Until Shiloh Comes

This is the ancient biblical site of Shiloh.  The path at the bottom of the hill near the sign is the main entrance to the city which was located on top of the hill.  Most cities in biblical times were located on hill tops.  The path goes up the hill to the top where there is an observation tower.  From the top of the hill you can look down to a flat area part way down the hill slope to where the location of the tabernacle was.

The tabernacle at Shiloh was located in the center of the photo above on this side of the rocks.  According to Wikipedia, the site of ancient Shiloh was a city in the Ephraim hill-country that served as the religious capital of Israel for 300 years before Jerusalem became the religious capital under King David.  Shiloh is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the books of Joshua and Judges as an assembly place for the people of Israel.  The "whole congregation of Israel assembled...and set up the tabernacle of the congregation..." (Joshua 18:1).  The tabernacle was built under Moses' direction from God in Exodus 26 to house the Ark of the Covenant.  According to Talmudic sources, the tent sanctuary remained at Shiloh for 369 years until the Ark of the Covenant was taken into the battle camp (1 Samuel 4:3–5) at Eben-Ezer and captured by the Philistines at Aphek. At some point during its long stay at Shiloh, the portable tent seems to have been enclosed within a compound or replaced with a standing structure that had "doors" (1 Samuel 3:15) which was a precursor to the Temple.  Eli was the high priest of Shiloh and the last Israelite judge before the rule of the King Saul.  The tabernacle left Shiloh when Eli died at the age of 98. 

The tabernacle at Shiloh housed the presence of God among His people, the Israelites.  In Genesis 49 there is a reference to Shiloh in Jacob’s blessings to his 12 sons.  The reference is a hint to the future person that will be filled with God’s presence and will rule the Israelites as their long awaited King.

In Genesis 49 verses 10-12 it says:  “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.  He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.  His eyes are dull from wine, and his teeth white from milk.” (NASB)

A scepter is a symbol of sovereignty, and is traditionally held by a king.  In the Bible, the Promised One "who is to come" to the people at some time in the future is called the Moshiach in Hebrew or Messiah in English.  He is also referred to as the "King of Kings", and he will be the one to take over and hold the scepter to rule the nations of the world.  Jacobs blessing of Judah indicates that the scepter will stay with the existing family lineage of Judah, the Jewish people's government and the head of state until the final leader who will then claim that scepter. According to Genesis 49:10, that individual is also named Shiloh.

I traveled to the ancient site of Tel Shiloh in the fall of 2009.  The experience had a profound effect on me as I gazed at the location of the ancient tabernacle site where God’s presence had been for a period of 369 years.  I saw the path where a certain man from the tribe of Benjamin ran through the city to the location of the tabernacle located on the back side of the city of Shiloh’s hill to tell the high priest that the ark had been captured by the Philistines.  Eli was sitting in a chair in front of the tabernacle and upon hearing the news he fell off his chair and died from a broken neck.  I could visual all of these events as I stood and viewed this historic ancient biblical site!  Visiting Israel and these historic sites brings the Bible to life by adding the 3^rd dimension, the Holy Land of the Almighty!  In the meantime we are all waiting “until Shiloh comes” as King of Kings to rule the nations of the world!  May he come soon!

The White House Ruins of Samaria

 

Micah 1:6 states “For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country, planting places for a vineyard.  I will pour her stones down into the valley and will lay bare her foundations.  (NASB)

I traveled to the biblical site of Samaria during the fall of 2009 and took this photo of the ruins of the Israelite palace in the northern Kingdom of Israel.  Samaria was established as the capitol city of Israel by King Omri and this is the palace where his son King Ahab and Jezebel lived and reigned.  The biblical narrative of the death of King Ahab identifies this palace as an “Ivory” or white house.  In 1st Kings 22:37-40 the Bible states “So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (now the harlots bathed themselves there), according to the word of the Lord which He spoke.  Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.”(NASB)

Samaria’s Palace “white house” was destroyed in 721 BC during King Hoshea’s reign by an Assyrian invasion and the northern 10 tribes of Israel were exiled and still have not returned as they eventually lost their identity.  Those that have either seen Pastor Jonathon Cahn’s video “Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” or read his book “The Harbinger” should be familiar with the parallels between the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the USA in Bible prophecy.  The words in Isaiah 9:10 were first spoken by the leaders of the Kingdom of Israel following a limited invasion by the Assyrians.  Isaiah 9:10 states “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with smooth stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.”  It was a statement of pride and defiance to God.  They were saying that they could just rebuild and do it even better than before.  They refused to repent and continued on their same path which led to a final invasion by Assyria and the destruction of the “ivory” palace that was in the capital city of Samaria. 

After the Twin Towers in New York City were destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001, Senator Tom Daschle quoted Isaiah 9:10 in a speech with the same arrogance and pride as the ancient Kingdom of Israel.  Just like ancient Israel our leaders and country have refused to repent and turn back to God.  If we continue on our current path, will the ancient biblical pattern be fulfilled again in our day with a massive attack by terrorists and the ultimate destruction of our “ivory” palace the White House?  Due to the quantum nature of prophecy, Micah 1:2-7 hints at this.

“Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth and all it contains, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.  For behold, the Lord is coming forth from His place.  He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.  The mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will be split, like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place.  All this is for the rebellion of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel.  What is the rebellion of Jacob?  Is it not Samaria?  What is the high place of Judah?  Is it not Jerusalem?  For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country; planting places for a vineyard.  I will pour her stones down into the valley and will lay bare her foundations.  All of her idols will be smashed, all of her earnings will be burned with fire and all of her images I will make desolate, for she collected them from a harlot’s earnings, and to the earnings of a harlot they will return.” (NASB)

Notice that God coming forth from His place to judge the earth speaks to the End of Days judgment.  Consequently, this prophecy was not only for Samaria and the house of Israel in biblical times (721 BC), but also for the same group of people today (the descendants of the house of Israel that are located in the West, primarily in the USA).  The fact that Senator Daschle quoted Isaiah 9:10 helps confirm who we are and what are destiny could be if we fail to return to God.  God’s people need to truly repent and we need to do it NOW before it is too late!  We are all guilty in a decadent society that has turned its back on God.  Only true repentance will prevent our White House from becoming a heap of ruins in the open country!

The Hidden Secrets within Scripture

Orthodox Jews have an annual reading and study cycle of the first 5 books of the Bible referred to as the Torah.  They consider this text as special since it was direct revelation from God to the Israelites on Mt. Sinai.  The remainder of the Jewish Bible is also considered to be the word of God by indirect revelation through various writers.  Jews place a special emphasis on studying the Torah because it is direct revelation from God.

According to Wikipedia, Orthodox Jews can study the text of the Torah on any of four levels as described in the Zohar:

1.        Peshat, the plain (simple) or literal reading;

2.        Remez, the allegorical reading through text's hint or allusion;

3.        Derash, the metaphorical reading through a (rabbinic sermon's) comparison/illustration (midrash);

4.        Sod, the hidden meaning reading through text's secret or mystery (Kabbalah).

Most Christians and Jews spend their time studying the Bible on the first 3 levels and rarely dig deeper for the text’s secret meanings (Kabbalah).  Kabbalah, like the number 13 has been taken over by the occult and corrupted.  Because of that, not all Kabbalah is true biblical Kabbalah.  In fact, most Kabbalah being taught today is not biblical Kabbalah and can lead people astray.  The original Kabbalah focused on the secrets and mysteries hidden in the Hebrew text.  It involved studying the Hebrew text intently looking for hints while being guided by God’s spirit to gain understanding.  It is very similar to what most bible students do today in studying scripture.  We read and study and pray and seek spiritual guidance from above for understanding.

So let’s look at a simple example of hidden secrets within scripture from the very first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1, where it says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (NASB)  The Hebrew text says:  בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ which literally translates “In the beginning created God the heavens and the earth”.  Notice the placement of the אֵת. It occurs in the 4th and 6th words in the 7 word sentence.  The א is the aleph which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  The ת is the tav which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Hebrew words are read from right to left so the order is aleph tav.  Both Jews and Christians teach that this represents the messiah.  The only difference is that Christians use the Greek letters alpha and omega instead of the Hebrew letters aleph and tav.

The placement of these two letters in the verse gives a hint at the appearance of the messiah.  They occur in the 4^th and 6^th words of the 7 word verse.  Rabbis have historically taught that the messiah would appear after 4000 years and 6000 years since creation based on the pattern in the creation narrative where God created everything in 6 days and rested on the 7^th.  We are currently in the Jewish calendar year 5773 near then completion of 6000 years when the messiah is supposed to appear!

There is another interesting thing about the אֵת and its hint at the messiah.  In Hebrew sometimes the verb comes before its subject not after it like in English.  This is the case in the literal translation for Genesis 1:1 as I previously quoted above.  “In the beginning created God the heavens and the earth”.   You can identify the direct object (person or thing acted upon) because the word “et” precedes the direct object.  It is the Hebrew word “et” which directs the action of the verb according to Hebrew grammatical rules.  So God created the heavens and earth and it is the אֵת or “et” placement before each of these that directs the action of God creating them.  Since the “et” represents the messiah, it hints the messiah’s involvement with God during the creation of the heavens and the earth.

It seems that God wants His people to search and study the scriptures to discover the hidden secrets.  This is what the Jews call the Sod or hidden meaning of scripture.  You can read bibles translated to English all day long and will not achieve the deeper Sod level of interpretation.  With Translations, you will only uncover the first 3 levels of meaning.  You can only get to the hidden meaning by studying God’s word in the original language – Hebrew.  There is an excellent website called hebrew4christians that can help you get started in studying the original Hebrew of the Bible for deeper insight into the scriptures.  http://www.hebrew4christians.com/

Were the Founding Fathers Good or Evil?

I received some comments on my last post regarding the number 13 and the founding of the USA.  The commenter pointed out that some of the founding fathers were not Christians but were deists and masons.  He went on to say that Christians tend to assume that the founding fathers were comprised of God’s people.  As usual, things are always more complex than people like to think.  We tend to see things in black and white which results in oversimplified conclusions.  Was our country founded by righteous or evil men?  I believe it was founded by both.  The evidence is clear that there were elements of both good and evil in the original founding fathers.  However, that does not diminish the notion that God intended our founding for His purposes and that His name be glorified. 

I am reminded of the parable of the sower in the New Testament in Matthew 13 where Jesus noted that both good seed and evil seed had been sown in the same field.  Matthew 13:24-30 states - Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.  But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.  The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have tares?’  And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’  But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” (NASB)

In the founding of our country, there were righteous men that sowed good seed like George Duffield and John Adams, but there were evil men who sowed tares among the wheat as well.  Don’t make the mistake of seeing it either as black or white when both were present from the beginning just as the serpent was present in the Garden of Eden from the beginning.  God created the Garden for man and for good.  The serpent came into the Garden and introduced rebellion to corrupt it.

The Biblical number of Promise is Considered Evil by most Christians

As with anything, evil can be called good and good can be called evil.  We especially see this happening in today’s society.  One such example is a particular number.  It has been called unlucky and evil by Christians while it has been considered holy by Jews.  What is that number?  It is the infamous number 13.  In fact, it is considered so unlucky and evil that hotels often do not have a 13^th floor in their building.  One of the reasons it is considered evil is because it is used extensively by the occult, witchcraft, and the illuminati.  But that does not necessarily make it an evil number.

In the Bible, it is the number of blessing and promise.  We see in the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis chapters 16 and 17 the number 13 representing promise.  God promised the then childless Abraham and Sarah blessing through their seed.  Then at age 86 Abraham and Sarah made their own attempt at fulfilling the promise by Abraham taking Sarah’s handmade Hagar to fulfill God’s promise of a child and the result was the son Ishmael.  God again re-iterates his promise when Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah gave birth to her son Isaac which was the fulfillment of the promised seed through which the chosen people and messiah would arise.  The time period between the age of 86 and 99 is 13 years.

A little later in Genesis we again see the number 13 representing God’s promise to his people in the blessing of Jacob on Joseph’s two sons Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis Chapter 48).  Joseph was the most beloved son of Jacob’s and Joseph’s two sons born in Egypt were considered to also be sons to Jacob and received a special blessing.  This resulted in a double blessing for joseph and his two sons so that the 12 tribes of Israel become 13.  Instead of a tribe of Joseph, there became two tribes.  One tribe that came from Ephraim and one tribe that came from Manasseh.  Again, the number 13 represents promise and blessing.

In Judaism, the number 13 is considered a holy number.  In Hebrew, the original language of the Bible, there are some key words with the numerical value of 13.  They are echad, ‘ab, chag, and ahava.  Echad means one in English and relates to the oneness of God.  ‘ab means father.  Chag translates to feast and ahava is the Hebrew word for love.  As you can see, none of these words would be considered evil.  In addition, it is at the age of 13 that Jewish children go through the bar mitzvah celebration that makes them a full member of the Jewish faith.  According to Maimonides there are 13 principles to Jewish faith and according to rabbinic commentary on the Torah (first 5 books of the bible) there are 13 attributes of God’s mercy.

The number of promise is even see in the Christian New Testament when Yahshua selected 12 disciples to follow him.  When you add Yahshua, the promised son and saviour to the 12 disciples, the result is again the number of promise, 13.
 

It is clear in the bible that the number 13 is holy and not evil.  It is the number of blessing and promise.  When we look at the founding of our own country (USA), the founding fathers established a country based on God given rights and the freedom to worship God as He intended.  Both Christians and Jews agree that the founding of our country was by divine decree from Heaven.  It was founded on a promise to be a blessing and be used by God in a mighty way.  It is not a coincidence that it was comprised of 13 original colonies, the number of promise and blessing.  Unfortunately our country has followed the same pattern as the number 13.  We started out holy and righteous and then allowed ourselves to be gradually taken over by evil!

"While sun and moon endure, America shall remain a city of refuge for the whole earth, until she herself shall play the tyrant, forget her destiny, disgrace her freedom, and provoke her God"  - George Duffield, Chaplin to First Continental Congress, May 17, 1776.

Lost 10 Tribes of Israel Found!

Like the threads in Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors the lost 10 tribes were dyed and woven into the fabric of the world where they stayed hidden until these End Times.  They are in all races, nationalities, and countries throughout the world but are primarily to be found in the West as prophesized long ago.  They are coming out of their 2800 year slumber since their exile in 721 BC and waking up to their identity.  Like the parable of the Prodigal son in the Christian New Testament, they long to get out of their pig pen and come home to the land promised to their fathers in biblical days.

Some like me have left the Christian church in search of truth.  We are returning to our Hebraic roots and can learn much from our brother Judah.  Our fellow Christians being left behind make fun of us.  They tell us we are legalistic in wanting to follow the commandments and instructions that God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai.  They criticize us for not celebrating Christmas and Easter, both of which are pagan holidays.

Instead we keep the Sabbaths and celebrate the feasts of the Bible given to us by God.  We celebrate Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, and Yom Kippur.  Some of us call ourselves Noahides while others refer to themselves as part of the Hebraic Restoration movement and attend Messianic congregations.  We all seek God and His truth.  We look forward to the appearance of the Messiah Son of David to bring us back to the Promised Land and unite us with our brother Judah who is there preparing the land for our return as foretold in Ezekiel chapter 37.

The world is on the very cusp of this great Second Exodus!  One that will make such an impact that the first Exodus will be overshadowed as millions of descendants of the Lost 10 Tribes return to settle Greater Israel!  As we settle, we will surround our brother Judah with unity, peace and love originating from our Creator, the God of Israel!  It is good for brothers to live together in peace.  Od Yoseph Chai!  Joseph Lives and is soon to come home!

Jeremiah 31:15-20 sums it up nicely.  Thus says the Lord, “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping.  Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”  Thus says the Lord, “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord, “And they will return from the land of the enemy.  “There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord, “And your children will return to their own territory.”  “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, like an untrained calf; Bring me back that I may be restored, for You are the Lord my God.  ‘For after I turned back, I repented; and after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated because I bore the reproach of my youth.’  “Is Ephraim My dear son?  Is he a delightful child?  Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.  (NASB)

 

 

Religion verses Relationship

God gave us His instruction in His word the Bible.  Instructions for how He wants us to live and act.  He wants to have an intimate relationship with His people as we learn from Him and He directs our lives.  He wants us to think about Him and love Him.  He wants us to treat others with love and respect.  He wants us to meditate on His words and see Him speaking to us in everything around us and in everything that happens.  God is everywhere and in everything.  Those with eyes to see will notice subtle messages in all things.  There are no coincidences in life.  Everything serves a purpose.

Religion is man’s attempt to reach God.  It contains man’s thinking and man’s traditions.  No religion deviates from this pattern.  Religion tries to put God in a box and explain the unexplainable, things that are beyond our grasp and understanding.  Religion rationalizes everything they do and the traditions they follow.  God’s word says to rest and worship on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, following His pattern of creating for 6 days and then resting on the seventh day.  Religions change that and then make excuses as to why they deviate from the Sabbath to worship on Friday or Sunday.  Some religions even start calling Sunday the Sabbath thinking that by changing the name it somehow is being obedient to God and His instructions in the Bible.  They point to Paul in the New Testament who gave instructions for Christians to meet on the first day of the week (Sunday) as their reason for worshiping then.

The key question is who are we supposed to follow?  Man or God?  God’s instructions in the Bible are clear.  Any person that changes God’s instructions for man-made traditions is anti-God and antichrist.  Who are you following?  Are you following a religion, a man, or God?  Are you reading God’s Word and using the brain that God gave you to discover His truths or are you believing whatever other men tell you?  A relationship is the path to knowing God.  A religion is the path to destruction.  There is some truth in religions, but there is also much paganism and man-made traditions.  There is only truth with God.  Follow His words and His instructions.  Chose God and His truth!