Scriptures
A red ribbon marks the goat designated for Azazel, the satan, which is consequently depicted as a red dragon (Revelation 12:3). This distinction is first seen in scriptures when Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for “red stuff.” Esau’s decedents are known as the “Edomites,” the Hebrew word for Edom meaning “red.” Sin is described as red, as it says, “Though your sins be as scarlet.” (Isaiah 1:18). God does not discriminate, however, as the righteous in Edom will inherit Heaven just as anyone else. “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen… that they may possess the [righteous] remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name” (Amos 9:11-12).
The next time the ribbon is seen is when Tamar gives birth to Judah’s children. It was Judah’s and Tamar’s son Perez that was the ancestor of David and Jesus. Perez and his brother were born in the same way as Jacob and Esau. Zerah’s foot came out first, so a red ribbon was tied around it to mark him as the first born. However, Perez overtook him and winded up being the first born. This is a metaphor for God choosing how much a person inherits in the New Heaven and Earth by their faith and not by their earthy status.
When Israel was reclaiming the land of Canaan, Rahab hung a red ribbon from her window, as it protected her and her family (Joshua 2:18, 6:25). The scarlet ribbon finds its culmination upon the back of Jesus, “They put a scarlet robe around Him… (Matthew 27:28-29). The red ribbon is woven throughout scriptures, just as a red ribbon is often used as a book mark. Because of Jesus, red will be made white. These are all things that had to be because what was yet future had to be; the past being determined by what had not yet happened. (Ecclesiastes 3:15).
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Generations of Our Earth
“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” (Genesis 2:4) The earth has generations just as mankind does. However, there is only one Earth. God refers to the old earth after the creation of the New Heavens and Earth as the “first earth,” but the New Earth may still be on the same foundation as the old earth.
0. Pre-Eden earth? (The following is heavily speculated)
Genesis Gap Theory
1. A. Life in Pre-Eden earth
It is said that before Adam and Eve were given Eden, it and the Ephod (High Priest status) belonged to the Red Dragon (Ezekiel 28:13). Scripture says that the earth was never made to be void (Isaiah 45:18), yet the earth and heavens are described as void in Genesis. This means that the earth was teeming with life before the biblical account in Genesis. Angels existed before humans (Job 38:4, 7).
Scripture describes the satan as a “king” in Eden, ruling before Adam and Eve:
“You were the signet of perfection…You were in Eden, the garden of God… “You were an anointed guardian cherub…till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned...Your heart was proud because of your beauty…” (Ezekiel 28:11–19)
God switches from describing the Prince of Tyre just as the Angel Gabriel refers to fallen angels as rulers over nations, and Jesus spoke to Peter while simultaneously the satan (Daniel 10:13, Matthew 16:23).
When the satan sinned, he corrupted nature and those he was given dominium over just as Adam and Eve did. However, life became corrupted on a much larger scale, creating horrifically vicious dinosaur beasts, as seen in the fossil records. Therefore, God destroyed the dragon’s world to stop the cycle of pain and misery that the insanity of sin created. The chaotic sea was the result.
It is speculated that the Dragons world existed for 3000 years, the same amount of time the earth will exist after the birth of Christ, before it is recreated (See 5. New Earth and Heavens).
It is interesting to note that before any other living thing was created, the great sea monsters were created first, right after the sun and moon, which were meant to act as “rulers.” God may have done this because, in the previous world, the Leviathan was indeed the ruler, although he sinned and lost it (Genesis 1:21). The Leviathans world most likely did not have a sun and moon as we know them today, which may be why demonic creatures often appear as shadow creatures. The next animals to be created in Genesis are the birds, which symbolize the angels, for they were created after the Levithan/Red Dragon as lesser rulers in the first world.
According to Oxford Old Testament professor John Day, Leviathan and his battle with God are associated with a re-creation of the earth, with Genesis describing the calming of the chaos caused by the dragon [due to his destruction of the first earth]. The story of creation in Genesis 1 is the demythologized version of the creation story given in bits and pieces in other parts of the Old Testament involving the Leviathan, such as the Psalms.
“You divided the sea by your might… crushed the heads of Leviathan…you dried up ever-flowing streams. You have established the heavenly lights and the sun… fixed all the boundaries of the earth…” (Psalms 74:13-23)
1. B. God’s Living Water
Only 1/7th of the Dragons world was water, while today 70% of the world is water. It is speculated that the Garden of Eden’s four main rivers branched out from the North and formed immense rifts in the world’s terrain. Evidence of these rivers are left behind as what is viewed today as the deepest rifts that form the edges of the tectonic plates.
1. C. Diet
Vegetarian until the Dragons sins caused the animal life to deform and become corrupted.
1. D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, the pre-Eden world would have been as it would have been if Adam and Eve were not preliminarily kicked out of Eden. That is, before the satan corrupted it.
1. E. God’s Holy City
Yes, there was a Holy City as 60% of the angels resisted the satan’s deceptions.
1. F. Holy Temple
The Holy Temple in the Heavens, may have rested on earth during pre-Eden times. The angels that had not sinned would have found refuge in this Temple when the pre-Eden earth was flooded, just as Gods Saints will when the 1st Earth and Heavens are destroyed with fire.
The satan might have set up his own “Un-Holy Temple” on this earth, most likely in the Yucatan as inside the mountains and under the waters of the Yucatan are a series of strange underwater rivers and caverns like the Shissin that are found under the Holy Temple… almost as if some dark, twisted temple once existed there. This is where the Mayans predicted the end of the world in their doomsday calendars.
Having nostalgia with the location, the Dragon may have influenced these cultures, granting the Mayans their understanding of the stars and time, but also demanding sacrifices from the Aztecs. On some days up to 20,000 people were ritually sacrificed by the Aztecs. Human sacrifice was a practice that the satan (Baal) readily partook in, as described in scripture.
1. Eden
1. A. Life in Eden
Of all the locations on earth, God chose Eden to make special and fellowship with man. There isn’t a trace of Eden today for the flood destroyed everything. (2 Peter 3:6). The garden of Eden was located in modern day Jerusalem. The garden was in the east (Genesis 2:8). The garden is linked to the Holy Mountain of God which is Mount Moriah,
“You were in Eden, the garden of God…on the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:13-14).
The entrance to the garden was in the “east,” but this entrance became an exit because of unfaithfulness. God cast Adam and Eve “east” out of the Garden. The same happened with Israel in Jerusalem, when they were exiled “east” into Babylon. The Bible says that Jesus will, upon his second coming, return to Jerusalem from the east (Zech. 14:4), indicating that he will restore what was lost. (Jared Wellman, senior pastor at Mission Dorado Baptist Church)
1. B. God’s Living Water
The water of Eden came from the Tree of Life as it is said,
“…because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:8-12).
Some say Adam and Eve did not have blood, but living water in their veins, however this living water became corrupted by sin and turned into blood after they fell, just as the first plague of Egypt was water turning into blood. Jesus implies that blood will be replaced by living water. (John 4:14, 1 Corinthians 15:50).
After the flooding of the 1st Earth, the Dragons earth before Eden, much of the earth is covered in water during the days of Eden, about 70% of it, similar to what we have today.
1. C. Diet
Everyone was vegetarian, no one ate meat. “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat” (Genesis 1:29; 2:16). It was not the original will of the Creator that His creatures should consume one another.
After the fall, vegetables were added to the diet. “And you shall eat the herb of the field” (Genesis 3:18). Due to the curse of sin, there was a partial change in diet due the quality of grains and nuts and fruits originally given to man were reduced to such an extent that man would need to supplement his diet with the eating of herbs.
1. D. Heaven on Earth?
All of Eden was like heaven. Man, and God fellowshipped with each other “face to face.” The Earth had the potential of becoming just like Eden because waters from Eden flowed throughout the earth “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.” (Genesis 2:10)
1. E. God’s Holy City
The Garden of Eden was God’s Holy City. If Adam had not sinned, the whole concept of areas that are sanctified and areas that are not would not have existed. The whole earth would have become like the Garden of Eden.
1. F. Holy Temple
None
2. Pre-Flood Earth
2. A. Life in Pre-flood Earth
Earth was much more intrinsically linked to the decisions of mankind than it is today. There was a smaller rift between humans and animals. The animals did not fear mankind, humans were still predominantly vegetarians.
God saw that he needed to destroy the earth, not necessarily because of the sins of the people, but because the earth itself had become corrupt because of those sins.
“Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-13)
God destroyed the Earth as to make another Earth that would be a comfort to future generations. That is why Noah’s name means “rest” or “peace”. The end days are compared to the days right before the flood, “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:26)
God remade the earth so that mankind would not so easily “corrupt their own flesh.” The Earth still rebels against mankind but not as much as it did pre-flood. With the potential for corruption, also comes the potential for blessing. Nature could have been made magnificent, but we lost that opportunity.
“Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” (Psalm 40:5 and Isaiah 14:24)
2. B. God’s Living Water
The Garden had miraculous healing abilities that the entire earth benefited from however these healing abilities were somewhat diluted due to the Garden being guarded by Cherubim. Rivers that flowed from the garden of Eden irrigated the pre-flood earth, as well as a mist that also contained these healing properties.
“Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.” (Genesis 2:10-14)
Because of these waters humans and animals had increased lifespans. Human lifespan, however, was capped at 1000 years as God said “The day you eat of the tree you will die” that is “start to die”, and a day to the Lord is like a thousand years.
All the earth was irrigated by a mist that would water the earth. Rain did not occur on the earth until the flood. “…for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land… and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground.” (Genesis 2:5-6).
C. Diet
Predominantly vegetarian
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, but mankind was completely barred off from Eden. There were rivers and a mist that traveled to the rest of the world from Eden however the full effects of these rivers were diluted due to the Garden being boarded up by the Cherubim. Human beings had much more contact with Angelic/demonic beings, but failed to listen to or adhere to the will of God. (Genesis 6:2-4)
E. God’s Holy City
None, because mankind is prohibited from entering Eden, that is the promise land or what we know as “Israel” today.
F. Holy Temple
None
3. Post Flood Earth (Today)
A. Life Today
With Jesus’s death the Kingdom of God is now on earth, however this is a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one. We are currently a kingdom without a king, but we steadfastly wait for Jesus’s return. Unfortunately, the world is still at war with God.
B. God’s Living Water
There is no more healing waters of Eden. God’s living waters are farther out of reach for us. They are hidden, as symbolized by Issacs struggle to dig wells. (Genesis 26:18-26). Rains instead of a mist now waters the earth.
C. Diet
Mankind and some animals eat meat due to no longer being able to drink God’s self-sustaining waters and eat of the fruit of Eden’s waters.
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, but only in the form of a ladder (Genesis 28:10–19)
The Holy Temple on mount Moriah is where the garden of Eden once was. It is meant to symbolize “heaven on earth.” Israel is supposed to be like God’s Garden of Eden but mankind fails to uphold this.
“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!” (Isaiah 5:7).
We are supposed to be like trees in Gods Garden (Mark 8:22-25).
God made a Covenant with mankind and implemented the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to act as a vehicle for God’s blessings to flow into the world just as the rivers from Eden once did.
The tree of life was where the Holy of Holies was in the Temple as symbolized by the Cherubim on the veil “guarding” it. The terms “cultivate” and “keep” in Genesis 2:15 are terms that are never used together anywhere else by Moses, except to describe the Levitical duties in caring for the tabernacle in Numbers 3:7-8, 8:26, and 18:5-6.
The word “garments” used to describe the covering provided for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21 is the same word translated as “tunics” to describe the priestly attire and many other parallels. (See midrash of how God plans to flood the world)
E. God’s Holy city
The land where Eden once was is opened up again for mankind to settle and is the earthly Israel/Jerusalem. However, Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2) The New Jerusalem is being prepared in heaven so that heaven and earth can once again be united, just as it was in the original garden of Eden.
F. Holy Temple
Yes, and Levites acted as our High Priests until Jesus replaced them as High priest (Hebrews 4:14).
4. The Millennial Reign
A. Life in the Millennial Reign
Life in many ways will continue as it had before, the most drastic change will be in Mount Zion from where Christ will reign. For those who live in the Millennial city many aspects of the curse will be reversed (Gen. 3:15-19). People who live around Mont Zion will live to a great age, but death will still occur. As before the flood, carnivorous animals who live around the holy mountain of the lord will revert to vegetarianism. God will heal sickness and disease all over the world. Many people will come to God’s Holy Mountain to be healed just as people once flocked to Jesus.
The Zion desert environment will blossom and become Eden like. While man destroyed the ecosystem, Jesus will return the desert to an Eden like paradise. “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1-2) “The LORD will comfort Zion… And her wilderness He will make like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD… (Isaiah 51:3 & Isaiah 41:18-20, Ezekiel 34:26-27, Psalm 72:16. Zechariah 8:19)
The Global environment will also be rejuvenated (Isaiah 19:24, 24:14-16, 25:6,42:10, 62:2, 63:16, 66:18, Jeremiah 51:47-49, Revelation 11:18).
The borders of the Land of Israel will be expanded, they will go from Tyre to Damascus in the east, and right down to the Sea of Galilee, and then it will taper in and follow the line of the Jordan. All of that west coast will be filled, from the Mediterranean to Jordan in the east, will be filled as the new land of Israel. The boundaries will be larger, substantially, to that that was told to Moses in the Pentateuch. It will be greater than that which we read in Numbers 34, detailed for us in the Old Testament. It will be greater than what Joshua inherited in the book of Joshua as he went into Canaan land - it will be far greater than all of that (Ezekiel 47:13-23).
B. God’s Living Water
God’s living water will flow from beneath the Holy of Holies (tree of life) of the Millennial Temple just as it once did in Eden. These rivers that branch out from the Temple will be similar to the rivers that flowed through the earth in the pe-flood world.
At Christs return there will be a great earthquake that the world has never seen before. Mount Olivet, which has a fault running through it, will cleft. The land of Israel will be raised up and the land around it be made a plain, mount Moriah will also be raised much higher than it is now. From the top of mount Moriah, a river of healing will come forth (Ezekiel 47:1). The waters will issue out from underneath the Temple, through the veil that Jesus’ tore, and flow eastward, it will flow south through the desert and the Jordan River to the Dead Sea, where its sweet waters will purify the whole of the nation and bring life to polluted waters. Eventually the river will meet the river of Egypt. It will make the whole land of Israel and Palestine flourish.
"It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim". (Joel 3:18).
“On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.” (Zechariah 14:8 & Ezekiel 47:12).
These rivers that branch out from the Temple will be similar to the rivers that flowed through the earth in the pe-flood world. The river will make the dead see fresh and it will teem with life (Ezekiel 40:2, Isaiah 40:1-5, Zechariah 4:7
Water flowing from the foundation stone was prophesied by the rock in the desert that God used to give water to Israel for 40 years. These rivers will bring life to the regions they water along with food that will sustain the once carnivorous beasts (Ezekiel 47:8-12, Joel 3:18, Zechariah 14:8, Isaiah 11:6-9).
The river will bring healing and also become a symbol for God’s new enforcement of justice and liberty in all the world. “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24, Isaiah 11:9)
This river will be a smaller version of the river that will flow from the Temple to all over the earth when the New Earth and Heavens are created.
For those who live near the Millennial city lifespans will be greatly increased as the water and food of the city will have advance healing/longevity qualities. "Never again [inside the Millennial city] will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed [that is still in their original human form].” (Isaiah 65:20).
C. Diet
People who live in the Millennial City will not need to eat meat, however many may still eat meat as the Israelites demanded meat while in the desert despite having the manna (Numbers 11:4). God gave people both dragon and Jesus to eat and many still wanted Chicken (Psalm 74:14, Numbers 11:5-6, John 6:53).
Animals will be respected and no longer mistreated. As described in the books of Ezekiel and Zechariah, normal everyday meat consumption will become a consecrated act that honors the animal.
“On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.” (Zechariah 14:20)
Carnivores will become vegetarians/piscivores once again as the food from these rivers will sustain them.
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them…” (Isaiah 65:25, 11:6-8)
“And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so, everything will live where the river goes…” (Ezekiel 47:8-11, Joel 3:18, Zechariah 14:8 & Ezekiel 47:12).
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes, but only in Israel. The rest of the world will benefit from it however. Instead of God’s blessings coming to earth through a conduit of a “ladder” God’s blessings will travel throughout the entire world on a Highway. “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.” (Isaiah 35:8)
Mount Zion might resemble Mordor a bit, although surrounded by a lush garden. “… the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy.” (Isaiah 4:3-6)
All of Zion will be made to resemble Eden (Isaiah 35:1, Isaiah 51:3)
Some of “Israel” will be resurrected/raptured and given new “heavenly” bodies, but for all others death will still exist (Jeremiah 31:32-34).
E. God’s Holy City
The earthly Israel/Jerusalem which is brought into union with the heavenly New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem possibly acts as a satellite city suspended over the earth during the millennial reign of Christ. It is the dwelling place of resurrected and translated saints who also have access to the earthly scene. It will act as our Ark from the old earth and heavens into the new at the end of the Millennial reign. There will be a Holy Temple either in this city floating in the sky or on Earth during the Millennial reign as described and measured in Ezekiel 40-44. The end of the book of Ezekiel is his vision of the Temples Restoration (the Forth Temple). The millennial city itself is described here as well in chapters 44-48 along with what will happen to the lands of Israel when the Millennial reign starts.
F. Holy Temple
Yes, with Jesus acting as our High Priest (Zechariah 6:13).
G. Sacrifices
The daily sacrifice will be reinstituted in the Holy Temple (Zechariah 14:20-21, Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 33:18, Ezekiel 43:18, Malachi 3:3-4).
H. There will still be a sun and moon
5. New Earth and Heavens
A. Life in the New Earth
There is remarkably little revealed in the Bible concerning the character of the new heaven and the new earth, however there will no longer be any death.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 and 1 Corinthians. 15:24-26)
The beginning of the scriptures illustrates the closeness of God and man until the point of the fall. The end of the scriptures brings the entire story of God and humanity full circle, fixing what was broken through Adam and Eve to a full reconciliation with God. Similarities between Eden and the new earth
1. The tree of life is in both places. (Gen. 2:9, Rev. 22:2)
2. Eden had a river that watered the garden. The New Jerusalem has the river of life (Gen. 2:10, Rev. 22:1-2
3. The presence of God (Gen. 3:8, Rev. 21:3)
4. The lack of death (Gen. 3:22, Rev. 21:4)
5. The mention of gold and precious stones (Gen. 2:11-12, Rev. 21:18-20)
Israel may not be such a centerpiece of God’s new earth and heavens as they were during the Millennium although they will still be around, considering the fact that God plans to change the fixed order of heaven and earth.
“… Thus, says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’” (Jeremiah 33:23-26)
B. God’s Living Water
Instead of a ladder or just a highway, thousands of rivers will flow from God’s Holy Temple and the rivers will flow all throughout the earth so that all will easily be able to drink from it and be nourished by it. No longer will anyone have to travel all the way to the city.
The new earth will no longer have any seas or oceans as there are during the Millennial Reign, all these bodies of water will be replaced with God’s rivers of living waters.
“For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.” (Isaiah 66:12).
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1)
There will still be some “under the curse” that is who have not yet died and received their new heavenly body in the Holy city during the Millennial reign but this will not be the case in the new earth. No one in the world to come will be under the curse of death.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed…” (Revelation 22:1-3)
C. Diet
All will be vegetarians. People might not even eat or drink anymore at all as everyone will be connected to God’s and therefore the source of life. “…will never thirst again” (John 4:14)
D. Heaven on Earth?
Yes! “… the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it [the new earth], and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:3-5)
E. God’s Holy City
Although the New Jerusalem may or may not reside directly on the earth during the millennial reign it definitely does in the new earth and heavens.
“… ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Revelations 21:9-14) The new Jerusalem descends from heaven and resides on earth.
Although similar, one major difference between Eden and the New Jerusalem is the entrance. Eden was sealed off from Adam with a powerful angel blocking the path to the tree of life whereas the twelve gates of Heaven are always open (Rev. 21:24) (Eden and the New Jerusalem, ponderingscripture.wordpress.com)
F. Holy Temple
While the Millennial reign had a Holy Temple, the new Earth does not. “But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21). There will no longer be any sacrifices.
G. The Moon and Sun may not exist
The New Jerusalem city will get its light from God directly, however, for those outside the city, there may be a sun and moon, but their cycles will be fixed, and there will no longer be a need for a separate lunar calendar from a solar calendar, as the planetary lights will be in perfect symmetry.