One of the most fascinating studies in the Bible is pertaining to the Latter Times and End of Days. There are those who thought the world would end during the First Century A.D., only to be followed by the year 1000 A.D., then in 1843 by William Miller, and subsequently the Y2K Millennium worldwide computer virus scare amid gloom and doom. Now, according to the Mayan Calendar, the world is going to end in 2012. Adding to that is that, there will be 70 Jubilee celebrations before the LORD Jesus returns, making the time around the year 2017. The thing is, even those who received the Holy Spirit in a measure that those in modern times experience did not have the same understanding on not just the time, but rather the circumstances in which the LORD would return; as most, if not all of them, expected His return in their lifetime or the next generation. In the following below are some of the prerequisites, in the chronological order in which the narratives are dated or written, where the narrator or source believed the event would happen, and under what circumstances. Although the LORD Jesus Himself said that only the Father knows the time of the End, yet He seems to have pointed to a time that was closer to His own for the culmination of all things.
1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep [died], lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus [Yeshua] died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the LORD, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the LORD will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the LORD Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ [Moshiach] will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air. And thus we shall always be with the LORD.
NOTE: The apostle Paul clearly seems to be looking for the LORD Jesus to return in his lifetime because of the inclusive use of “we.” This appears to happen when the seventh trump is sounded (Cp. Revelation 11: 15-18).
2 Thessalonians 1: 1, 3-4, 6-10
Now, brethren, concerning the coming [advent] of our LORD Jesus Christ [Yeshua Moshiach] and our gathering together to Him. . . Let no one deceive you by any means, for the Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself to be God. And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time [dispensation??]. For the “mystery of lawlessness” is already at work; only the one who now restrains will do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene (NAB). And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the LORD will render powerless [consume] by the manifestation of His coming [brightness of His coming] (NAB). The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with mighty deeds, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be save.
COMMENTARY: There is quite a bit in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, including some new theology, in a manner of speaking. Before getting to that, the term “son of perdition’ is only applied to one other person in the entire Bible, namely Judas Iscariot (Cp. John 17: 12), where it says the Scripture is fulfilled; except there is no Scripture [in the Old Testament] referring to such a person. Also, the theme in First Thessalonians seems to revolve around persecution or suffering (Cp. 1 Thessalonians 1: 14; 3: 4) as the precursor to the LORD’S return (Cp. 1 Thessalonians 2: 19; 3: 13b; 5: 4, 23), and 2 Thessalonians 1: 5-10 continues with the same theme, too. Now the emphasis in the latter book shifts to, it seems, a remote time in the near future when a wicked and satanically-empowered person profanes the Jewish Temple by enthroning himself there only to be finally destroyed by the LORD’S advent. This accords well with Daniel 9: 26b-27 and 11: 29-37 because these passages can find fulfillment in a past historical event or in one that is yet unfilled.
1 Corinthians 15: 51-52
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (Cp. Revelation 11: 15-18). For the trumpet will sound, and the dead [in the LORD Jesus] shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
2 Timothy 2: 17-18
And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaus and Philetus are of this sort, who has strayed from the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.
NOTE: There were some who began to doubt that the resurrection from the dead was going to ever take place as they had been taught and believed, were now beginning to have some serious doubts that it was true.
2 Peter 3: 3a-4, 8
Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in these last days . . . saying, “Where is the promise [signs] of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation?” But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the LORD one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day.
NOTE: Peter’s epistle was written or dated around the time of Paul’s epistle to Timothy and again, there were some who had began to lose hope in the LORD’S appearance in their lifetime and everything associated with this glorious event and began to be scornful and mock the teachings and belief of others.
2 Peter 3: 10-13
But the day of the LORD will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
NOTE: Perhaps Peter had Isaiah 34: 4 in mind as the “End” will be accompanied by a deafening noise [explosion??] and everything will suddenly be burning with the heat of cosmic [supernatural] fire intense enough to melt the very atomic elements that give substance to matter. This very terrible picture is again contrasted with a different image in the First letter where trials and suffering is an example of what Jesus went through and serves as an example of faith until He returns (Cp. 1 Peter 1: 6-7; 3: 13-14; 4; 12-13).
Matthew 24: 34, 42, 44.
Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away until all these things take place (Cp. Matthew 24: 3-31, 36-44; 25: 31-46). Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your LORD is coming. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Luke 21: 28, 31-32
Now when you see these things begin to happen, look up and lift your heads, because your redemption draws near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom [government] of God is near. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away until all things take place (Cp. 21: 7-33).
NOTE: A generation could be as many as 100 years (Cp. Genesis 15: 13, 16), so taking this in to account, and Jesus being between 30 something and under fifty years of age, the time period for all the tribulation, wars, false messiahs, and end of the world could include up to the final Jewish revolt led by Shimon Bar Kochba, whom was seen by many Jews as their messiah, which was ultimately crushed by the Romans in 135 BC.
1 John 1: 18
Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that Antichrist [false Messiah] is coming, even now many antichrists [false messiahs] have come, by which we know it is the last hour. They [the antichrists or false messiahs] went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out [from us] that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus [Yeshua] is the Christ [Moshiach]?” He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
NOTE: At this writing the Temple had been destroyed for twenty years, and doubtless, this was a national catastrophe and caused a significant effect on the psyche of the Jewish people, probably even more so among those who believed Jesus was the Messiah. What is quite revealing in this epistle is that the appearance of not only an Antichrist, but numerous antichrists who appear on the scene before the Last Day. These false messiahs were not just former believers, but came from the group which the writer belonged, perhaps one of the initial founders of the faith, including, even some of the Apostles themselves (Cp. Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20; Acts 1: 12-17, 21-25). The false messiahs is interesting because there were some contemporary revolutionaries or deliverers who rose up among the Jewish people, such as Theudas and Judas of Galilee (Cp. Acts 5: 34-38). Even the apostle Paul was thought to be some kind of a insurrectionist (Cp. Acts 4: 26-39). Jesus warned there would be false christs among the people which serve as one of the many signs before His imminent return (Cp. Matthew 24: 23, 26; Luke 21: 8).
And lastly, John’s vision in the book of REVELATION is a kaleidoscope of terrible and catastrophic events, too numerous to list all of them, as the planet convulses in the last throes of its existence. There will be global pandemics, famine, unnatural weather conditions and mega earthquakes whose volcanic ash will blanket the earth; wildfires that will destroy a third of the trees; a third of the water will become poisonous and many people die as a result; meteorites and possibly a large asteroid will plunge into the bodies of water on the planet; there will be unprecedented violent uprisings and protests; the Temple will be built in Jerusalem; demonic activity will become a lot more visibly apparent as they torment those having the mark of the beast; Satan and Death and Hades as well as the false prophet and the beast will be cast into the lake of fire; the gospel will be preached to the nations; and then, the Final War on the earth will take place but it will involve the LORD Jesus and His heavenly army; and afterwards, the Great White Throne Judgment, followed by the New Heavens and New Earth, the New Jerusalem and the Lamb’s bride [redeemed Church] will be revealed in glory.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 28, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Book of Daniel chapters 8-11
The Old Testament Book of Daniel is probably one of the more interesting narratives in the entire canon of Scripture, with the possible exception of the enigmatic Books of Ezekiel, and Revelation in the New Testament. There is quite a remarkable connection between the two books [Daniel and Revelation] because the narratives overlap in several places; especially in these last few chapters. The most notable passage is found in the ninth chapter, which refers to “Messiah the Prince” and most Fundamental Christian Theologians and Messianic Jewish scholarship believe 1 Daniel 9: 24-25 to refer to the person of Jesus [Yeshua] of Nazareth, the holy seed of the Virgin Mary, came into the world around 6 B.C. in the city of Bethlehem, in Judea. And while this is a very convincing and plausible interpretation, yet, the context has to be taken into consideration by reading chapters 8 thru 11, for the most part.
8: 8-12a, 13-14, 17
Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came a little horn [“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”- Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 7-10; 2 Maccabees 4: 7a] which grew exceedingly great toward the south [Egypt], toward the east, and toward the glorious land [Israel]. And it [the little horn-“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”] grew up to the host of heaven; and it [the little horn-“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”] cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground and trampled them. He [the little horn-“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”] even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 44-49). Because of transgressions (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 10-15; 41-43, 52; 2 Maccabees 4: 10-17a), an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices. And I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 45) and the transgression of desolation (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 54a; 2 Maccabees 6: 1-2), the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For two thousand and three hundred days, then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end [End of the profanation of the Temple].”
NOTE: The horrible “Abomination of Desolation” is pun for ‘lord of heaven’ rendered as Shiqqus shomen (Cp. Daniel 9: 27; 11: 31; 2 Maccabees 6: 2) in the original Hebrew, equivalent to the Syrian “Baal shomen” and refers to the god Zeus-Olympias, which was erected upon the altar of holocausts [burnt offerings] in the sanctuary [Temple] on the fifteenth day in the year one hundred and forty-five [167 B.C.], the month ‘Chislev’ [December]. Judas Maccabeus and his brothers purified (cleansed) the sanctuary and rededicated it by offering sacrifices on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month [Chislev-“December”], in the year one hundred and forty eight [164 B.C.], which amounts to one thousand and ninety-five days (Cp. 1 Maccabees 4: 4: 36-38, 52-55). Curiously, in 2 Maccabees 10: 1-8, esp. verse 3b, this celebration of cleansing the sanctuary took place two years after the Gentiles profaned the sanctuary and not three years as in the first Book. King Antiochus Epiphanes IV receives word that the Israelites have pulled down the Abomination of Desolation which he had placed on the altar in Jerusalem (Cp. 1 Maccabees 6: 7). References are taken from the New American Bible footnotes.
8: 15, 17, 19
Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.”
NOTE: The “end’ refers to the indignation regarding profaning the sanctuary and the abomination of desolation upon the altar and NOT necessarily the ‘End of the World.’
8: 22-27
As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation [“Kittim”-Greece as in v. 21], but not with its power. And in the latter times of their kingdom, when the [Jewish] transgressors have reached their fullness (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 10-15; 41-43, 52; 2 Maccabees 4: 14), a king shall arise, having a fierce countenance, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy to an extraordinary degree, and shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 29-30); and he shall exalt himself in his heart (Cp. 2 Maccabees 5: 17a, 21b). He shall destroy many people in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without human means (Cp. 1 Maccabees 6: 8-13, 16). And the vision of the evenings and mornings (Cp. 8: 14) which was told is true; Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days (Cp. 8: 14-- “2,300 evenings and mornings”) in the future. And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it [including Daniel].
9: 24-27
Seventy weeks [Heb. heptads-“sevens” or 70 X 7’s] are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 10-15; 41-43, 52; 2 Maccabees 4: 14), to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of (1) the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Cp. 2 Chronicles 36: 22-23; Ezra 1: 1-3; 4: 3b) until (2) Messiah the Prince, there shall be (1a) seven weeks and (2a) sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times (Cp. Ezra 4: 12-13, 16, 23-24; 5: 3). And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off (Cp. 1 Maccabees 9: 17-21), but not for Himself. And the people [army/troops] of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it [the city or sanctuary??] shall be with a flood; and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a treaty [of peace] with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 44-49). And on the wing [of the Temple] abominations shall be one who makes desolate (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 54; 2 Maccabees 6: 2), even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolator.
NOTE: Instead combining all the events together with the chronology, it is possible that the “seven” weeks [7 X 7’s] pertain to the time of the command to rebuild the Temple and its completion as a separate event in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. The Messiah would be killed [cut off] 62 weeks [62 X 7’s] ater the command by King Cyrus to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. The chronology of the ‘Weeks’ s taken from the footnotes in The Orthodox Jewish Bible, AFI International Publishers, New York, 2010, “Daniel.” Also, it must be kept in mind that this ‘Messiah’ would be associated with the cleansing of the sanctuary [Temple], which happened during the time of Judas Maccabeus; as in the following:
11: 29, 32
At the appointed time he [2 Maccabees 2: 4: 7; 5: 1, 11-1416, 21; 6: 1-2a] shall return and go toward the south [Egypt]; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.
Daniel 12: 11-12
And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand three hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
1 Maccabees 4: 36, 42-43, 52-54, 56
Then Judas and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary [Temple] and rededicate it. He [Judas] chose blameless priests, devoted to the law [Torah]; these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the “Abomination [of Desolation]” to an unclean place. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of ‘Chislev’ [December 14], in the year one hundred and forty-eight [164 B.C.], they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law [Torah] on the new altar of holocausts [burnt offerings] they had made; On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered the holocausts [burnt offerings] and sacrifices of deliverance and praise.
1 Maccabees 9: 17-21
The battle was fought desperately, and many on both sides fell wounded. Then Judas fell [mortally wounded], and the rest fled. Jonathan and Simon took their brother Judas and buried him in the tomb of their fathers at Modein. All Israel bewailed him in great grief. They mourned for him many days, and they said, “How the mighty one has fallen, the savior [messiah] of Israel.”
COMMENT: Judas Maccabeus was killed sometime between 160-159 B.C. Although the Apocryphal Book of Maccabees is not considered as “inspired” but it contains valuable information and a believable historical account, especially in the first book, that seems to support the narrative found in DANIEL. The second Book of Maccabees is not quite as consistent but there are a few good correspondingly valid passages that can be used to corroborate the earlier account and also DANIEL. Of course, because of Daniel’s link to the Book of Revelation its Eschatological (“End Times”) significance cannot be overlooked; especially when reading it along with the Book of Ezekiel, as well. Be that as it may, even the highly beloved and spiritually gifted Daniel never fully grasped the meaning of the vision he was privileged to experience (Cp. Daniel 8: 27; 9: 20-23; 12: 8a).
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 17, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
8: 8-12a, 13-14, 17
Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came a little horn [“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”- Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 7-10; 2 Maccabees 4: 7a] which grew exceedingly great toward the south [Egypt], toward the east, and toward the glorious land [Israel]. And it [the little horn-“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”] grew up to the host of heaven; and it [the little horn-“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”] cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground and trampled them. He [the little horn-“Antiochus Epiphanes IV”] even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 44-49). Because of transgressions (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 10-15; 41-43, 52; 2 Maccabees 4: 10-17a), an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices. And I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 45) and the transgression of desolation (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 54a; 2 Maccabees 6: 1-2), the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For two thousand and three hundred days, then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end [End of the profanation of the Temple].”
NOTE: The horrible “Abomination of Desolation” is pun for ‘lord of heaven’ rendered as Shiqqus shomen (Cp. Daniel 9: 27; 11: 31; 2 Maccabees 6: 2) in the original Hebrew, equivalent to the Syrian “Baal shomen” and refers to the god Zeus-Olympias, which was erected upon the altar of holocausts [burnt offerings] in the sanctuary [Temple] on the fifteenth day in the year one hundred and forty-five [167 B.C.], the month ‘Chislev’ [December]. Judas Maccabeus and his brothers purified (cleansed) the sanctuary and rededicated it by offering sacrifices on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month [Chislev-“December”], in the year one hundred and forty eight [164 B.C.], which amounts to one thousand and ninety-five days (Cp. 1 Maccabees 4: 4: 36-38, 52-55). Curiously, in 2 Maccabees 10: 1-8, esp. verse 3b, this celebration of cleansing the sanctuary took place two years after the Gentiles profaned the sanctuary and not three years as in the first Book. King Antiochus Epiphanes IV receives word that the Israelites have pulled down the Abomination of Desolation which he had placed on the altar in Jerusalem (Cp. 1 Maccabees 6: 7). References are taken from the New American Bible footnotes.
8: 15, 17, 19
Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.”
NOTE: The “end’ refers to the indignation regarding profaning the sanctuary and the abomination of desolation upon the altar and NOT necessarily the ‘End of the World.’
8: 22-27
As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation [“Kittim”-Greece as in v. 21], but not with its power. And in the latter times of their kingdom, when the [Jewish] transgressors have reached their fullness (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 10-15; 41-43, 52; 2 Maccabees 4: 14), a king shall arise, having a fierce countenance, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy to an extraordinary degree, and shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 29-30); and he shall exalt himself in his heart (Cp. 2 Maccabees 5: 17a, 21b). He shall destroy many people in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without human means (Cp. 1 Maccabees 6: 8-13, 16). And the vision of the evenings and mornings (Cp. 8: 14) which was told is true; Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days (Cp. 8: 14-- “2,300 evenings and mornings”) in the future. And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it [including Daniel].
9: 24-27
Seventy weeks [Heb. heptads-“sevens” or 70 X 7’s] are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 10-15; 41-43, 52; 2 Maccabees 4: 14), to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of (1) the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Cp. 2 Chronicles 36: 22-23; Ezra 1: 1-3; 4: 3b) until (2) Messiah the Prince, there shall be (1a) seven weeks and (2a) sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times (Cp. Ezra 4: 12-13, 16, 23-24; 5: 3). And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off (Cp. 1 Maccabees 9: 17-21), but not for Himself. And the people [army/troops] of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it [the city or sanctuary??] shall be with a flood; and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a treaty [of peace] with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 44-49). And on the wing [of the Temple] abominations shall be one who makes desolate (Cp. 1 Maccabees 1: 54; 2 Maccabees 6: 2), even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolator.
NOTE: Instead combining all the events together with the chronology, it is possible that the “seven” weeks [7 X 7’s] pertain to the time of the command to rebuild the Temple and its completion as a separate event in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. The Messiah would be killed [cut off] 62 weeks [62 X 7’s] ater the command by King Cyrus to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. The chronology of the ‘Weeks’ s taken from the footnotes in The Orthodox Jewish Bible, AFI International Publishers, New York, 2010, “Daniel.” Also, it must be kept in mind that this ‘Messiah’ would be associated with the cleansing of the sanctuary [Temple], which happened during the time of Judas Maccabeus; as in the following:
11: 29, 32
At the appointed time he [2 Maccabees 2: 4: 7; 5: 1, 11-1416, 21; 6: 1-2a] shall return and go toward the south [Egypt]; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.
Daniel 12: 11-12
And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand three hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
1 Maccabees 4: 36, 42-43, 52-54, 56
Then Judas and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary [Temple] and rededicate it. He [Judas] chose blameless priests, devoted to the law [Torah]; these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the “Abomination [of Desolation]” to an unclean place. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of ‘Chislev’ [December 14], in the year one hundred and forty-eight [164 B.C.], they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law [Torah] on the new altar of holocausts [burnt offerings] they had made; On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered the holocausts [burnt offerings] and sacrifices of deliverance and praise.
1 Maccabees 9: 17-21
The battle was fought desperately, and many on both sides fell wounded. Then Judas fell [mortally wounded], and the rest fled. Jonathan and Simon took their brother Judas and buried him in the tomb of their fathers at Modein. All Israel bewailed him in great grief. They mourned for him many days, and they said, “How the mighty one has fallen, the savior [messiah] of Israel.”
COMMENT: Judas Maccabeus was killed sometime between 160-159 B.C. Although the Apocryphal Book of Maccabees is not considered as “inspired” but it contains valuable information and a believable historical account, especially in the first book, that seems to support the narrative found in DANIEL. The second Book of Maccabees is not quite as consistent but there are a few good correspondingly valid passages that can be used to corroborate the earlier account and also DANIEL. Of course, because of Daniel’s link to the Book of Revelation its Eschatological (“End Times”) significance cannot be overlooked; especially when reading it along with the Book of Ezekiel, as well. Be that as it may, even the highly beloved and spiritually gifted Daniel never fully grasped the meaning of the vision he was privileged to experience (Cp. Daniel 8: 27; 9: 20-23; 12: 8a).
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 17, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Friday, January 7, 2011
Critical exegesis of the Book of Haggai
Haggai 1: 1-3
In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month [Elul], on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, “Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, saying: “This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’S house [Temple] should be built.” ’ ”
NOTE: It is amazing that the people were more concerned about their own personal interests than wanting to rebuild the LORD’S house, but perhaps seventy years of captivity in a foreign land would dampen one’s spiritual pursuits. Of course, their lapse or lack of interest was more or less a direct result of the work being halted by King Artaxerxes [Xerxes 1] which is recorded in Ezra 4: 24, and the time when laying the foundation of the LORD’S house had resumed might have been a span of sixteen years or so. Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 763, “Zerubbabel”).
1: 14-15
So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of Hosts, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month [Elul], in the second year of King Darius.
2: 1-2
In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying: “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?
2: 6-7, 9
“For thus says the LORD God of Hosts: One moment yet, a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.” “I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD God of Hosts.” “Greater will be the future glory of this house [Temple] than the former [Solomon’s Temple??], says the LORD of Hosts.” NAB
NOTE: This house of the LORD that started to be rebuilt during the second year after returning back to the land of Israel took the Jews 46 years to complete it (Cp. John 2: 19-21) and there is nothing in the Scriptures about the nations bringing tribute to it. Now this could refer to the Jewish Diaspora (“Dispersion”) who doubtless when they came to Jerusalem from the countries where they reside (Cp. Exodus 23: 14-17; Acts 2: 1, 8-11; 1 Peter 1: 1) for the annual appointed Feasts, they probably brought their offerings (tithes) for the maintenance of the Temple.
2: 10, 18
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying: ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid-consider it.
NOTE: In the Book of Ezra the foundation of the house [Temple] of the LORD was started in the second month [Iyar] (Cp. Ezra 3: 8-10)
2: 20-23
And again the word of the LORD came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month [Elul], saying: I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. ‘In that day’ [when all of this occurs], says the LORD of Hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant the son of Shealtiel,’ says the LORD, ‘and will make you like a signet ring: for I have chosen you,’ says the LORD of Hosts.”
NOTE: The overthrow of the Gentile kingdoms coincides with God honoring and exalting Zerubbabel, who was also Governor of Judah (Cp. 1: 1) but in the writings of Ezra and Nehemiah, he is not identified by such a title and Sheshbazzar is named as the prince of Judah and one who laid the foundation of the LORD. He was also named Governor of Judea by King Cyrus of Persia (Cp. Ezra 1: 8; 5: 14-16).
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 7, 2011
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com
In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month [Elul], on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, “Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, saying: “This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’S house [Temple] should be built.” ’ ”
NOTE: It is amazing that the people were more concerned about their own personal interests than wanting to rebuild the LORD’S house, but perhaps seventy years of captivity in a foreign land would dampen one’s spiritual pursuits. Of course, their lapse or lack of interest was more or less a direct result of the work being halted by King Artaxerxes [Xerxes 1] which is recorded in Ezra 4: 24, and the time when laying the foundation of the LORD’S house had resumed might have been a span of sixteen years or so. Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 763, “Zerubbabel”).
1: 14-15
So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of Hosts, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month [Elul], in the second year of King Darius.
2: 1-2
In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying: “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?
2: 6-7, 9
“For thus says the LORD God of Hosts: One moment yet, a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.” “I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD God of Hosts.” “Greater will be the future glory of this house [Temple] than the former [Solomon’s Temple??], says the LORD of Hosts.” NAB
NOTE: This house of the LORD that started to be rebuilt during the second year after returning back to the land of Israel took the Jews 46 years to complete it (Cp. John 2: 19-21) and there is nothing in the Scriptures about the nations bringing tribute to it. Now this could refer to the Jewish Diaspora (“Dispersion”) who doubtless when they came to Jerusalem from the countries where they reside (Cp. Exodus 23: 14-17; Acts 2: 1, 8-11; 1 Peter 1: 1) for the annual appointed Feasts, they probably brought their offerings (tithes) for the maintenance of the Temple.
2: 10, 18
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying: ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid-consider it.
NOTE: In the Book of Ezra the foundation of the house [Temple] of the LORD was started in the second month [Iyar] (Cp. Ezra 3: 8-10)
2: 20-23
And again the word of the LORD came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month [Elul], saying: I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. ‘In that day’ [when all of this occurs], says the LORD of Hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant the son of Shealtiel,’ says the LORD, ‘and will make you like a signet ring: for I have chosen you,’ says the LORD of Hosts.”
NOTE: The overthrow of the Gentile kingdoms coincides with God honoring and exalting Zerubbabel, who was also Governor of Judah (Cp. 1: 1) but in the writings of Ezra and Nehemiah, he is not identified by such a title and Sheshbazzar is named as the prince of Judah and one who laid the foundation of the LORD. He was also named Governor of Judea by King Cyrus of Persia (Cp. Ezra 1: 8; 5: 14-16).
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 7, 2011
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Overview of the Book of Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1: 1-3
Now it came to pass in the thirteenth year, in the fourth month [Tammuz], on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans [Babylonians] by the River Chebar, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
NOTE: It seems that verse 1 was written in the first person and the next two verses were written in the third person; why?
3: 15
Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
NOTE: Possibly symbolic for spiritual completion or fulfillment and not necessarily a literal week of seven days.
*4: 1-2, 4a, 5a-6*
“You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. “Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, three hundred and ninety days. “For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days [390 years]. “And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side, and then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year [40 years].”
NOTE: In 2 Chronicles 36: 19-21 Jeremiah the prophet mentioned that Jerusalem [Judah] would be captives in Babylon for seventy years so how does that prophesy correspond to the “years of their iniquity” as portrayed here; or does it, and when did this time start and end? Not only that, but the iniquity of the house of Israel (northern ten tribes) was to last 390 years, and so again, when [and from where] did this time start and end?
8: 1, 3, 5-6
And it came to pass in the sixth year, the sixth month [Elul], on the fifth day of the month as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the LORD fell on me there. And the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which arouses the LORD’S jealousy. Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was the image of jealousy in the entrance.
NOTE: What is this “image” that provokes the LORD to jealousy?
8: 8, 10-11a
Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall,” and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. So when I went in and saw, and there-every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and the idols of the house of Israel carved all around on the walls. And there stood before them seventy [7+0=7] men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan.
8: 14
So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’S house, and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for [the god] Tammuz.
NOTE: According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, 2003, p. 1556, Tammuz was the Sumerian god of vegetation. The wilting of vegetation at the time of year was seen as a sign of his death.
8: 16
So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and there at the temple of the house of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five [2+5=7] men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.
*11: 14-16, 24a, 25*
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land had been given to us as a possession.’ “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a holy place [sanctuary] for them in the countries where they have gone.”’ “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh (Cp. 36: 26).” Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things that the LORD had shown me.
NOTE: This is a recurrent theme in Ezekiel’s prophesy-the scattering of the children among the Gentile nations due to their rebellion against the LORD God, and His returning them back again into the land of Israel in the future [latter days for them].(Cp. Ezekiel 12: 15; 34: 11, 13; 36: 24-28; 39: 23-29) where God will give them a new heart and imbue them with His Spirit.
20: 1, 33-34
It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month [Av], on the tenth day of the month that certain elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. “As I live, says the LORD God, ‘surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. I will rule over you. “I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.”
24: 1-2
Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month [Tevet], on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day-the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day.
31: 1
Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month [Sivan], on the first day of the month that the word of the LORD came to me, saying. . .
33: 21
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month [Tevet], on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down [captured].
32: 1, 17
And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month [Adar], on the first day of the month that the word of the LORD came to me, saying. . . It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month [Adar] that the word of the LORD came to me, saying. . .
38: 1-3
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”
NOTE: It is believed that Magog [Gog] represents a country or people known as the ‘Scythians’ (Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 375) and are also mentioned in Genesis 10: 2-5 as the descendants of Noah’s son Japheth who are mentioned as the maritime nations but “Rosh” is missing in the genealogy. Meshech is identified as the ‘Moschi’ a people on the borders of the Colchis in ‘Armenia’ (p. 309). Tubal is associated with the Iberians, between the Caspian and Euxine Seas, which corresponds to the modern ‘Republic of Georgia’ (p. 715). All these nations are part of the great Northern powers.
38: 5-6
Persia [Iran], Ethiopia [south of Egypt], and Libya [N. Africa] are with them, all of them with shield and helmet. Gomer and all of its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all is troops-many people are with you.
NOTE: Gomer is the progenitor of the early Cimmerians and later Cimbri and other branches of the Celtic family, and of the modern Gael and Cymri (Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 221). The ‘Cimmerians’ are an Indo-European people from Southern Russia (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 2003, p. 669). Togarmah is probably an ancient name for what is modern Gurun, 70 miles west of Malatya or an area in ‘Armenia.’
38: 8-9
After many days you [Gog] will be visited. In the later years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and all them now dwell safely. *You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud,* you and all your troops, and many people with you.
38: 10-13a
Thus says the LORD God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan. “You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars or gates’-to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, which dwell in the midst of the land. “Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder?”
NOTE: Sheba is the greater part of “Yemen” or Arabia Felix, bordering the Red Sea and is one of the most fertile districts of Arabia (Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 611). Dedan is brother of Sheba (Cp. Genesis 10: 7b) and an Arabian tribe centered at al-Alula, 70 miles southwest of Tema and 400 miles from Jerusalem (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 2003, p. 409). Tarshish is the Aramaic designation ‘Tartessus’ in southern Spain.
38: 15-17
“Then you [Gog] will come out of your place in the far north [Armenia??], you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and mighty army. “*You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud,* to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog before their eyes.” Thus says the LORD God: “Are you [not] he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?”
NOTE: This is very curious because no other prophet mentions anything about Gog [Hamon-Gog or Magog] and it only appears here in the book of Ezekiel.
38: 18-19
“And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the LORD God, “that My fury will show in My face. “For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.”
39: 1-2, 4-5, 9
“Any you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, “Thus says the LORD God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn you around and lead you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. “You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you; I will give you to the birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured (Cp. Revelation 19: 17-18). “You shall be slain in the open field; for I have spoken,” says the LORD. “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and the spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years.
NOTE: The designation of “seven” years has more of a symbolic or spiritual meaning than a literal 7 years; one would think.
39: 11-12, 14-16
“It will come to pass in that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea [of Galilee??]; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and his entire multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. “Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the LORD God. “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. “The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.”’
COMMENT: Again the symbolic or spiritual number of perfection or completion, “seven.” Also, there are many Bible scholars who interpret some End Time or Eschatological meaning here and try to tie this event in with the Book of Revelation, but it must be remembered that the Israelites here were being brought back from countries where they had been driven and of whom were their enemies, The many Jews scattered around the world today are living there mostly out of choice and not by compulsion or as a result of their sinning against the God of their fathers. In Revelation (Cp. 9: 13-16; 20: 8-9), a great army [somewhere around 200 million] is assembled to do battle, but that is not the way warfare is conducted nowadays and most probably in the future; especially with the availability of WMD’s (chemical, biological, radiological) and computer viruses.
Why assemble a large deployment of troops when you can use rockets or missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, which would be more effective and lethal to annihilate the enemy. Besides all that, there are 200-220 countries who are members of the UN (United Nations) and it is doubtful that all of them, including SUPERPOWERS like the United States, China, Russia, Australia, Germany and the UK, could amass armies of 200 million troops and overcome the logistical and language barriers to deploy them for battle in a valley in Israel. Besides all that, there is talk, at least in the United States, of significantly reducing or phasing out over the next decade the troop level or numbers of military personnel; especially in a combat role.
40: 1
Now in the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning [month-Nisan??] of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there.
NOTE: The city [Jerusalem] was captured and the beginning of a new year in the month of Nisan would make it 14 years on the Jewish sacred calendar (Cp. 33: 21). However, the day that the city was captured, as reported to Ezekiel, was the tenth month [Tevet] and the fifth day. It is interesting that Ezekiel lists “nine” dates in his narrative (Cp. 1: 13; 8: 1; 20: 1; 24 1; 31: 1; 32: 1, 17; 33: 21; 40: 1) because the number “nine” in ‘Numerology’ signifies completion or to bring to an end; conclude.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 5, 2011
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Now it came to pass in the thirteenth year, in the fourth month [Tammuz], on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans [Babylonians] by the River Chebar, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
NOTE: It seems that verse 1 was written in the first person and the next two verses were written in the third person; why?
3: 15
Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
NOTE: Possibly symbolic for spiritual completion or fulfillment and not necessarily a literal week of seven days.
*4: 1-2, 4a, 5a-6*
“You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. “Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, three hundred and ninety days. “For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days [390 years]. “And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side, and then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year [40 years].”
NOTE: In 2 Chronicles 36: 19-21 Jeremiah the prophet mentioned that Jerusalem [Judah] would be captives in Babylon for seventy years so how does that prophesy correspond to the “years of their iniquity” as portrayed here; or does it, and when did this time start and end? Not only that, but the iniquity of the house of Israel (northern ten tribes) was to last 390 years, and so again, when [and from where] did this time start and end?
8: 1, 3, 5-6
And it came to pass in the sixth year, the sixth month [Elul], on the fifth day of the month as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the LORD fell on me there. And the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which arouses the LORD’S jealousy. Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was the image of jealousy in the entrance.
NOTE: What is this “image” that provokes the LORD to jealousy?
8: 8, 10-11a
Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall,” and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. So when I went in and saw, and there-every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and the idols of the house of Israel carved all around on the walls. And there stood before them seventy [7+0=7] men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan.
8: 14
So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’S house, and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for [the god] Tammuz.
NOTE: According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, 2003, p. 1556, Tammuz was the Sumerian god of vegetation. The wilting of vegetation at the time of year was seen as a sign of his death.
8: 16
So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and there at the temple of the house of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five [2+5=7] men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.
*11: 14-16, 24a, 25*
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land had been given to us as a possession.’ “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a holy place [sanctuary] for them in the countries where they have gone.”’ “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh (Cp. 36: 26).” Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things that the LORD had shown me.
NOTE: This is a recurrent theme in Ezekiel’s prophesy-the scattering of the children among the Gentile nations due to their rebellion against the LORD God, and His returning them back again into the land of Israel in the future [latter days for them].(Cp. Ezekiel 12: 15; 34: 11, 13; 36: 24-28; 39: 23-29) where God will give them a new heart and imbue them with His Spirit.
20: 1, 33-34
It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month [Av], on the tenth day of the month that certain elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. “As I live, says the LORD God, ‘surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. I will rule over you. “I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.”
24: 1-2
Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month [Tevet], on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day-the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day.
31: 1
Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month [Sivan], on the first day of the month that the word of the LORD came to me, saying. . .
33: 21
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month [Tevet], on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down [captured].
32: 1, 17
And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month [Adar], on the first day of the month that the word of the LORD came to me, saying. . . It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month [Adar] that the word of the LORD came to me, saying. . .
38: 1-3
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”
NOTE: It is believed that Magog [Gog] represents a country or people known as the ‘Scythians’ (Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 375) and are also mentioned in Genesis 10: 2-5 as the descendants of Noah’s son Japheth who are mentioned as the maritime nations but “Rosh” is missing in the genealogy. Meshech is identified as the ‘Moschi’ a people on the borders of the Colchis in ‘Armenia’ (p. 309). Tubal is associated with the Iberians, between the Caspian and Euxine Seas, which corresponds to the modern ‘Republic of Georgia’ (p. 715). All these nations are part of the great Northern powers.
38: 5-6
Persia [Iran], Ethiopia [south of Egypt], and Libya [N. Africa] are with them, all of them with shield and helmet. Gomer and all of its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all is troops-many people are with you.
NOTE: Gomer is the progenitor of the early Cimmerians and later Cimbri and other branches of the Celtic family, and of the modern Gael and Cymri (Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 221). The ‘Cimmerians’ are an Indo-European people from Southern Russia (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 2003, p. 669). Togarmah is probably an ancient name for what is modern Gurun, 70 miles west of Malatya or an area in ‘Armenia.’
38: 8-9
After many days you [Gog] will be visited. In the later years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and all them now dwell safely. *You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud,* you and all your troops, and many people with you.
38: 10-13a
Thus says the LORD God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan. “You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars or gates’-to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, which dwell in the midst of the land. “Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder?”
NOTE: Sheba is the greater part of “Yemen” or Arabia Felix, bordering the Red Sea and is one of the most fertile districts of Arabia (Bible Dictionary, Smith and Peloubet, Zondervan, 1948, p. 611). Dedan is brother of Sheba (Cp. Genesis 10: 7b) and an Arabian tribe centered at al-Alula, 70 miles southwest of Tema and 400 miles from Jerusalem (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 2003, p. 409). Tarshish is the Aramaic designation ‘Tartessus’ in southern Spain.
38: 15-17
“Then you [Gog] will come out of your place in the far north [Armenia??], you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and mighty army. “*You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud,* to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog before their eyes.” Thus says the LORD God: “Are you [not] he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?”
NOTE: This is very curious because no other prophet mentions anything about Gog [Hamon-Gog or Magog] and it only appears here in the book of Ezekiel.
38: 18-19
“And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the LORD God, “that My fury will show in My face. “For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.”
39: 1-2, 4-5, 9
“Any you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, “Thus says the LORD God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn you around and lead you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. “You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you; I will give you to the birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured (Cp. Revelation 19: 17-18). “You shall be slain in the open field; for I have spoken,” says the LORD. “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and the spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years.
NOTE: The designation of “seven” years has more of a symbolic or spiritual meaning than a literal 7 years; one would think.
39: 11-12, 14-16
“It will come to pass in that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea [of Galilee??]; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and his entire multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. “Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the LORD God. “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. “The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.”’
COMMENT: Again the symbolic or spiritual number of perfection or completion, “seven.” Also, there are many Bible scholars who interpret some End Time or Eschatological meaning here and try to tie this event in with the Book of Revelation, but it must be remembered that the Israelites here were being brought back from countries where they had been driven and of whom were their enemies, The many Jews scattered around the world today are living there mostly out of choice and not by compulsion or as a result of their sinning against the God of their fathers. In Revelation (Cp. 9: 13-16; 20: 8-9), a great army [somewhere around 200 million] is assembled to do battle, but that is not the way warfare is conducted nowadays and most probably in the future; especially with the availability of WMD’s (chemical, biological, radiological) and computer viruses.
Why assemble a large deployment of troops when you can use rockets or missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, which would be more effective and lethal to annihilate the enemy. Besides all that, there are 200-220 countries who are members of the UN (United Nations) and it is doubtful that all of them, including SUPERPOWERS like the United States, China, Russia, Australia, Germany and the UK, could amass armies of 200 million troops and overcome the logistical and language barriers to deploy them for battle in a valley in Israel. Besides all that, there is talk, at least in the United States, of significantly reducing or phasing out over the next decade the troop level or numbers of military personnel; especially in a combat role.
40: 1
Now in the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning [month-Nisan??] of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there.
NOTE: The city [Jerusalem] was captured and the beginning of a new year in the month of Nisan would make it 14 years on the Jewish sacred calendar (Cp. 33: 21). However, the day that the city was captured, as reported to Ezekiel, was the tenth month [Tevet] and the fifth day. It is interesting that Ezekiel lists “nine” dates in his narrative (Cp. 1: 13; 8: 1; 20: 1; 24 1; 31: 1; 32: 1, 17; 33: 21; 40: 1) because the number “nine” in ‘Numerology’ signifies completion or to bring to an end; conclude.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 5, 2011
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Monday, January 3, 2011
Was Jesus around age thirty or older during His ministry?
It is the traditional belief that Jesus [YESHUA] started His public ministry of preaching and healing at the age of thirty which lasted for about three and a half years but only two of the gospel narratives mention anything about Jesus’ age including His trip to the Temple with Mary, Joseph and their relatives at age 12 (Cp. Luke 12: 41-44). Why is it that people are so quick to accept Luke’s version about Jesus’ age when He was not among any of the eyewitnesses and not only that, but since he was a Greek-speaking Gentile it does cause one to question how much access he could have had to Jewish sources that were reliable and willing to share with a foreigner the complete truth regarding their Messiah, as in the following below:
Luke 3: 23
Now Jesus Himself began His ministry about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph. . .
NOTE: There is a slight vagueness about His age and even the paternity of Jesus was uncertain, but more or less the accepted opinion of LUKE’S sources based upon the comment in parenthesis.
John 8: 56-57
[Jesus answered] “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
NOTE: In this narrative Jesus [Yeshua] is thought to be around fifty years old and there is quite a difference between looking the age of thirty or fifty. Also, JOHN’S gospel seems to have been written by an eye-witness and would appear, at least on the surface to be more reliable than something written from sources that was not a firsthand account; but this is just food for thought and something to think about.
Moving past this Biblical tidbit is a “FREEBIE” that caused me to do a little research which is recorded below in the following:
John 2: 19-21
Jesus [Yeshua] answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty six years to build this Temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
NOTE: They were certainly not talking about the First Temple built by King Solomon because that only took seven years (Cp. 1 Kings 6: 37-38) and it was destroyed by the Chaldeans during the siege by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the captivity of Judah [Jerusalem] which is recorded in 2 Chronicles 35: 15-19, 2 Kings 25: 1-17, and Jeremiah 52: 12-13. After the 70 years of captivity in Babylon as prophesied by Jeremiah the Jews are allowed to return back to the land by permission of Cyrus King of Persia and allowed to rebuild the Temple (Cp. Isaiah 44: 28). Now this process of laying the foundation of the Second Temple took place through a succession of Persian/Medean Kings, starting with King Cyrus (Cp. Ezra 1: 1). Using the resource of “Wikipedia” [not ‘Wikileaks’], he ruled for thirty years and doubtless the rebuilding project started and continued through his reign, as it says in the following Biblical account:
Ezra 3: 8, 13
The foundation of the LORD’S house [Temple] was laid in the second year of the coming into the land.
The next ruler is Ahasuerus [Xerxes] in Ezra 4: 6 and according to “Wikipedia” he ruled 21 years, and in Ezra 4: 7, 23-24 it says below:
In the days of Artaxerxes [Xerxes 1] during his reign the work of the LORD’S house ceased until the second year of Darius.
COMMENTARY: Again, according to “Wikipedia” this King Xerxes 1 ruled for forty one years. When King Darius the Mede reigns, he issues a decree to resume the work on rebuilding and the Temple is completed in the sixth year of his being on the throne (Cp. Ezra 6: 1-15). Now, the math seems to be 30 years under Cyrus + 4 years under Darius, which leaves 12 years that the Israelites worked on the foundation of the Temple under Ahasuerus [Xerxes] through Artaxerxes [Xerxes 1] until he commanded that the work cease. This doubtless, is the forty six year rebuilding project for the LORDS house [Temple] that the Jews were talking to Jesus about.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 3, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Luke 3: 23
Now Jesus Himself began His ministry about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph. . .
NOTE: There is a slight vagueness about His age and even the paternity of Jesus was uncertain, but more or less the accepted opinion of LUKE’S sources based upon the comment in parenthesis.
John 8: 56-57
[Jesus answered] “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
NOTE: In this narrative Jesus [Yeshua] is thought to be around fifty years old and there is quite a difference between looking the age of thirty or fifty. Also, JOHN’S gospel seems to have been written by an eye-witness and would appear, at least on the surface to be more reliable than something written from sources that was not a firsthand account; but this is just food for thought and something to think about.
Moving past this Biblical tidbit is a “FREEBIE” that caused me to do a little research which is recorded below in the following:
John 2: 19-21
Jesus [Yeshua] answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty six years to build this Temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
NOTE: They were certainly not talking about the First Temple built by King Solomon because that only took seven years (Cp. 1 Kings 6: 37-38) and it was destroyed by the Chaldeans during the siege by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the captivity of Judah [Jerusalem] which is recorded in 2 Chronicles 35: 15-19, 2 Kings 25: 1-17, and Jeremiah 52: 12-13. After the 70 years of captivity in Babylon as prophesied by Jeremiah the Jews are allowed to return back to the land by permission of Cyrus King of Persia and allowed to rebuild the Temple (Cp. Isaiah 44: 28). Now this process of laying the foundation of the Second Temple took place through a succession of Persian/Medean Kings, starting with King Cyrus (Cp. Ezra 1: 1). Using the resource of “Wikipedia” [not ‘Wikileaks’], he ruled for thirty years and doubtless the rebuilding project started and continued through his reign, as it says in the following Biblical account:
Ezra 3: 8, 13
The foundation of the LORD’S house [Temple] was laid in the second year of the coming into the land.
The next ruler is Ahasuerus [Xerxes] in Ezra 4: 6 and according to “Wikipedia” he ruled 21 years, and in Ezra 4: 7, 23-24 it says below:
In the days of Artaxerxes [Xerxes 1] during his reign the work of the LORD’S house ceased until the second year of Darius.
COMMENTARY: Again, according to “Wikipedia” this King Xerxes 1 ruled for forty one years. When King Darius the Mede reigns, he issues a decree to resume the work on rebuilding and the Temple is completed in the sixth year of his being on the throne (Cp. Ezra 6: 1-15). Now, the math seems to be 30 years under Cyrus + 4 years under Darius, which leaves 12 years that the Israelites worked on the foundation of the Temple under Ahasuerus [Xerxes] through Artaxerxes [Xerxes 1] until he commanded that the work cease. This doubtless, is the forty six year rebuilding project for the LORDS house [Temple] that the Jews were talking to Jesus about.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 3, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
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