The Birth of Jesus (Yeshua)

By Brenda Cathcart.

It is at this time of year that Beleivers around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus whose Hebrew name is Yeshua which means He will save.

Matthew 1:21 MKJV 21 And she shall bear a son, and you shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.

For Christians everywhere, it is a time of great joy. The words of the angels as they announce his birth convey that feeling of joy.

Luke 2:10-14 MKJV 10 And the angel said to them, Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

The location of His birth has deep symbolic meaning. He was born in the City of David, Bethlehem, in the region called Ephratah. (Micah 5:2) Bethlehem means the house of bread and Ephratah means fruitfulness. Jesus was born in the house of bread in the region of fruitfulness. He is the Bread of Life.

John 6:33-35 MKJV 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world. 34 Then they said to him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst.

He tells His followers that those who remain in Him will be fruitful.

John 15:1-2 MKJV 1 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away. And every one that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bring forth more fruit.

What else do we know about Bethlehem? Its first mention in scripture is in connection with Rachel. Rachel’s name means ewe lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 MKJV 29 The next day John sees Jesus coming to him and says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Rachel, like Mary, gave birth at Bethlehem. Her son Benjamin was born as she died.

Genesis 35:16-20 MKJV 16 And they moved from Bethel. And there was only a length of land to come to Ephrath. And Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor in her bearing. 17 And it happened when she was in hard labor in her bearing, the midwife said to her, Do not fear, you shall have this son also. 18 And it happened as her soul was departing (for she died) that she called his name Benoni. But his father called him Benjamin. 19 And Rachel died and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 20 And Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave. That is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

Benjamin’s name whose birth is at Bethlehem is a foreshadow of Jesus. Rachel called him Benoni which means son of my sorrow referring to Jesus’ first coming as a man of sorrows.

Isaiah 53:3 MKJV 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as it were a hiding of faces from Him, He being despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Interestingly, it is the sorrow of Rachel that foreshadows the sorrow of Jesus. He expresses that sorrow over Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 31:15-17 MKJV 15 So says the LORD: A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her sons; she refuses to be comforted for her sons, because they are not. 16 So says the LORD: Hold back your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD. And they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope for your future, says the LORD, that your sons shall come again to their own border.

Luke 13:34 MKJV 34 Jerusalem! Jerusalem! The one killing the prophets, and stoning those having been sent to her; how often I desired to gather your children in the way a hen gathers her brood under the wings, and you did not desire it.

Luke 19:41-42 MKJV 41 And as He drew near, He beheld the city and wept over it, 42 saying, If you had known, even you, even at least in this day of yours, the things for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Jesus goes on to say that He will return when they can say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.

Luke 13:35 MKJV 35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And truly I say to you, You will not see Me until it come when you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Jacob, also called Israel, named him Benjamin which means son of my right hand. This speaks of His resurrection and second coming. Jesus even now sits at God’s right hand waiting for His enemies to be put under His feet.

Hebrews 12:2 MKJV 2 looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

Rachel was buried just outside of Bethlehem. Her burial tomb is there to this day near the tower of Edar. The Tower of Edar is the “Tower of the Flock” built to watch over the sheep around Bethlehem. The flocks around Bethlehem were the temple flocks and the shepherds were all Levites. It was from these flocks that the sacrifices were chosen. Jesus, the lamb of God was born among the sheep of God’s pasture. It is to these shepherds that the announcement is made of the birth of a very special lamb.

Luke 2:8-9 NKJV 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Since the shepherds were living in the field, we know that this cannot be in the winter time. In the winter near Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the nights are too cold to keep the sheep out at night. When is the most likely time that Jesus was born? To answer that, we can look at His death. His death and resurrection were at the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits. These Feasts commemorate the Israelites redemption from Egypt foreshadowing their redemption from sin accomplished by Jesus’ death and resurrection. If we look to the Feasts of the LORD for His birth, the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall is the most likely time He was born. The Feast is to be celebrated with great joy.

Leviticus 23:40 MKJV 40 And you shall take the fruit of majestic trees for yourselves on the first day, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

Deuteronomy 16:14-15 NKJV 14 "And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.

This Feast commemorates their time in the wilderness when God dwelt among them His shekinah glory visible over the Tabernacle for all to see. John speaks of the birth of Jesus as the Living Word of God dwelling with man.

John 1:14 NKJV 14 And the Word became 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.

Rejoice in the birth of Jesus, Yeshua, who comes to save us from our sins. And next year, at the Feast of Tabernacles, take some time and learn about this feast which is one of God’s ordained times during which He promises to meet with His people. It has prophetic significance equal to that of Passover.


שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Dan and I are going “home” to Israel next June 19th to 29th and so can you. Join us in the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

Is Christmas really a “pagan” holiday?

This time of year, a lot of well meaning messianic believers have sent to me or posted videos and essays on the pagan origins of Christmas and other traditional Christian holidays. I find them all very interesting but not anything new or containing any earth shattering revelations. It is all a matter of public record as to the origins of Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Most of these videos or essays are completely true. But I have come to believe that they are counter-productive to true discipleship and the great commission found in the Gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 28:19 NKJV 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

A vast majority of Christians are totally unaware of the pagan connections to traditional Christian holidays and festivals. They have never practiced the associated pagan rituals. For most, these Christian holidays and festivals are traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation and have totally lost their pagan roots. They are holidays full of meaning and miracles. Lives have been changed for the better at Christmas and Easter.

I cannot deny the positive effect that these holidays and have had on me, my family, and the people around me over the years. The Christmas season has been a special time of joy for me from my early childhood. If Christmas, as it is practiced today by believing Christians, is truly evil because of its origin, as some of the posts and essay would have you believe, then why does the LORD honor our service through it? Does Yeshua (Jesus) care more about the origin of this holiday or about the spirit in which believers practice it today? How many lives have been touched by the Christmas story? How many have been saved through an Easter Passion Play? As Christians, remember where we came from! To deny the effectiveness of these holidays in reaching souls for God is to deny the roots of our own salvation!

There is no biblical record of a date for the birth of Yeshua. There is plenty of research on the subject, and it can be shown that it could not have been on December 25th. So what? What difference does it really make? A date was chosen, perhaps out of convenience or for political reasons originally, and His birth is now celebrated on December 25th. Because it also is the date of some evil pagan ritual from ancient Rome, does that fact diminish the celebration of our Savior’s birth?

I believe that an over emphasis on the part of many in the Messianic movement as to the pagan origins of centuries old Christian traditions, is counter-productive to the mission of taking the Torah of God to the nations. How are we to reach out to Christians when the first thing out of our mouths is an insult to their beliefs and traditions? We are to make disciples, not adversaries. Show them what the Torah says and represent it to them. Let God do the changing.

Judaism of Yeshua’s day had many manmade traditions and nearly 2000 years of pagan influence since the giving of the Torah in the wilderness. Yeshua did not always reject the traditions of men. Take the minor festival of Hanukkah as an example. We read in the Gospel of John chapter 10 that:

John 10:22 NKJV 22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

This is Hanukkah. And Hanukkah was and is an entirely a manmade tradition. It is not to be found in the Bible among any of the appointed times spelled out in Leviticus 23 or anywhere else. Hanukkah is not even found in the Jewish scripture and yet Yeshua practiced it and taught His disciples about the deeper messianic meaning behind it.

There is nothing wrong with manmade traditions in the Church or Synagogue as long as they don’t contradict the Torah. Yeshua practiced many manmade traditions, but taught that salvation does not come from the practice of religion but by a faith in the saving grace from God. So during this Christmas season, let us remember who it is we are celebrating, not what we are celebrating. Let us join in the festival celebrating the birth of our Savior. Let us rejoice in the many new souls added to God’s kingdom through this time. It might really be the wrong date, and coincide with a long forgotten and dead pagan festival, but who really cares? Do you think Yeshua does?

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Brenda and I are going to Israel next June 19th to 29th. You can join us in the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit http://www.theheartofisrael.com/.

The Watchmen

By Brenda Cathcart

As I was driving home from church today, an old praise song, “Come Bless the Lord,” popped into my head. It is from Psalm 134

Psalms 134:1-3 NKJV 1 Behold, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD! 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD. 3 The LORD who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!

As I was singing it, the third line grabbed my attention, “Who by night stand in the house of the LORD.” Who is standing in the temple at night? The Psalm itself begins with the word “Behold.” The word behold is used to indicate that what follows is a deep mystery; it is especially important. The word is used ten times in Genesis chapter 37 about Joseph’s dreams and the actions leading to his being sold to slavery. The words of Psalm 134 contain a deeper meaning. That meaning will be revealed as we see two instances of people in the house of the LORD at night.

On a typical night, there are just two groups of people at the temple at night, the gate guards from the tribe of Levi and the priests who were on the night watch. These are the watchmen! Their duties are primarily honorary. Like an honor guard for a king, their presence is to bring honor to God and the house of God. There were 24 watch stations, three manned by young priests and the other 21 by Levites. The captain of the watch would make his rounds each night. The watchmen were to rise up before him. If they did not, the captain would call out, “Peace be unto you!” If the watchman did not rise, the captain knew the watchman was asleep. He would then rap the sleeping watchman with his rod or even light his covering on fire. The captain of the watch had a nickname; he was called the thief in the night!

Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians read in the context of the night watch in the temple present a deeper meaning.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 NKJV 1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

The captain of the guard comes as a thief in the night to those who have fallen asleep. The Lord’s coming will come as a thief in the night to those who have fallen asleep. But to those who are standing their watch, that day will not come as the thief in the night. Jesus’ words to the dead church in Sardis is that He will come as a thief in the night if they don’t wake up and stand their watch.

Revelation 3:3 NKJV 3 "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

One of the things the captain of the guard did to those who were sleeping was to set their garments on fire. The guard whose garments were set on fire, stripped off the garments and ran naked to the guard station. It was shameful to appear before God naked. The altar was not even to have steps because going up the steps may show what the priests wore under their robes.

Exodus 20:26 NKJV 26 'Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.'

The guard’s goal was to remove himself from the presence of God. With this in mind, we see Jesus’ words to the lukewarm barely alive church of Laodicea.

Revelation 3:18 NKJV 18 "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

There is additional depth of meaning here because Laodicea was a center for manufacturing textiles, as well as perfumes and ointments. The watchman is to buy spiritual garments from Jesus not the garments of the world made by the works of man. That man who buys from the world will be caught spiritually sleeping. His garments will be burned by the fire.

Jesus tells us that we are to be watchmen so that His arrival does not come upon us as the thief in the night.

Revelation 16:15 NKJV 15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."

There is a special time of year when people are in the temple around the clock. This is during the seven day Feast of Tabernacles. This feast is to be celebrated with great joy! Ceremonies and celebration continue around the clock. One special group of Psalms called the Songs of Ascent is an integral part of this celebration. Psalm 134 is the last of these fifteen Psalms which begin with Psalm 129. The Levitical choir sings them each night as dawn is breaking during the Feast of Tabernacles.

The setting is the Nicanor Gate at the edge of the Court of Israel. Outside the gate, fifteen steps lead down to the Court of Women. The Eastern gate of the Temple is located at the east end of the Court of women. As dawn is breaking, the call is given to “Arise and stand to your duties.” Two priests blow silver trumpets and the Levitical choir begins singing the Psalms of Ascent one Psalm at each step as they descend to the Court of Women. All those present for the festivities proceed across the court and out the Eastern Gate. As the first rays of the sun begin to shine on the temple, they turn together and face back toward the west facing the temple of God. They recite these words:

Our fathers stood in this place with their backs towards the Sancturay of God, and their faces towards the east. They prostrated themselves to the sun in the east. But we—we are to God and to God our eyes turn. We bow to God and our eyes look to Him in hope.”

This is in response to the actions of the generation alive at the time of the destruction of Solomon’s temple as recorded by Ezekiel. It was at this time that God’s glory left the temple.

Ezekiel 8:16 MKJV 16 And He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and behold, at the opening of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they bowed themselves eastward to the sun.

At the Feast of Tabernacles, these actions are repudiated and the people look toward God’s Holy Temple and worship God. Ezekiel describes the return of the glory of God to the new Temple built after the defeat of Gog and Magog. Imagine this event occurring at a Feast of Tabernacles as all the people turn toward the Temple in worship.

Ezekiel 43:1-5 MKJV 1 And he led me to the gate, the gate that faces eastward. 2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters. And the earth shone with His glory. 3 And it looked the same as the vision which I saw, even according to the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar. And I fell on my face. 4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose view is eastward. 5 And the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner chamber. And behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.

What will the people who see this event do? The words of Psalm 134, the last Psalm sung as they left the temple, again come to mind.

Behold, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD! 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD. 3 The LORD who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Brenda Cathcart

Dan and I are going “home” to Israel next June 19th to 29th and so can you. Join us in the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

Reason Three for Christians to Celebrate Hanukkah

The third reason to celebrate Hanukkah is that the events commemorated by Hanukkah are spoken of by Jesus as having future prophetic significance. The words He speaks to His disciples telling them of the signs of His coming and the end of the world resound with Hanukkah language. First, Jesus speaks of another abomination of desolation. Then He goes on to invoke images of the horror inflicted on the Jewish people during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Matthew 24:15-21 MKJV 15 Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). 16 Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains. 17 Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; 18 nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes. 19 And woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! 20 But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day; 21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.

Antiochus set up an altar to Zeus over the altar of God in the Temple.

I Maccabees 1:57-59, 62 On the fifteenth day of Chislev in the year one hundred and forty-five (December 8, 167 B.C.) the king erected the abomination of desolation above the altar; and artars were built in the surrounding towns of Judah and incense offered at the doors of houses and in the streets. On the twenty-fifth of the month sacrifice was offered on the altar erected over the altar of holocaust.

Those in Judea fled into the wilderness taking most of their possessions with them. They were pursued and attacked on the Sabbath.

1 Maccabees 2:29-30, 32, 38 At this many who were concerned for virtue and justice went down to the desert and stayed there, taking with them their sons, their wives and their cattle, for the burden of their wrongs had become unendurable. A strong detachment went after them, and when it came up with them ranged itself agaist them in battle formation, preparing to attack them on the Sabbath day. The attack was pressed home on the Sabbath itself, and they were slaughtered with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of one thousand persons.

Those in Jerusalem didn’t fare any better. In fact the slaughter there was even worse.

2 Maccabees 5:24-27 The king also sent the mysarch Appolonius at the head of an army twenty-two thousand strong, with orders to put to death all men in their prime and to sell the women and children. Arriving in Jerusalem and posing as a man of peace, this man waited until the holy day of the Sabbath and then, taking advantage of the Jews as they rested from work, ordered his men to parade fully armed; all those who came out to watch he put to the sword; then running through the city with his armed troops, he cut down an immense number of people.
Josephus writes that ten thousand women and children were sold into slavery on that day and the temple was totally plundered of all its wealth. Those who resisted by reading or even having a Torah scroll, by observing the Sabbath, or circumcising their sons died a horrific death. This was especially true of women who circumcised their babies. Josephus records in The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapter 5, line 256:

“…for they were wipped with rods and their bodies were torn to pieces, and were crucified while they were till alive and breathed; they also strangled those women and their sons whom they had circumcised, as the king had appointed, hanging their sons about their necks as they were upon the crosses.”

The words of Jesus in Matthew 24 match that day in December exactly. The abomination of desolation was set up in the temple in the winter. The people were horrible attacked on the Sabbath more than once. And woe to the women! Those who circumcised their infant sons died grievous deaths. As horrible as those days were, Jesus said the days leading up to His return would be even worse. He warns them not to try to bring their possessions with them but to flee immediately. He says that THEN shall be great tribulation worse than has ever been seen before. The events December 167 B.C. foreshadow the events of the great tribulation. Antiochus IV Epiphanes is a shadow of the Antichrist. His reign name of Epiphanes means “God Manifest.” Paul tells us that the Antichrist will set himself up as God.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 MKJV 3 Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself forth, that he is God.

Judah Maccabeus is a shadow of Jesus. Jesus is of the line of David of the tribe of Judah. Jacob’s blessing over Judah includes describing him as a lion.

Genesis 49:9 MKJV 9 Judah is a lion's whelp. My son, you have gone up from the prey. He stooped, he crouched like a lion; and like a lioness, who shall rouse him?

Judah Maccabeus is described similarly in I Maccabees.

I Macabbees 3: 3-4 He extended the fame of his people. He put on the breastplate like a giant and girded on his war harness; he engaged in battle after battle, protecting the ranks with his sword. He was like a lion’s whelp roaring over its prey.

Jesus is a priest on the order of Melchizedek. Judah Maccabeus is a priest of the line of Aaron. Judah ruled over Israel at the time of the rededication of the temple. Jesus will rule over Israel and the whole world. He is the one who will build the third temple of God.

We can celebrate Hanukkah as we look forward to Jesus’ return, learning and watching so that we are not caught sleeping or unaware. We light the Hanukkiah to remind us that we are of the light and need to keep watch for the signs of His coming.

1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 MKJV 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief. 5 You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night, or of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be calm.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

Brenda and I will be going “home” to Israel next June 19th to 29th. We will be teaching the “Shadows of Messiah in the Land.” Join us in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of the patriarchs. Come with us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and for a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit http://www.theheartofisrael.com/

Through the Toldot (Generations) the covenant is restored!

The Torah Portion for this last Shabbat was Toldot or in English, Generations.

The word for “generations” or Toldot is defined in the Strong’s Concordance #8435. There are two different spellings of Toldot in the original Hebrew in the Tanakh. When we first encounter the word in the Tanakh it is in Genesis 2:4.

Ge 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, (KJV)

The word “Toldot” in this verse is spelled, תולדות. This is before the creation of man and before sin entered the world. There is an interesting word picture of the word Toldot.

The picture language for toledot, תולדות.
The Tav, ת is the cross. It means to seal or to covenant. Specifically it’s the sign of the covenant.
The Vav, ו is the nail or peg. It connects or attaches.
The Lamed, ל is the shepherd’s staff. It speaks of control or authority.
The Dalet, ד is the door. It is the pathway or entrance.
The Vav, ו again the nail or peg. It connects or attaches.
The Tav, ת is the cross. the sign of the covenant.

The sign of the covenant is connected to the shepherd who is the doorway connecting the covenant. Yeshua often referred to Himself as the “door” to the Father and as a Shepherd.

John 10:7 MKJV 7 Then Jesus said to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

John 10:11 MKJV 11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

So before the creation of man and before sin entered the world, the connections were complete. Something interesting happens to the word “Toldot”. From this point on in the Torah, after the fall of man, the second vav is missing! Toldot is now spelled תולדת. The “door” is now disconnected from the covenant with man. Not until the book of Ruth is the vav restored to Toldot.

Ruth 4:18-22 MKJV 18 And these are the generations of Pharez. Pharez fathered Hezron, 19 and Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed, 22 and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

After sin entered the world, the generations of creation were diminished and would not be restored until the Son of Perez comes and restores all things. It is this line, the line of David, that the covenant will be restored. The “vav” is restored in Toldot, Generations”!

Luke 3:23-38 MKJV 23 And Jesus Himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) son of Joseph, son of of Heli, 24 son of of Matthat, son of of Levi, son of of Melchi, son of of Janna, son of of Joseph, 25 son of of Mattathias, son of of Amos, son of of Nahum, son of of Esli, son of of Naggai, 26 son of of Maath, son of of Mattathias, son of of Semei, son of of Joseph, son of of Juda, 27 son of of Joanna, son of of Rhesa, son of of Zerubbabel, son of of Shealtiel, son of of Neri, 28 son of of Melchi, son of of Addi, son of of Cosam, son of of Elmodam, son of of Er, 29 son of of Joses, son of of Eliezer, son of of Jorum, son of of Matthat, son of of Levi, 30 son of of Simeon, son of of Juda, son of of Joseph, son of of Jonan, son of of Eliakim, 31 son of of Melea, the son of Menan, son of of Mattatha, son of of Nathan, son of of David, 32 son of of Jesse, son of of Obed, son of of Boaz, son of of Salma, son of of Nahshon, 33 son of of Amminadab, son of of Ram, son of of Hezron, son of of Pharez, son of of Judah, 34 son of of Jacob, son of of Isaac, son of of Abraham, son of of Terah, son of of Nahor, 35 son of of Serug, son of of Reu, son of of Peleg, son of of Eber, son of of Shelah, 36 son of of Cainan, son of of Arphaxad, son of of Shem, son of of Noah, son of of Lamech, 37 son of of Methuselah, son of of Enoch, son of of Jared, son of of Mahalaleel, son of of Cainan, 38 son of of Enos, son of of Seth, son of of Adam, son of of God.

Paul speaks in Romans about creation being subject to sin and liberated when Yeshua comes again.

Romans 8:20-22 (NIV) For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Revelation 22:1 (NIV) Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

The pathway was blocked off by the sin brought into the world through Adam. But Yeshua restores the connections and the generations are made complete and the way is open once again.

Micah 2:13 (NIV) One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head."

Yeshua is the fulfillment of the prophesy of Toldot, the prophesy of Generations!

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Brenda and I are going to Israel next June 19th to 29th. You can join us in the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

Torah Portion Chayei Sarah, Cheshvan 27, 5770. November 14, 2009

This weeks Torah Portion is Chayie Sarah, The Life of Sarah. Genesis23:1 to 25:18. Haftarah is 1 Kings 1:1-31. And the Gospel reading is from Matthew 11 & 12.

Sarah was righteous and the glory of God was with her and it was said that a cloud rested at Sarah's tent and when she died the cloud left.

Genesis 24:67 KJV “And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.”

The midrashic legend is that when Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother’s tent, the cloud of glory returned, the Sabbath lamp kindled, the blessing returned to the dough, and the curtains were once again open to receive visitors.

“You find that as long as Sarah lived, a cloud hung over her tent, when she died, that cloud disappeared, but when Rebekah came, the cloud returned. As long as Sarah lived, her doors were wide open; when she died that liberality ceased, but when Rebekah came, that openhandedness returned. As long as Sarah lived, there was a blessing on her dough, and the lamp used to burn from evening of the Sabbath until the evening of the following Sabbath; when she died, these ceased, but when Rebekah came, they returned.” (Genesis Rabbah 60:16)

There is a definite Messianic interpretation and metaphor here. Isaac is a type of Messiah and Sarah symbolizes Jerusalem and the Temple (her tent). Who is the young woman, Rebekah, bearing Sarah’s image? Taking residence in her tent and continuing her legacy? Who is the bride of Isaac, but none other than a type of Bride of Messiah!

Jewish tradition draws heavily on the likening of Sarah to Jerusalem and the Temple. See Isaiah 54. Paul seems to have recalled the same midrashic material in his letter to the Galatians.

In this midrash, Sarah’s tent (Jerusalem and the Temple) is restored when Isaac (Yeshua) meets his bride (Believing Israel and those grafted in) and brings her into it. This is a foretelling, in fact a portent, of the return of Messiah and the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple. She is the living Temple of Revelation 21, the “bride adorned for her husband”

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Brenda and I are going to Israel next June 19th to 29th. You can join us in the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

By Our Works Faith is Manifest

Noah is the first person in the Bible described as being “righteous.” Abraham was also considered righteous before God. What is righteousness and how does one obtain it? Paul tells us that we have all fallen short. Look at Romans 3. We often quote only verse 23, but there is more to the passage than just that.

Romans 3:21-31 MKJV 21 But now a righteousness of God has been revealed apart from Law (Torah), being witnessed by the Law (Torah) and the Prophets; 22 even the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe. For there is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness through the passing by of the sins that had taken place before, in the forbearance of God; 26 for the display of His righteousness at this time, for Him to be just and, forgiving the one being of the faith of Jesus. 27 Then where is the boasting? It is excluded. Through what law (Torah)? Of works? No, but through the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law (Torah). 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only, and not also of the nations? Yes, of the nations also, 30 since it is one God who will justify circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 31 Do we then make the Law (Torah) void through faith? Let it not be! But we establish the Law (Torah).

The entire next chapter (Romans 24) is about Abraham being justified by faith. Right after Paul quotes Psalm 32:1&2 he goes on to the central theme of chapter 24 in verses 9-12.

Romans 4:9-12 NIV 9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Further, Paul tells us that the Torah is powerless to bestow righteousness on us. In that sense, there is no “righteousness of Torah.” Yet Paul talks about the righteousness of the Torah being fulfilled in us as we walk by faith.

Romans 8:3-4 MKJV 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; 4 so that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Again in Phil 3:9, He says of himself, “… (that I may) be found in Him; not having my own righteousness, which is of the law (Torah), but through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God by faith.”

Paul is saying “righteousness of Torah” cannot be obtained by his own actions or works. Isaiah tells us that all their righteous acts are as dirty rags but nevertheless salvation is possible.

Isaiah 64:6 MKJV 6 But we are all as the unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as a menstruous cloth. And we all fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

So, the righteousness of God can only be obtained by faith. So, what faith did Noah have? What righteousness did Abraham have? Gen 6:9 says that Noah walked with God. Enoch walked with God, Abraham walked with God. Righteousness through faith is evidenced by a relationship with God and obedience to His Word.

Hebrews 11:7-10 MKJV 7 By faith Noah, having been warned by God of things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he was afterward going to receive for an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he went. 9 By faith he lived in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the same promise with him. 10 For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

James 2:20-24 MKJV 20 But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Do you see how faith worked with his works, and by the works faith was made complete? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God." 24 You see then how a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

So, the righteousness of Torah is fulfilled in us as we walk out our faith. Faith requires action and actions without faith are worthless! If we have faith in the saving blood of Yeshua, then our actions, our works, will prove it out! Faith and works are two sides of the same coin, so to speak. The works side is obedience. Yeshua said in John Chapter 14

John 14:10-15 MKJV 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak of Myself, but the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the very works themselves. 12 Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me, the works that I do he shall do also, and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. 15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Our works are obedience to Him. In Jewish culture and thought, works are not miracles, signs and wonders, but are mitzvot. Mitzvot means to fulfill the positive commandments of the Torah. When both Paul and Yeshua were speaking of works, both were speaking of mitzvot. So If we love Him we will keep His commandments. Our faith must be in Him and our actions, our works, must be in Him. They go hand in hand. Just as Noah was faithful to God and showed it through obedience to God’s commandments to him. And just as Abraham was faithful by doing the commandments that God also gave to him. So we show our faith by obedience of the commandments given to us. We work out our faith through obedience, through works and it is credited to us as righteousness.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Brenda and I are going to Israel next June 19th to 29th. You can join us in the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

Brenda and I are Teaching Torah Club

For those who have been following this blog, I appologize for the long delay between some posts. Brenda and I were given the honor of teaching Torah Club on Monday nights while Pastor Mark Biltz is away leading a tour in Israel. ( the preparation for the classes has taken up most of our time lately.) The portion was "Noach" from Genesis 6:9-11:32. You can listen to it by clicking on the title of this post or going to this link http://elshaddaiministries.us/audio/tc5770/20091026tc02noach.html . This will link you to the web page where you can also download the MP3 and the PowerPoint slides. We will also be teaching the next portion which is Lech Lecha. Enjoy.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

You can join us on a special trip to Israel in June of 2010. We will be teaching from our bible study series "Shadows of Messiah". We will be exploring the scriptures as we travel the promised land and meet the people and culture of today's Israel. You will see the scriptures come alive as we retrace the footsteps of the patriarchs and see the promised Messiah through their eyes. go to www.theheartofisrael.com for details and booking.

Canaanites and the Mark of the Beast

When God promised to give Abraham the Promised Land, He said that Abraham wouldn’t receive it yet because the “sins of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Gen. 15:16) When the Israelites took the Promised Land, they were to drive out all the Canaanites because the Canaanite’s sin was so great that the land had vomited them out.

Leviticus 18:24-28 MKJV 24 Do not defile yourselves in any of these things. For in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out before you. 25 And the land is defiled. Therefore I visit its wickedness on it, and the land itself vomits out those who live in it. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, neither the native, nor any stranger that lives among you. 27 For the men of the land who were before you have done all these abominations, and the land is defiled. 28 You shall not do these so that the land may not spew you out also when you defile it, as it spewed out the nations that were before you.

Deuteronomy 20:17-18 MKJV 17 But you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; as the LORD your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done to their gods. So you would sin against the LORD your God.

Joshua 3:9 MKJV 9 And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, Come here and hear the words of the LORD your God.

In the empire of the antichrist, no one will be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark of the beast. (Rev. 14:16) What does it mean to buy or sell? Merchants and traders buy and sell. The Book of Revelation goes on to describe the fall of Babylon. Her merchants and traders mourn her falling.

Revelation 18:11 MKJV 11 And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their cargo any more;

Revelation 18:23 MKJV 23 And the light of a lamp will never more shine at all in you (Babylon). And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will never more be heard at all in you. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth; for by your sorceries all nations were deceived.

The merchants are described in this passage as greedy and selfish. This is the sin that finally brought judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah.

Ezekiel 16:49-50 MKJV 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; pride. Fullness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters. Nor did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and did abominable things before Me, so I turned away as I saw fit.

Jesus kicked the same kind of people out of the temple courts.

Matthew 21:12 MKJV 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves.

Before Jesus comes again, the antichrist takes over Jerusalem and sets up the abomination of desolation in temple. (Dan. 11:31) I can’t help but think that there may yet again be those who “buy and sell” in the temple. When Jesus steps down on the Mt. of Olives, it splits in two and water runs out to the east and to the west.

Zechariah 14:4 MKJV 4 And His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall divide from its middle, from the east and to the west, a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Zechariah 14:8 MKJV 8 And it shall be in that day, living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them shall go toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. In summer and in winter it shall be.

Water is an element that purifies. Jesus is purifying His city, Jerusalem. In that day, there shall be no profane thing in the city of Jerusalem. The final verse of Zechariah prophesies about that day.

Zechariah 14:21 KJV 21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

The word “Canaanite” is from the Hebrew #3669 Kena`aniy, ken-ah-an-ee'
a Canaanite or inhabitant of Canaan; by implication, a peddler, merchant, trafficker.

This verse will be fulfilled in both senses of the word. There will be no Canaanite or greedy merchant in the house of the LORD, only those whose names are written in the Lambs book of life. (Rev. 21:27)

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

Reasons for Christians to observe Shimeni Atzerat, the Eighth Day Assembly

Although the Feast of Tabernacles is seven days long, the eighth day, the day after the feast, is to be observed with a holy convocation or assembly.

Le 23:36 Seven days you shall offer a fire offering to the LORD. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. And you shall offer a fire offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly. And you shall do no work of labor. (MKJV)

The scripture doesn’t offer any obvious clues as to the nature of the assembly only that it is to be held on the eighth day. What is the significance of the eighth day? The number eight represents new beginnings. What new beginning is being observed on this day? Each year, this eighth day called Shimeni Atzerat begins a new feast cycle. This cycle will repeat each year until Yeshua comes again. When He does come, this day begins the millennial reign of Yeshua. Let’s look at what Zechariah said will occur every year of Yeshua’s reign.

Zec 14:16 And it shall be, everyone who is left of all the nations which came up against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (MKJV)

Also in Micah and Isaiah:

Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (MKJV)

Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go out the Law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (MKJV)

Scripture clearly connects observing the Feast of Tabernacles with the teaching of Torah and so, Shimeni Atzerat is also called Simchat Torah or Rejoice in the Torah. Each year, the Books of Moses are read through. Shimeni Atzerat marks the new beginning of reading the Torah. The book of Deuteronomy is finished and Genesis started again without a break. It is customary to stay up all night studying the Torah. Yeshua Himself will teach Torah to all nations in the millennium.

Isa 54:13 And all your sons shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your sons. (MKJV)

We can celebrate Shimeni Atzerat as we keep in mind the words of Paul in 2 Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 MKJV 16 All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work.

Let us spend the day in study as we look forward to the return of the Messiah, the author and finisher of our faith.

One thousand years later, there will be another Feast of Tabernacles which establishes the new heaven and earth, and the reign of God and the Lamb forever.

Re 22:1-5 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of its street, and of the river, from here and from there, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit according to one month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And every curse will no longer be; but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him. And they will see His face, and His name will be in their foreheads. And there will be no night there. And they need no lamp, or light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forever and ever. (MKJV)

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

Come with Brenda and I next June 19th to 29th to Israel, the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

The Last Great Day of the Feast

The Feast of Tabernacles lasts for seven days with the last day called “Hashanna Rabba” which means the Great Hosanna. Hosanna means “save now” so the last day is the “great save now” where the Israelites cry out to God for salvation.

Part of the ceremony of the Feast is the ritual of water pouring which developed out of the words of Isaiah 12:3, “And with joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation.” The high priest carrying a golden pitcher and his assistant carrying a silver pitcher with wine in it went down to the pool of Siloam. The way to the pool was lined with the Jewish pilgrims to the feast waving their lulavs, a bouquet of the four species Israel was told to use in their rejoicing in the Feast (Lev. 23:40). The high priest dipped his pitcher into the pool drawing out living water.

Living water is water that flows. It has a continual inflow and outflow. A cistern, for example, would not be living water. The pools for washing at the temple were designed to be constantly flowing. The pool of Siloam was fed by the spring Gihon and so was living water. The word Siloam means “Sent” and Gihon which is the name of one of the rivers flowing out of the Garden of Eden means “to gush or break forth, to labor to bring forth.” The living water from the pool of Siloam can be seen as a symbol of Jesus. It breaks forth from the Garden of Eden sent to bring salvation.

The High priest and his assistant proceed ceremoniously back to the temple with the pitchers of water and wine where they will be met by another group of priests who had gone down to the valley east of Jerusalem and cut 30 feet tall willow branches. The two groups meet in the temple around the altar. The High priest and his assistant proceed up the ramp to the altar while the other priests march around the altar with their willow branches. The people join in around them waving their lulavs. All are singing a combination of Isaiah 12:3, the song of Moses from Exodus 15:1-2, and the Hallelujah Psalms, Psalms 113-118. They finish with Psalm 118.

Psalms 118:25-29 KJV 25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. 29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

As they sing the final verse, the people lift their lulavs and wave them toward the altar. This ceremony was conducted each day of the feast. On each of the first six days, the priests circled the altar only once. On the last great day, they circled seven times. It is at this time on the great day of the Feast as the worshippers completed their final circuit of the altar in the pause at the end of the song that “Jesus stood and cried, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38)

The Israelites recognized this as a Messianic claim. Ezekiel writes of a river of living water flowing from the temple in the days of Messiah (Eze. 47). Zechariah writes of Living water flowing from Jerusalem in the days of Messiah (Zech. 14) Jeremiah says that the LORD Himself is a spring of living water.

Jeremiah 17:13 KJV 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

On this great day of the Feast, what were the reactions of the Israelites? John tells us that some believed He was the Christ, the Messiah. Others didn’t know what to believe. They would have six months before Passover to make their decisions.

When Jesus came into Jerusalem on the tenth of Nisan, four days before Passover, He was greeted with pilgrims lining the streets waving palm branches before Him, shouting “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD, Hosanna, Blessed is the King of Israel.” Waving palm branches was not something that was done at Passover. Remember those lulavs from the Feast of Tabernacles? They were made up willow, myrtle and palm branches and the citron fruit. The willow and the myrtle would not yet have leaves at the time of Passover but the Palm tree would. Their greeting of Jesus at this time was more like the ceremony of water pouring at the Feast of Tabernacles! Further, the sages say that one of the reasons they were to rejoice with lulavs was to remember that even creation recognizes and praises God.

Luke records that during this triumphant entry into Jerusalem that some of the Pharisees cried out for Jesus to rebuke his disciples. What was Jesus’ response?

Luke 19:40 KJV 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

On a future Feast of Tabernacles, the words of Ezekiel and Jeremiah will come true; living water will flow from the temple in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 47:12 NASB 12 "And by the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."

Isaiah 44:23 MKJV 23 Sing, O heavens; for the LORD has done it. Shout, lower parts of the earth. Break out into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it. For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

Come with Brenda and I next June 19th to 29th to Israel, the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

What is the Feast of Tabernacles?

What is the Feast of Tabernacles?

The Feast of Tabernacles, held in the seventh month, is the seventh and final feast of the festival year. See Leviticus chapter 23 for the seven Feasts of the LORD. The feasts in the seventh month span from the 1st to the 22nd, three weeks plus 1 day. The Feast of Tabernacles starts on the 15th of Tishrei and is celebrated for seven days followed by an eighth day that is celebrated as a Sabbath. In Hebrew, this day is called Shimeni Atzerat meaning the eighth day assembly. Just as Passover is a one day feast to start the festival season, Shimeni Atzerat is a one day feast to end the festival season. It is observed as a day to rejoice in the Torah, keeping with the Feast of Tabernacles theme of rejoicing.

The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the three pilgrimage feasts and during temple times all the men would go up to Jerusalem to celebrate. Each of the pilgrimage feasts is associated with a specific harvest. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was at the beginning of the barley harvest, the first harvest of the agricultural year. It was at this time that Yeshua rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits in the midst of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Feast of Weeks is the beginning of the wheat harvest. On this day, the Holy Spirit fell on all the disciples in Jerusalem. The Feast of Tabernacles is at the end of the harvest of the fruits such as grapes, figs, and citron. It concludes the harvest season. This feast comes after God’s final harvest of souls, some to eternal life and others to eternal destruction. We rejoice in the completion of His redemption plan.

Prophetically, the Feast of Tabernacles is a rehearsal of the wedding supper of the lamb. It is a time to rejoice! God has again taken up His dwelling place with man. His son, Yeshua is on the throne and the millennial reign begins!

In the time of Yeshua, the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated around the clock. Because this was one of the pilgrimage feasts the population of Jerusalem once again swelled to around two and half million. Although all the feasts of the Lord are joyful occasions, the Feast of Tabernacles is specifically a time of rejoicing. In the Talmud, the Rabbis write, “He that hath not beheld the joy of the drawing of water hath never seen joy in his life.” (Sukkah 5:1) There was dancing, singing, juggling, and acrobatics all night long every night.

In the days leading up to the Feast of Tabernacles, sukkot or temporary dwellings sprang up all over the countryside leading up to Jerusalem in honor of the commandment to dwell in booths. Sukkot were built wherever space could be found. Not only the pilgrims, but also the permanent residents of Jerusalem would build and live in a Sukka (singular form of Sukkot) for the seven days of the feast. Imagine the whole city of Jerusalem moving out of their homes and building sukkot all over the city! The building of Sukkot is practiced to this day in the land of Israel and through out the world.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

Come with Brenda and I next June 19th to 29th to Israel, the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

Reasons for Christians to Observe Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur falls on the tenth of Tishrei, ten days from the beginning of the two day Feast of Trumpets. This year it begins at local sunset on September 27th. One of the reasons to blow the trumpets was to remind God to have mercy on His people. Now, on the Day of Atonement, that will be put to the test. Will God come down and “sit” on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies or will He instead bring judgment?

God desires to have mercy on everyone. His desire is that the rebellious repent of their sins and turn to Him.

Ezekiel 33:11 MKJV 11 Say to them: As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Peter says that God holds back His time of judgment waiting for people to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 MKJV 9 The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any of us should perish, but that all of us should come to repentance.

Right now, God chooses to remain on His mercy seat granting forgiveness to all who seek Him and believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.

Romans 10:9-10 MKJV 9 Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.

But there will come a time when God will say, “It is time.” As He brought judgment on Israel and Judah, He will bring judgment on the nations.

Joel 3:12-14 MKJV 12 Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations all around. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, come down; for the press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision!

He will establish His name in Jerusalem and it shall be a holy city consecrated to God.

Joel 3:16-17 MKJV 16 The LORD shall also roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth shall shake. But the LORD will be the hope of His people and the strength of the sons of Israel. 17 So you shall know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be a holy thing, and no aliens shall pass through her any more.

Christians can celebrate the Day of Atonement in fasting for friends and loved ones to come to repentance and to accept that Jesus died for their sins and rose triumphant from the grave.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

Come with Brenda and I next June 19th to 29th to Israel, the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .

The End is Declared From the Beginning - Part 7

This is the final part seven of seven parts studying the seven Hebrew words of the first verse of Genesis. Each of the seven words shows the Messiah and together are a picture of God’s redemption plan for man.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ (NKJV)

Everything was created through Messiah and for the sake of Messiah, as it is written in the Gospel of John:

Joh 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (NKJV)

Messiah is in each word of the very first verse in the Bible.

Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

There are seven words in Genesis 1:1 in the original Hebrew which is read right to left. Seven is the number of spiritual completion. The act of creation took six days and on the seventh day God rested.

בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The Seventh Word

The seventh word ties it all together. The seventh word in Genesis is הארץ ha-eh'-rets, which is translated as “the Earth.” The root word is ארץ 'erets, or just “earth.”

#776. ארץ 'erets, eh'-rets. from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):--X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, way, + wilderness, world.

The waters are collected in one place and the dry land which appears is called earth.

Genesis 1:9-10 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land, Earth. And He called the gathering together of the waters, Seas. And God saw that it was good. (MKJV)
The word dry ground is from Strong’s #3004 יבשה yabbashah, yab-baw-shaw' from 3001; dry ground:--dry (ground, land).

The dry land appears on the third day of creation. It produces the first fruits of creation.

Ge 1:11-13 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day. (NKJV)

Yeshua rose from the dead on the third day and is the firstfruits of creation taking us back to the first word, בראשית Bresheet, the House of firstfruits and 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

The Garden of Eden was planted on the earth. Man dwelt in the garden with God.

Ge 3:8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (NKJV)

God will again dwell with man on the New Earth. The earth will continually produce fruit taking us back to the House of firstfruits once again, בראשית Bre'sheet.

Re 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (NKJV)

The Tabernacle of God will be here on the new earth with man.

Re 22:2-3 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. (NKJV)

The fruit will be produced every month. God collected the waters in one place and dry land appeared; this calls to mind the fifth word, שמים shamayim. God created the heavens by separating the waters and calling the expanse between the waters the heavens, שמים shamayim. As we look at places where God separated water and dry ground, יבשה appeared, we see two incidents, one in which God separated the water and one in which God gathered the water. We will see in these instances two allegories of Messiah’s coming.

The first instance is when God separated the waters of the Red Sea and dry land appeared. (The Hebrew for dry land in this verse isn’t yabbashah but #2724 חָרָבָה charabah, meaning a desert, dry.)

Exodus 14:21-22 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (NKJV)

Moses, who is a type of Messiah, stretches his hand over the water and the LORD divides the waters. The dry land appears and the Israelites cross on dry ground out of the slavery of Egypt redeemed by the blood of the Passover lamb. They are the first of the redeemed of the LORD. We also pass through the sea from slavery to sin into freedom in Yeshua.

The generation who came out of Egypt did not believe God could bring them into the Promised Land and thus He allowed them to die in the wilderness instead of entering His Land, His rest. Only two people of that generation entered into the Promised Land.

Nu 14:30 'Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. (NKJV)

Heb 3:10-11 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'" (NKJV)

The Israelites also crossed the Jordan River on dry ground as they entered the Promised Land. The water was “gathered together in one place” allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land.

Jos 3:13 "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap." (NKJV)

The Promised Land is symbolic of entering God’s rest; the ultimate redemption of man and the restoration of the Garden of Eden. הארץ Ha-eretz is the seventh word in Genesis 1:1 and God rested on the seventh day.

As the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land, the Ark of God carried by the priests stood firm in the middle of the river. One of the meanings of Eretz is to be firm.

Jos 3:17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. (NKJV)

Hebrews chapter 4 talks about entering God’s rest exhorting believers not to fall to unbelief and disobedience as did the generation of the Exodus.

Heb 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. (NKJV)

Instead we are encouraged to trust in our High Priest who has passed through the heavens, השמים h’shamayim, ahead of us. This takes us back again to that fifth word!

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (NKJV)

That Yeshua passed through the heavens takes us back to the fifth word, shamayim, the heavens or the firmament between the waters. The priests stood firm on the dry ground between the waters until everyone had passed through the waters. Yeshua is there on dry ground as we pass through the waters.

Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. (NKJV)

This once again shows that Yeshua links heaven and earth, and spiritual to physical just as the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven to the earth linking the New Heaven and the New Earth. John relates that when the new earth is created, there will be no more sea. All will be dry ground, eretz.

Re 21:1-2 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Finally, the word picture of he-eretz, הארץ, shows that the end is declared from the beginning. We started looking at “the earth,” h’eretz, as the firstfruits of creation. The word picture shows h’eretz as the final harvest.

Hebrew word picture. The earth: הארץ
Hey: ה = behold, window, “the” (as a prefix), lattice
Aleph: א = ox, bull, strength, leader
Resh: ר = a head, person, highest
Tsadik: ץ = fish hook, harvest, need

The earth: Behold the strong man’s harvest.

The strong man is the one within the house, the one who creates the heavens and the earth. This goes back to the second word create ברא bara : the strong man in the house.

Yeshua says the harvest is the end of the age.

Mt 13:36-43 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (NKJV)

Re 14:14-16 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. (NKJV)

Yeshua, who was central to creation, is now the one who reaps the earth. This takes us back once again to the first word בראשית bre’sheet, the House of Firstfruits.

1 Co 15:22-23 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (NKJV)

And in the Revelation, Yeshua spoke to John.

Re 21:6-7 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (NKJV)

So you see, the end is declared from the beginning. The entire redemption story is contained in just the seven words of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
The cycle is complete with God resting on the seventh day. But cycles in the Bible are always repeating. For instance eight is the number of new beginnings; it begins a new cycle. What is the eighth word in Genesis 1? It is V’ha’eretz והארץ which means “and the earth.” And so we continue with a new cycle of creation and a New Earth.

Isa 65:17-18 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. (NKJV)

The End - No - Make that the beginning!

Thank you for viewing this seven part study. It is my prayer that you enjoyed it and found it enlightening. Please feel free to leave me some feedback, either as comments or by private message. This study will be in a new book “The Shadows of Messiah in the Torah – Vol. 2” to be available in a few weeks. Please visit ElShaddai Ministries on the web at http://www.elshaddaiministries.us/ for these books and a treasure of study materials and teachings on the Hebrew Roots of our faith.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed

The End is Declared From the Beginning - Part 6

Sorry about this part being a day late. My ISP was down all day yesterday.

This is part six of seven parts studying the seven Hebrew words of the first verse of Genesis. Each of the seven words shows the Messiah and together are a picture of God’s redemption plan for man.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ (NKJV)

Everything was created through Messiah and for the sake of Messiah, as it is written in the Gospel of John:

Joh 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (NKJV)

Messiah is in each word of the very first verse in the Bible.

Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

There are seven words in Genesis 1:1 in the original Hebrew which is read right to left. Seven is the number of spiritual completion. The act of creation took six days and on the seventh day God rested.

בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The Sixth Word

This 6th word is the Hebrew word ואת (ayth). It is normally translated as “and” but sometimes as “also”. It really is not a single word at all but a compound word. In Hebrew, the word “and” is almost always indicated by adding a vav ו to the beginning of a word. It is like a prefix in English. We see this alot in the Hebrew language. We saw it in the first word בראשית bre’sheet with the Bet ב added in front of re’sheet to form the prefix “in.” So “and” is rarely written as a separate word.

In this 6th word of Genesis 1:1, we have the ו (vav) connected to the את (aleph tav) taking us back to the untranslated fourth word, את, representing the Messiah which we saw is the “beginning and the end.”

So what happens with the sixth word by adding a ו vav to the את aleph tav? The letter vav is the 6th letter in the Hebrew alphabet and means “to secure” and literally means “nail.” In the ancient picture language it was depicted as a nail or wooden peg, in this case not a whole lot different than the midern character. With the vav meaning to secure or connect, we see that Messiah, the את, is in the midst of creation, in the middle of Heaven and Earth. Messiah is the connecting force between man (earth) and God (heaven). He literally is the connection between man and God. To emphasize this further, the first appearance of the letter vav in the Torah is the 22nd letter of the first verse. Since there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, this points to all the letters of the alphabet and, thus, by implication connecting all of creation.

He is also the connection between the physical and the spiritual.

Joh 1:14 And the Word became 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. (NKJV)

So, he became flesh; he was spiritual and He became physical for us. When the new heaven and new earth are created, the New Jerusalem connects the heaven and earth.

Re 21:10-11 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. (NKJV)
The holy Jerusalem comes down out of heaven to earth.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed

The End is Declared From the Beginning - Part 3

(Sorry that this post is out of sequence. It was somehow erased)

This is part three of seven parts studying the seven Hebrew words of the first verse of Genesis. Each of the seven words shows the Messiah and together are a picture of God’s redemption plan for man.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ (NKJV)

Everything was created through Messiah and for the sake of Messiah, as it is written in the Gospel of John:

Joh 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (NKJV)

Messiah is in each word of the very first verse in the Bible.

Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

There are seven words in Genesis 1:1 in the original Hebrew which is read right to left. Seven is the number of spiritual completion. The act of creation took six days and on the seventh day God rested.


בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.


The Third Word

The third word in Hebrew is one of the names of God used throughout the Torah, Elohim.

#430. אלהים 'elohiym, el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

According to the Sages, Elohim denotes God in His Attribute of Justice, as Ruler, Lawgiver, and Judge of the world. This name is used exclusively in the creation account until the sixth day. God as Jah-weh is first seen in the Bible when He creates man.

The ancient Hebrew gives a fascinating word picture in the name Elohim.

Elohim: אלהים
Aleph: א - Strength, Leader, First, Ox, Bull
Lamed: ל - Control, Authority, Goad
Hey: ה - To Reveal, Behold
Yood: י - To make, a deed, Hand
Mem: ם - Liquid, Massive, Chaos, Water

Elohim: The First Authority: Behold His Hand is on the Water

In Jerusalem, at the pool of Bethesda which means house of kindness or mercy, which provided healing when the waters were stirred.

Joh 5:2-4 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. (NKJV)

Yeshua showed Himself the master of the waters when He calmed the storm and the waves of the Sea of Galilee.

Lu 8:22-25 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" (NKJV)

We see that Yeshua’s hand calmed the water.

Yeshua was with his disciples after his resurrection and was given all authority in Heaven and in earth.

Mt 28:16-19 And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him. But some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. 19 Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (MKJV)

God, through Yeshua, has the authority and His hand is on the water.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed

The End is Declared From the Beginning - Part 5

This is part Five of seven parts studying the seven Hebrew words of the first verse of Genesis. Each of the seven words shows the Messiah and together are a picture of God’s redemption plan for man.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ (NKJV)

Everything was created through Messiah and for the sake of Messiah, as it is written in the Gospel of John:

Joh 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (NKJV)

Messiah is in each word of the very first verse in the Bible.

Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

There are seven words in Genesis 1:1 in the original Hebrew which is read right to left. Seven is the number of spiritual completion. The act of creation took six days and on the seventh day God rested.


בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.


The Fifth Word

The fifth word in Genesis 1:1 is ha-shamayim השמים and means the heavens. The word is composed of the letter hey ה meaning “the” and shamayim שמים meaning “heavens.”

#8064. שמים shamayim, shaw-mah'-yim. Dual of an unused singular shameh {shaw-meh'}; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):--air, X astrologer, heaven(-s).

The word picture of ha-shamayim illustrates the deeper Hebrew meaning of the word which is an illustration of creation.

Hebrew word picture:

The Heavens: השמים
Hey: ה - to reveal, behold, “the” (as a prefix), window or lattice.
Sheen: ש - Teeth, to consume or destroy. Also An abv. For Almighty God, El Shaddai.
Mem: מ - Water, massive, chaos
Yood: י - Hand, to deed or to make
Mem: ם - Water, massive, chaos ( the Mem appears as ם at the end of a word)

The Heavens: “Behold, the Almighty God whose hand divides the waters.”

This is almost identical to the word picture for Elohim, The First Authority: Behold His Hand is on the water. Not only is His hand on the water, it divides the water. The space between the waters is called the heavens.

Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven (שמים shamayim). And the evening and the morning were the second day. (KJV)

Here we see that the hand of God divides the waters above and below the firmament as well as creating the firmament which is called Heaven, shamayim. The Hebrew word for firmament is רקיע raqiya.

#7549. רקיע raqiya`, raw-kee'-ah. from #7554; properly, an expanse, i.e. the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky:--firmament.

According to the sages, this expanse or raqiya includes the entire created universe. It says in Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” (NKJV)

This 5th word, ha-shamayim, takes us back to the first word, בראשית Bre’sheet, which means “In the beginning, for the sake of the Firstfruits, through the Foremost.” According to Paul, all of creation was created for Him and by Him.

Col 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (NKJV)

The word Ha-Shamiyim shows a picture of Messiah, the Hand that divided the waters and created the heavens.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed

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