The Messiah was Promised from the very Beginning-Have you proven it?

Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Nov 16, 2017

News Letter 5853-033
The 1st Year of the 4th Sabbatical Cycle
The 22nd year of the Jubilee Cycle
The 29th day of the 8th month 5853 years after the creation of Adam
The 8th Month in the First year of the Fourth Sabbatical Cycle
The 4th Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Sword, Famines, and Pestilence

November 18, 2017

Shabbat Shalom To the Royal Family,

 

As I went to post this something happened to all my fonts and put all my paragraphs into one paragraph. I apologize. Just no time now to figure out what happened.   Last week, we challenged you all to prove from scriptures why you believe a Messiah was expected about 4 BC. You can read many of the responses in the comment section at the end of the article from last week. Many offered their scriptures with a brief explanation. I thank you for including the scripture so I did not have to go and look each one up. I hate when people don’t include the scripture with their chapter and verses as if I have the whole Bible memorized. I have always given you the verses along with the chapter so you could read it right there and did not have to go and dig each one up. The following are two letters I got and liked.

 

This Weeks Mailbox

Dear brother Joseph, (I do hope your brother in law takes the right approach to his illness, and I will pray for him.) Your news letter made me smile.  I began to smile when you wrote, “sorry. I love that you have challenged us to action with the threat of more milk teachings! Ha! I have missed reading your weekly admonishing.  And if you go back to constant milk, (((I))) will suffer, so I will take up your challenge. Be aware that my kids and I have been studying our way through the old testament, with a few goals in mind: One of them is to find Messianic prophecies. (Another goal:  To find Scriptures that pertain to The State of Israel as it is today.  This is an entirely different story.) So we have not yet completely covered the return, and are currently only as far as the exile prophets. But here are a few: Genesis 3:15  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 22:8 “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” Deuteronomy 18:15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen — 16 just as you desired of the “Lord” your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” Daniel 9 – 25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolation’s are determined. Altho the Daniel passage is not as clearly a prophecy regarding the arrival of a “Messiah” as a prophecy that predicts a special anointing of YHWH. Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” When Messiah was on the cross, he was heard to say something that some reported as sounding like, “My God, my God why have you abandoned me?”  We were discussing this in our Shabbat meeting, and a dear believer said that Yeshua was quoting from psalm 22, so that those who knew the Scriptures would immediately go to psalm 22:  The whole thing relates to Messiah. “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” Isaiah 53 is also important as Messianic prophecy: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Hosea 6:  This whole book seems to me absolutely loaded with prophecy of Messiah.  Okay, this is probably more of a hindsight way of reading it, because there is no direct suggestion of a real “visitation” but I still think you could see Messiah in this:  3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Also, your own news letter includes a hint of Messiah, in Ezekiel: “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted. Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, Until He comes whose right it is, And I will give it to Him.” ’With love and gratitude, Fin

 Kurt MacPherson says: “Shabbat shalom Joe, good one nothing like earning the prize. Kind of like helping my kids with their math. If I do it for them they learn nothing. Thanks for the homework.”

 

Daniel 9:24-27

Here is an example of one I did not like. And many of you use these 4 verses as your proof of the Messiah. Even in some of the articles, we are going to look at in the future use these 4 verses. I may just do an article on this one section again.

Daniel 9:24-26 
 do the math and you’ll find the answer.

I have indeed done the math and it does not add up. Our book The 2300 Days of Hell proves this does not add up and that when people use these 4 verses as proof that Yehshua is the Messiah they are clearly showing how ignorant they are of the scriptures. In our book, I ask over and over why did not one of the Apostles nor Yehshua Himself use this verse to prove He was the Messiah. We show you that these 4 verses are speaking of King David and the Nation of Israel and never did they refer to Yehshua. Well, not until 200 years later when Julius Africanus began to use it and only after 70 years had passed since Rabbi Akiva used it to show Simon bar Kochbah was the Messiah in 133 C.E. But before this time not one of the Apostles nor Yehshua used this to prove who He was. So why do so many today? This section of Daniel is not speaking of 70 X 7 Weeks, or 70 X 7. It is speaking of 70 X 49 Feast of Weeks. Just look up the word weeks and see what it means. It is talking about the Feast of Weeks which is a 49-day long event. It is telling you that from the commandment from Yehovah telling Moses to go and get the people of Israel in Egypt the length of time for Israel would be 70 X 49  which is 3430 Years. That is 70 Jubilee cycles. The Exodus took place after the 50th Jubilee cycle. 70 + 50 is 120. We are in the 120th Jubilee cycle now. And in the midst of that 70th week or that 70th Jubilee cycle which is the one we are in now, Israel would be cut off and be as if they never were. If you have not read this book The 2300 Days of Hell, then let me urge you with all I have for you to get it and order it right after Shabbath. Just click on this link.

 

Get ready to have your world rocked as Joseph F Dumond shows us the deep and terrifying meanings of the Prophecies contained in your Bible from Daniel 8 and Daniel 9:24-27. Never before has any teacher unraveled these prophecies with proper understanding of Biblical chronology
 until now. These prophecies of Daniel could never be understood until the last days, and they could not be understood until the Sabbatical and Jubilee year cycles as recorded in history were kept and understood. These Sabbatical and Jubilee years are now understood and the prophecy in Daniel 9 along with the 2300 days of Daniel 8 are the most terrifying prophecies about what is about to begin. The “covenant made with many” ends when the 2300 Days of Hell begin. Few even know when that covenant began, yet we are just a few years away from its end. In this book, Joseph Dumond unravels this information and timeline for us so that we can understand these ancient warnings. This teaching is gut wrenching as you come to understand these emotional and sobering truths. There is a price to pay by those who will not return to the covenant made with Yehovah at Mount Sinai. The signs are all around us, with increased Terrorism and wars after 9/11. More and more devastating and extremely destructive weather events and very soon all out WAR, famine and death. It is time for everyone to learn the truth and return to the Creator.

Everyone who has read this book is shocked and awed at the amount of information they are learning and the truths that are revealed to them. Get two copies and give one to a someone you love.

           

 

Did the Jews Expect a Messiah?

Did the Jews Expect a Messiah? Strictly from the gospel accounts, the expectation of the Jewish Messiah comes through clearly. For example, Simeon and Anna (Luke 2) both understood the importance of Jesus’s birth, and Simeon in particular detailed the Messiah’s role as “a light of revelation to the Gentiles [non-Jewish nations].” When the magi arrived (Matthew 2), the scholars in Israel directed them to Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace. John the Baptist, in answer to the priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem, immediately confesses he is not the Messiah (John 1:20). The apostle Andrew calls his brother, Peter, to Jesus by saying, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Later, the Samaritan woman at the well knows the Messiah will come (John 4:25), and the crowds listening to Jesus argued not about the reality of a Messiah, but His place of origin and what signs were appropriate (John 7:27-31). In Acts 5:36-37, Gamaliel hints at the Messiah “fever” of the age. Two other men at around the time of Jesus had gathered a following by claiming to be the Christ. Neither, however, could fulfill the prophetic requirements, and consequently their followers dispersed. Beyond the Bible, Jewish rabbis had long expected and made reference to the Messiah based mostly on Old Testament prophecies. A review shows that their statements align with the New Testament fulfillment: His existence before the creation of the world; His preeminence over Moses and the angels; His sufferings; His violent death for His people; His kingdom; and others. However, their expectations also included speculation beyond Scripture, which is why many rejected Jesus as Messiah. In addition, several works written prior to, concurrent with, and soon after Jesus’s life and ministry make reference to a coming Messiah. These works, called the Pseudepigrapha because the authors wrote under false names, offer glimpses into the expectations of the Jewish people scattered throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Adapted from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (Book II, Chapter V) with additions from the lecture notes of Dr. Doug Bookman, professor of New Testament Exposition at Shepherds Theological Seminary (used by permission).

 

Judaism 101 The Mashiach

So we can now see that the Jews around the time of 4 BC. to about 133 C.E and up until this present day, were expecting a Messiah to come. What we have not yet learned was why were they looking for a messiah? What were these beliefs based upon? To find out I turned to the Judaism 101. You will have to read this very carefully. I will explain at the end.

The Messianic Idea in Judaism

Belief in the eventual coming of the mashiach is a basic and fundamental part of traditional Judaism. It is part of Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith, the minimum requirements of Jewish belief. In the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, recited three times daily, we pray for all of the elements of the coming of the mashiach: ingathering of the exiles; restoration of the religious courts of justice; an end of wickedness, sin and heresy; reward to the righteous; rebuilding of Jerusalem; restoration of the line of King David; and restoration of Temple service. Modern scholars suggest that the messianic concept was introduced later in the history of Judaism, during the age of the prophets. They note that the messianic concept is not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). However, traditional Judaism maintains that the messianic idea has always been a part of Judaism. The mashiach is not mentioned explicitly in the Torah, because the Torah was written in terms that all people could understand, and the abstract concept of a distant, spiritual, future reward was beyond the comprehension of some people. However, the Torah contains several references to “the End of Days” (acharit ha-yamim), which is the time of the mashiach; thus, the concept of mashiach was known in the most ancient times. The term “mashiach” literally means “the anointed one,” and refers to the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil when they took the throne. The mashiach is the one who will be anointed as king in the End of Days. The word “mashiach” does not mean “savior.” The notion of an innocent, divine or semi-divine being who will sacrifice himself to save us from the consequences of our own sins is a purely Christian concept that has no basis in Jewish thought. Unfortunately, this Christian concept has become so deeply ingrained in the English word “messiah” that this English word can no longer be used to refer to the Jewish concept. The word “mashiach” will be used throughout this page. Some gentiles have told me that the term “mashiach” is related to the Hebrew term “moshiah” (savior) because they sound similar, but the similarity is not as strong as it appears to one unfamiliar with Hebrew. The Hebrew word “mashiach” comes from the root Mem-Shin-Chet, which means to paint, smear, or annoint. The word “moshiah” comes from the root Yod-Shin-Ayin, which means to help or save. The only letter these roots have in common is Shin, the most common letter in the Hebrew language. The “m” sound at the beginning of the word moshiah (savior) is a common prefix used to turn a verb into a noun. For example, the verb tzavah (to command) becomes mitzvah (commandment). Saying that “mashiach” is related to “moshiah” is a bit like saying that ring is related to surfing because they both end in “ing.”

The Mashiach

The mashiach will be a great political leader descended from King David (Jeremiah 23:5). The mashiach is often referred to as “mashiach ben David” (mashiach, son of David). He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11:2-5). He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example. He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel. He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15). But above all, he will be a human being, not a god, demi-god or other supernatural being. It has been said that in every generation, a person is born with the potential to be the mashiach. If the time is right for the messianic age within that person’s lifetime, then that person will be the mashiach. But if that person dies before he completes the mission of the mashiach, then that person is not the mashiach.

When Will the Mashiach Come?

There are a wide variety of opinions on the subject of when the mashiach will come. Some of Judaism’s greatest minds have cursed those who try to predict the time of the mashiach’s coming, because errors in such predictions could cause people to lose faith in the messianic idea or in Judaism itself. This actually happened in the 17th century, when Shabbatai Tzvi claimed to be the mashiach. When Tzvi converted to Islam under threat of death, many Jews converted with him. Nevertheless, this prohibition has not stopped anyone from speculating about the time when the mashiach will come. Although some scholars believed that G-d has set aside a specific date for the coming of the mashiach, most authority suggests that the conduct of mankind will determine the time of the mashiach’s coming. In general, it is believed that the mashiach will come in a time when he is most needed (because the world is so sinful), or in a time when he is most deserved (because the world is so good). For example, each of the following has been suggested as the time when the mashiach will come: if Israel repented a single day; if Israel observed a single Shabbat properly; if Israel observed two Shabbats in a row properly; in a generation that is totally innocent or totally guilty; in a generation that loses hope; in a generation where children are totally disrespectful towards their parents and elders;

What Will the Mashiach Do?

Before the time of the mashiach, there shall be war and suffering (Ezekiel 38:16) The mashiach will bring about the political and spiritual redemption of the Jewish people by bringing us back to Israel and restoring Jerusalem (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5). He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government, both for Jews and gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1). He will rebuild the Temple and re-establish its worship (Jeremiah 33:18). He will restore the religious court system of Israel and establish Jewish law as the law of the land (Jeremiah 33:15).

Olam Ha-Ba: The Messianic Age

The world after the messiah comes is often referred to in Jewish literature as Olam Ha-Ba (oh-LAHM hah-BAH), the World to Come. This term can cause some confusion, because it is also used to refer to a spiritual afterlife. In English, we commonly use the term “messianic age” to refer specifically to the time of the messiah. Olam Ha-Ba will be characterized by the peaceful co-existence of all people (Isaiah 2:4). Hatred, intolerance and war will cease to exist. Some authorities suggest that the laws of nature will change, so that predatory beasts will no longer seek prey and agriculture will bring forth supernatural abundance (Isaiah 11:6-11:9). Others, however, say that these statements are merely an allegory for peace and prosperity. All of the Jewish people will return from their exile among the nations to their home in Israel (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5). The law of the Jubilee will be reinstated. In the Olam Ha-Ba, the whole world will recognize the Jewish G-d as the only true G-d, and the Jewish religion as the only true religion (Isaiah 2:3; 11:10; Micah 4:2-3; Zechariah 14:9). There will be no murder, robbery, competition or jealousy. There will be no sin (Zephaniah 3:13). Sacrifices will continue to be brought in the Temple, but these will be limited to thanksgiving offerings, because there will be no further need for expiatory offerings. Some gentiles have tried to put an ugly spin on this theology, claiming that Jews plan to force people to convert to our religion, perhaps based on their own religion’s history of doing exactly the same thing. That is not at all how Jews understand the messianic age. We believe that in that future time, everyone will simply know what the truth is, in the same way that we know that 2+2=4, and there will no longer be any reason to argue about it. It is much like a situation I witnessed at work once: two computer programmers were arguing loudly and at length about whether it was possible for a user to input data at a certain point in a program. Finally someone pressed a key and they all saw that nothing happened. Now they knew the truth, end of argument. When mashiach comes, theological truths will be equally obvious to mankind, and there will be no reason to argue about it.

What About Jesus?

Jews do not believe that Jesus was the mashiach. Assuming that he existed, and assuming that the Christian scriptures are accurate in describing him (both matters that are debatable), he simply did not fulfill the mission of the mashiach as it is described in the biblical passages cited above. Jesus did not do any of the things that the scriptures said the messiah would do. On the contrary, another Jew born about a century later came far closer to fulfilling the messianic ideal than Jesus did. His name was Shimeon ben Kosiba, known as Bar Kokhba (son of a star), and he was a charismatic, brilliant, but brutal warlord. Rabbi Akiba, one of the greatest scholars in Jewish history, believed that Bar Kokhba was the mashiach. Bar Kokhba fought a war against the Roman Empire, catching the Tenth Legion by surprise and retaking Jerusalem. He resumed sacrifices at the site of the Temple and made plans to rebuild the Temple. He established a provisional government and began to issue coins in its name. This is what the Jewish people were looking for in a mashiach; Jesus clearly does not fit into this mold. Ultimately, however, the Roman Empire crushed his revolt and killed Bar Kokhba. After his death, all acknowledged that he was not the mashiach. Throughout Jewish history, there have been many people who have claimed to be the mashiach, or whose followers have claimed that they were the mashiach: Shimeon Bar Kokhba, Shabbatai Tzvi, Jesus, and many others too numerous to name. Leo Rosten reports some very entertaining accounts under the entry for meshiekh in The New Joys of Yiddish. But all of these people died without fulfilling the mission of the mashiach; therefore, none of them were the mashiach. The mashiach and the Olam Ha-Ba lie in the future, not in the past.

Biblical Passages Referring to the Mashiach

The following passages in the Jewish scriptures are the ones that Jews consider to be messianic in nature or relating to the end of days. These are the ones that we rely upon in developing our messianic concept: Isaiah 2, 11, 42; 59:20 Jeremiah 23, 30, 33; 48:47; 49:39 Ezekiel 38:16 Hosea 3:4-3:5 Micah 4 Zephaniah 3:9 Zechariah 14:9 Daniel 10:14 If you want to know how Jews interpret the passages that Christians consider to be messianic, see Jews for Judaism, a counter-missionary organization not associated with this website, especially their article about Christian Proof-Texting.

I had asked you to pay attention to this as you read it. Did you see the subtleness with which they have taken the Messianic scriptures that we will talk about later and now only use those scriptures which speak of the very last days? I have looked up and read each of the sections listed directly above here. Your homework is to do the same and notice the time of which they are speaking. It is the end of the age.

 

In our first article where I asked you to prove where we are to be expecting a Messiah and I told you that you could only use the Old Testament, a few people mentioned that the first place we are told of the Messiah is in the very first verse of the bible.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz.

I did not let them get away with just saying that. I made them explain it so we all could understand it. Here is what they were trying to say. The first word is b’reishit, or bereishit (t y c a r b ). The definite article (i.e., the Hebrew equivalent of “the”) is missing but implied. The complete word literally means “in [the] beginning [of]”. The same construction is found elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, usually dealing with the beginning of a reign. The second word is the Hebrew verb bara (a r b ) (“([he] created/creating”). It is in the masculine form, so that “he” is implied. A peculiarity of this verb is that it is always used with God as its subject, meaning that only God can “bara”; it is the characteristic verb for God’s creative activity in Genesis 1. “Bara” is also used in Genesis 2 verses 3 and 4. Elohim (m y h l a ) is the generic word for God, whether the God of Israel or the gods of other nations. It is used throughout Genesis 1, and contrasts with the phrase Elohim YHWH, “God YHWH”, introduced in Genesis 2. Et ( t a) is a particle used in front of the direct object of a verb; in this case, it indicates that “the heavens and the earth” is what is being created. The word ha preceding shamayim (heavens) and aretz (earth) is the definite article, equivalent to the English word “the”. We find the Alef  Tav in the very first verse of scripture. In Beresheit 1:1 (Genesis 1:1) there are 7 Hebrew words but only 6 get translated.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

The word directly in the middle is “ET” and this one small word is spelled using the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet “ALEF  and TAV”. Another place this small word is found is in

Zechariah12:10. 
.They shall look upon Alef Tav pierced
.

Who or what is the Alef Tav in these verses? “ In Revelation 1:8 Yehshua tells John

  He is the beginning and the ending, the “Alpha and Omega”

The translators used the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet since they were translating from the Greek. Yet, we know Yehshua was a Jew and He would not have been speaking in Greek but in Hebrew. It should have been translated “I am the Alef and Tav.” using the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Now let’s look at the first verse of the Gospel of John.

In the beginning (Beresheit)  was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:1 Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first; And with the last I am He.’ ” Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. Isaiah 48:12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together. Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come–the Almighty. Revelation 1:17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, Revelation 2:8 To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life. Revelation 3:14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation. Revelation 21:6 And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life. Rev 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.

Now Look at this in John

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Notice that the Hebrew word for truth is emet: t m a  Emet contains the first letter Aleph a the middle letter Mem m and the last letter Tav t of the Hebrew alphabet, which the Jewish sages say implies that the truth contains everything from Aleph to Tav: The Hebrew word emet has a more concrete meaning than the English word for “truth” (the English word derives from the Greek/Western view of truth as a form of correspondence between language and reality, but invariably languished over epistemological questions that led, ultimately, to skepticism). In the Hebraic mindset, the person who acts in emet is one who can be trusted (Gen. 24:49? 42:16? 47:26? Josh. 2:14). Actions, speech, reports, or judgment are emet because they are reliable (Dt. 13:14? 22:20? 1 Kings 10:6? 22:16? Pr. 12:19? Zech. 8:16). If a seed is a seed of emet, its quality is trustworthy (Jer. 2:21). In the Tanakh, emet is often coupled with chesed, covenant faithfulness, which designates God’s loyalty in fulfilling his promises and his covenant. For example, God’s emet and chesed were majestically revealed in giving the covenant at Sinai (Ex. 34:6). Psalm 119, the longest Psalm of the scripture, is divided into 22 sections. It titles each section by a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet from Alef to Tav. Psalm 119 is all about the Torah- The Word of God. In Genesis 1:1 there are 7 words and it is presumed for the following theology that they represent the 7 millennial days of man. The word Alef Tav is the 4th word and by this fact it is presumed that the Messiah would come during the 4th Millennium.   But is this right? It is interesting theology, but is it emet? Looking forward from the creation of Adam up until the 4th Millennium they would have been speculating, but hindsight we are able to make this theological presumption.

Looking deeper into the Story of Adam and Eve

And Adam knew Hava his wife, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Kain; and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord.

V’haadam yada et Chavah ishto;
And the man knew (OM ->) Eve his wife
vatahar vatelod et Qayin,
and (she) conceived and (she) bore (OM ->) Cain,
vatomer qaniti ish et YHVH.
and (she) said (I) have acquired (a) man (OM ->) the LORD.

Eve receives the action of Adam “knowing”. Cain receives the action of Eve “bearing”. The Lord receives the action of Eve “acquiring” Cain??? That last one doesn’t make sense. Eve should be the one receiving the action of acquiring, right? There is another use for the Hebrew word et: as a preposition. It can mean many things including “from”, “by”, “belonging to”, or “with”, for example. Several modern translations translate the et in this verse as “with”. For example, the NASB translates this as “with the help of” the LORD. There was a question asked during the study: “How can we know what a certain word originally meant?” One way that is used to determine original meaning is an examination of other ancient translations of the Hebrew text. This provides an indication of how the text was understood in earlier (although not necessarily the earliest) times. There are ancient translations of the Old Testament in Aramaic called Targums (see http://www.accordancebible.com/buzz/articles/targ.php). Most of these were first-century and pre-first-century translations similar to our modern “Living Bible”. They were paraphrased translations intended to convey the rich meaning of the original Hebrew into Aramaic which was the common language of the day. One Targum (known as Targum Onkelos) translates Genesis 4:1 in the traditional way:

And Adam knew Hava his wife, and she conceived, and gave birth to Kain; and she said I have acquired the man from before the Lord.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (which can be viewed at http://targum.info/pj/pjgen1-6.htm) , however, offers this translation:

And Adam knew Hava his wife, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Kain; and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord.

This reveals the discussion point from our study: that there was at least one understanding of the passage around the first century which taught Eve thought Cain was the messiah
 the “angel of the Lord”. While this may seem surprising to us, if we consider the events from Eve’s perspective there was no indication that G-d’s promise of a “seed” that would crush the head of the serpent would occur thousands of years in the future. For all Adam and Eve knew the “promised one” was their firstborn child. Looking back from our 21st century perspective we can see the error but without the benefit of hindsight would we be any more informed than them? What does the name Cain mean?  Eve named her first-born son Cain, which means Acquire, and said, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.  No doubt Eve believed that Cain was the Messiah who had come to “save the world.”  After all, in Genesis 3:15, God had promised them a Redeemer.  Speaking to Satan shortly after he tempted Eve to sin, God said:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15

The Two Sons

Before we look at the passages, let us take note of something — the fact of which is more than obvious, but the significance of which may have escaped us: Cain was the FIRST human being ever born into this world through two human parents. Sure. Adam was created directly by God of the dust of the ground. Eve was created from materials found in Adam. Neither Adam nor Eve were actually BORN. They were CREATED. Thus, when we come to Cain, we are talking about the first born son of the human race – the first product of the human race. Note also that Cain was the first born of human beings AFTER the sin. Thus, he was the first human being ever born into this world with a sin nature. Cain did not acquire this sin nature by anything that he personally DID – this is how Adam acquired it. No. Cain was born INTO this world WITH a sin nature. Of course, Cain was a real person. But he carries more significance than might first meet the eye. In a very real sense, all that the human race IN ADAM can produce is, in type and shadow, represented by Cain. He was the first human being fully produced BY fallen human beings. He was the first that was, “born of flesh.” And so whatever flesh can produce is there in Cain. He was the first in that sense, and as the first, this makes him unique. Now, the fact that Cain was the FIRST person ever born IN ADAM carries with it a great deal of meaning that goes even beyond what we have mentioned. To see this meaning, we have to go back to what God promised Adam and Eve immediately after their sin:

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee
 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. (Gen 3:14-20)

This passage contains the first promise and prophecy of the Savior. The Savior would be the SEED of the woman – He would be born of woman. Adam and Eve clearly understood this. And the promise was sealed when God slew an animal sacrifice and clothed them. God was promising them a Savior – born the seed of the woman — who would die for them and redeem them from the terrible sin they had committed, and who would deliver them from the realm of darkness into which they had fallen. Now, if you read the end of the above passage, you will note that Adam calls his wife, “Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” This is quite ironic, because the opposite is actually the Truth – all who would be born of Eve would be born spiritually DEAD. Yet it seems that even in this name we see that Adam knew that God had promised them a Savior who would restore LIFE to the human race. God had said that the seed of the woman would destroy the works of the Devil and redeem them from death. Adam acknowledged this promise and named Eve accordingly – he named his wife EVE, the mother of all living. EVE would bring forth a Seed that would bring forth LIFE.

Now to Cain.

There is every reason to believe that when Cain was born that Adam and Eve assumed that Cain was, in fact, the SEED promised by God. They thought that Cain was the one whom God promised to give them who would restore life. Indeed, this is why they named him CAIN – the name means, “possession.” And it accounts for Eve’s comment about him. She said, “I have gotten (possessed) a man from the LORD.” Get that. Eve celebrated that Cain was given to her from the Lord. We might paraphrase and suggest what Eve meant: “God has given us THE SEED – THE man that He promised. Our Savior has been born. We now POSSESS him.” This interpretation is affirmed quite strongly by the naming of her second child, Abel. Abel means, “emptiness or unsatisfactory.” What a name to give to your child. But it apparently expressed what they felt. It would seem that by the time Abel was born – maybe even due to the FACT that he was born — Adam and Eve had come to realize that Cain was not their Savior. Thus, quite pessimistically, they named this second child with a name that represented their faded hopes for a quick solution to the disaster of their sin: Abel. It is interesting that the name ABEL can also be used to signify, “breath.” Even in the names given to each of these sons we find type and shadow. Cain was the first born of the human race with the sin nature. He was, in type, representative of the FLESH. He was also mistakenly thought of as the Savior. Isn’t it a fact that one of the biggest errors of the church has always been to think that religious man can birth through the flesh what only God can birth from above? And isn’t it a fact that only when this comes to naught that then God is able to birth by His Spirit – by His own BREATH – His own will and purpose? Indeed, isn’t it a fact that it is that which is born of flesh that seeks to kill all that is born of the Spirit of God? There is much in this story of Cain and Abel that is played out each day among God’s own people today.

Cain

We are not told how much time passed between the sin of Adam and the birth of Cain. Neither are we told how many years passed between the birth of Cain and his brother, Abel. But if you read the story of Cain, you cannot but help but believe that the expectation that he was the promised Savior was known to him. I’m not saying that he still thought he was the Savior at the time of his murder of Abel. But I am saying that since his parents initially thought he was the Savior – I am saying that they would have TOLD HIM this – and surely he would have initially believed them. And they would have treated him accordingly. Thus, we can assume that this false assumption almost certainly continued until about the time of the birth of Abel. Cain had been hailed as the promise of God and we can assume that he took a dangerous PRIDE in this. Abel’s birth, however, had brought the whole delusion crashing down. This must have given Cain occasion for jealousy – the birth of Abel would have done this – Abel’s birth itself had apparently proven to them that Cain was NOT the promised one. At some point, therefore, it is probably a fact that Cain began to resent his brother and all that Abel represented. John tells us that Cain hated Abel because Cain’s works where evil and Abel’s were righteous. The offerings of each were representative of this – and what happened because of those offerings was merely the outcome of a resentment and jealousy that had been festering in Cain for quite some time.

The Witness in the Stars

Your homework this week is to read this book. The Witness of the Stars by Bullinger I want you to start with the introduction and then the section on Virgo. If you do nothing else with this assignment at least read this part. In it, you will learn that Adam and Seth along with Yehovah named the constellations and the stars in them. And this is where we are also told over and over that a Redeemer would be coming.

3 Comments

  1. Michael Duesterbeck

    Shalom Joseph,
    The Genesis 3:15 verse is what many believe is Messianic and I see it as such for the most part, yet it is showing that there will be enmity (opposition/hostility) between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Now what does all this mean? What is the seed of the serpent? What is the seed of the woman? How would that have been understood by Adam and Chava? Yes, we do have those Targum writings but is it possible there is more going on here than what we even know. I really don’t know how they get the Angel inserted in the text when it is not even in the Hebrew wording. Also there is the thought that Cain and Abel were twins and it does have its possibilities because the pattern is latter repeated. These are things we should all be looking for is patterns that are repeated and usually with more details and thematic connections as well as parallels and even chiastic structures.
    Bullinger has some good stuff but it has a Christian slant. The stars do have a story to tell and Abraham was told to ‘sepher’ the stars if he could and so his descendants would be. The word sepher can mean count but it also means to tell the story, write down the account and with this in mind we find that Abraham was instructed to tell the story of the stars and his descendants would be like this. In other words the story of Abraham’s descendants are told in the heavenlies and every one on earth is without excuse because the heavens declare the ‘kavod’ (glory) of Elohim and the pour forth their speech and there is not a place their voice is not heard. Wow! This is something I have been learning in the last 6-7 years and I feel so far behind.
    Also I believe that what Eric Bissell teaches with the Aleph Beit tells the story as well and so when we shema (respond in like manner) to His Word we will see the message of Messiah.
    I also see that this one gentleman has put out another video and brings up the question of human sacrifice with Abraham and Isaac and from what I heard him saying he is actually contradicting himself. For if Elohim never asked for a human sacrifice why would He have even suggested it in the first place. I really hate using the word sacrifice because that is not really what it is. What Elohim DID hate and never asked for is the ‘sacrifice’ of children who had no choice. Isaac was old enough to make a choice to go along with it or not and in Yasher we see a bit more details to this story. So is Yasher not inspired? Then why is it mentioned twice, once in Joshua and once in 2 Samuel? Anyways some more to think and mediitate on.
    Michael

    Reply
  2. Paul collier

    Since trumpets this year it is 2020 years since Jesus was born may Yah give you 2020 vision of what is still to show you what is coming and 2000 years to his death in 2030 from Paul

    Reply
  3. Glenn Caron

    The PROOF of Yahusha is in the actual COVENANT made with Abraham. The act of covenanting and being the only one punished if either breaks the contract SHOWS , the ACT of a sacrifice to come FOR the breach of that contract . So Yah must die for the remedy of the breach. Its all right there!. CAn you See it? “No one has seen nor heard the FATHER ” . Then who was the OT YHVH? He had to be Yahusha . He made the covenant with all of the whole world from ADAM to the Last supper. And he was to die for BOTH sides if a breach happened . well HE did die for us as the Prophets and the Torah SHOW!. He created everything by the FATHERS PLAN !

    Reply

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