Author Archives: William Struse

Hanukkah, Christmas, & the Back-story of the Messiah’s Birth – PART II

PART II: I Am the Light of the Word

“Sent Him to Bless You!”

This week as we continue looking at the back-story of the Messiah’s birth, I hope to show you the thrilling origins of the apostle Peter’s statement (above), origins found in a promise made to the Jewish people by Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes. Intriguingly, we’ll find in Peter’s statement a connection to Daniel 9, Hanukkah, the glory of Yahweh, and the birth of Yeshua (Jesus), the Bible’s promised Messiah.

I Have Sworn – An Oath of Sevens
Part I of this series (here) looked at Yahweh’s Oath of Sevens with Abraham, also know in the Old and New Testaments as the “Covenant and Mercy” of Yahweh. This Oath of Sevens we learned was an ancient promise concerning (in part) the promised messianic “seed” through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed. We followed this Covenant and Mercy to Daniel’s opening words in Chapter 9 of the book that bears his name where we saw that Daniel’s prayer for Yahweh’s “covenant and mercy” (a.k.a Yahweh’s Oath of Sevens) was answered with prophecy of 70 Sevens, telling Daniel, the Jewish people, and indeed all mankind when that promised messianic hero would come.

So let’s briefly return to Daniel’s wonderful prophecy in order to further fill in the context and texture of the Bible’s most important prophetic utterance, the only prophetic utterance in the Bible, I remind you, that specifically tells mankind when that Messianic redeemer would come.

Thy Holy Mountain
We return now to look at Daniel 9 and Daniel’s impassioned prayer. As we’ve seen, Daniel opened his prayer with a plea for Yahweh to remember His “Covenant and Mercy” which as we now know was a call for the coming of the Messiah. Daniel goes on to plea with YHWH to restore Jerusalem, the holy city and Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary, that one place where Yahweh choose to meet with mankind and where Daniel’s people (the Jewish people) had the special distinction of serving the living God of the Bible.

I believe far too often most scholars and commentators separate the context of Daniel’s prayer to Yahweh in Daniel 9:4-19 from the prophecy of 70 Sevens. For some strange reason they don’t allow the context of Daniel’s prayer to inform their interpretation of the prophecy.

I encourage you to read Daniel 9:4-19 carefully. Daniel’s view of the restoration of Jerusalem was insuperably linked to the restoration of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary. This restoration of Yahweh’s house was further linked to the coming of the Messiah by Daniel’s plea for Yahweh to remember His “Covenant and Mercy”. It makes no difference whether Abraham, Daniel, Zachariah, Peter, or even Mary fully understood the implications of Yahweh’s covenant and mercy (as discussed in Part I of this series). Nevertheless, in retrospect, we are all privileged to see the context and implications of those wonderful words. As the apostles and other early believers learned, Yahweh’s covenant and mercy was first and foremost a promise of the restoration of Israel’s spiritual fortunes, after which Yahweh in His mercy gave a special dispensation (times of the gentiles) to the nations so they too could be added to the family of God, and finally, at some point in the future, Israel’s physical/political restoration will take place with Yeshua’s return and rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem.

The Commandment to Restore and Build Jerusalem
So when Daniel 9:25 tells us that the 70 Sevens countdown to the Messiah begins with a “commandment” (Hebrew = dabar = word) to restore and build Jerusalem; we must look for this word with our understanding informed by Daniel’s original prayer for the coming of the Messiah and the restoration of YHWH’s desolate sanctuary. (The de facto event in the restoration of Jerusalem.) To refresh your recollections, the 70 Sevens prophetic countdown to the Messiah begins with these words:

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment [dabar = word] to restore [shuwb = return] and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,… (Daniel 9:25)

Babylon Is Fallen!
Remember the context here, Daniel’s prayer and Yahweh’s subsequent prophetic answer originated at the tail end of the Jewish people’s 70 year exile in Babylon. The Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar and his descendants had just fallen to Cyrus of Persia and Daniel understood that the 70 years of exile was nearly over. The following verses provide a succinct summary:

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:1-2)

And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. And it shall come to pass, when 70 years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith YHWH, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. (Jeremiah 25:11-12)

That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. (Isaiah 44:26-28)

So now Daniel, after his opening plea for Yahweh’s “covenant and mercy” also pleads for the restoration of Jerusalem and Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary, pleadings that are themselves but reminders of Yahweh’s promises given through “his messengers” that Jerusalem and the temple would be restored.

Cyrus and the Temple Foundation
Today, there are many respected commentators on Daniel 9 who still believe that somehow it was the decree by Cyrus (which allowed the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem and the temple) mentioned above and in 2 Chron. 36 & Ezra 1 that was the “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” prophesied by Daniel 9:25.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of YHWH spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, YHWH stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath YHWH God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? YHWH his God be with him, and let him go up. (2 Chronicles 36:22)

Indeed, as it is recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:22 (above) and repeated in Ezra 1:1, Cyrus himself claims that Yahweh charged him to “build the house of Yahweh God of Israel”. To be fair to those who see this as the “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem”, the context of Daniel’s prayer to Yahweh is in fact focused towards the restoration of Jerusalem which he (Daniel) understood as centered on the restoration of Yahweh’s “sanctuary that is desolate”. There is no way to escape the context here. Daniel’s view of Jerusalem’s “restoration” centered on Yahweh’s house and the return of His presence to that house.

The Prophecy of Isaiah Versus the boasting of Cyrus
Even though Cyrus personally boasted that Yahweh had charged him to “build him a house at Jerusalem” it is clear from the prophet Isaiah (below) that Cyrus’ contribution to building Yahweh’s house was to be limited to the restoration of the temple’s foundation. Here take a look again:

A careful reading of the book of Ezra confirms that in fact the prophecy of Isaiah as given by Yahweh concerning Cyrus was amazingly accurate. Cyrus’ decree allowing the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem and the temple only resulted in the start of efforts to lay the temple’s foundation. The Jewish people left off building the temple and instead started working on their own houses. It would be 16 more years and another very special “commandment” to return and build Jerusalem before the temple construction would resume and the temple itself be restored. The following chart reflects the chronology discussed:

But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. Ezra 5:12-13

Now in the second year [2^nd yr. of Cyrus as king of Babylon] of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of YHWH. (Ezra 3:8)

Think about that, it was 16 years after Cyrus’ initial decree and Yahweh’s house was no closer to completion – nearly a decade and a half and only some of the foundation had been laid! If Daniel was still alive at this time can you image his sorrow at the fact that Yahweh had allowed his brethren to return yet they had not been motivated enough to lay more than a few foundation stones of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary.

As we will see, there was reason for this delay. In Yahweh’s divine redemptive plan it was not yet time for His countdown to the Messiah to begin. In fact, according to the book of Zechariah 1 those sixteen years from the decree of Cyrus were the final years of a 70 year period of Yahweh’s divine indignation against the Jewish people. The following verses explain:

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius [520 BC], came the word of YHWH unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying…

Then the angel of YHWH answered and said, O YHWH of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And YHWH answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith YHWH of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

… Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7-16 excerpted)

A “Commandment”, Decree, Proclamation, or Word?
I hope you’ll stick with me here, because we are working towards the goal of understanding the context surrounding the “commandment” to restore and build as described in the prophecy of Daniel 9. This “commandment” in turn provides us with the foundation upon which to build our understanding of Daniel 9:25 and the countdown to the Messiah as it relates to the celebration of Hanakkuh, Christmas and the birth of the Messiah. Once again Daniel 9:25a provides us with that amazing prophetic countdown:

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment [Hebrew dabar = word] to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,… (Daniel 9:25)

Did you know that the word “commandment” as used here in Daniel 9 is the Hebrew word dabar? Dabar interestingly in its plainest sense simply means ‘speech’ or ‘word’. In fact, according to my concordance dabar is used 1439 times in the Old Testament and of those occurrences the vast majority refers to the “word” of Yahweh.

Daniel 9, in fact, confirms this rule. Dabar is found four times in Daniel 9, including the occurrence of Daniel 9:25. Of those, the first three occurrences unambiguously describe the dabar or word of Yahweh, the living God of the Bible. Take a moment to see for yourself:

In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word [dabar] of YHWH came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:2)

And he hath confirmed his words [dabar], which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:12)

At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment [dabar] came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. (Daniel 9:23)

Astounding, isn’t it? Can you explain to me why, given that dabar is used three other times in Daniel 9 to refer to the literal words of Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, scarcely a single writer today, when commenting on the “commandment” of Daniel 9:25 acknowledges this most important context?

Compounding this egregious oversight is the fact that Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah all testify that there was indeed a Divine word (dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem. We’ll get to this Divine word in a moment but for thoroughness sake let’s first take a quick look at four of the most often cited decrees that commentators today use to claim the fulfillment of the “commandment” (word) of Daniel 9:25. In chronological order those so called “commandments” are as follows:

The “proclamation” (Hebrew abar) of Cyrus which allowed the Jewish people to build Jerusalem and the Temple. (2 Chron. 36:22, Ezra 1:1) Ezra 4:3 describes this proclamation by Cyrus as a command (Hebrew tsavah) Ezra 5:13, 17, 6:3 & 14 describes this original proclamation as a “decree” (Hebrew te’em). Finally Isaiah 44:28 describes these events as Cyrus “saying” (Hebrew amar)
The undated “decree” (Hebrew te’em) given at some point during or after the 7th year of “Artaxerxes” as described in Ezra 7:13 & 21. This “decree” granted Ezra permission and resources to beautify the temple.
The “decree” (Hebrew te’em) given in the 2^nd year of Darius granting the Jewish people permission to continue building the house of YHWH (after Yahweh had already commandment them to restart construction), further Darius granted building materials and commodities in assistance of the building efforts. (see Ezra 6:8, 11, & 13)
The permission given in the 20^thor 21^st year of “Artaxerxes” allowing Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and fortify its walls. This permission was certified in what the text describes as “letters” (Hebrew iggereth) that also seemed to include an appointment or command (Hebrew tsavah) which made Nehemiah governor of Jerusalem. (See Neh. 2 & 5) The text never describes these letters as commands or decrees nor does the text tell us when these letter or implied decrees/commands were given (it must be guessed at from the text).In the interest of thoroughness, Nehemiah 2:18 does describe “words” (Hebrew dabar) that King “Artaxerxes” spoke personally to Nehemiah, words Nehemiah shared with his brethren. The text doesn’t indicate though whether these words were related to King Artaxerxes’ letter, his implied decree or just personal words of comfort to Nehemiah. Here too the text does not provide us with a definitive date as to when these “words” were given.

In summary, it should be noted that none of these proposed proclamations, decrees, or letters clearly qualify as a “word” (Hebrew dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem described within the context of Daniel 9:4-20), and even more clearly none of these could be described as a divine word to restore and build Jerusalem. And options #2 & #3 above do not provide definitive dates upon which to calculate a starting point of Daniel 9:25.

A Divine Word to Return and Build
Here is where the congruency of the Bible really shines if you allow it to speak for itself. We’ve now established that in roughly 536 BC Cyrus gave a decree which allowed the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem. The thrust of the initial efforts were directed towards the rebuilding of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary. Those efforts did not get further than laying the foundation of the temple in fulfillment of Isaiah 44:26-28.

Then in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes (circa 520 BC), Yahweh, through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah commanded Joshua the high priest, Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jewish people to return and build His desolation sanctuary. This so called “command” was given as a the “word” (dabar) of Yahweh through these two prophets. Notice in the following passage Ezra records that there were two witnesses for this divine word to return and build Jerusalem:

To complete the picture, here are the two so called words (dabar) of Yahweh commanding the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem. Remember, from the perspective of Yahweh, Daniel, and the prophets we’ve explored in this article, restoring Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary (the temple) was in fact “building Jerusalem”.

The WORD given to Haggai

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word [dabar] of YHWH by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,…

Then came the word [dabar] of YHWH by Haggai the prophet, saying,

Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?…

Thus saith the YHWH of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith YHWH.

Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith YHWH of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of YHWH their God, and the words [dabar] of Haggai the prophet, as YHWH their God had sent him, and the people did fear before YHWH.

Then spake Haggai the YHWH’S messenger in the YHWH’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith YHWH. ¹⁴ And YHWH stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of YHWH of hosts, their God, In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (Haggai 1:1-15 excerpted)

The WORD given to Zechariah

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word [dabar] of the YHWH unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying… Then the angel of the YHWH answered and said, O YHWH of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these 70 years? And the YHWH answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words…

Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7-16 excerpted)

A Window of Time
As seen from the two passages above (also confirmed by Ezra 6:14), Yahweh’s divine word to restore and build Jerusalem could be considered a window of time between the 1^st day of the 6^th month and the 24^th day of the 11^th month. I believe that this window in time, if the text provided no additional information, would be sufficient for calculating the starting point of the divine “word” of Daniel 9:25.

I believe though, there is reasonable grounds to consider a more specific starting date for Yahweh’s countdown to Yeshua (His Salvation) within this window. Following the chronology here, inside this 6 months window in time, as the prophet Haggai speaks the dabar “words” of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua (Hebrew Yeshua), the high priest, words that are clearly Messianic in nature:

In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of YHWH by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith YHWH; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith YHWH, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: (Haggai 2:1-4)

Yahweh Dwells With Mankind
Notice the dates here. This Word of Yahweh came to Haggai on the 21^st day of the 7^th month (the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles). This word was a call to compare the glory of the 1^st temple with the glory of the 2^ndtemple along with encouragement to stay the course.

(Remember this is just one month after Yahweh gave His divine commanded to the Jewish people to return and build the temple and in the middle of Yahweh’s window of time between His divine word to restore and build.)

Then Yahweh further explains to Haggai that “in a little while” He will shake the heavens, the earth, and the nations, and this will result in that the “desire of all nations will come: and I will fill this house with glory saith YHWH of hosts.”

Keep in mind the amazingly congruent context here. Exactly 480 years earlier Solomon completed the temple and dedicated it during the Feast of Tabernacles. Here Yahweh is calling Joshua, the high priest, Zerubbabel, the governor, and the people to remember the former glory of Solomon’s temple, reminding them that that “glory” (Yahweh’s presence) came down out of heaven and consumed the sacrifices and filled the newly built 1^st temple during the Feast of Tabernacles (Yahweh’s divine appointment – mow’ed)

Now Yahweh is saying, be encouraged Joshua and the people because the glory of this 2^nd temple will be greater than the glory of the former. As you read these two passages think about the implications of this statement and how such a wonderful future even might be possible?

For thus saith YHWH of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith YHWH of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith YHWH of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith YHWH of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith YHWH of hosts. (Haggai 2:6-9)

Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of YHWH was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of YHWH out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month…

Then said Solomon, YHWH hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever….

Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of YHWH filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of YHWH, because the glory of YHWH had filled the YHWH’S house…

Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. (2 Chronicles 5:1-3; 6:1-2; 7:1-9 excerpted)

Let me emphasize that it was during the Feast of Tabernacles that Yahweh’s presence filled the 1^st temple. 480 years later it was on the 7^th day of Feast of Tabernacles that Yahweh promised Joshua, Zerubbabel, and the people that he would someday again fill His house with a greater glory and that He would bring peace. Does this sound like another prophecy you might have heard? Who but the Prince of Peace could fulfill such a prophecy?

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Let the astounding implications of this set for a moment as we rejoin Joshua and Zerubbabel two months later (still inside our 6 months window of time) at another auspicious date. Don’t worry we will revisit these wonderful prophecies and show how amazingly congruent and connected they are.

Consider From This Day Forward I Will Bless You
Today, many claim that Hanukkah (the Jewish Festival of Lights / Dedication) is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament. While this may be true in letter, an argument can be made that it is mentioned in spirit. I’ll let you decide as you consider the word (dabar) of Yahweh to Haggai just two months after His amazing prophecy concerning the coming glory of His house.

Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith YHWH; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. ¹⁵ And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of YHWH: …

Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of YHWH’S temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. (Haggai 2:14-19 excerpted)

As you can see from this passage the temple foundation was completed on the 24^th day of the 9^th month. I remind you of the context here as described by the book of Ezra. Joshua’s and Zerubabbel’s efforts to rebuild the temple were beset on every side by difficulties and resistance. It had been 15 years and the people’s heart had not been in the effort. They were surrounded by enemies who continually tried to resist their efforts to rebuild the temple. When this prophecy was given to Haggai the temple was still four years away from completion, yet here is Yahweh promising them to consider or count from this day forward because He promised to bless them.

Counting from the 24^th day of the 9^th month, the first day of blessing fell on the 25^th day of the 9^th month. This day nearly 350 years in the future would be celebrated by the cleansing and rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus, a blessing indeed.

It was claimed by the Maccabaeus that after the cleansing of the temple there was only one day of oil for the 7 branched menorah which lighted the outdoor area around the temple, but miraculously the oil lasted for 8 days. Because of this miracle, with time, the celebration of Hanukkah (dedication) became also known as the Festival of Lights. This great event in Jewish history was celebrated in the time of Yeshua, and continues to be celebrated to this day. In fact, it was during this “feast of dedication” that Yeshua stood up in the temple and said “I am the Light of the World”.

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,…

Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. (John 9:5 – 10:23 excerpted)

Sent Him to Bless You
As enlightening as this history has been, (excuse the pun) the real blessing of counting this day forward is found in prophecy of Daniel 9. I remind you the countdown to the Messiah found in Daniel 9:25 begins with the following words:

The (word=dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem was given through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes. These divine words bookended a roughly 6 months window of time inside of which Yahweh told the Jewish people to remember the coming of the glory of Yahweh into the 1^st temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, and a yet coming greater glory. Two months later Yahweh again spoke to the Jewish people through Haggai and told them to count from the 24^th day of the 9^th month because He was going to Bless them.

So let’s consider or count Daniel 9:25 forward from the 24^th day of the 9^th month. Our first day of the count then begins on the 25^th day of the 9^th month in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes. That date falls in winter of 520 BC.

Seven Weeks
To this day it The history we explored in the pages above showed us that Yahweh’s divine “commandment” still surprises me how most scholars ignore the plain statement of Daniel 9:25, which tells us the Messiah would come “seven weeks” after the “word” to restore and build. The Hebrew language is quite fascinating, and the usage of Hebrew in the Bible even more so.

As I’ve explained in the first part of this article and more fully in my recent article Seven, 70, & Sevens: Daniel 9 & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism, the number 7, Sevens, and 70 have great significance related to the Bible’s Messianic symbolism. Here in Daniel 9:25 the Hebrew words translated “seven weeks” (In Yellow below) by English scholars look like this in Hebrew:

As I’ve explained in my articles and books, when Daniel was given the prophecy there were no cantilation marks (vowel pointings) in Hebrew. They were added by the Mesoretes during the Middle Ages to provide the reader with their understanding of the Hebrew words. The cantilation marks are not inspired. Let that sink in a moment!

To be sure the Mesoretes did their best to interpret the Hebrew text in keeping with what they believed to be the most contextually accurate meaning of the words. But they didn’t necessary get it correct every time.

Look at Daniel 9:25 again. Based upon the Mesoretes’ vowel pointings, the King James version of the Bible translates the passage as “seven weeks”. Translated literally as the text was given to Daniel, the passage might be more accurately read Seven 70. This would mean then that Daniel 9:25 read literally as given would be:

As many scholars have noted through the centuries, Daniel 9 does not specifically state what measure of time is to be used when calculating the Seven 70. Yahweh could have easily said it would 490 Years to the coming of the Messiah.

That He did not say this should give all of us pause. In fact, it should make us carefully consider that something special is going on here. As regular readers of this blog know, I believe the “time” aspect of Daniel 9 seems a mystery to most of us because we are not familiar with how the Bible reckons time nor are we familiar with how that reckoning of time is related to the Bible’s messianic symbolism.

In short, the Bible’s calendar is lunar/solar. It is not based upon a strictly solar year nor is it based upon a strictly lunar year it is a hybrid between the two. In practical terms this means that the Bible’s year varies between 12 or 13 months. This means that the Bible’s calendar is a certain number of lunar cycles, and said cycles are then intercalated (synchronized) with the solar year. (For more on this subject please see my article: Calendar Confusion and the Basics of Biblical Time).

Many of you learned this year another fascinating fact which supports the use of a 13^th month Biblical year when calculating the 7 Seventies of Daniel 9:25. As I explained in the first part of this article Daniel’s plea for Yahweh to remember His “covenant and mercy” was in fact a call for Yahweh to remember His Oath of Sevens which He swore with Abraham, that oath which promised in part that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed.

You might recall that the Hebrew word ‘7’ and ‘sware’ are in fact the same word. From this Hebrew root we get the words sevens, 70, oath, and many other variations. So in fact Yahweh’s answer to Daniel with the prophecy of 70 Sevens, as I’ve stated before was physically, spiritually, and Hebrew grammatically rooted in an Oath of Sevens Yahweh swore with Abraham.

In Daniel 9, the Hebrew word 7 is only used once. That occurrence is found right here in Daniel 9:25 and is specifically related to the timing of the coming Messiah. It is beyond reasonable calculation to claim that it is a coincidence, accident, or happenstance that this single use of the word 7, has as its Hebrew numerical roots, a formula for the Biblical intercalary year of 13 months.

Here is the bottom line. The Divine “word” to restore and build Jerusalem was given in the 2nd year of Darius within a 6 months window of time between the 6^th & 11^th month. Inside that window of time is a call for the Jewish people to consider or count from 24^th day of the 9^th month, a date that would someday become the date for the start of the Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. From that date 7 seventies using a 13 months lunar year gives us 515.02 years. This date likely takes us 5 centuries into the future Festival of Lights in the year 5 BC, a date which 9 months later around the Feast of Tabernacles in 4 BC has great Biblical support as the date of the birth of Yeshua.

Sent Him to Bless You
I ask you now to once again consider the words of the Apostle Peter where he reminds his Jewish brethren about the Oath of Sevens Yahweh made with Abraham. That oath which promised the coming Messiah, a Messiah Peter tells us Yahweh sent to “bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:25-26)

Now also remember the words of Yahweh to the Jewish people given through Haggai which tells them to consider or count from the day the temple’s foundation was laid because Yahweh had promised that from this date He would “bless” them.

¹⁸ Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of YHWH’s temple was laid, consider it…

from this day will I bless you…

And again the word of came unto YHWH Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, ²¹ Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; ²² And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. ²³ In that day, saith YHWH of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith YHWH, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith YHWH of hosts. (Haggai 2:18-23)

Wonderfully congruent, isn’t it!

Click on Image for better Resolution

The Back Story is the Real Story
So now when you think of Yeshua’s words “I am the light of the world”, words spoken during the Festival of Lights in the final years of His ministry you now know the wonderful back- story to that statement. Indeed, we can say with the apostle John that Yeshua “was the light of men”.

My hope for you, in reading this information, is that it strengthens your faith in the amazing congruency of the Bible’s messianic message and that these two articles shed new light and glory on Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind. That message was based in part upon an ancient Oath of Sevens given to Abraham, which promised that through his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. That blessing, (that promised light) which Haggai called us to consider from the 24^th day of the 9^th month, which Peter reminded us was a blessing which intended to turn mankind away from their iniquities. A light which we can reasonably now claim was made “flesh” during the winter months of 5 BC during the Festival of Lights, then 9 months later that light “Tabernacled” with mankind when Yahweh’s Salvation, Yeshua was born into this world. Now we understand why Yahweh told Haggai that the “glory” of the 2^nd temple would be greater than glory of the first.

That glory was Yeshua (Hebrew = Yahweh’s Salvation) come to give light to this world!

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. (John 12:35-36)

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter [dabar]. (Proverbs 25:2)
[matter in Hebrew = dabar = word].

Maranatha!

Hanukkah, Christmas, and the Backstory of the Messiah’s Birth – Part I — Here

A Note on Hanukkah and Christmas
I believe the above history provides a reasonable explanation of why the birth of Christ came to be associated with the Roman Catholic celebration of Christmas. In the early first centuries after Yeshua, as the gentile church distanced itself from its Biblical (Jewish) roots, the conception of Yeshua around 25th day of the 9th Biblical month (in nov/dec) easily would have merged with the celebration of the birthday of the Roman god Sol Invictus Mithra on the 25th of December.

For context sake, keep in mind that in the early first centuries of the church there was great animosity between Gentiles and Jews. (Both side bear blame for this schism.) In any event the Biblical celebration of Passover became Easter, the Passover supper became the Lords Supper, the 7th day Sabbath became the Lord’s Day on the 1st day of the week, and Shavout became Pentecost.

A Final Bonus
As a final bonus I leave you with a ribbon of Yahweh’s redemptive plan based in the promise of His coming Glory and strung together with the words of the apostles and prophets who gave them.

The Glory of Yahweh Shall Be Revealed
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ² Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of YHWH’s hand double for all her sins. The voice [John] of him that crieth in the wilderness [see Luke 3:1-6],

Prepare ye the way of YHWH, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of YHWH shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 40:1-5)

The Glory of this House will be Greater
In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month [final day of the Feast of Tabernacles], came the word of YHWH by the prophet Haggai, saying,

….For thus saith YHWH of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith YHWH of hosts…

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith YHWH of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith YHWH of hosts. (Haggai 2:1-9 excerptd)

The Prince of Peace
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

The Light of the World
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

… ¹⁴ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14 excerpted)

I Have Sworn – An Oath of Sevens
And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba=seven], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: ¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:16-18)

That Keeping the Covenant & Mercy (Oath of Sevens)
And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; (Daniel 9:4 )

The Blessing of Abraham
¹⁴ That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. (Galatians 3:14-18)

Consider From This Day Forward – I Will Bless You
Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of YHWH’s temple was laid, consider it…. from this day will I bless you. (Haggai 2:18-19 excerpted)

Sent Him to Bless You
Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:25 – 4:1)

YHWH sitteth upon the flood; yea, YHWH sitteth King for ever. YHWH will give strength unto his people; YHWH will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:10-11)

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? YHWH strong and mighty, YHWH mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? YHWH of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. (Psalm 24:7-10)

Book 1

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The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."

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Book 2

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Daniel's 70 Weeks -
"A book that will forever change how you understand the Bible's greatest Messianic prophecy."

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Book 3

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The Jubilee Code -
"A book that will show you real Biblical evidence for Yahweh's guiding in hand history bringing about His redemptive plan for mankind."

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Hanukkah, Christmas & the Back-story of the Messiah’s Birth

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Part I – I Have Sworn – An Oath of Sevens

We all know the thrilling story of Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) birth, of Mary and Joseph, of the angels sent to announce His birth, of the wise men bearing gifts, and even the merciless Romans and the brutal Herod. This week though, I want to share with you some Biblical history related to Christ’s birth that’s even more important than these wonderful traditions we are all so familiar with.

Today, I hope you’ll join me on a wonderful adventure as we explore the underlying Messianic message of the Bible as it relates to the coming of Christ. I’ll tell you right up front that it will take a bit of work to follow the momentous threads of this story, but I guarantee if you make the effort with me, you’ll have a new appreciation for the lengths to which Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, went to ensure that all of us would have the evidence necessary to believe that Yeshua (Jesus) was indeed His Salvation sent to redeem all of us from our sins.

To get you thinking a bit outside the box of your familiar traditions, let me ask you a question:

What was the real miracle of Yeshua’s first coming? Was it His birth, or His conception?

If we think about it carefully, it could be argued that the real miracle of Yeshua’s first coming was the unfathomable fact that YHWH, the living God of the Bible, made himself lower than the angels and took on human flesh so that He could redeem mankind from their sins. He, YHWH, when the righteous penalty for our sins was carried out, stood in our place and became our Yeshua. (Yeshua in Hebrew means – Yahweh’s Salvation) As wonderful as Yeshua’s birth was, it was simply the natural order of things following His miraculous conception 9 months earlier. To set off on the right foot, let’s look at a couple of passages which speak about Yeshua’s divine nature and His humble human incarnation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made….

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3 &14 )

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)

In this two part series we’ll explore the events leading up to the Messiah’s birth, events which were foretold with an amazing prophecy that lays out the roadmap for the coming of the Messiah and provides us with insights as to why YHWH, in His divine perfection (represented throughout the Bible by the number 7) lowered Himself and became human flesh (represented by the number 6).

Or as the apostle Matthew so beautifully and cleverly illustrates in the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament, Yeshua (through his legal father Joseph) came as the 13^th enumeration, a literal Homo Deus or God Man (6+7=13).

These events also provide us with enough Biblical history to understand the likely reason the Christian traditions of Christmas as the birthday of the Messiah superseded the more important and earlier date which marked the Messiah conception.

The Fall of Babylon and the Promised Redeemer
In fitting irony our story begins in Babylon of the Chaldeans, the rebuilt ancient metropolis where centuries before, mankind in their hubris and pride tried to make their own pathway to heaven. As is so often demonstrated in the Bible, man’s ways are not always in sync with God’s ways. In this case, Yahweh’s pathway for mankind to reach heaven didn’t begin with a tower but rather a humble manger.

So it’s in the first year of a conquered Babylon and its new Median king (Likely the viceroy of Cyrus the Great) that we find an ancient Jewish man on his knees, his face towards the distant homeland of his fathers, his body prostrate in prayer to the living God of the Bible, a man pleading for the restoration of Jerusalem and its desolate sanctuary, that once glorious, though temporary dwelling place of Yahweh, the living God of the Bible.

This prayer as it is recorded in the 9^th chapter of the book of Daniel is truly one of the most moving prayers you’ll find in the Bible. It is so moving in fact, that it touched the heart of Yahweh and caused Him to respond with a thrilling message to Daniel. This message you and I know as the prophecy of 70 Sevens, more commonly known to some of you as the Prophecy of 70 Weeks.

The Coming of the Messiah
Did you know that 70 Sevens prophecy is the only prophecy in the Bible which gives a specific date by which we can determine the timing of the Messiah’s first coming? In other words, this is the only prophecy in the Bible that links verifiable secular dates with a predicted date for the arrival of the Messiah.

Of all the hundreds and hundreds of other Messianic prophecies in the Bible, this is the only one that provides verifiable, datable chronology proving that Yeshua of Nazareth was the Bible’s promised Messiah. As I explained in my recent article Sir Isaac Newton, Daniel 9, & the Rabbinic Forgeries Hypothesis, this prophecy was so influential that it was used by the followers of nearly every Jewish messianic hero of the 1^st centuries BC & AD to prove that their hero was the Bible’s promised messiah. Unfortunately, they sought a warrior to restore Israel’s political fortunes when Yahweh’s plan included a humble carpenter (builder or craftsman) sent to first restore their spiritual fortunes.

An Answer To Prayer
Now you might be thinking, sure the Jewish messianic expectants of the first centuries BC/AD might have understood Daniel 9 to speak of the coming Messiah, but their messianic expectations were wrong. So how can we be any more confident that this prophecy speaks of Yeshua of Nazareth as the coming Messiah? Fair question, so let’s dig into that a bit.

First of all, keep in mind that Daniel 9 describes specific pleadings by Daniel and a specific answer by Yahweh, the living God of the Bible. We cannot separate the context of one from the other. With this in mind we find that the very first words out of Daniel’s mouth are incredibly significant.

And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;… ( Daniel 9:4)

The Covenant and Mercy
I can’t tell you how much Daniel 9:4 thrills me. The Bible is so congruent! Too often I think we look at the Bible as a bunch of books and stories, each with valuable insights and moral guidance but no single idea which binds them into a congruent whole. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The Bible is 66 books, each of which provide a piece of the panoramic picture of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind. The Bible is the story of Yahweh’s Salvation for mankind. It is the story of His Yeshua! (To remind you, Yeshua (Jesus), in Hebrew means Yahweh’s Salvation or the Salvation of Yahweh). Here in Daniel 9:4 we find a major piece or thread if you will, of this redemptive panoramic.

It’s no accident that Daniel opens his pleadings on behalf of his people, his city, and Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary – with a call for Yahweh to remember the Covenant and Mercy “to them that love him, and that keep his commandments”.

You can read more about this Covenant and Mercy in my free book Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy or my article Seven, 70, & Sevens: Daniel 9 & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism but in short, Daniel’s remembrance of Yahweh’s Covenant and Mercy is a direct quote from Deut. 7:9-12 where Moses (just as Israel is poised to enter the Promised Land) is reminding Israel about the covenant Yahweh swore (shaba) with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Here take a look:

Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;…

Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers: (Deuteronomy 7:9-12)

Here is where this so called Covenant and Mercy gets really exciting. You see, if you follow this thread of covenant and mercy back through the Biblical story you’ll find it originates with the father Abraham and an “oath” (shebuw’ah) Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, swore (shaba) with him. To give you an added sense of the importance of this oath, take note that this was the first “oath” Yahweh swore (shaba) with any man or woman in the Bible. This oath in part, promised that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. Here read the words for yourself:

And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. (Genesis 22:15-19)

It was there on that holy mountain, when Abraham demonstrated his faith (by a willingness to sacrifice his only son in that ancient messianic foreshadowing) that Yahweh swore (shaba) that someday through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. Indeed centuries later it was on that very same mountain, where Yeshua became mankind’s salvation.

To Sware Sevens
For those of you not familiar with Hebrew, some fascinating details about the word “sworn” or “to sware” (shaba) and its relationship to the numbers 7, Sevens, and 70 is worth noting here.

Shaba, the Hebrew word for sware, is phonetically identical to the Hebrew word for the number 7. In other words, before vowel pointings or cantillation marks were added during the middle ages, context determined the meaning of the word shaba. For those of you, like me, who need a visual, here are the Hebrew words for shaba and seven. See if you can find any difference:

Interesting, isn’t it?

It is further worth noting that shaba (to sware / sworn) is also the root of the following Hebrew words and their variants. To aid in comparison I’ve provided the Hebrew letter value for each word. I’ve also highlighted the root “shaba” in every word.

Messianic Markers
The wonder of Yahweh’s redemptive plan and the ingeniousness of the way He incorporated evidence of that plan in the entire Bible should blow you away. Think of it this way, consider the Hebrew word shaba (Sware/Seven) as Messianic marker of divine perfection for Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind.

When Yahweh swore to Abraham that through his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed, this swearing henceforth became known as the Covenant and Mercy of Yahweh.

Realistically, you could call this swearing an “oath of sevens”. After all to sware and seven are the exact same word! Centuries after Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham, the prophet Daniel was pleading for Yahweh’s “covenant and mercy” in Daniel 9:4. Immediately Yahweh sent Daniel a prophecy which provided Daniel with an answer to when that “covenant and mercy” of the promised seed would come, in other words – when the Messiah would come. Yahweh’s reply was the prophecy you and I know as the 70 Sevens or more accurately in Hebrew as Shabuwa/Shib’iym.

Do you see how awesome that is?

Yahweh’s answer to Daniel was a messianic prophecy rooted literally, spiritually, and Hebrew grammatically in the oath of “sevens” Yahweh swore with Abraham.

Yahweh’s oath of sevens with Abraham, centuries later was confirmed in a prophecy of 70 sevens, given to Daniel which precisely told Israel (and mankind) when that oath of sevens (the covenant and mercy) would become manifest.

I would call that divine ingenuity, wouldn’t you?

What more proof do you need that Daniel 9 is a prophecy which speaks of the Bible’s promised Messiah? Consider once more Yahweh’s words to Abraham and Isaac:

And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; (Genesis 22:16-18)

And the YHWH appeared unto him [Isaac], and said,

I will perform the oath [shebuw’ah] which I sware [shaba] unto Abraham thy father; ⁴ And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; (Genesis 26:2-4)

To round this aspect of the subject out here is the TWOT Bible Lexicon explaining the usage of the word “shaba”.

It is apparent that shaba “swear” is identical in its consonantal root to the word sheba “seven.” It is identical, of course, to the feminine form of seven-the masculine adding a fourth letter, “he”-and it is in the feminine in which the Hebrew counts his cardinal numbers! [another approach is to call shibâ the fem. from though it is used with masc. nouns, and sheba the masc. from used with fem. nouns. R.L.H.]

Not only is the Hebrew verb “to swear” identical in the ancient unpointed text to the number seven, but also a relationship is suggested by the 2000 B.C. incident of Gen 21:22-34 . Here Abimelech desires Abraham to swear to deal uprightly, while Abraham in turn requires Abimelech to swear that the well of water belongs to him, Abraham. Abraham then seals the oath by giving exactly seven ewe lambs as a testimonial witness to Abimelech, and the well is called Beer-sheba, or Well-of-the-seven-oath! Thus BDB has defined shaba by the pithy oneline paraphrase, “to… seven one self, or bind oneself by seven things” (p. 989). Gesenius cites Herodotus iii:8 and the Iliad, xix:243, to give evidence that in the ancient world it was not uncommon to seal an agreement by the septenary number….

An oath, shebûwâ, should be contrasted to a covenant, berît, in order to better understand both. An oath in the OT is a solemn verbal statement or pledge that is affirmed, while the covenant is the substance of an agreement itself. In the Hebrew idiom, one would swear (shaba) an oath (shebûwâ), e.g. Gen 26:3, “I [God] will perform an oath which I swore unto Abraham.” A covenant, however, would be either established (Hiphil of qûm, literally, “caused to stand”) as in Gen 17:19, or it would be cut (k¹rat) as in Jer 31:31, “I [God] will make (cut) a new covenant with the House of Israel.”

Oaths were made by Jehovah to show the absolute certainty of his performance of that which he promised (e.g. to Abraham, Gen 26:3; and Isaac, Psa 105:9). (excerpted from 2319a in the TWOT Bible Lexicon)

Wonderfully congruent, isn’t it?

But now let’s turn our attention to how the New Testament writers understood the Covenant and Mercy, that ancient oath of sevens made by Yahweh with Abraham.

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The Covenant and Mercy in the New Testament
Did you know that Paul, Zachariah (father of John), Peter, and even Mary the Mother of Yeshua all alluded to the Covenant and Mercy of Genesis 22, Deut. 7, and Daniel 9 as a promise fulfilled in Yeshua? Here read it for yourself:

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed….

Did you catch that? Paul acknowledges that Yahweh’s covenant (oath) with Abraham that his “seed” would be a blessing to all the nations, was a Messianic covenant “confirmed” and fulfilled in Yeshua.

Zachariah and the Covenant
Zachariah, the father of John, even acknowledged that covenant and mercy that Yahweh “sware” to Abraham would be fulfilled through a “horn of Salvation” in the house of David. This “horn of salvation” which Zachariah acknowledged was spoken about by “his holy prophets, which have been since the world began”.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath [shebew’ah] which he sware [shaba] to our father Abraham,.. (Luke 1:68-73)

Mary and the Covenant
It was just a few months previous to this statement by Zachariah, that Mary the Mother of Yeshua, when visiting Zachariah and his wife Elisabeth acknowledged the following in response to Elisabeth salutation that she (Mary) was “blessed among women”.

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. (Luke 1:41-43, 46-49, 54-55 )

Peter and the Covenant
Just to leave no doubt in your minds as to the meaning of this Covenant and Mercy as understood by the New Testament apostles, here are the words of Peter in Acts 3 when speaking to his brethern on the temple mount in Jerusalem as they marveled about the Peter’s healing of the lame man:

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus… And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong,…

But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:…

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Wow, powerful words, are they not? Here Peter is telling his Jewish brethren in the temple that Yeshua was a fulfillment of what Yahweh had promised by the “mouth of all his prophets”. Further that Yeshua’s death and resurrection was the fulfillment of the “covenant” Yahweh made with Abraham which promised that in his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed, a blessing which at its heart entailed a spiritual restoration of the people by their “turning away” from their iniquities.

As we move on to the next messianic thread in Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind, keep the above words of Peter in mind. As you see, they are an important reminder of another ancient prophecy (we’ll look at in the next part of this series) which spoke of a promised blessing upon the Jewish people (and by extension the Gentiles as well).

…Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:26)

Yahweh willing, In Part II – I am the Light of the World, I will show you how Yahweh’s – oath of sevens- with Abraham, (as described in the prophecy of 70 sevens) was fulfilled in Yeshua. We will also look at how that prophecy and its fulfillment became the basis for Yeshua’s statement that He was the “light of the world” and further I will provide you with reasonable evidence to show how that light dawned upon mankind in the winter of 5 BC during the Jewish Festival of Lights, also known as Hanukkah. Finally, I will do my best to explain why this history is likely the origin of early Roman Catholic traditions related to Christmas.

Updated: You can read part two here: I am the Light of the World

Maranatha!

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The 13th Enumeration
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Book 2

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Daniel's 70 Weeks -
"A book that will forever change how you understand the Bible's greatest Messianic prophecy."

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Book 3

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The Jubilee Code -
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Halloween: Resurrecting the Day of the Dead

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Do you believe the author of Hebrews when he said…

“it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God?”

In just a few days, mostly in ignorance, cultures from every corner of the earth will commemorate a day which marks one of the most horrifying examples of Yahweh’s righteous indignation. This day so scarred the consciousness of mankind that its been associated with death and darkness for several thousand years. That day most of us know as Halloween and this week I’ll share with you the tragic Biblical history which tells of this event.

For those of us with a Biblical world view, each year the discussion of whether it’s okay to celebrate Halloween becomes a bit more divisive. Some of you probably believe celebrating Halloween is no big deal, I must warn you up front, that if you have the courage to keep reading I’ll show you why, in fact, your celebration of Halloween is whistling past the graveyard of God’s wrath.

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know I like to look at these things in terms of the Biblical record and ancient history. So today I will share with you a bit of little known history which just might change your perspective on this increasingly popular holiday. What I’m going to share with you is the Biblical origins of Halloween.

In my blog post today I take you back nearly 4500 years to the most horror filled day in the history of mankind, a day when mankind nearly vanished from the face of the earth.

You and I know it as Halloween, All Saints Day, or the Day of the Dead, but as you are about to learn these celebrations all have a common origin in a real historical event. Today, you and I associate Halloween with ghosts, witches, wandering spirits, and lost souls. Many claim these celebrations are the result of the pagan practices of the Druids and Celts, but the truth is actually much further back in history.

Did you know that Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Peru, Australia, India, Polynesia, Mexico, and Europe all have their own traditions concerning a destruction of mankind? Traditions do vary, but beginning in the fall, towards the end of our modern calendar month of October, many cultures of the world commemorate this event.

One of the best summaries of the subject, that I’ve ever read, was written at the turn of the century by David Davidson.¹ Though, I don’t agree with all of Davidson’s conclusions, the historical references that he provides related to the great destruction of mankind are well worth considering. This is a rather lengthy quote, but worth the effort:

* * *

“¶ 25. THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD.
Attention has been directed (in ¶15) to the fact that the 1st November dating was intentionally observed instead of the beginning of Winter, seven days later. The 1st November Pyramid phenomena defined the first day of the fixed agricultural year of the Ancient Egyptians. It is with respect to this fixed 1st November year that the early Egyptian Calendar year was intercalated at the end of every five or six years. Hence the festival of the true beginning of the New Year was observed in Egypt at intervals of this duration as early as the time of Dynasties I and II.³

At the time of Dynasty XII, the celebration of the New Year festival took the form of lighting lamps for the dead on the last day of the old year and the first day of the New Year.⁴ As Dr. Frazer has pointed out, this proves that the New Year’s Festival at this time was the ancient Festival of the Dead—the modern All Souls’, or All Saints’ (1st – 2nd November).⁵

“The custom,” he remarks,⁶ “was observed throughout the whole of Egypt,” and is referred to by Herodotus (II, 62), as prevailing in the 5th Century B.C.” “On All Saints’ Day, the 1st of November,” Frazer continues, “ the shops and streets in the Abruzzi are filled with candles, which people buy in order to kindle them in the evening on the graves of their relations : For all the dead come to visit their homes on that night, the Eve of All Souls’, and they need lights to show them the way.”

Similarly, he states, “The Miztecs of Mexico believed that the souls of the dead came back in the twelfth month of every year, which corresponded with our November. On this day of All Souls the houses were decked out to welcome the Spirits.⁸

Frazer suggests that “The nominally Christian feast of All Souls’ on November 2nd, appears to be an old Celtic festival of the Dead, adopted by the Church in 998 A.D.” “The Celts and the Teutons appear to have dated the beginning of their year from the beginning of Winter, the Celts reckoning it from the 1st of November and the Teutons from the 1st of October. “ The feast of All Saints’ on November 1st, seems also to have displaced a heathen festival of the dead.”⁹

¶ 26. OSIRIS AND THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD: ISIS AND THE GREAT PYRAMID
In the dual aspect of Osiris as corn or vegetation-god and god of the dead, the rites of Osiris embodied in one celebration, at the commencement of the November Vegetation Year, the rites of the agricultural deity and the rites of primitive ancestor-worship. In the sowing of the grain in November was seen the symbolic burial of the god ; in its growth, his renewal of life ; his resurrection ; and, in harvest, the death and sacrifice of the god.¹⁰ Thus Dr. Frazer states :¹¹

“ Under the names of Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, and Attis, the peoples of Egypt and Western Asia represented the yearly decay and revival of life, especially of vegetable life, which they personified as a god who annually died and rose again from the dead.”

The rites of Osiris in ancient Egypt were annually celebrated on the day of the Festival of the Dead, November 1st. Owing to the fact that the noon reflections of the Great Pyramid defined the day of the celebrations, Osiris, in later Egyptian times, was associated with the Pyramid. Hence the fact that Isis, the female counterpart of Osiris, was designated in later times, “ the queen of the Pyramid,” and the “ mistress of the commencement of the year.” When the November year was discarded for the Sothic or Sirius Year, Isis followed the alteration of the year’s beginning, and was identified with the star Sothis or Sirius. The original November year beginning aspect of the goddess was Hathor, later absorbed by Isis.

¶ 27. THE GREAT PYRAMID NOT AN INSTITUTION OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
The accounts of Herodotus that Cheops (or Khuphu), the builder of the Great Pyramid, closed the Egyptian temples of the gods, and forbade sacrifice to the gods, and of the Egyptian priest, Manetho, that the same king “was arrogant towards the gods,” have been confirmed by Professor Petrie’s excavations at Abydos.¹² Furthermore, the simplicity of the Great Pyramid, and of other works belonging to the same reign, the utter lack of internal or external ornament and inscription, removes the Pyramid entirely from the particular kind of religious atmosphere associated generally with every form of Egyptian architecture.

It seems clearly obvious, then, that the First of November phenomena of the Great Pyramid had not been devised to ensure the celebration of the rites of ancestor-worship, or the rites of Osiris, on this particular day. The traditions concerning the festival, however, indicate that it was considered to be the anniversary of an historical event, rather than of an event belonging to the astronomical or vegetational phenomena of the year. This again, is confirmed by the Pyramid indicating this date rather than the true beginning of winter.

¶ 28. THE TRADITIONAL ORIGIN OF THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD.
As to the origin of the traditions concerning the festival of the dead, Haliburton¹³ states as follows :— In Mexico “ the festival of the dead was held on the 17th of November, and was regulated by the Pleiade. They had a tradition that, at that time, the world had been previously destroyed, and they dreaded that a similar catastrophe at the end of a cycle would annihilate the race.”

The 17th of November¹⁴occurs also as an alternative dating of certain cults in Egypt during Dynasties XII and XIX, in Ptolemaic Egypt, and at the time of Plutarch. It occurs in Ancient Rome as an alternative date to 1st November. According to Plutarch, the alternative dating, on the fixed Alexandrian (Julian) Calendar of his time, fell on the 17th day of the Egyptian month Athyr (Hathor).¹⁵In the XIIth Dynasty, the same alternative dating would be the 17th day of Month I, Season of Sowing,—the 1st month of the fixed 1st November year.

Reference to the Egyptian form of the traditional destruction of the world appears in the early Xth Dynasty Papyrus, Petersburg III6A,¹⁶ as “The Destruction of Mankind.” The Xth Dynasty Papyrus states: “ God made heaven and earth (refer Gen. I, i) at their desire. He checked the greed of the waters (refer Gen. I, 6-10) and made the air to give life to their nostrils (i.e., by the removal of super-saturation from the atmosphere effected by process of Gen. I, 6 and 7. For previous conditions refer Gen. II, 5 and 6). They are His own images (refer Gen. I, 26, 27) proceeding from His flesh He slew His enemies and destroyed His own children because of their plots in making rebellion.” (Refer Gen. VI, 5-7, 11-13, for causes.)

The later form of the narrative, appearing in the tomb of Seti I of Dynasty XIX,¹⁷associates Hathor with the “Destruction of Mankind,” which would account for the 17th day of the Egyptian month Hathor (the Athyr of Plutarch’s account) being identified, in later times, with the Festival of the Dead.

¶ 29. HATHOR AND “THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND.
” Outstanding features of the XIXth Dynasty story of the “Destruction of Mankind “ fix that narrative as the Egyptian rendering of the narrative of the Noachian flood in Genesis, and of the ancient Mexican tradition of the destruction of the world, referred to by Haliburton. Commemoration of the latter, as quoted, “ was regulated by the Pleiades.”

Confirming the connection between the various forms of the narrative, Haliburton observes that the celebration of the festival of the dead by the Australian aborigines was held in November, when the constellation of the Pleiades is most distinct, and was specifically worshipped as “ the giver of rain.”¹⁸ He says again that “ The month of November was formerly called in Persia ‘ The Month of the angel of death.’ “¹⁹

In the Egyptian XIXth Dynasty form of the tradition this “ angel of death “ appears as Hathor. Hat-hor, as Sir Ernest Budge shows,²⁰ was originally ‘ Het-Heru,’ “ The House of Horus,” “ one special part of the great watery mass of heaven,” and was therefore a special part of “ the waters above the firmament,” of Genesis I, 9, and probably, therefore, the Deluge “ floodgates of heaven “ of Genesis VII, II. The latter should more clearly be rendered “ a finely spread restraining influence or natural law (attenuated lattice-work is the restricted application) upholding the waters above the firmament,” This sufficiently accounts for the 17th of the month Athyr (Hathor) being celebrated as the day of the festival of the dead in the Alexandrian Calendar period. For in the narrative of Genesis the Noachian deluge is given as beginning on the 17th day of the second month of the Calendar year of Genesis. As to the association between Hathor and the ancient November constellation of Pleiades, the modern popular name—”the seven sisters”—of the latter constellation had its counterpart in Ancient Egypt as “ the Seven Hathors.”

The XlXth Dynasty narrative of the Destruction of Mankind states that “Ra ordered in the midst of the night²¹ to pour out the water of the vessels, and the fields were entirely covered with water and there came the goddess (Hathor) at the morning, and she found the fields covered with water, and she was pleased with it and she drank to her satisfaction, and she went away satisfied, and she saw no men…..”

Then Ra ordered “ that libations be made to her at every festival of the New Year.” The narrative defines this as the “ festival of Hathor.” Obviously it was originally New Year’s Day, which in early Egypt fell on 1st November.

* * *

Halloween Commemorates the Deluge
Fascinating history, isn’t it? What the above quote shows is that we have historical records that confirm the Flood account as given in Genesis:

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. (Genesis 7:11)

Keep in mind that there is some evidence that in Noah’s day the calendar year began in the fall which equates to our current September/October. That means the 17th day of the second month of Noah’s day would have been the late October early November time frame. Remember it was not until the events of the Exodus that YHWH commanded Israel to begin their calendar relative to the agricultural month of Abib which falls in the spring. As we will see in Part II of this article, YHWH’s command to fix the Israelites’ religious calendar to the month of Abib has some wonderful Messianic implications.

So then, we have historical records which indicate that Halloween, All Saints Day, and the Day of the Dead commemorate the Biblical history of the Deluge, once again proving the Bible is more than a collection of ancient fairy tales as some modern scholars would have you believe.

The Spanish philosopher George Santayana wisely observed that, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

The Bible tells us that at the time of the Messiah’s return mankind will have forgotten or no longer care about the past. Even worse that generation will acting in a way similar to those of Noah’s generation who brought gods wrath upon this earth.

And as it was in the days of Noe [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27)

My hope, in sharing this bit of history with you, is that this year on Halloween you’ll remember the past so you aren’t condemned to repeat it. Remember that this Day of the Dead marked the judgment of a righteous God on a sinful world and the greatest loss of human life in the history of mankind. Also, remember the Bible tells us that when the Messiah returns it will be as it was in the days of Noah.

I ask you, in the days to come will you be like righteous Noah and his family who by faith heeded the warning and was protected from YHWH’s righteous judgment? Or will we be like those outside the ark who were blinded by their own sin and didn’t see the judgment coming until it was too late?

Maranatha!

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (Romans 13:11-14 )

* * *

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The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."

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Daniel's 70 Weeks -
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The Jubilee Code -
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¹The Great Pyramid: It’s Divine Message, (Pyramid Records) D. Davidson and C. Aldersmith 1924, pp. 23-26
²Detailed explanations are given in descriptions of Plates IX, X, and XI.
³For the data concerning this refer Section II, ^ 56.
⁴Breasted, “ Ancient Records,” I, pp. 260-271.
⁵Frazer, “Adonis, Osiris, Attis,” pp. 241-242.
⁶” Adonis, Osiris, Attis,” pp. 241-2.
⁷Ibid., pp. 241-2.
⁸Ibid.,-pp. 244-8.
⁹Ibid., pp. 254-5.
¹⁰A. Moret, “ Kings and Gods of Egypt,” pp. 69-108, 148-198.
¹¹” Adonis, Osiris, Attis,” p.5 Both are standard works on this subject.
¹²Abydos II, pp. to, 30, 48.
¹³In Prof. C. P. Smyth’s “ Life and Work at the Great Pyramid,” Vol. II, p. 390.
¹⁴“Refer Section II, H 55.
¹⁵“Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, Vol. FI, p. 336.
¹⁶Translation by Dr. Alen H. Gardiner, “ Journal of Egyptian Archaeology,1’ Vol. I, p. 34.
¹⁷Translation by Dr. Ed. Naville, “Records of the Past,” 1st series. Vol. VI, pp. 105-112
¹⁸Haliburton in Smyth’s “ Life and Work at the Great Pyramid,” Vol. II, pp. 384-386.
¹⁹lbid., p. 390.
²⁰”Gods of the Egyptians,” Vol. I, pp. 428-429.
²¹ll Hallow’s Eve or Hallowe’en ?

Sir Isaac Newton, Daniel 9, & the Rabbinic Forgeries Hypothesis

A Personal Note on Hope & Building the Future

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Sierra Vista Herald Photo

Building the Future

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know I don’t often post about personal life. Today though, I thought I’d share some news about my daughter Hope. I hope (no pun intended) that you’ll forgive this rare digression from discussing Biblical history, Bible prophecy, and how it relates to Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind through Yeshua.

My daughter Hope is an unusual young lady that doesn’t fit most stereotypical molds of a faith based homeschooled young lady.

Recently, Hope was selected as one of five finalists in Miller Welding’s, – We Build Future competition. This is a national competition for young welders with hundreds of entries which Miller narrowed down to just five. The long story short, in order to determine the finalist Miller is asking people to vote for one of the top finalists. Voting is open to the public and if you wouldn’t mind I’d appreciate you taking a few minutes to look at the five finalists and vote for who you think best qualifies. You can vote at the following link: Vote For A Talented New Welder Hope’s bio is at the bottom of the page.

The Rest of the Story
For those of you who would like to know how a homeschooled girl became one of Arizona’s top young welders, as Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story….

Winnie and I, as our children were growing up decided we didn’t like the way every birthday, holiday or special occasion was being commercialized by our culture. So to push back against this we made a rule in our family that any gifts for any holidays could not be bought, they had to be made by hand.

One day our daughter Hope as a young teenager asked me to show her how to use our Miller welder so that she could weld a birthday present for her brother Zane. Her gift was his name spelled using rebar welded together. One thing let to another and she started welding all sorts of things for us and others.

Some time after this she decided she wanted to take a welding course at Cochise College our local community college. She loved the class so much that she took several more. With a lot of hard work and dedication from her welding instructor Scott Brown, Hope went on to become the local and state welding champion, and eventually placing 9th in the national Skill’s USA competition in Kentucky.

Today, Hope now 22, teaches Welding at Cochise College where she was once a student.

Earlier I told you that Hope didn’t fit the standard mold. Well, Hope paid for those college welding classes and equipment by teaching music lessons. You see Hope is not just a welder, but also a fine pianist and cellist who teaches over 20 students each week from ages 4 to 65 to play the piano and cello.

So, once again, if you could spare a few more minutes, Hope would appreciate your consideration for Miller’s Building the Future Competition linked here: Vote For A Talented New Welder

The Masoretic Text, Matthew 1, & the Jubilee

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So did the Rabbinic Jewish scholars of the 2^nd century AD forge the Masoretic text to obfuscate the Biblical chronological evidence that proves Yeshua (Jesus) was the Messiah promised in the Scriptures? Remember this is the underlying premise of Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis that contends the Masoretic text is not a reliable template of Old Testament chronological history.

To ensure we don’t lose sight of the underlying thread of the forgery’s hypothesis, here once again are excerpts from Mr. Sexton and Mr. Smith’s papers on the subject:

The evidence suggests that the chronology in the MT did not exist before the second century of the Christian era. Russell concludes that “in the days of Josephus, as well as in those of the annalists who preceded him as compilers from the Jewish Scriptures, there was no difference in the numerical statements of the Greek version, as compared with the text of the original Hebrew.”¹²⁸ ( Who Was Born When Enosh Was 90

Since Jubilees was immensely popular in Second Temple Judaism, I theorize that the rabbis were aware of this construct in Jubilees and adapted the concept into their Hebrew manuscripts of Genesis 5 to reduce the pre-Flood chronology by 600 years in order to discredit Jesus as the Messiah. (From Adam to Abraham: An Updated on the Genesis 5 and 11 Research Project: Dec. 16, 2017)

Before digging into the Jubilee aspect of this subject, I think it’s important to emphasize how many of the Jews and Christians of the 1^st century understood a past, present, and future panoramic view of Biblical history.

It may surprise some of you to learn that the millennialist view of Biblical history (6000 years of mankind’s labor under the curse of sin with a coming literal 1000 year reign/rest of Yeshua) was the predominant view of the early Christian church up until the time of the church father Origin. But this view wasn’t just limited to the early church of the first few centuries. In fact, Rabbinic traditions complied in the Talmud (100-500 AD) also held the millennialist perspective of Biblical history.

This needs to be repeated – up until the 2^nd century Christian and Jewish traditions shared a common eschatological understanding of the Biblical ages. A majority of both believed the messianic age was a literal and future 1000 year reign of the Messiah upon this earth.

The Septuagint version of the Bible’s chronology placed this future millennial age only 500 years into the future (from the birth of Yeshua). The Masoretic text on the other hand placed the millennial age nearly 2000 years from the birth of Christ.

What’s odd to me about the Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis is that it seems incongruent with what the Jewish traditions actually taught about the Messianic age. You see, as evidenced by the Talmud, Biblical history was divided into three – 2000 year ages followed by the 1000 year reign of the Messiah. This view was based in the 6 days labor & 1 day rest of creation. The chart below reflects these Talmudic traditions:

As you can see Biblical history of the present age (Olam Hazeh) was divided into three 2000 year periods. Notice the third period from 4000-6000 (from Adam) was considered the age of the Messiah. I quote from the Talmud:

There is a Boraitha in accordance with R. Ktina: As in the Sabbatic period, the seventh year is a release, so will it be with the whole world that one thousand years after six will be a release, as above cited verse [Isa. xii. i] and [Ps. xcii. 11]: “A Psalm or song for the Sabbath day,” which means the day which will be all Sabbath. And as [ibid. xc. 4]: “For a thousand years are in thy eyes but as the yesterday when it is passed.”

The disciples of Elijah taught: The world will continue for six thousand years, the first two thousand of which were a chaos (Tahu), the second two thousand were of wisdom, and the third two thousand are the days of the Messiah, and because of our sins many, many years of these have elapsed, and still he has not come.

Elijah said to R. Jehudah, the brother of R. Sala the Pious: The world will continue for no less than eighty-five jubilaic periods, and in the last jubilaic period ben David will come. (anonymous. The Babylonian Talmud (Annotated) (p. 317). Unknown. Kindle Edition.)

Now think about the challenge this poses to the Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis. The chronology of the Masoretic text (which was supposedly forged) places the birth of Christ about the year 4000 from Adam right at the start of the “Days of the Messiah”. If the Jewish Rabbinic authority had really forged the chronology of the MT text of the Scriptures to disprove that Yeshua was the Messiah, why then would they have changed the chronology of the Old Testament to show that Yeshua’s birth began those “Days of the Messiah”. Certainly a 5500 year birth date for Yeshua (as described by the LXX), towards the later end of the “Days of the Messiah” would have been less auspicious.

But let’s look back at history. Doesn’t the MT text of the Scripture accurately reflect the Messianic significance of Yeshua’s birth, death, resurrection, and the gospel age as seen through the lens of the Rabbinic tradition and the New Testament accounts?

Wouldn’t the past 2000 years as seen through the lens of the New Testament confirm the Rabbinic traditions concerning the Days of the Messiah? In fact wasn’t that exactly what the apostle Peter was telling his Jewish brethren when he reminded them of Hosea’s prophecy concerning their restoration after “two days”. (For more on this see my article: Did the Apostle Peter Believe in the Eminence of Christ’s Return? )

In a way don’t you and I as Christians consider these (nearly) two thousand years of the gospel age as the Days of the Messiah? It seems to me that the early church and traditional Judaism have a lot in common on this subject.

In any case by the time the Talmud was completed the Rabbinic authority believed that the times appointed for the Messiah had already come and gone. The New Testament confirms this by telling us that the Messiah Yeshua had indeed already come and gone at the start of Judaism’s “Messianic Age”, the only difference is that New Testament tells us that Yeshua, after a period of time would be coming again. For more on this see: After Two Days

As I’ve explained in my previous articles in this series (Part I & Part II), the Messiah is symbolized in the Torah as well as the New Testament by the typology of the numbers 13 & 14. The fact of the matter is that history has demonstrated that the chronology of the Masoretic text of the Scripture more accurately reflects the millennialist views of the early Jewish and Christian messianic expectants. It seems incredibly fantastic to believe that the Rabbis of the 2^nd century would have been so careless as to forge Biblical history so that the birth of Christ began their “Days of the Messiah”. In any case this is just another aspect of this theory that bears further scrutiny.

The Masoretic Text and the Jubilee
Let’s move on now to explore the Jubilee cycles as they related to the Masoretic text and Matthew 1.

My last article Matthew 1, the Masoretic Text, & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism provided some evidence to show that Yeshua’s lineage in Matthew 1 was indeed synchronized with Masoretic Text chronology from Abraham to Yeshua and the Jubilee cycles spanning that same period of time. This evidence gave reasonable cause to consider that Matthew purposely modified Yeshua’s generations to show Yeshua came in the 41 generation from Abraham which in real chronology was also the 41^st jubilee cycle from Abraham.

I noted that curiously, according to the Masoretic text of the Scriptures, there were also 41 jubilee cycles from Adam to Abraham. In light of the fact that Matthew purposely modified Yeshua’s lineage, it becomes difficult to dismiss this synchronization as a coincidence. Further, this synchronism makes it rather difficult to claim with absolute conviction that Matthew, by the mid to late first century, had no knowledge of the MT text’s shortened chronology as it is presented in most versions of the Bible today.

As I hope to demonstrate in this article, when the Masoretic text of the Bible is considered in light of the Jubilee cycles and Matthew’s fascinating lineage of Yeshua, we find further compelling evidence that supports the New Testament’s claims that Yeshua was the promised Messiah. We also find a compelling order or design, if you prefer, to the chronology of the Bible which I believe demonstrates the hand of Yahweh working out His redemptive plan for mankind.

I can’t stress enough here the significance of Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua as the opening argument in the New Testament’s case for Yeshua as the promised Messiah. I can’t believe it is an accident that Matthew 1, in addition to being a witness to Yeshua’s lineage from Abraham and David, also happens to be the chronological bridge which connects the Old and New Testaments into a synchronized and congruent testimony to Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind through Yeshua.

Ezekiel’s Jubilee
In my last article I demonstrated the intriguing fact that the 41 generations of Matthew 1 were equaled to 41 jubilee cycles. I know I did not provide all the calculations or references for that statement. For those who take this subject seriously you can check my work in the following PDF – 6000 Years of Biblical History.

That fact that Matthew represented Yeshua’s generations as actual jubilee cycles is in its own right thrilling. But it is only when you see those Jubilee cycles in the larger context of Biblical history that you get a real glimpse of just how special Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua really is.

Now there is a couple of ways to go about establishing the context of Jubilee cycles relative to the chronology of the MT text and Matthew 1. The first is to simply overlay the Jubilee cycles on top of the Masoretic text’s chronology of the Old Testament. As I’ve stated before, this approach places the birth of Abraham in the 41^st Jubilee cycle from Adam. Continuing with this approach then places the birth of Yeshua in the 82 Jubilee cycle from Adam (41×2). Running these calculations forward from the birth of Yeshua shows that we are now living in the 123^rd Jubilee from Adam (41×3).

The 2^nd way to provide context to the Jubilee cycles and Matthew 1 is to find any Scriptural references to the Jubilee or Shabbat (Shemitah) cycles in the Bible and determine their place relative to dated people or events in the Bible. This then would help us synchronize Biblical and secular history with the Jubilee and Shemitah cycles.

In Chapter 40 of the book of Ezekiel we find one of the most compelling examples of such a synchronism. Here Ezekiel describes the beginning or (rosh = head) of the year in the 10^th day of the month in the 25^th year of Judah’s captivity. This date was so important to Ezekiel that he also synchronized the date with the destruction of Jerusalem. Take a look:

In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of YHWH was upon me, and brought me thither. (Ezekiel 40:1)

What’s fascinating about this statement is that the only “year” which could possibly begin (rosh = head) on the 10^th day of the month is a Jubilee cycle “year”. (see Lev. 25:8-10.) For more details on this please see my free book download The Jubilee Code: Prophetic Milestones in Yahweh’s Redemptive Plan – (Chapters 9 & 10)

With this chronological statement from Ezekiel we are able to double check our chronology from Adam. If Ezekiel 40:1 is indeed referencing a Jubilee year then we should be able to use the 25^th year of the captivity and 14 years after the destruction of Jerusalem to triangulate this date relative to the Jubilee and further synchronize this Jubilee with our beginning of these cycles from Adam.

Long story short, a reasonable chronological case can be made that Ezekiel’s “beginning of the year” is in fact the 70^th Jubilee from Adam. This fascinating fact is further confirmed by Ezekiel 1:1 where he mentions the “30^th year” in the 5^th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. This by reasonable chronological consideration is the 30th year of the 70 Jubilee which Ezekiel later mentions in chapter 40. The following chart reflects the pertinent facts of the chronology:

Consider how important this Jubilee chronology is relative to Old Testament history. This is the only place in the entire Biblical record where we can fix the Bible’s chronology relative to the Jubilee and Sabbath cycles and secular history. And Ezekiel gives us not one but two Jubilee chronological synchronisms. Now take a bird’s eye view of this chronology and you’ll see another reason this Jubilee was special:

In the chart notice that Ezekiel’s Jubilee (based upon a reasonable rendering of the MT) marks the 70^th Jubilee cycle from Adam. Further this Jubilee has the distinction of originating three important 70 year periods of time. In the chronological order they originate they are as follows:

The 70 years of captivity of Judah mentioned by Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11-12)
The 70 years of Divine anger mentioned in Zechariah 1
The 70 years period of desolation between the destruction of Solomon’s temple and the completion and dedication of the 2^nd temple in 6^th/7^th year of Darius ‘the Great’ Artaxerxes

Matthew 1, Zerubbabel, Yahweh’s Divine Anger, and Daniel 9
If you remember I mentioned in my last article (here) that in Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua, only four individuals were synchronized with the 41 Jubilee cycles between Abraham and Yeshua. One of those individuals was Zerubbabel and it was during his governorship of Jerusalem that Yahweh gave His divine command to “to restore and build Jerusalem”.

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of YHWH unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,…

And YHWH answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. ¹⁴ So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith YHWH of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7, 12-16)

And YHWH stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of YHWH of hosts, their God, In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (Haggai 1:14-15)

For those of you not familiar with this divine command to restore and build Jerusalem, here are the words of Ezra who confirms this divine command of Yahweh as given through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. For more on this divine command see my free book: Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. (Ezra 6:14-15)

So the 70 years of Divine anger ended in the 2^nd year of Darius, and with the end of this Divine anger Yahweh personally commanded the children of Israel to return (shuwb) and build His house. In Matthew’s lineage Zerubbabel is represented by the 71 Jubilee from Adam. As I’ve showed in my book The Jubilee Code: Prophetic Milestones in Yahweh’s Redemptive Plan, a reasonable case can be made that this 2^nd year of Darius was in fact the end of the 71^st and beginning of the 72^nd Jubilee cycle from Adam.

Another way to look at this chronology is say that there were:

70 jubilees from Adam – which began
70 years of Divine anger – which ended on the 71^st jubilee and began the
70 Sevens countdown to the Messiah of Daniel 9 – which ended with
Coming of the Messiah at the start of the 2000 year “Age of the Messiah”

These synchronizations alone should dispel any notion that the chronology of the Masoretic text was forged. Think about the statistical difficulties of trying to make the case that the Rabbinic authorities, in order to hide the identity of Yeshua as the Biblical Messiah, dropped round numbers from the pre-flood ages of several of the descendants of Adam, and in so doing were lucky enough to still align the Jubilee cycles from Adam so that it perfectly synchronized with the Jubilee and Sabbath cycles of the 2^nd temple period. And still further, that somehow even after forging this chronology, they still managed to synchronize it with the New Testament’s premier chronological account of Yeshua as the promised Messiah found in Matthew 1. If this is forgery then what does an accurate representation look like?

For those interested in further confirmation of Ezekiel’s Jubilee the following comes from the Jewish Encyclopedia and it shows that by the time the Talmud was compiled Rabbinic scholarship understood Ezekiel 40 to be a reference to a Jubilee.

Jewish Encyclopedia
Talmudic and Samaritan Calculation of Jubilees.

“According to Talmudic calculations….

….the last jubilee occurred on the “tenth day of the month [Tishri], in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten” (Ezek. xl. 1), which was the New-Year’s Day of the jubilee (‘Ab. Zarah 9b; ‘Ar. 11b-12b). Joshua celebrated the first jubilee, and died just before the second (Seder ‘Olam R., ed. Ratner, xi. 24b-25b, xxx. 69b, Wilna, 1895).” (excerpted by WS)

To give you yet another perspective on this chronology and how it relates I’ve taken the Rabbinic world view of the three 2000 year Biblical ages as represented in the chart I shared at the start of this article. In the following chart, I’ve overlaid the MT chronology as it relates to the generations of Matthew 1, Jubilee cycles and Daniel 9.

Again, there does not appear to be any conflict between the 1^st century Messianic traditions of the Jewish Talmudists and the New Testament’s representation of Yeshua as the promised Messiah. In fact, quite the contrary; there appears to be a quite startling synchronism between the traditional Rabbinic view of history and the chronological evidence we can ascertain from Masoretic text as it relates to the New Testament’s presentation of Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah found in Matthew 1 and elsewhere in the New Testament.

A Dwelling Place for Yahweh
Now let’s look at the Masoretic text chronology and the Jubilee cycles another way. Keep in mind here, we are looking for evidence which supports the hypothesis that the pre-flood chronology of the Old Testament was manipulated by the Rabbinic scholars of the 2^nd century to hide the fact that Yeshua was the Bible’s promised Messiah.

In Genesis, the Garden of Eden was the location that Yahweh chose to meet with mankind. At that time, before sin entered the picture, there was no barrier between God and man. God walked in the Garden with mankind. After mankind’s sin, that relationship changed. Mankind’s sin created a barrier to our fellowship with our Creator.

Then 2513 years later, according to the MT of the Bible, a pivotal milestone was reached, Yahweh instructed Moses and the Children of Israel to construct a Tabernacle where Yahweh could dwell with mankind. This temporary dwelling place was also the location where Yahweh instituted the bloody sacrificial redemptive rites of the Torah. These sacrificial rites, as we’ve seen in these articles, were rehearsals or shadow pictures of Yeshua, Yahweh’s ultimate sacrifice, the promised “seed” through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed.

This temporary dwelling place and those sacrificial rites were instituted in the 52^nd jubilee from Adam (4×13).

Nearly 500 more years pass before Yahweh gave instructions for a new more permanent dwelling place where He would meet with mankind and where the sacrificial rites of His redemptive plan would be rehearsed. This new dwelling place, constructed by David’s son Solomon, was built in Jerusalem on the same mountain where centuries earlier, Yahweh tested Abraham’s faith and asked him to sacrifice his only son in what would become one of the Bible’s most compelling symbols or allegories of Yahweh’s future redemptive plan.

This new dwelling place built by King Solomon was completed in the 62^nd Jubilee from Adam.

Several more centuries pass and because of Judah’s sins they were carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Shortly thereafter Yahweh’s Shekinah departed the first temple and then a few years after this the temple was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. The departure of Yahweh’s Shekinah from the temple began the 70 years of Divine anger mentioned by Zechariah. The following chart provides the pertinent details:

Then in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the Great’ Artaxerxes, Yahweh Himself, commanded Israel to return and build His house so that he could once again dwell with mankind. This commandment as I’ve shown in multiple articles at this blog and my book, Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy was the “commandment” or word (dabar) which began the famous prophetic countdown to the Messiah found in Daniel chapter 9.

This new dwelling place was completed in the 6^th year of Darius during the 72nd Jubilee from Adam.

Finally, nearly 500 more years pass and in the 82^nd Jubilee from Adam (41×2) the prophesied Messiah of Daniel 9 comes and once again the terms of Yahweh’s dwelling with mankind change. Human flesh became the new dwelling place for Yahweh. Yahweh tabernacled with mankind becoming our Yeshua (Yahweh’s Salvation).

30 years later Yeshua stood in our place to take upon Himself the righteous penalty for all of our sins.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [tabernacle] among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

These epics are visualized by the following chart:

A Divine Appointment
Multiple times over the years I’ve shared with you all how much I appreciate the story of Yahweh’s test of Abraham’s faith in asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. That story became one of the Bible’s most illustrious allegories of Yahweh’s future redemptive plan through Yeshua.

That test of faith had divine repercussions which have rippled across the Biblical ages. This story as seen in light of the Masoretic text and the Jubilee cycles has special significance.

This allegory concealed in real Biblical history begins in the 42^nd jubilee from Adam when Abraham and Sarah where told they would have a son in their old age. This message was brought to them by an angel who told them that at the “set time” in the following year a son would be born to them.

But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time [mow’ed] in the next year. (Genesis 17:21)

For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time [mow’ed] of which God had spoken to him. (Genesis 21:2)

The phrase “set time” comes from the Hebrew word mow’ed which means appointed place or appointed time. This is the same word Yahweh uses in Genesis 1:14, when describing the Bible’s calendar, a Biblical reckoning of time, and its related divine appointments.

¹⁴ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons [mow’ed = appointements], and for days, and years: (Genesis 1:14)

In any case, this set time, or divine appointment if you will, was marked for the following year. What is intriguing about His divine appointment is that it fell on the 43^rd Jubilee from Adam. In other words, exactly on the 50^th year of the 43^rd Jubilee cycle (from Adam) Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah.

At some point in that 43^rd Jubilee cycle, while Isaac was still a “lad” (na’ar), Abraham was told to get up to the land of Moriah and offer his son Isaac as an offering. The Bible tells us that Abraham obeyed, but he did so in the knowledge that Isaac was Yahweh’s promised seed and when all was said and done, he and the lad would return again.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:5-8)

Indeed Yahweh provided that lamb in place of Isaac. In fact, it was on that very same mountain that nearly 2000 years later that Yahweh provided “Himself” as the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.

Keep in mind here that because of Abraham’s faith, Yahweh swore (shaba) an oath of seven with Abraham that promised in part that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed.

Would it surprise you to learn that according to the Masoretic text of the Bible, that oath

Yahweh swore with Abraham saw its initial fulfillment with the birth of Yeshua in the 39th (13×3) Jubilee cycles from the birth of Isaac, Abraham’s promised “seed”. In other words, the birth of Yeshua took place in the 82 Jubilee (41×2) from Adam. This 82^nd Jubilee was the 39^th (13×3)Jubilee from the birth of Isaac.

What’s more, on the 40^th Jubilee anniversary of Isaac’s birth the last atonement sacrifice was offered in the temple in Jerusalem in 69 AD. The following year in 70 AD the temple was destroyed and now for the past 40 Jubilee cycles Israel has had neither a temple nor a sacrifice.

That chronology is summed up in the following charts:

Again I wonder why, if the rabbis of the 2^nd century were trying to hide the identity of Yeshua as the promised Messiah, did they align the major events in Yeshua’s life with the chronology of the Old Testament and the Jubilee cycles? A simple addition or reduction of the chronology by just a few years would have completely erased all of these synchronized chronological pictures which show Yahweh’s hand working His redemptive plan of Yeshua through the Biblical ages.

The Epics of the Promised Seed
For those familiar with Biblical history, it is evident that the number 40 is often associate with important chronological periods of time in the Bible. There are three 40 years periods which define Moses’ life and his interactions with the children of Israel. We also have the 40 years between Yeshua’s resurrection and the destruction of Jerusalem. Then there are the forty days of Jonah and the 40 days of Yeshua in the wilderness, to name just a few.

But in terms of Bible chronology, the granddaddy of 40 periods of time are the jubilee. One of the most thrilling examples of this relates to what I like to think of as the Epics of the Promised Seed.

As I’ve mentioned before, after mankind’s sin in Eden, Yahweh promised that someday Adam and Eve’s seed would bruise the serpent’s head. This promise became the foundation for the Bible’s Messianic redemptive theme.

After Cain slew Abel that promise appeared to be in jeopardy. Then in the 130th year of Adam, Seth was born and Yahweh gave Adam and Eve a new “seed” through whom that redemptive promise would be carried down through the Biblical ages. Seth’s birth not only came in the 130^th year of Adam but in the 3^rd Jubilee of Adam’s creation.

39 (13×3) Jubilee cycles later in the 99^th year of Abraham’s life (his 2^nd Jubilee) Yahweh confirmed the covenant of the promised “seed” with Abraham by promising him that at the “set time” (mow’ed) in the following year a son would be born unto them.

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. (Genesis 17:5-7)

That following year on the 43^rd Jubilee cycle from Adam, Isaac was born. This auspicious date marked the 40^th Jubilee cycle from Seth and a new era in Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind.

As stated previously, 39 (13×3) more Jubilee cycles pass and that covenant of the promised seed realizes its fulfillment in Yahweh becoming our Yeshua (Salvation). It was during this 39^th Jubilee cycle from Isaac that an angel appeared to Mary (and later Joseph) telling them of the miraculous conception of Yeshua, the promised seed.

The following Jubilee, in the 40^th Jubilee cycle from the promised seed of Isaac and the 80^th Jubilee cycle from Seth, Yahweh’s promise that Adam and Eve’s “seed” would bruise the serpent’s head, finds partial fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Yeshua. I say partial fulfillment because, with this event Satan did indeed received a mortal wound, but his ultimate destruction has been set for another period of time in the future.

The above chronology leads naturally into our next example.

The Miracle of Israel’s Rebirth
For our next example of the congruency of Masoretic text chronology, the Jubilee cycles, and the Bible’s Messianic message, I’d like to show you where the miraculous rebirth of the nation of Israel fits it.

It’s important to note here that not only did Yahweh swore with Abraham that in his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed, but also that Abraham’s “seed” would inherit all the land Yahweh promised to Abraham.

As we saw above Israel was uprooted (for a time) from the land of Israel. With their city in ruins and Yahweh’s house completely demolished, the children of Israel were scattered throughout the nations. This desolation was prophesied by Yeshua himself in Matthew 23.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. ³⁹ For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:37 – 24:1)

Did you know that in the 39^th Jubilee cycle (13×3) from Jerusalem’s destruction, the nation of Israel was reborn and the city of Jerusalem once more came under the control of the Jewish people? Yes, both those events (according to the projected chronology of the MT) took place in the 122^nd Jubilee cycle from Adam.

Another way to look at these events is just as the 39^th Jubilee cycle from Abraham saw the birth of the promised Messiah and the following Jubilee, the 40^th saw the end of the sacrificial service, the destruction of Jerusalem, its temple, and the start of the times of the gentiles – the 39^th Jubilee from those terrible events saw the rebirth of nation of Israel in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And today as we watch events unfold in the 40^th Jubilee from the destruction of Jerusalem we see the times of the gentiles drawing to a close and the Jewish people and the nation of Israel becoming what the book of Zechariah describes in an eschatological Messianic context, as the “burdensome stone” for the nations.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. (Zechariah 12:2-3)

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications:

and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. Zechariah 12:9-11

A Jubilee of Jubilees
For confirmation of the significance of the above chronology related to the Jewish people and their return to the land, let’s take one more step back in history to the destruction of the 1^st temple by Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus’ decree allowing the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and build the house of Yahweh. It’s worth noting that in a Jubilee year the Torah instructs that the land reverts back to its original owners. This we see fulfilled in a unique way by looking at a Jubilee of Jubilees. The following chart provide a panoramic:

As you can see from the above chronology if you count Jubilee cycles from Cyrus’ decree allowing the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem, you’ll find that it was in the 50^th Jubilee cycle from Cyrus’ decree until the Balfour Declaration (1917) and the related British Mandate (starting in 1923) allowed the Jewish people to return to their homeland.

If you also count Jubilee cycles form Yahweh’s divine “word” to restore and build Jerusalem in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes, you’ll find that it was during the 50^th Jubilee from this divine word that Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948.

And finally in consideration of the fact that the Bible describes the new Jerusalem (a city 12×12) coming down out of heaven after the 1000 year reign of Yeshua, it is worth noting that if the Jubilee cycles were projected into the future, the 144^th Jubilee cycle begins in the 8^th day or 7008^th year from Adam.

Design or Forgery?
In summary then, I think it is important to consider all of this Masoretic chronology and the related Jubilee cycles in light of Matthew 1. Yeshua’s lineage in this first chapter of the New Testament, as arranged by Matthew, can reasonably be considered the chronological key of the Bible’s redemptive message. This lineage is the focal point of Biblical history. We can look backwards and forwards from this amazing list of names and we find it has astounding relevance and congruency when viewed in light of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for the Jewish people and the gentile nations.

Consider once again that only four men in this lineage lived in the Jubilee cycle represented by their place in the lineage. The events and prophecies associate with each of those men are critical witnesses to the Bible’s body of evidence which proves Yeshua was the Messiah.

Each of those men, when viewed within the larger chronological context of the Bible’s chronology based in the Masoretic text, fit seamlessly into a discernable framework of Jubilee cycles originating with Adam. This in my opinion is beyond human invention.

In consideration of this evidence, it is my belief, that Matthew did indeed have knowledge of a shorter Old Testament chronology based in the Masoretic text of the Bible. It also appears evident that this knowledge also included a view of Biblical history which synchronized important events in Yahweh’s redemptive plan with the Jubilee cycles. Further, that the chronological key to Matthew’s evidence is witness by his synchronization of Yeshua’s 41 generations from Abraham with 41 Jubilee cycles which span that period of time in real Biblical chronology.

This evidence, I believe is fatal to the hypothesis that the Jewish rabbis of the 2^nd century forged the Masoretic text to obfuscate the Biblical evidence that Yeshua was the Bible’s promised Messiah. In fact, I believe the contrary is evident. In light of the evidence explored in these articles, I believe a reasonable case can be made that in fact, the Old Testament chronology of the Masoretic text, was divinely ordered to provide mankind with compelling evidence that Yeshua is mankind’s promised redeemer.

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:…

¹³ I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory. (Isaiah 46:9-13)

Maranatha!

Next Time:
Rabbinic Forgery’s Hypothesis in Light of the 70 Weeks of Daniel 9
Yahweh willing, next time we will look at the Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis in light of the chronology of the 2^nd temple era and the prophecy of Daniel 9. As we’ll see, the indefensible irony of this hypothesis is that many who hold it, unknowingly use the chronological errors arising from it, to try and prove that Yeshua fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel 9. I hope you’ll continue this adventure with me.

Book 1

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The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."

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Daniel's 70 Weeks -
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Matthew 1, the Masoretic Text & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism

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Authors Note:
This article is Part II in my exploration of Rabbinic forgery hypothesis. The following links will take you to the previous articles in this series.
Part I: The Septuagint, the Masoretic Text, & Matthew 1
Part II: Matthew 1, the Masoretic Text, & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism
Part III: The Masoretic Text, Matthew 1, & the Jubilee
Part IV: Sir Isaac Newton, Daniel 9, & the Rabbinic Forgeries Hypothesis

Matthew 1 and the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism
Now that you better understand some of the background of the Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis from my last blog post (here), I now want to lay the ground work for why I believe Matthew 1 and its unique synchronization with the MT text chronology and the jubilee cycles disproves the Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis as it currently stands.

For anyone who has carefully considered the lineage of Yeshua in Matthew 1, it is an enigma. It’s the opening evidence in the New Testament’s case for Yeshua as the promised Messiah, but instead of a true lineage of the Messiah Yeshua, you have a list of names written more like a coded map of messianic symbolism. Throw in an intentional synchronization with the Daniel 9 prophecy- the Bible’s greatest messianic prophecy and the jubilee cycles and you have a symbolic literary device that stands unparalleled in recorded history.

Do you think I overstate my case? Let’s take a look and I’ll let you decide.

Most scholars acknowledge that the gospel of Matthew was written to a Jewish audience with metaphor, symbolism, and type a Jewish reader steeped in the Torah, Psalms, and Prophets would understand. Matthew sets out to make his case (to his Jewish readers) for Yeshua of Nazareth as the prophesied Messiah in what appears to be at first glance merely a generational listing of Yeshua’s ancestors. It’s not until verse 17 that the reader gets an idea that there is more to this lineage than just a list of names.

After providing a list of Yeshua’s ancestors, Matthew summarizes Yeshua’s lineage by arranging it into three 14 generational groupings. This raises Yeshua lineage above a mere list of names to a chronological statement. This fact I believe is often ignored and as you will see underappreciated.

There are several things about this lineage which would have caused many knowledgeable 2^nd temple Jewish readers of the list to take notice.

The list is not just a lineage, but a chronological statement of 3 groups of 14 generations bridging the Biblical ages from Abraham to Yeshua.
In order to make his chronological statement work, Matthew had to leave out four of Yeshua’s ancestors.
Matthew implies 42 generations from Abraham to Yeshua (14+14+14)
As given, Matthew only shows 41 generations from Abraham to Yeshua (14+14+13)
Matthew removes 4 of Yeshua’s lineage from the 2^nd generational grouping, but does so in a peculiar way a Jewish reader steeped in the Torah would have noticed.

The following is a visual representation of Matthew’s list showing some of its peculiarities:

Quite interesting, no?

Messianic Symbolism par Excellence
In the New Testament Yeshua is represented as the atoning sacrifice for mankind’s sins. From John’s declaration that Yeshua was the “lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world” to the Apostle Paul’s statement to the Corinthians that Yeshua was “our Passover sacrificed for us” and the “Firstfruits” of them that slept; there is a clear thread of sacrificial symbolism surrounding Yeshua’s life and ministry.

The sacrificial service typified by Yeshua finds its basis in the Biblical holy days, or as the Bible calls them “Feasts of Yahweh”. At the beginning of every month and during the seven sacred holy festivals throughout the year a certain number of sacrifices where required to be offered.

If you look closely at the charts I’ve provided below you’ll see that those sacrificial rites most often entailed some combination of 13 or 14 sacrifices. As you explore the following charts, keep in mind that Matthew purposely represented Yeshua as the 13^th generation in Matthew 1, and he did so by removing ancestors of the Messiah in locations which also emphasized the numbers 13 & 14. This symbolism would have clearly stood out to the 2^nd temple Jewish reader immersed in the sacrificial service of the Torah. Here, take a glimpse of what they may have seen when Matthew represented Yeshua in a list that highlighted 13 and 14 generations.

The significance of all those blood sacrifices make a bit more sense now, don’t they? Their number and order were prescribed so that mankind could someday look back and see the importance of Yahweh’s sacrifice on our behalf. Indeed when Abraham reassured his son Isaac that Yahweh provided “Himself a lamb”, centuries later the Torah would confirm that ancient promise and conceal within its service future evidence of that redemptive plan.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. Genesis 22:7-8

The Symbolism of 13 & 14
Now let’s take another look at the names as given by Matthew in Yeshua’s lineage. The first generational grouping begins with Abraham and ends with David for 14 generations. The number 14 is further emphasized by the fact that David’s name has the Hebrew letter numerical value of 14.

The 2^nd generational grouping of Yeshua’s lineage also has 14 generations listed. But curiously when we get to the 3^rd generational grouping there are only 13 generations. In other words, while Matthew implied that Yeshua was the 14^th generation, as given he is the 13^th generation or what I like to call the 13^th Enumeration.

By representing Yeshua as the 13^th generation, but implying the 14^th, Matthew symbolized Yeshua as the atoning sacrifice / suffering servant (13) and upon His death and resurrection He became that 14^th generation and the future king who will someday sit upon the throne of David. Here’s a taste of that principle from the Old & New Testaments.

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS [Yeshua]. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (Luke 1:31-32)

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: [13^th Generation] and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. [14^th Generation] The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Here take another look at Matthew’s intriguing list of Yeshua’s lineage with the above symbolism in mind:

A Biblical Reckoning of Time
As I mentioned before, to emphasize this sacrificial symbolism and further cement the connection between this sacrificial service and the Bible’s calendar, Matthew removed four names from Yeshua’s lineage in two very symbolic places.

For those not familiar with the Biblical calendar, it is important to understand the Bible’s calendar is lunar/solar. In other words, the 7 “Feasts of Yahweh” that Israel was required to celebrate were regulated by the cycles of the sun and moon, or what I like to call Yahweh’s heavenly Rolex.

The solar cycle is 365.24 days in length and in the Bible this solar “year” is organized into 52 weeks of 6 days labor and a 7^th day of rest (also 4 seasons of 13 weeks each). If all you knew about Matthew’s list was that he left out 3 of Yeshua’s ancestors between the 6^th and 7^th generation you might call it a coincidence. That coincidence would be called into question when you realize that he also left out one of Yeshua’s ancestors between the 13^th and 14^th generation. And that can hardly be an accident!

You see, on the lunar side of the Bible’s calendar you have a lunar cycle of 29.53 days. This cycle has its own internal division of 13 or 14 days of waxing light followed by 13 or 14 days of waning light every month throughout the Biblical year. Take any random month and you’ll find some combination of these numbers in the waxing and waning of the visible light of the lunar cycle.

In other words by arranging Yeshua’s lineage in this manner Matthew not only calls the readers’ attention to the sacrificial symbolism of 13 & 14, but also directs their attention towards the internal gears of the Bible’s lunar/solar calendar and their internal cycles by which those sacrificial rites are regulated throughout the year. Pretty clever would be an understatement, wouldn’t it?

Clearly Matthew 1 is not just a list of names that shows Yeshua’s lineage as a son of Abraham and David, but more importantly a symbol or metaphor if you will, that compels the Jewish reader to make a connection between Yeshua the son of David and Abraham and the promised Messiah who the Torah, Psalms, and Prophets prophesied would come as that suffering servant/atoning sacrifice as well as the future king to rule from the throne of David.

Before moving on to the chronological and Jubilee aspects of Matthew 1 consider the meanings of the names of Yeshua’s ancestors who Matthew presented in the 13^th and 14^th generations. Note something special happens when you include Jehoiakim, the missing king between the 13^th and 14^th generation of the 2^nd grouping. (Jehoiakim means = Yahweh raises up)

The gift/I posses, the beloved who Yahweh heals (Yahweh raises up) and establishes His salvation – Yeshua.

Yeshua – the Salvation of Yahweh indeed!

Matthew 1 as a Chronological Template
Now let’s consider Matthew 1 and the lineage of Yeshua in the context of the Old Testament chronology with an eye towards understanding how it fits within the large chronological context of the Bible.

In Matthew 1, Matthew implies that Yeshua is the 42^nd generation (14+14+14), but when the names are counted Matthew only provides 41 names (14+14+13). In other words, Yeshua is given as the 41^st generation from Abraham, but then is represented as the 42^nd.

Another way of looking at this peculiarity is that just as Matthew represented Yeshua as the 13^th and 14^th generation – the suffering servant (sacrifice) and the future king, Matthew also represents Yeshua as both the 41^st and 42^nd generation from Abraham. As you will see this has astounding significance.

Here is where the Masoretic text becomes relevant to this discussion. Keep in mind here that Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience. Based upon the Masoretic text of the Bible, a reasonable rendering of the chronology gives us roughly 2000 years between the birth of Abraham and the birth of Yeshua. My own understanding of the chronology gives 1988 years. This means that Yeshua was born in the 41^st Jubilee cycle from Abraham.

This moves from a mere curiosity to likely intentional symbolism when you realize that based upon the MT text chronology as acknowledged by Mr. Smith, Sexton, and others – from Adam to Abraham there are 2008 years, which then in a similar manner place the birth of Abraham in the 41^st jubilee cycle from Adam. In other words:

Adam to Abraham = 41 jubilee cycles
Abraham to Yeshua = 41 jubilee cycles

It becomes nearly impossible to dismiss this as an accident or coincidence when you realize that just as Matthew represented Yeshua as both the 13^th and 14^th generation (suffering servant and ruling king), he also synchronized the life and ministry of Yeshua with the 41^st and 42^nd generation from Abraham.

Based upon a reasonable rendering of the Masoretic text chronology and Matthew 1, Yeshua became flesh (the 13^th generation) in the 41^st jubilee from Abraham. Yeshua’s death and resurrection (the implied 14^th generation) took place in the (implied) 42^st jubilee from Abraham. Upon his resurrection Yeshua became that future king to rule upon the throne of David.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS [Yahweh’s Salvation]. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: Luke 1:30-32

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. Revelation 22:16

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. ⁶ And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth….

And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Revelation 5:5-13

Corruption Conundrum
In my opinion the above evidence makes for a compelling case in support of the Masoretic text, at least as far as the chronology from Abraham to Yeshua is concerned. It’s really hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that the Masoretes would have forged the chronology of the Old Testament from Adam to Abraham, but left the chronology from Abraham to Yeshua unmolested, especially in light of Matthew’s arrangement of Yeshua’s lineage.

Keep in mind here that the Sexton and Smiths Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis postulates that this corruption of the Biblical text was perpetrated sometime after Yeshua’s death and resurrection to hide His identity as the Messiah. If that was in fact the ancient Rabbinic authorities intention, they clearly failed in their efforts.

Even if we argued that the MT text was changed sometime before Christ, why would Matthew have used this corrupted MT chronology as a template to show that Yeshua was the promised Messiah as well as show that He was a synchronized generational descendant of Adam and Abraham?

The Jubilee Generations
But that’s not the only astounding aspect of Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua. If you take those 41 generations given by Matthew and you count each of those generations as one jubilee cycle. There are only four men in those 41 generations for whom the Bible provides enough chronological information to show they actually lived in the Jubilee which represented them.

They are as follows:

Abraham
Isaac
Zerubbabel
Yeshua

Take a look at the following chart. It shows each of the people mentioned above relative to their place in the jubilee cycles from Abraham. In the next section I’ll explain why these men were all pivotal in Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind.

The Promised Seed
As regular readers of this blog know, I see the Bible as a testimony of Yeshua, that is, a story of Yahweh’s Salvation (Yeshua means Yahweh’s Salvation). It’s the story of mankind’s sin and our separation from Yahweh because of that sin. Of a loving Creator who loved us enough to become human flesh and stand in our place when the righteous penalty for that sin was carried out. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible tells of Yahweh’s redemptive plan of the promised “seed” which brought His Yeshua (Salvation).

For whatever reason, Yahweh in His divine wisdom chose to use the numbers 13 & 14 as symbolic markers in the Bible to identify His redemptive plan as it works its way through Biblical history. Let me give you a brief sketch of that plan highlighting some of the pivotal events of that plan relative to the Masoretic text’s chronology of the Old Testament.

The Promised Seed in Genesis
After Adam and Eve sinned because of the serpent’s (Satan’s) deception, Yahweh promised mankind that someday Adam and Eve’s “seed” would bruise the serpents “head”. That redemptive plan was called into question when Cain slew Abel.

Then according to the Masoretic (MT) text of the Bible, in the 130 year of Adam a new “seed” was given through whom the Messiah would someday come.

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. (Genesis 4:25)

His Death Brought Rest
Centuries later, again according to the MT text, in the 182^nd (13×14) year of a man named Lamech, a son was born who would keep the promise lineage of the “seed” alive through the midst of a terrible judgment Yahweh sent upon this earth. That man was Noah and during his lifetime a great flood nearly destroyed all mankind, only Noah and seven other members of his family were preserved.

It’s worth commenting here a bit more about Lamech and his father Methuselah and the fascinating meaning of their names. A case can be made that Methuselah’s name means “When He is Dead it Shall Be Sent”. According to the MT text of the Scripture that is in fact what happened because the flood came the year Methuselah died. Lamech’s (Methuselah’s son) name means powerful, lowering, humiliation or sorrow. Noah’s (Lamech’s son) name means Rest.

So if we look at these names (Methuselah, Lamech, Noah) as a prophetic story we have the following:

“When he is dead it shall be sent, a powerful, lowering, humiliation or sorrow.” Fascinating isn’t it that in the 182^nd year (13×14) of Lamech’s life his “humiliation a sorrow” brought forth Noah or “rest”.

Isn’t that the story of Yeshua? His death, humiliation and sorrow was the means by which all of us are granted “rest”. In fact isn’t that what Peter told his Jewish readers in 1 Peter 3?

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 1 Peter 3:18-21

An Oath of Sevens
Several centuries more pass and then according to the MT text (& Acts 7:4), in the 130^th year of Terah his son Abram (Later Abraham) was born. This man whose faith changed the course of history and who has the honor of being the first man in the Bible with whom Yahweh personally swore (shaba) an oath of seven. This oath of seven, in part, promised that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed.

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:16-18)

That shaba, that oath of seven, was at its core a promise of the coming “seed”. As I’ve explained in multiple articles and my book Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy this oath of seven was called to remembrance by Moses, Daniel, Paul, Mary, Zachariah (father of John), and Peter when they spoke about the Messiah. For more on this see my article: Seven, 70, & Sevens: Daniel 9 & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism

This brings us back full circle to Matthew 1 and the lineage of Yeshua. Matthew began Yeshua’s lineage with Abraham. A man who according to the MT text, was born during the 41^st jubilee cycle from Adam. This man Abraham who also lived through the 42^nd jubilee (6×7) and whose son Isaac was born exactly on the 43^rd Jubilee from Adam. (More on the jubilee significance of Isaac later. And for you mathematicians out there, interestingly, the number 41 is the 13^th sequential prime number.)

In Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua both Abraham and Isaac are represented by the Jubilee during which they lived. It goes without saying that both men were pivotal in Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind. It’s not until the 2^nd temple era and the days of Zerubbabel that Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua once again aligns with the jubilee cycles and this is significant for several reasons.

Zerubbabel has the distinction of being, not only the ancestor of Yeshua but also a prophetic messianic type. The following verses demonstrate this wonderful messianic typology:

Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover the word of YHWH came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that YHWH of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of YHWH, which run to and fro through the whole earth. (Zechariah 4:7-10)

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; [headstone] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20-22)

Now do you see why Zerubbabel is given special significance in the lineage of Yeshua? But that’s only the typological significance of Zerubbabel. In Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua, Zerubbabel also has chronological significance.

You see it was during his lifetime that the divine “commandment (Hebrew dabar = word) to restore and build Jerusalem” was given. That divine word was given by Yahweh through the two prophets Haggai and Zechariah and witnessed by Ezra 6:14-15:

And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. {commandment: Chaldee, decree} ¹⁵ And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. (Ezra 6:14-15)

As I’ve demonstrated in my book and multiple articles, this divine word to restore and build began the famous countdown to the Messiah described in the 70 Weeks of Daniel 9, the Bible’s most important and specific prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah.

For more on this subject please see my free articles or books:

The Fifth Command
70, Sevens, and 70: Daniel 9 and the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism
Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy

70 Weeks and 13 Jubilees
I would be remiss here if I did not point out that according to Matthew 1 there are 13 Jubilee cycles from this divine command to restore and build Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah Yeshua when the lineage of Yeshua and the Jubilee cycles once more are synchronize. In other words one might say that the 70 Weeks of Daniel 9 and the 13 jubilee cycles between Zerubbabel and Yeshua are chronological related.

The following chart summarizes the chronology we’ve explored above, but I’ve added an additional layer of information to the chart. That additional layer of information shows Matthew’s lineage of Yeshua relative to the Masoretic text’s version of Old Testament chronology and the jubilee cycles which have been synchronized with the creation of Adam. In my next article I’ll explain in more detail why I believe this chronology is relevant to the Rabbinic forgery’s hypothesis, but more importantly why this information shows the hand of Yahweh working through the Biblical ages to accomplish his redemptive plan for mankind.

I hope you’ll continue this adventure with me, the best is yet to come.

Maranatha!

Book 1

Book I - Description

The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."

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Book 2

Book 2 - Description

Daniel's 70 Weeks -
"A book that will forever change how you understand the Bible's greatest Messianic prophecy."

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Book 3

Book 3 - Description

The Jubilee Code -
"A book that will show you real Biblical evidence for Yahweh's guiding in hand history bringing about His redemptive plan for mankind."

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The Septuagint, the Masoretic Text, & Matthew 1

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Exploring Jeremy Sexton’s and Henry Smith’s Rabbinic Forgeries Hypothesis

How many of you are familiar with the claim that Jewish Rabbinic scholars forged Biblical history to obfuscate the identity of Yeshua (Jesus) as the Bible’s Messiah?

Regular readers of this blog will appreciate that these accusations are intriguingly intertwined with Old Testament chronology, the 70 Weeks prophecy, and the Biblical Jubilee – three subjects that I’m passionate about and that we’ve explored extensively here.

This week I’d like to look at the Rabbinic Forgeries Hypothesis from a perspective, that as far as I am aware, has not been explored before. I want to look at this subject in light of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) lineage as found in Matthew 1 because I believe this enigmatic list of names offers an important perspective of this ongoing controversy. But most importantly, as I hope to show, this controversy resolves itself in an amazing display of the congruency of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind through Yeshua as described in His word. I hope you’ll stick with me here because I believe you’ll be thrilled at the implications of what we’ll discover. Continue reading →

The Two Comings of the Messiah

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The Two Comings of the Messiah:
As Represented Typologically & Chronologically in Matthew 1

I missed something awesome in Matthew 1 that I’d like to share with you today. The past few weeks I’ve been working on an article related to the differences in the chronology of the MT & LXX texts of the Old Testament and in the process of that exploration I realized something that I’ve never shared with you before.

This is a rather short article this week but I think you will find its symbolical and chronological significance thrilling. Stay tuned, Yahweh willing in a week or two I’ll explain why this information is significant to those who accuse (falsely in my opinion) the 1st century’s Jewish rabbis of chronological forgeries related to the Old Testament.

Suffering Servant & Reigning King
If you were a Biblical author tasked with coming up with a way to graphically represent the Biblical statement that the Messiah would come as a suffering servant (sacrifice for sin) as well as a future king, could you do it? What if that graphic representation also had to identify this Messianic figure and provide chronological proof that this person was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament?

Pretty tough challenge, don’t you think?

Well, today I’ll share with you how one Biblical author accomplished such a challenge and left mankind with unique evidence that proves a single individual in recorded history was the Bible’s promised Messiah. Continue reading →

Context, Chronology, & Daniel 9

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William Struse responds to Nelson Walters’ Reasonable Doubt

What if I told you that nearly everything you believe about the Bible’s future prophecies is somehow influenced by an assumption originating in the historical details of Ezra and Nehemiah’s place in the 2^nd temple era?

What many don’t know is that there is a little known and less understood fact of Biblical history, that is the basis for much of what you and I believe about the 7 year tribulation, the rapture, the 2^nd coming of Christ, the identity of the anti-Christ, and most of the events described in the book of Revelation. What I’m talking about is the chronological assumption regarding Ezra and Nehemiah’s place in the 2^nd temple era as it relates to an unnamed Persian king who the Biblical record only identifies by the Persian title “Artaxerxes”.

You see, there are multiple “Artaxerxes” in the Bible and 99% of teachers and scholars who write about Daniel 9 and the 70 “Weeks” date the starting point of the prophecy from a “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” which they believe was given during the reign of the Persian king “Artaxerxes” Longimanus. This assumption, in nearly every case, is given without a single Biblical chronological fact from which a reader might attempt to verify the claim.

This is important because nearly every event described in the book of Revelation is organized within a framework based at least in part on the 70 Weeks prophecy of Daniel 9. Every interpretation of Daniel 9 and the 70 “Weeks” in turn finds its basis in a “Commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” which is set during the era of Ezra, Nehemiah, and a Persian king who bares only the title “Artaxerxes”. Despite all the incredible theological weight resting upon this 2^nd temple era chronology, it is one of the best kept secrets of Bible prophecy. And for good reason as you’ll soon understand.

Unfortunately, most of today’s scholars, teachers, and writers on the subject of Bible prophecy are either unaware of the subject, unwilling to deal with the implications, or they are simply depending upon the ignorance of their readers to give them a pass. Frankly, the few who are aware of the challenges this subject poses to our understanding of Bible prophecy are loath to Continue reading →

Nelson Walters: A Guest Post on 2nd Temple Chronology

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* A note from William Struse:
This week I’m sharing with you a guest post written by Nelson Walters. As many of you probably know Nelson is a popular and respected prophecy teacher at The Gospel in the End Times. Over the past couple of months Nelson and I have been having a spirited discussion on the 2nd temple era chronology as it relates to Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Weeks. We have different perspectives on the chronological basis for this wonderful prophecy, so we decided in the interest of bring clarity to this important subject that we would have a public discussion. This week Nelson offers you his perspective. In a couple of weeks after you’ve had a chance to digest Nelson thoughts on the subject I will reply to Nelson’s article.

Updated: My response to Nelson’s Article: Context, Chronology, & Daniel 9

Accelerated Ezra Chronology – An Examination
By Nelson Walters – 06/2018

Introduction
This article is really the story of two books about Daniel’s 70 Weeks Prophecy: Daniel’s 70 Weeks (2015), by William Struse, and my latest book, 70 Times 7(2018). This article is being posted both on my website, at www.thegospelintheendtimes.com, and on Struse’s website, at www.the13thenumeration.com.

When Struse’s book was first published, I believed several of his insights were quite profound — specifically, that the “decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” in Dan. 9:25 was a command of the Lord (a dabar of the Lord) and that the “Prince who is to come” in Dan. 9:26 was the Lord himself. I incorporated both insights into a rough draft of my own book and sent it to Struse for review. I sent it to eight other teacher/authors who represented the full spectrum of eschatological thought as well. The insights of these teachers — some of whom agreed with me and some of whom did not — led me to revise my draft in very significant ways.

When Struse read what I had written in my book, we began a rather earnest email dialog, because it was clear that I no longer supported his position and had, in fact, come to believe in my own very different principles for the Daniel prophecy. Still, we found that as brothers in the Lord, we were able to share our differences and advance our common understanding of this important prophecy. It’s that discussion that led to this article and to the posting of the article on both websites.

With that background, I’d now like to “pull back the curtain” Continue reading →