Why is the 7th Day of Unleavened Bread Holy? What does this mean?

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: Apr 12, 2012

News Letter 5848-006
21st day of the 1st month 5848 years after the creation of Adam
The Last Day of Unleavened Bread
The 1st Month in the Third year of the third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes Famines, and Pestilences
This is also the end of the third week of this the Third Tithe Year for the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow Deuteronomy 26:12
The 6th day of Counting the Omer

 

April 13, 2012

 

Why is the 7th Day of Unleavened Bread Holy? What does this mean?

Shabbat Shalom Brethren, this is now the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, on this day of Friday April 13, 2012. I will not send out another News Letter for Shabbat tomorrow.

I received an email from Holger Grime who had written a number of articles for us about the essential oils.

He has written to make me aware of the strain on the plants from which we get the oils. Although we have been warning you of the world events that are having an effect on the price of food and our economies I had not considered the essential oils. So here is a short note from Holger about this growing problem.

As the essential oils are in high demand these days, much higher than in recent years, I like to inform you what happened recently. I had an alarming conversation last week with a director of one of Europe’s biggest essential oil companies. The development is almost exploding. He told me, there are no more general price lists for larger quantities of essential oils, only daily prices and their company’s work shifts have stretched for months to 23 working hours per day. They even have no more Easter holiday this year due to the increased demands. Reasons are the increased worldwide demands, damaged harvests worldwide, and new players in the field with extremely growing orders.

China imports more and more oils, even from those that derive from in China grown plants. That sounds odd, yet is explained with the mistrust due to corruption in the Chinese market. So these plants are harvested in China but then flown to Germany for processing and distillation, filling etc. of the finished product of the relevant essential oil to be flown back to the Middle Kingdom for distribution in large quantities of high quality.

Frankincense from East Africa (Somalia, and around) is another oil with huge problems. Harvesting is done by cutting the trees with slits in the stem, collecting the resin, and then distilling the won resin, usually in Germany and France. In the places of that plants origin there are several reasons that let predict a difficult future for production. One reason is the ever increasing poisoning of the once clean environmental situation. There is lacking governmental order in the whole region and people do what leads to worse conditions. Since years, the various varieties of the plants suffer from bugs and pests. The other reason is that herders come to the growth areas of the frankincense plants in higher regions and introduce their cattles to the areas. Uncontrolled by any governmental regulation, they set fires on large areas in order to win new grounds for the herds and destroy young plants in order to have the areas cleared of any other vegetation than edible grass. The bigger trees do not suffer much but survive, yet the growth of smaller saplings and small trees is destroyed. Some Americans from the southwest have already started to replant Frankincense producing young plants to New Mexico and regions with similar climatic conditions. To be harvested, such plants need to be at least six years old. That is only true for similar conditions of the whole environment. Also the cultivation needs extremely higher cost. The resins of frankincense are usually exported to again, Europe, distilled there and about half of the product sold to mainly China, where the genuine essential oil is in high demand.

Yet, another player came recently to the market: Russia, with traders who are well supplied with funds and an ever growing demand. Steep increase of price will be the result, already seen these days, and that is only the beginning. Frankincense is one of the most versatile oils with high potential for healing capabilities. It cannot be produced like any chemical product and the demand will be growing steeply.

Other oils have been unavailable for over two years recently: Orange terpenes. That can be used ideally for cleaning, as they bind the fats that are in oils. Orange terpenes (Ot) were not available 2010-2011 on almost all markets in quantities. Imagine the huge output from both the northern and the southern hemisphere harvesting. The Ot are derived from the rind of the fruits by pressing. Usually Ot are inexpensive, but the prices rose steeply and no one knew where all the Ot wend. Only those dealing with essential oils knew and they told me that a big firm from the oil industry bought it all up for cleansing the follow-up of that large spill in the Gulf area by flying it there and using it to throw all the big amount into the sea to clean the spill. The reason it happened silently was no clear idea what would happen with the oil spill remains after it was bound by Ot and sank down to the ground of the sea.
Usually when the crude is bound by something else, the big mass will sink down and then being “eaten” up by bacteria until dissolved. But Ot has strong anti bacterial properties, so that all the bacteria causing the crude to be broken up will not be able to finish their job. What will happen then to the huge mass of this bound mix of crude and Ot? On such a scale, this has not happened in recorded history…

Or look at Jojoba (fatty) oil, grown in South America. Two years ago, the harvest was utterly shaken due to a cold spell. Jojoba oil is used for skin conditions. Some years ago it had a moderate price and was sold neat (undiluted). Today you can get in Europe only Jojoba oils labeled as “with” or “contains” Jojoba oil, as the pure jojoba became so expensive that most the people could not afford it any more.

Sandalwood, a biblical oil with many great properties for human health conditions, came mainly from India. Street price in Europe was around 8 to 10 Euros four years ago, due to governmental protection measures, it jumped up to 60 Euros for the same tiny amount as before. Today, about 70% of the sandalwood oils are corrupt and you have to go to Dubai to purchase real Sandalwood, the rest is stretched, corrupted or even unhealthy due to the greed of distillers, traders, etc.

This development shows that essential oils will be traded soon with much higher prices, especially that there will be a much higher demand due to disease and at the same time a rising awareness of their capabilities, while the availability will be rather reduced in face of just a few reasons I have stated above.

Again, looking forward to your reply,

Blessings, In Yah,

Holger

 


 

We had an awesome time up at the camp in the middle of nowhere outside Hanover Ontario, keeping the Memorial of the Last Supper and the Passover Seder on the 14th. We camped out with many others for the whole weekend and many others from all over coming during the day. In all we had about 50 people there.

My articles I had sent out last week about the Last Supper and when the Passover was, were causing some to think.

Yes this group I was with and love so much was keeping the Passover at the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th and not at the end of the 14th and into the 15th and yet I was there anyway.

They did keep the Memorial supper and the foot washing at the beginning of the 14th which was the Thursday night and they mixed it in with the Passover Seder. So although I did not agree with this as I have already written, I did come.

I abstained from the meal and the Seder the first night and I was there for the foot washing and the memorial part. Many noticed my actions and gave me opportunity to explain why I believed as I do. And this then began a midrash many times throughout the weekend about when is Passover.

The next night this group did not keep the Passover having already done so the night before and they had a teaching instead. I quietly went to my room and kept the Seder myself and fulfilled the mitzvah for this night.

I had to explain my actions to those in charge and they understood and this too brought about many discussions.

Why am I explaining this to you?

It is not to humiliate or criticize those in this group. They are new; some just coming out of the churches this very year. Others were pastors and elders and almost all of them were in some church just over 1 and half years ago. But all of them without a question seek to obey and serve Yehovah and not to be misled by false teachings and church doctrines. Their Zeal inspires me. Yes they inspire to greater works.

I had had my say before this event came, about when certain events took place and now I could either go away and let them do what they wanted or I could come and let my light shine and show them through my actions the chronology of events and when the time arose to explain my actions in a respectful and loving manner using the scriptures. And this I did. I was also sent the following excellent article this week. I do not agree with what the author says about keeping this memorial many other times throughout the year but his work on what was served at the Last Supper before the actual Passover event is very good and I hope you all will take note of this for next year. http://ad2004.com/prophecytruths/Articles/Yeshua/lastsupper.html

I was sad to know that some did not come who were going to come, because of this very issue of which day was the Passover. But I also understand. We were able to talk and explain why I believe as I do to many there and to cause them all to now go back to the scriptures and relook at what they currently believe.

Another brother wrote me from England about this question and I do believe he has understood correctly. The Passover meal takes place at the end of the 14th going into the 15th the first day of Unleavened Bread and the Memorial or Last Supper is at the beginning of the 14th and the end of the 13th day.

Your comments on the following would be of interest. I’m looking for flaws in the argument!

James (COGUK)
Reflections on ‘Passover’
On Thursday evening April 5th the vast majority of Sabbatarian Christians observed the memorial of the death of our Saviour. It was held on ‘…the night in which he was betrayed’. For many brethren, this was the night of the Passover (the ‘Christian Passover’), while for others it was the annual memorial of the suffering and death of the Saviour, but preceding the Passover—which is held the next evening.

It is something of a conundrum, with brethren presenting evidence in support of each view—as have Bible students down the centuries!. And with our present knowledge the confusion isn’t surprising, for the view of the Synoptic Gospels appears in conflict with John and Paul.
Queries
* For John, the day Jesus died was ‘the Preparation of the Passover’ (John 19:14) and the Jews were yet to ‘eat the Passover’ (John 18:28). No text suggests the Jews had changed the date. And would Jesus?

* In view of the precise timeliness of the life events of Jesus it would appear logical that the sacrifice of ‘our Passover’ would coincide with the sacrifice of the Passover lamb in the Temple—ie, around 3pm-4pm on Nisan 14. (The unstated possibility that the sacrifices, because of volume, would have begun earlier does not negate this specified point in time.)

* A curious omission by Paul is the non-Paschal terms he uses. Not azumos but artos. Not pascha but deipnon. Not family but assembly. Yet he was, of course, very familiar with the terms, using them in this same letter. Passover celebrated the joy of freedom, while Paul insists this supper is a solemn occasion.

* There is no suggestion that the ‘sop’ Jesus gave Judas was unleavened. And why would Judas leave before the end of the (Passover) meal? And why did the other disciples think he was off to buy items for the festival (John 13:29-30)?

* There is an anomaly in regard to the timing of our observance:
…The Passover lamb was killed on the 14th Nisan—’in the evening’ (Heb ereb. Ex 12:6).
…Unleavened Bread festival is observed for seven days, from 15 Nisan to 21 Nisan (v.18)
…It ends on Nisan 21—’at even’ (same word). That is, at the end of Nisan 21, otherwise only six days

The sacrifice of the lamb, then, should be at the end of Nisan 14, not the end of 13. The lamb would be slain at the end of 14, prepared, roasted and eaten with azumos (Ex 23:18) as the 15th begins, and before midnight. This would allow the death of Jesus to coincide, logically, with the Temple sacrifice (about 3pm).

[‘…until the 14th’: It has been suggested that this means the beginning of Nisan 14. But it fits better: ‘keep the lamb until the 14th and kill it about 3pm’. I might say: ‘Wait for me in London until the 14th and I will meet you beneath the clock in Victoria station at 3pm’]

It is, however quite clear that Jesus and the disciples had the supper as the 13th ended, and on into the 14th. Was this the Passover (ie did Jesus or the Jews change the date for the observance)? Or, was this a pre-Passover quasi religious gathering of the disciples during which Jesus introduced the symbols of the bread and wine? We then ought to observe that evening as a memorial, and then UB beginning the next evening.

I am aware, of course, of the way the Synoptic Gospels present the sequence of events.

I was scheduled to do a midrash of questions and answers on Sunday morning. So I had no subject prepared and was just going to go off the top of my head.

In my discussions with the brethren I began to realize that many of them had no idea of the significance of the Wave Sheaf day. The very day I was going to be speaking on. I asked if I couldn’t instead do a midrash teaching on the Wave Sheaf Offering. I then had to pull together a teaching on the wave sheaf with no internet and everyone wanting to talk and debate this question or that one with me. In fact from the time I got up until the time I went to bed if we were not in a teaching or eating we were discussing Torah and questions nonstop. It was so excellent to be with zealous brethren. So I was not able to put anything together in an organized manor. And I decided on a few things I had to say and I would go off the cuff for the whole presentation.

The one thing I wanted to do, was to show the wave sheaf ceremony and the wave sheaf offering and then to tie it back into the crucifixion and how it related to the events of the Passover. In preparing the barley I thought it would take a few minutes to get my props ready. We ended up with half a dozen people searching the scriptures looking up how to prepare a grain offering and all that is in it and then others scrambling to find those things around the camp. We also had some husking the barley and grinding it into the fine flour and others roasting and still others double checking to see if we had it all correct. It took hours and not minutes to get ready. And this we did after the weekly Sabbath was over at the exact same time the priest would have been preparing the wave offering. It was so neat.

Everyone was so excited to be helping in some way to do this. It was only an example for the teaching but we did it as though this was an actual preparation. And everyone involved was thankful to be able to actually do something like this in a hands on way. We all, including me learned so much.

We began the teaching at 9 AM when the wave Offering would be done at the Temple. We blew the shofars many times and loud. We did the ceremony of asking three times is this the barley and is this the scythe to cut the barley and should I cut this barley with this scythe. And the whole assembly answered back each time yes this is whatever to which ever question was asked. It got me excited.

Once we did this I had to now show them where the Lamb was beaten on that Passover. The Lamb is not beaten but the Barley is and it is the wave offering and this is why we need to wait until the Barley is ripe before declaring the first month. We turned on the Passion by Me Gibson and watched just the section where Yehshua was being whipped first by rods and then by the whips with the hooks in them. Most if not all were crying including me as we watched and heard the whipping and realized this was the results of our own sins.

I had never done a teaching like this before in my life and it had a huge impact on me. For the rest of the teaching I was fighting to keep my tears and emotions in check and I had still a few hours to go before I was done.

If you like you can go and listen to this teaching and the many others done this Passover weekend at http://maranathaourlordcometh.com/5.html

But today is the Last day of Unleavened Bread. Why is this a High day and a Holy Day?

First of all let us go to Leviticus and read it.

Lev 23:6 ‘And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread to ???? – seven days you eat unleavened bread. 7 ‘On the first day you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work. 8 ‘And you shall bring an offering made by fire to ???? for seven days. On the seventh day is a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work.’ ”

It is commanded to have a set apart gathering on this day. And we are not to work. It is a Holy Day, it is also a high day the same as the first day of Unleavened Bread was that John talked about.

The First Day of Unleavened Bread was the 15thand at day break on the 15th the Israelites left From Egypt on the very same day 430 years after the Covenant was made with Abraham.

Exo 12:40 And the sojourn of the children of Yisra’el who lived in Mitsrayim was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to be at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that same day it came to be that all the divisions of ???? went out from the land of Mitsrayim. 42 It is a night to be observed unto ???? for bringing them out of the land of Mitsrayim. This night is unto ????, to be observed by all the children of Yisra’el throughout their generations.

Exo 13:19 And Moshe took the bones of Yoseph with him, for he certainly made the children of Yisra’el swear, saying, “Elohim shall certainly visit you, and you shall bring my bones from here with you.” 20 And they departed from Sukkoth and camped in etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And ???? went before them by day in a column of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a column of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 The column of cloud did not cease by day, nor the column of fire by night, before the people.

Three days journey in to the Sinai is about 75 Miles which would take you very close to the Current city of Elat at the southern end of the current state of Israel.

They went by way of Kings Highway which leads across the Sinai Peninsula above the Red Sea and into the land of Midian current Saudi Arabia.

30 years earlier many of the tribe of Ephraim had calculated that the time to leave was at that time based on the promise of the persecution being 400 years on Abraham descendants. They left Egypt and headed up by way of the Philistines and were slaughtered. But other groups had already left Egypt before this and set up colonies in Troy and other place around Greece. These would later move on to Spain and up to England and north western Europe.

Now Israel is camped at Ethan which in my thinking tells me this would have been the Sabbath they were keeping by resting on it. Again this is my personal opinion.

And then we read what takes place in chapter 14.

Exo 14:1 And ???? spoke to Mosheh, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’el, that they turn and camp before Pi Hah’iroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Ba’al Tsephon – camp before it by the sea. 3 “For Pharaoh shall say of the children of Yisra’el, ‘They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 “And I shall harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he shall pursue them. But I am to be esteemed through Pharaoh and over all his army, and the Mitsrites shall know that I am ????.” And they did so. 5 And it was reported to the sovereign of Mitsrayim that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people. And they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Yisra’el go from serving us?” 6 So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him. 7 And he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Mitsrayim with officers over all of them. 8 And ???? hardened the heart of Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, and he pursued the children of Yisra’el, but the children of Yisra’el went out defiantly. 9 And the Mitsrites pursued them, and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hah’iroth, before Ba’al Tsephon. 10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Yisra’?l lifted their eyes and saw the Mitsrites coming up after them. And they were greatly afraid, so the children of Yisra’?l cried out to ????. 11 And they said to Mosheh, “Did you take us away to die in the wilderness because there are no graves in Mitsrayim? What is this you have done to us, to bring us up out of Mitsrayim? 12 “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Mitsrayim, saying, ‘Leave us alone and let us serve the Mitsrites?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Mitsrites than to die in the wilderness.” :13 And Mosheh said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the deliverance of ????, which He does for you today. For the Mitsrites whom you see today, you are never, never to see again. 14 “???? does fight for you, and you keep still.” 15 And ???? said to Mosheh, “Why do you cry to Me? Speak to the children of Yisra’?l, and let them go forward. 16 “And you, lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and let the children of Yisra’?l go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 “And I, see I am hardening the hearts of the Mitsrites, and they shall follow them. And I am to be esteemed through Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 “And the Mitsrites shall know that I am ????, when I am esteemed through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 19 And the Messenger of Elohim, who went before the camp of Yisra’?l, moved and went behind them. And the column of cloud went from before them and stood behind them, 20 and came between the camp of the Mitsrites and the camp of Yisra’?l. And it was the cloud and the darkness, and it gave light by night, and the one did not come near the other all the night. 21 And Mosheh stretched out his hand over the sea. And ???? caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the children of Yisra’?l went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left. 23 And the Mitsrites pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And it came to be, in the morning watch, that ???? looked down upon the army of the Mitsrites through the column of fire and cloud, and He brought the army of the Mitsrites into confusion. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty. And the Mitsrites said, “Let us flee from the face of Yisra’?l, for ???? fights for them against the Mitsrites.” 26 Then ???? said to Mosheh, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters come back upon the Mitsrites, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Mosheh stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its usual flow, at the break of day, with the Mitsrites fleeing into it. Thus ???? overthrew the Mitsrites in the midst of the sea, 28 and the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them, and not even one was left of them. 29 And the children of Yisra’?l walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left. 30 Thus ???? saved Yisra’?l that day out of the hand of the Mitsrites, and Yisra’?l saw the Mitsrites dead on the seashore. 31 And Yisra’?l saw the great work which ???? had done in Mitsrayim, and the people feared ????, and believed ???? and His servant Mosheh.

We are told in Hebrews 11:30 “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down”. And the archeological evidence proves this is what happened in Jericho. This took place at the end of teh 7 days of Unleavened Bread. Yehovah will crumble any “walls” that stand in our way as we strive to live this way or The way, Netzarene.

The Scriptures also tell us that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed during the days of Unleavened Bread.

As with Jericho and Sodom, Egypt was a symbol of sin that Yehovah was destroying. And Jericho was apparently destroyed on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, a fitting symbol of the ultimate victory over sin.

The Israelites had now crossed the Red Sea, and Yehovah brought the waters of the sea down on Pharaoh’s army, granting the Israelites victory and escape from the bondage of Egypt, symbolizing the final release from bondage to spiritual Egypt and death. The Red Sea crossing appears to also have been on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, as Jewish tradition attests.

This gives us three great victories over sin to remind and encourage us in our attempts to replace sin with Yehovah’s way of life during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Now let us kick it up to another level to find the answer as to why the 7th day of Unleavened Bread is Holy.

We currently are living at the end of the first six millenniums. This sixth day will end when we have 5880 years completed. We are currently at 5848. Each Millennium is actually 980 years, but for it roll off the tongue and for easier explanations we all say a thousand years instead of 980 years.

Then the Seventh Day when Yehshua will reign will begin. It is just like the weekly Sabbath. It is a Holy time of 980 years or what the world calls the 7th Millennium. People can relate it to the weekly Sabbath. But few people ever compare this same 7th Day or 7th Millennium to the 7th day of Unleavened Bread. In each of the examples we have cited above, Sodom and Gomorrah, Jericho, and the Exodus when the Egyptians were destroyed all show us how sin will be ultimately put away.

In Revelations we read about the time when Satan is set free again. Why on earth would Yehovah let him out again having already bound him for this 7th millennium?

Rev 20:1 And I saw a messenger coming down from the heaven, having the key to the pit of the deep and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he seized the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and he threw him into the pit of the deep, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should lead the nations no more astray until the thousand years were ended. And after that he has to be released for a little while.

But how is this going to happen? We are told how and when, when we read both Ezekiel and Revelations together.

Eze 38:1 And the word of ???? came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog?, of the land of Mag?og?, the prince of Rosh, Meshek?, and Tub?al, and prophesy against him. 3 “And you shall say, ‘Thus says the Master ????, “See, I am against you, O Gog?, the prince of Rosh, Meshek?, and Tub?al. 4 “And I shall turn you around, and I shall put hooks into your jaws, and shall lead you out, with all your army, horses and horsemen, clad perfectly, a great assembly with armour and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 “Persia, Kush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet, 6 “Gomer and all its bands, the house of Tog?armah from the far north and all its bands, many peoples with you. 7 “Be ready, prepare yourself, you and all your assemblies that are assembled unto you. And you shall be a guard for them. 8 “After many days you shall be called up. In the latter years you shall come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Yisra’?l, which had been a continual waste. But they were brought out of the gentiles, and all of them shall dwell safely. 9 “And you shall go up, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your bands and many peoples with you.” 10 ‘Thus said the Master ????, “And it shall be in that day that words arise in your heart, and you shall devise an evil plan: 11 “And you shall say, ‘Let me go up against a land of unwalled villages, let me go to those at rest who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,’ 12 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 gentiles, acquiring livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the land.

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years have ended, Satan shall be released from his prison, 8 and he shall go out to lead the nations astray which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog? and Mag?og?, to gather them together for battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they came up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the set-apart ones and the beloved city. And fire came down from Elohim out of the heaven and consumed them. 10 And the devil, who led them astray, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet are. And they shall be tortured day and night forever and ever.

Even after the 1000 years is over and Yehshua has ruled all during this time, there will still be nations that will think they can come against Him and defeat those of us who live at that time with no fortifications.

When Yehovah strikes them with fire from heaven He is repeating the same event during Unleavened Bread as He did on Sodom and Gomorrah. Fire came down from Heaven.

And then once this event takes place then Satan is put away forever. Sin is finally put out the same as we are to be putting sin out of our lives which is represented by the leaven in our homes. We do not bring it back in.

Now lets again kick it up to an even higher notch.

As we began to count the omer from the Sunday during Unleavened Bread, let us say that the this Sunday began on the 15th day of Aviv. It is would then be the 1st day of Unleavened Bread and the 1st day of counting the Omer. This was not the case this year, but just go with me for this example and stretch your minds a little.

Instead of each day being counted, enlarge your thinking to make it a thousand years for each day. As we just explained we are at the end of the 6th Millennium right now with the 7th one about to begin and I have just compared it to the 7th day of Unleavened Bread.

Let us now say that this 7th millennium is the 7th day also of counting the Omer as well as the 7th day/ Millennium of Unelaevened Bread. Then when we count 7 sabbatical Millenniums we would then be at 49,000 years.

So instead of counting each day as an Omer count, we now count each Millennium as an Omer count by thousands of years at a time.

So the 50 Day would be equated with the 50th Thousand Years and it would also be Holy and it would also be the first thousand years in the count to the next 50,000 years.

In the Jubilee year or the 50th years we are to return to our home towns, the slaves are set free and debts forgiven. I am generalizing here. When we are spread all over the galaxies throughout the universe we will be expected to all return back to Earth in that 50th Millennial thousand years.

On page 198 of The Prophecies of Abraham I have a chart there showing you how the North Star is moving from the constellation of Draco to now form the tail of the little Dipper and this North Star is on course to make a complete revolution in 26,000 years. So in 50,000 years we will be almost back to the starting place where this all started. If that calculation is off by two thousand years or if that calculation does figure in the 1st thousand years and the 50th thousand years being the same then we have a match.

By the time this universe goes around two times we will be back to the exact same position that it began in when Yehovah created it all in the beginning.

This was just an observation I made this week as I considered the importance of the 7th day of Unleavened Bread. And as I did I could not help but realize just how great and how awesome and unsearchable and how deep and wise our Yehovah is.

I would now like to share once again the events of the exodus and explain what took place that day when the entire Egyptian army was destroyed. You can read this at “The Exodus, another study of the facts“. Once you have read this then go to: “Nefertiti and Akhenaten: Now You know the rest of the story” of the Exodus from the Egyptian point of view.

I also want to remind you that we are to be counting the Omer towards Shavuot.

During each of these days Jewish tradition has developed around reading the psalms on certain days. Last year I found this very beneficial and I will do the same this year. It is customary that following the counting of the omer, one recites Psalm 67, for according to tradition that psalm has forty nine words, corresponding to the days of the omer.

And as you do these readings and this counting, keep in mind what this also symbolizes. It is the counting of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and where we are in that cycle. We are in the 17th year which corresponds to the 17th day of counting the Omer.

As I said, this is the most special time of year for me and in years past I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why, other than it had something to do with Yehshua’s resurrection and waiting in anticipation for Shavuot. While I cannot put into words how my understanding of this has grown, all I can say is that “it clicked!” and “now I get it!”, at least more than before. Understanding follows obedience. So OBEY and learn.

WEEK 2
???? 2
April 15, 2012:
Today is the 1st day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 8th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

15 ????? 2012:
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Psa 67:1 Elohim does favour us and bless us, Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
Psa 67:2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
Psa 67:3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, And lead the nations on earth. Selah.
Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
Psa 67:7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him!

8 Devotion to Law of Yehovah Psalm 119:57-64

Psa 119:57 You are my portion, O ????; I have promised to guard Your words.
Psa 119:58 I have sought Your face with all my heart; Show me favour according to Your word.
Psa 119:59 I have thought upon my ways, And turned my feet to Your witnesses.
Psa 119:60 I have hurried, and did not delay To guard Your commands.
Psa 119:61 The cords of the wrong have surrounded me, Your Torah I have not forgotten.
Psa 119:62 At midnight I rise to give thanks to You, For Your righteous right-rulings.
Psa 119:63 I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those guarding Your orders.
Psa 119:64 O ????, Your kindness has filled the earth; Teach me Your laws.

April 16, 2012:
Today is the 2nd day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 9th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.
16 ????? 2012:
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9 The value of the Law of Yehovah Psalm 119:65-72

Psa 67:1 Elohim does favour us and bless us, Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
Psa 67:2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
Psa 67:3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, And lead the nations on earth. Selah.
Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
Psa 67:7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psa 119:65 You have done good to Your servant, O ????, According to Your word.
Psa 119:66 Teach me good sense and knowledge, For I have trusted in Your commands.
Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted I myself was going astray, But now I have guarded Your word.
Psa 119:68 You are good, and do good; Teach me Your laws.
Psa 119:69 The proud have forged a lie against me, With all my heart I observe Your orders.
Psa 119:70 Their heart has become like fat, Without feeling; I have delighted in Your Torah.
Psa 119:71 It was good for me that I was afflicted, That I might learn Your laws.
Psa 119:72 The Torah of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

April 17, 2012:
Today is the 3rd day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 10th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

17 ????? 2012:
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10 The justice of the Law of Yehovah Psalm119:73-80

Psa 67:1 Elohim does favour us and bless us, Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
Psa 67:2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
Psa 67:3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, And lead the nations on earth. Selah.
Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
Psa 67:7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psa 119:73 Your hands have made me and formed me; Make me understand, that I might learn Your commands.
Psa 119:74 Those who fear You see me and rejoice, For I have waited for Your Word.
Psa 119:75 I know, O ????, That Your right-rulings are righteous, And in trustworthiness You have afflicted me.
Psa 119:76 Please let Your kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant.
Psa 119:77 Let Your compassions come to me, That I might live, For Your Torah is my delight.
Psa 119:78 Let the proud be put to shame, For with lies they perverted me; But I study Your orders.
Psa 119:79 Let those who fear You turn to me, And those who know Your witnesses.
Psa 119:80 Let my heart be perfect in Your laws, So that I am not put to shame.

April 18, 2012:
Today is the 4th day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 11th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

18 ????? 2012:
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11 Prayer for Deliverance Psalm119:81-88

Psa 67:1 Elohim does favour us and bless us, Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
Psa 67:2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
Psa 67:3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, And lead the nations on earth. Selah.
Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
Psa 67:7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psa 119:81 For Your deliverance my being has pined away, For I have waited for Your word.
Psa 119:82 My eyes have pined away for Your word, Saying, “When would it comfort me?”
Psa 119:83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, Your laws I have not forgotten.
Psa 119:84 How many are the days of Your servant? When do You execute right-ruling On those who persecute me?
Psa 119:85 The proud have dug pits for me, Which is not according to Your Torah.
Psa 119:86 All Your commands are trustworthy; They have persecuted me with lies; Help me!
Psa 119:87 They almost made an end of me on earth, But I, I did not forsake Your orders.
Psa 119:88 Revive me according to Your kindness, That I might guard the witness of Your mouth.

April 19, 2012:
Today is the 5th day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 12th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

19 ????? 2012:
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12 Faith in the Law of Yehovah Psalm 119:89-96

Psa 67:1 Elohim does favour us and bless us, Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
Psa 67:2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
Psa 67:3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, And lead the nations on earth. Selah.
Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
Psa 67:7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psa 119:89 Forever, O ????, Your word stands firm in the heavens.
Psa 119:90 Your trustworthiness is to all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.
Psa 119:91 According to Your right-rulings They have stood to this day, For all are Your servants.
Psa 119:92 If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
Psa 119:93 Let me never forget Your orders, For by them You have given me life.
Psa 119:94 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your orders.
Psa 119:95 The wrong have waited for me to destroy me; I understand Your witnesses.
Psa 119:96 I have seen an end of all perfection; Your command is exceedingly broad.

April 20, 2012:
Today is the 6th day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 13th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

20 ????? 2012:
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13 Love for the Law of Yehovah Psalm 119:97-104

Psa 67:1 Elohim does favour us and bless us, Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
Psa 67:2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
Psa 67:3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, And lead the nations on earth. Selah.
Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
Psa 67:7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psa 119:97 O how I love Your Torah1! It is my study all day long. Footnote: 1See also vv. 113, 119, 127, 163, 165, 167.
Psa 119:98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies; For it is ever before me.
Psa 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your witnesses are my study.
Psa 119:100 I understand more than the aged, For I have observed Your orders.
Psa 119:101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I might guard Your word.
Psa 119:102 I have not turned aside from Your right-rulings, For You Yourself have taught me.
Psa 119:103 How sweet to my taste has Your word been, More than honey to my mouth!
Psa 119:104 From Your orders I get understanding; Therefore I have hated every false way.

April 21, 2012:
Today is the 7th day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 14th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath. Today is Sabbath, the 2nd Sabbath of seven Sabbaths. Today completes the 2nd week of seven weeks.

21 ????? 2012:
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14 Light from the Law of Yehovah Psalm 119:105-112

Psa 67:1 Elohim does favour us and bless us, Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
Psa 67:2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
Psa 67:3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, And lead the nations on earth. Selah.
Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa 67:6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
Psa 67:7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psa 119:106 I have sworn, and I confirm, To guard Your righteous right-rulings.
Psa 119:107 I have been afflicted very much; O ????, revive me according to Your word.
Psa 119:108 Please accept the voluntary offerings Of my mouth, O ????, And teach me Your right-rulings.
Psa 119:109 My life is in my hand continually, And Your Torah I have not forgotten.
Psa 119:110 The wrong have laid a snare for me, But I have not strayed from Your orders.
Psa 119:111 Your witnesses are my inheritance forever, For they are the joy of my heart.
Psa 119:112 I have inclined my heart to do Your laws Forever, to the end.

 


Triennial Torah Cycle

We continue this weekend with our regular Triennial Torah Reading

Lev 24        Ezek 26-28       1 Peter 3-4

Leviticus 24

Keep the Fire Burning; Eye for an Eye (Leviticus 24)

The lamps of the menorah were to be lit and kept burning every day (verse 2; Exodus 27:20; 30:7-8). This was symbolic of God’s Spirit and His laws. Each day, we must have the light of God burning in us through His Spirit and living by His Word. David prayed to God, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Echoing this, Solomon wrote: “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs and instruction are the way of life” (Proverbs 6:23). When people see us, they should see God shining through us. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Just as with the tabernacle lamps, this requires attentiveness and vigilance.

The phrase “from evening until morning indicates tending the lamps twice a day, not tending them throughout the night” (Nelson Study Bible, note on Leviticus 24:2-4). Similarly, we must seek God when we awake each day and before we go to sleep each night to make sure that our spiritual “oil” is renewed (compare Matthew 25:4; 2 Corinthians 4:16)—allowing us to shine every day.

In verses 19-20 of Leviticus 24, we come to the “eye-for-an-eye” principle, mentioned earlier in Exodus 21:23-25. We stated in our highlights on that passage that this was apparently not generally meant to be a literal requirement in meting out justice—that just recompense was the concern. The judges of Israel might have required death or beating with a certain number of stripes. And that would have been literal. But we have no evidence that the judges ever required a hand to be cut off or other bodily mutilation (although it is possible that they did since there is no way at present to really know).

It may be that they would allow the offended party to exact that penalty from someone who had cut his hand off (similar to God’s allowance for the nearest of kin to a murder victim to act as an avenger of blood). As mentioned in the highlights for Exodus 21, a big reason for the principle was not just so that the punishment would fit the crime but so that the punishment would not go beyond the crime. The Nelson Study Bible notes on Leviticus 24:19-20: “Its purpose was not to require the injured party to inflict equal bodily harm on the one who had injured him, but to forbid him from inflicting greater bodily harm.”

Of course, while God’s system may have allowed justice to be measured out in kind as described, His desire was for mercy in the face of remorse—and also for restitution and care for the victim. If someone cut another person’s hand off, the person who lost his hand would be wiser to not cut the offender’s hand off. The judges would perhaps order a beating for pain and suffering and that the offender work (maybe for the rest of his life) to provide the lost livelihood to the one who lost his hand and was no longer able to work. (If the offender’s hand was cut off too, he could not work to help the victim. So it would not seem to really help matters—except in giving some sense of justice and providing a deterrent in the society.)

The same goes for blinding an offender if he has blinded someone else. This would create two needy beggars instead of just one. It seems wiser to demand that the seeing criminal be indebted and perhaps indentured to the victim.

Ezekiel’s Prophecy Against Tyre (Ezekiel 26)

Chapters 26-28 of Ezekiel contain a series of oracles against Tyre, the great Phoenician seaport and major trading center of the ancient world, located in what is now the country of Lebanon. The prophecy was given in the 11th year of Ezekiel’s captivity on the first day of the month—but what month is not stated (26:1). Perhaps the month was considered as a given, following what was probably the previous date reference before the chapters of this section were rearranged thematically—the 11th year, third month, first day (31:1). This would mean the Tyre prophecies began later the same day—in the late spring of 587 B.C.

Tyre says of Jerusalem, “Aha! She is broken…she is laid waste” (verse 2). This could be a prophecy of what Tyre would say once Jerusalem had ultimately fallen to the Babylonians. Yet it could just as easily reflect what the Tyrians had already expressed when this prophecy was given. For with the siege against Jerusalem underway, onlookers from other countries no doubt said things like, “It’s all over for Jerusalem.”

Tyre says, “The gateway of the peoples…is turned over to me” (verse 2). “The people of Tyre were enthusiastic about the fall of Jerusalem, seeing it as an opportunity to further increase its own wealth. This was not only because Tyre expected to gain commissions from the sale of much of the Holy City’s spoil, but also because Judah had controlled the important land trade routes in the area. Tyre, just 35 miles from the Sea of Galilee and 100 miles from Jerusalem, expected that more of the land routes’ income would swell her own coffers” (Bible Reader’s Companion, note on Ezekiel 26). And there may be more to this, as we will see.

The remainder of the prophecy deals with punishment to come on Tyre. Verses 3-7 give a summary, and the passage that follows provides details. Some historical background and information on the layout of the city makes it easier to understand aspects of the prophecy. “Tyre was in effect [originally] two islands (they were later made one) joined to the mainland by King Hiram I [in the days of King Solomon]… In doing so he created ideal harbors, endorsing a seafaring tradition” (Karen Farrington, Historical Atlas of the Holy Land, 2003, p. 94). “Under Hiram’s reign, Tyre flourished. The original layout of the city was in two parts: an offshore island, which was the older part of the city, and the overspill on the mainland. Hiram developed the island-city and used landfill to connect it to the other small islands nearby, and to the mainland by a narrow causeway” (Lonely Planet: Lebanon, 2001, p. 231).

Tyre was later incorporated into the Assyrian Empire. After the fall of Assyria, the city submitted to Nebuchadnezzar’s Neo-Babylonian Empire. At the beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign, Tyre plotted with Judah and other nations against Babylon, but nothing then came of it. But soon after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., Tyre did rebel, leading to a siege by the Babylonians. The siege lasted for 13 long years, during which the Babylonian soldiers were worked very hard (see Ezekiel 29:18). “During the siege, the Tyrians destroyed a causeway which had connected the offshore islands to the mainland [the one Hiram had built], and retreated behind the [island] city’s walls, said to be 50 metres (160 ft) high” (Insight Guide: Syria & Lebanon, 2000, p. 316). Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the mainland part of the city but really had nothing to show for all his efforts, having failed to capture the city’s vast wealth. Grudgingly, the island city did again acknowledge his sovereignty but remained semi-autonomous—though the Tyrian king and royal family were deported to Babylon, in line with what Jeremiah had foretold in Jeremiah 27.

The Babylonian Empire fell to the Persians in 539 B.C. In 525, the Persians sent forces to exert their control over Western Asia and Egypt. Tyre then became a Persian vassal state.

“The next in Tyre’s long line of strongman-conquerors was more successful than Nebuchadnezzar. Alexander the Great was able to conquer the known world following his defeat of the Persian army and, in 332 BC, he marched along coastal Phoenicia exacting tribute from all its city-states. In its time-honoured tradition, Tyre alone decided to resist. The city was thought to be impregnable, but upon arriving in 332 BC Alexander built a mole or breakwater in the sea to reach the city [essentially rebuilding Hiram’s causeway from the rubble of the mainland city]. This impressive feat was carried out under a hail of missiles. At the same time on the mainland, Alexander’s engineers were constructing huge mobile towers called helepoleis, which at 20-storeys high, were the tallest siege towers ever used in the history of war. After seven months these great war machines lumbered across the mole and lowered the drawbridge, unleashing archers and artillery on the city. Tyre fell after seven months and Alexander, enraged at the dogged resistance of the Tyrians which had caused heavy Greek losses, destroyed half the city. The city’s 30,000 citizens were massacred or sold into slavery. This destruction heralded the domination of the Greeks in the Mediterranean” (Lonely Planet: Lebanon, pp. 231-232).

“The history of the city did not end there, however. Eighteen years after Alexander captured the city it was again besieged, this time by Antigonus, one of Alexander’s generals. That the city was far from indefensible is demonstrated by the fact that it took 15 months for Antigonus to capture it. Far greater than the damage caused by Alexander’s siege was the reopening of the canal connecting the Red Sea with the Egyptian port of Alexandria. This diverted much of the trade that had formerly passed through Tyre” (Robert Bradshaw, “Tyre,” 1999, http://www.robibrad.demon.co.uk/tyre.htm).

“The city…after a period of Seleucid rule following Alexander’s death, became autonomous in 126 BC. In 64 BC, Tyre became a Roman province and later became the capital of the Roman province of Syria-Phoenicia… By the 4th century AD it had recovered some of its former splendour and a basilica was built on the site of the former temple of Melkart… The city was taken by the Arabs in 635, and its prosperity continued… People from other coastal cities had fled to Tyre when the Crusaders started to take the Middle East in 1124. They felt safe behind Tyre’s ‘impregnable’ walls. After a siege of five and a half months, Tyre’s defenses collapsed and the Christian army occupied the city and the surrounding fertile land. The Crusaders built the defensive walls and Tyre remained in Crusader hands for 167 years until the Mamluk army…retook the city in 1291. Over time, the classical and early Christian remains were demolished and the worked stone reused in later buildings. The ports were silted up and the mole which connected the island to the mainland became a sand bar; the city of Tyre became a peninsula which is now covered in modern buildings”—the modern Lebanese city of Sor or Sour (Lonely Planet: Lebanon, pp. 232-233).

With this history in mind, let’s look at some specifics of Ezekiel’s prophecy. God said that He would bring “many nations” against Tyre as “waves” of the sea (Ezekiel 26:3). The plurality of nations could conceivably refer to the many peoples that made up the Babylonian Empire. Or they could refer to a succession of nations that would conquer Tyre over the centuries. Either interpretation fits Ezekiel’s prophecy. Notice again that they come as waves. While this is a fitting metaphor for military forces assaulting a seaport or an island city, it may also signify successive conquests. Again, either interpretation fits.

Verses 7-11 refer specifically to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar. Since the Babylonian ruler did not take the island citadel, the heart of the city, the destruction described in this passage must refer to what he would do to the mainland city and Tyre’s “daughter villages in the fields”—that is, outlying villages on the mainland. Nebuchadnezzar is denoted in these verses by name and then by the pronoun “he.”

But in verse 12, the pronoun switches from “he” to “they”—perhaps referring back to the “they” of verse 4, denoting the many nations that would come against Tyre. In verses that follow, God uses the pronoun “I” to show that He is ultimately behind what is happening.

Notice the pronouncement of verse 12. God says that “they”—the nations to follow Nebuchadnezzar—would be successful in plundering Tyre. More remarkably, it is stated that they would lay the stones, timber and soil of Tyre “in the midst of the water.” This must be, at least on some level, a reference to what Alexander’s forces did. They dumped the rubble of the mainland city into the sea to rebuild the causeway out to the island fortress. It is surely no mere coincidence that Alexander’s army conquered the city in this amazing way. Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the city, but he did not accomplish all that was prophesied for Tyre. Alexander went further, casting the rubble from Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction into the sea and plundering the wealth of Tyre by capturing the island city.

But did Alexander, then, completely accomplish the prophesied ruin of Tyre? God said He would scrape the dust from Tyre, leaving it like the top of a rock (verses 4, 14). He also said it would be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, sunk in the deep (verses 5, 14, 19). In both cases, this could perhaps apply to what Alexander did to the mainland city area, scraping it bare for material to cast into the sea to construct his causeway. Yet nothing of the sort happened, or has ever happened, to the main city—the island city that was protected by 160-foot-high walls. Alexander did conquer it but obviously did not lay it waste as the prophecy would seem to imply. Some of the island city is now below water, but most of the ancient island remains a thriving city to this day.

God said of Tyre, “You shall never be rebuilt… so that you may never be inhabited… You shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again” (verses 14, 20-21). It is difficult to reconcile this with the history of Tyre up to the present time. It is possible that God was speaking exclusively of the mainland area. While there are Roman ruins on what used to be the mainland coast, seeming to indicate rebuilding, it may be that the original Phoenician city was located not here but somewhere nearby. Regrettably, if the original mainland city was completely scraped bare, we don’t know exactly where it was located—which could conceivably fit the description of never being found again. (Curiously, an uninhabited area a bit south of the modern Tyrian peninsula surrounding several major freshwater springs has been declared a nature reserve, with construction forbidden by law—an interesting way to keep it from being rebuilt if this is the site of ancient mainland Tyre.)

Yet it seems odd that God’s announcement of doom on Tyre would apply primarily to the mainland overspill of the city and not the main island city itself with its towering walls. Indeed, notice verse 13, where God says, “I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.” Consider that before the mainland city was destroyed, the people simply moved a half-mile out across the water to the island citadel—where singing and music could still be heard (and can still be heard today). So it seems likely that Alexander did not accomplish all that God had foretold for the city’s destruction.

Notice again the summary of Tyre’s judgment in verses 3-7, ending with the intended purpose in punishment: “Then they shall know that I am the LORD” (verse 7). Recall from chapters 25 and 29-30 that the same thing is said of the outcome of punishment on Judah’s other national neighbors, which seems to signify that ultimate fulfillment of these prophecies will not come until the end time. Jeremiah had warned Tyre’s ruler that sword, famine, pestilence and slavery would come on those nations that failed to submit to Babylon (Jeremiah 27)—but many of the Tyrians escaped destruction or captivity in Nebuchadnezzar’s time, and it is likely that nothing of what Jeremiah said was recalled by anyone in Tyre at the time of Alexander. Indeed, the Tyrians as a people did not really come to know that the true God was God in either Nebuchadnezzar’s or Alexander’s invasions. Most of them probably did not even know that God had pronounced any judgment against them at all.

Indeed, there are other indications of duality in the prophecies of Tyre in chapters 26-28, pointing to fulfillment in ancient times and the end time. One is the similarity of the description of Tyre and its fall in chapter 27 to that of end-time Babylon in Revelation 18. Another indication is the obvious parallel with other prophecies of Tyre that are apparently dual in nature, such as the one in Amos 1:9-10 and Isaiah 23.

Furthermore, we’ve already seen in Isaiah 13 and Jeremiah 50-51 another parallel: God’s prophecies of Babylon’s utter destruction and desolation, where He states that it would never be resettled or rebuilt—even though the site of ancient Babylon has been resettled and parts of it rebuilt over the centuries. As noted in the Bible Reading Program comments on those passages, the explanation is that God is speaking primarily there of end-time Babylon, a powerful global empire, religious system and trading bloc centered in Rome in the years just prior to Jesus Christ’s return. In fact, God foretold of Babylon through Jeremiah: “How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of its waves” (Jeremiah 51:41-42). Is not this very close to what God foretold of Tyre through Ezekiel?

In the Bible Reading Program’s comments on Isaiah 13 and 23, it was explained that many people of Babylonian and Phoenician descent eventually displaced the Romans and became spread across southern Europe. Thus, the European empire of the last days can logically be referred to as either Babylon or as Tyre, the chief Phoenician city. The end-time Babylonian capital, the city of Rome, is located close to the sea. And figuratively, the waters from which Babylon rises and over which it rules represent “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15)—back into which this great power bloc will sink when it is at last overrun by those it has oppressed.

With this in mind, consider again Tyre’s statement against Jerusalem in Ezekiel 26:2: “She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled.” In other prophecies in the book of Ezekiel, Jerusalem is often representative of all Israel in the end time. So this particular verse, besides the ancient application, may also portray a future “Tyre” or “Babylon” rejoicing over the fall of modern-day “Israel” (meaning the United States, Britain, the Jewish people, etc.), seeking to take over the Israelites’ position as gatekeeper of world commerce and banking and to seize their wealth. In any case, we know from other prophecies that this will happen—and that it will bring God’s judgment.

Finally, it is clear that the destruction of ancient Tyre under Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander did indeed fulfill important elements of God’s prophecy in Ezekiel 26. But these did not constitute complete and final fulfillment. They were, in fact, mere precursors to the ultimate fall of the latter-day “Tyre” at the time of Christ’s second coming, when the whole Babylonian-Tyrian system will be plundered, stripped bare and destroyed forever—never to rise again.

The Sinking of the Great Merchant Ship of Tyre (Ezekiel 27)

“Ezekiel’s prediction of the endless death of Tyre (26:1-21) is followed by messages about the doomed city [in chapters 27 and 28]. First comes a funeral dirge, picturing the great commercial center as a merchant ship. The prophet describes her construction (27:1-11) and then lists her trading partners (vv. 12-24)… The prophet completes his metaphor with a vivid description of the sinking of richly laden Tyre (vv. 25-36)” (Bible Reader’s Companion, chapters 27-28 summary).

This great “ship of state” is made of the finest materials—including planks of fir trees from “Senir,” another name for Mount Hermon or another peak in its range (see Deuteronomy 3:9; Song of Solomon 4:8; 1 Chronicles 5:23).

For “merchant of the peoples on many coastlands” in verse 3, the New Living Translation has “trading center of the world.” Like the previous chapter, this one is dual—applying to ancient Tyre as well as Tyre of the last days (modern Babylon), a global economic market and religious empire centered in Europe. The mourning of the participants in the system over the sinking of Tyre is quite similar to the mourning of participants in the Babylonian system of the end time (compare especially verses 29-33; Revelation 18:17-19). The Nelson Study Bible notes on Revelation 18:9-19, “This section is framed like an ancient lament and is especially similar in content to Ezekiel’s lament over the destruction of Tyre (see Ezek. 27).” Moreover, as noted in our previous reading, many in southern Europe are descended from the ancient Babylonians and Phoenician Tyrians, strengthening the identification.

Many nations participated in the international marketplace of ancient Tyre, as their modern counterparts will participate in the Tyrian or Babylonian system of the end time. There was and will be Ashurite or Assyrian involvement (verses 6, 23). “Men of Gammad” in the watchtowers (verse 11) may be a mis-translation. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown’s Commentary offers: “Rather, as the Tyrians were Syro-Phoenician, from a Syriac root, meaning daring, ‘men of daring’… It is not likely the keeping of watch ‘in the towers’ would have been entrusted to foreigners. Others take it from a Hebrew root, ‘a dagger,’ or short sword…’short-swordsmen'” (note on verse 11).

There is mention of Javan or Yavan (verse 13), the biblical Hebrew word used elsewhere for Greece. Javan is listed in the table of nations of Genesis 10 as the son of Noah’s son Japheth, father of the yellow-skinned Mongoloid peoples of the Far East but also of many white and olive-skinned people of the Mediterranean. Many southern Europeans, such as the Greeks, Cypriots, Italians and Spaniards, have traditionally been traced, at least in part, back to Javan’s sons Elishah, Kittim and Tarshish—all mentioned in Ezekiel 27 (verses 6-7, 12). (It may be that Japheth himself was Caucasian and his wife Oriental, allowing for offspring to take after either side of the family.)

It appears that the sons of Tarshish originally settled in southern Asia Minor, giving their name to the city of Tarsus. Some later migrated from here to Spain, giving their name to Tartessus, the city of Tarshish to which Jonah fled (and which gave its name to the famed Phoenician and Israelite “ships of Tarshish”). This western branch of Tarshish would today, then, seem to be a significant portion of the people of Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Yet there may well be an eastern branch of this family. The traditions of ancient Japan claim its people were led to the “Land of the Rising Sun” by a three-legged crow—the “sun crow” representing the sun deity in the ancient Far East. Surprisingly, the rare imagery of three-legged birds as sun symbols has also been found on coins of Asia Minor, where sat Tarsus. Might this region be the origin of some of the Japanese?

Interestingly, the Japanese traditionally trace themselves mainly through two peoples, known as the Yamato and the Kumaso. The Kumaso, from whom the lower class is predominantly descended, are believed to be of Malay or Indonesian origin. But the Yamato, ancestors of the ruling class, appear to have come from far in the west. A.L. Sadler, a professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Sydney, wrote in his 1946 book A Short History of Japan: “Judging from the Caucasian and often Semitic physiognomy seen in the aristocratic type of Japanese, the Yamato were mainly of Caucasic, perhaps Iranian, origin. These were…modified to some extent by mingling with the Mongoloid rank and file… The colour of the Japanese does not differ at all from that of the South European races like Spain and Italy… The Alpine or Central European race…is of much the same type as the ordinary Japanese… Some Japanese ethnologists favour the theory that the Yamato came from Central Asia” (pp. xi-xii). Indeed, perhaps they came all the way from Asia Minor.

In the end time, the peoples of Tarshish—encompassing perhaps the Spanish-Latin American world in the west and Japan in the east (each of which has had a great commercial tradition in modern times in its own right)—will merely be merchants for the much greater system of Tyre or Babylon that will dominate the globe (see verse 12).

Tubal, Meshech and Togarmah (verses 13-14) in ancient times dwelt near the Black Sea. Today, as we will later see in our examination of Ezekiel 38-39, these peoples may be found in central, western and eastern Russia respectively. The bartering of human lives mentioned in 27:13 parallels a similar statement about end-time slave trade in Revelation 18:13.

Even Israel and Judah are shown participating in the Tyrian marketplace before their downfall (Ezekiel 27:17). This was true in the ancient world and will come to pass again at the end of this age.

In verse 19, the Israelite tribe of Dan is associated with Javan or Greece, likely because the Danites for a time settled in Greece and plied the seas with the ancient Phoenicians and Greeks (see”Appendix 2: Were the Greeks Israelites? our online publication The Throne of Britain: Its Biblical Origin and Future at http://www.ucg.org/brp/materials/throne/appendices/ap2.html.) Dan today may be found in Ireland and Denmark. Yet, as part of the European Union, they are once more associated with Greece—”traversing back and forth” as they are located on opposite ends of the European continent.

Areas of the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Jordan, Mesopotamia (southeast Turkey and Iraq) and Iran are also shown as participating in this system (verses 15-18, 20-24).

Verse 26 shows the overloaded ship of Tyre broken by “the east wind.” The Nelson Study Bible notes on this verse: “The east wind was often powerful and potentially destructive (see Gen. 41:6; Job 27:21; Ps. 48:7 [where God says He breaks the merchant ships of Tarshish with an east wind]; Is. 27:8). Thus it symbolizes the destruction the [ancient] Babylonian army [from the east] would bring on Tyre. In 26:7, Babylon would come from the ‘north.’ This was the direction from which the army would invade Phoenicia.” In the end time, a great wave of destruction will come on the European empire from forces from the east (see Revelation 9:13-19). And ultimate destruction will come when Jesus Christ returns “as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west” (Matthew 24:27).

As great as it is, the ship of Tyre will ultimately sink—meaning the demise of both ancient Tyre and the future global power bloc it represents. In the description of its finery and vast wealth along with what is to befall it is a lesson for everyone, especially when we consider that, in a broader sense, Babylon—and so Tyre as well—is representative of mankind’s entire corrupt civilization. The Bible Reader’s Companion states in its note on chapter 27: “The extended metaphor in this poetic description of Tyre and her fall is one of the most powerful to be found in ancient or modern literature. The funeral dirge sums up the world’s preoccupation with material wealth and prosperity and the pride success breeds. The sudden sinking of the ship not only portrays the demise of Tyre, but the vulnerability of all material possessions to destruction. The last two verses particularly display the anguish of those who pin their hopes on things—only to see them suddenly, irretrievably, gone.”

Tyre’s Human Ruler and the Power Behind the Throne (Ezekiel 28)

Having foretold, at God’s direction, the destruction of Tyre in chapters 26 and proclaiming a lament or dirge over it in chapter 27, Ezekiel in chapter 28 now relays God’s word concerning the “prince,” or “ruler” (NIV), of Tyre (verses 1-10). The Expositor’s Bible Commentary suggests that the reference on one level is to “Ittobaal II of those days [of the Babylonian conquest], though the speech is in many ways not against any one particular king but Tyre’s kings per se” (note on verses 1-5).

Expositor’s goes on to comment in its note on the same passage: “Tyre’s king is described as a very wise man. Through his wisdom and insight in commercial sea-trade, he was able to amass Tyre’s great abundance of wealth (vv. 4-5; cf. ch. 27). However, the accumulation of riches and its accompanying splendor and importance created a haughty pride in this ruler (v. 5b; cf. 27:3). He was so impressed with himself that he actually began to think that he was a god—perhaps even El, the chief deity of the Canaanite pantheon (v. 2). Ancient Near Eastern thought often viewed the king as the embodiment of the god(s)… He was sitting on the ‘throne of a god in the heart of the seas’ [NIV]. Most likely Tyre’s well-known, magnificent temple of Melkart, Tyre’s patron deity, was in the prophet’s mind. It was not uncommon for a city or a temple to be called the throne of a god, even in the O[ld] T[estament] (cf. Ps 132:13-14; Jer 3:17 et al.). On ancient bas-reliefs of Tyre, the city and its temple are seen projecting high out of the surrounding sea.”

This kind of thinking will likely also characterize the ruler of end-time Tyre or Babylon, a powerful dictator referred to in the book of Revelation as “the Beast” (a name that also applies to his empire). Consider that Adolf Hitler, a ruler in this tradition and forerunner of the final dictator, saw himself as a superhuman messianic figure who would reign over a “Thousand-Year Reich.”

Returning to the passage, mention is again made in Ezekiel’s book of the prophet Daniel (28:3; compare 14:14), showing that Daniel was already famous for his wisdom while he lived. This, of course, helps support the authenticity of Daniel’s book as a product of the sixth century B.C., a fact many now seek to deny. In the King James and New King James Versions of Ezekiel 28:3, it is stated that the Tyrian ruler is wiser than Daniel. This could be a sarcastic statement. But notice the NIV translation, which gives this as a question: “Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you?”

Clearly this ruler is not as wise as he thinks. He sees himself as a god when he is, in fact, just a man—and a man who will be humbled for his supreme arrogance by the true God. Strangers will invade and devastate his land, and he will die at the hands of aliens or foreigners (verses 7, 10). This applied to the ruler of ancient time. But it is also the fate of the end-time Beast ruler. His European empire will be devastated by a ruthless wave of invasion from the east (Revelation 9:13-19). And he himself will be slain in the ultimate “alien” invasion—at the coming of Jesus Christ and His saints (verses 19-21), who were strangers and foreigners in this world and will certainly be seen as foreigners from the vantage point of this “uncircumcised” ruler (see Ezekiel 28:10).

God then tells Ezekiel to take up a lamentation for the “king” of Tyre (verses 11-19). Though a large number of scholars argue that the poetic imagery of this passage merely emphasizes the downfall of the Tyrian ruler given in the beginning of the chapter, “many take the shift from ‘ruler’ to ‘king’ to indicate a shift of prophetic focus from a literal [human] ruler to a being he typifies, Satan” (Bible Reader’s Companion, chapters 27-28 summary).

The latter interpretation becomes especially compelling when we consider the specific descriptions in the lament. Notice these points from The Bible Reader’s Companion:

“(1) The description ‘model of perfection’ [NIV], and ‘blameless…from the day I created you’ seems an inappropriate description of any human ruler.

“(2) ‘Eden, the garden of God’ is described as the gem-filled center of earthly rule, and is taken as the province of Satan before Adam’s creation. [It could also refer to the heavenly paradise of God, especially given the mention of this being walking among the fiery gems ‘on the holy mountain of God,’ signifying the place of God’s throne.]

“(3) ‘A guardian cherub’ [(NIV) or ‘anointed cherub who covers’ (NKJV)] again is hardly an appropriate description of a pagan king. But it would fit Satan’s pre-fall role as an important angelic being [being evidently one of the two cherubim whose wings overshadowed the throne of God, as represented in the earthly copy of God’s throne, the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant].

“(4) ‘Till wickedness was found in you’ does not fit the [fact that no human beings are sinless]…but seems to indicate a specific act of sin which corrupted the being described.
“(5) ‘I expelled you…I threw you to earth’ [NIV] seems to fit Christ’s words about Satan’s expulsion from heaven, as recorded in Luke 10:18. While these same verses admit metaphorical and poetic interpretation references to the human rulers of Tyre, those who see Satan in this passage believe they are more appropriately rooted to him” (note on verses 11-19).
It is most fascinating to consider that the patron God of ancient Tyre was Melkart. This name means “king of the city” (Expositor’s, note on verse 13a). His great temple in Tyre was seen as his throne, as earlier mentioned. So the “king” of Tyre that God addresses would naturally seem to be the false god Melkart. Consider that a false god could represent an actual demonic power. The apostle Paul said of pagan temple sacrifices, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God” (1 Corinthians 10:20). And Scripture makes it clear that demonic forces are the real rulers of this world (Ephesians 6:12; Daniel 10:10-21), with Satan the devil as the chief ruler or king of this world, the “god of this age” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

Satan, then, is the real power behind the throne—of both ancient and future Tyre. Ezekiel 28, then, is parallel to Isaiah 14, which addresses the human ruler of Babylon (both ancient and future) as well as the ultimate spirit ruler of Babylon, Satan. (Readers may wish to review that passage and the Bible Reading Program’s comments on it in context of the current reading.) The lament over the king of Tyre probably does refer to the human ruler in a metaphoric sense—but the primary reference is to Satan. Consider that Satan may actually possess the Beast dictator at times (as seems to have occurred on a few occasions with Hitler). So there could actually be a blending of personalities. Even short of actual possession, there will clearly be evil spiritual influence. The supreme arrogance and blasphemy of the human ruler, of both ancient and end-time Tyre, ultimately comes from Satan—”the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). (To learn more about the powerful evil spirit who dominates the present age, send for or download our free booklet Is There Really a Devil?

In the next section of Ezekiel 28, God pronounces judgment on Sidon (verses 20-24). Sidon was a sister city to Tyre. In fact, Tyre began as a colony of Sidon. The name Sidon is mentioned in the table of nations in Genesis 10 as the firstborn son of Canaan (verse 15). Thus, it may be that Sidon is used in Ezekiel 28 to portray the Phoenician people generally—with Tyre as the political, economic and religious power that has sprung up from among them. Recall that many of the Phoenicians today, along with the modern Babylonians, are scattered throughout southern Europe. Sidon was also the origin of Canaanite idolatry, which so infected the Israelites over the centuries—and this could be another reason it is singled out for special mention.

The chapter ends with God’s promise to return the Israelites to their land. Expositor’s states in its note on verses 25-26: “The judgment of the nations around Israel was given to encourage the exiles that God would faithfully exercise his righteousness against the nations as well as Judah. Ezekiel encouraged the Judeans further with a reminder that the Lord would regather them from among all the nations where they had been scattered by God’s judgment. This restoration to Palestine would take place when God executed his judgments on the nations, judgments that would not be completed fully till the end times. By regathering Israel God would demonstrate to all nations that he was the holy God, unique and distinct. None of man’s proposed deities had ever been able to accomplish a restoration such as this, and they never would; for the Lord alone was God and none other.”

1 Peter 3

Verse 1. Ye wives, be in subjection] Consider that your husband is, by God’s appointment, the head and ruler of the house; do not, therefore, attempt to usurp his government; for even though he obey not the word – his rule is not thereby impaired; and your affectionate, obedient conduct will be the most likely means of convincing him of the truth of the doctrine which you have received.

Without the word] That your holy conduct may be the means of begetting in them a reverence for the faith, the preaching of which they will not hear.

Verse 2. Chaste conversation-with fear.] While they see that ye join modesty, chastity, and the purest manners, to the fear of God. Or perhaps fear, fobov, is taken, as in Eph. v. 33, for the reverence due to the husband.
Verse 3. Whose adorning] kosmov. 1, where the word kosmov, world or ornament, is defined; and also the note on Gen. ii. 1.

Plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold] Plaiting the hair, and variously folding it about the head, was the most ancient and most simple mode of disposing of this chief ornament of the female head. It was practiced anciently in every part of the east, and is so to the present day in India, in China, and also in Barbary. It was also prevalent among the Greeks and Romans, as ancient gems, busts, and statues, still remaining, sufficiently declare. We have a remarkable instance of the plaiting of the hair in a statue of Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, an exact representation of which may be seen in a work of Andre Lens, entitled Leviticus Costume de Peuple de I’ Antiquite, pl. 33. Many plates in the same work show the different modes of dressing the hair which obtained among the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, and other nations. Thin plates of gold were often mixed with the hair, to make it appear more ornamental by the reflection of light and of the solar rays. Small golden buckles were also used in different parts; and among the Roman ladies, pearls and precious stones of different colours. Pliny assures us, Hist. Nat., l. ix. c. 35, that these latter ornaments were not introduced among the Roman women till the time of Sylla, about 110 years before the Christian era. But it is evident, from many remaining monuments, that in numerous cases the hair differently plaited and curled was the only ornament of the head. Often a simple pin, sometimes of ivory, pointed with gold, seemed to connect the plaits. In monuments of antiquity the heads of the married and single women may be known, the former by the hair being parted from the forehead over the middle of the top of the head, the latter by being quite close, or being plaited and curled all in a general mass.

There is a remarkable passage in Plutarch, Conjugalia Praecept., c. xxvi., very like that in the text: kosmov gar estin, wv elege krathv, to kosmoun? kosmei de to kosmiwteran gunaika poioun? poiei de tauthn ou crusov, oute smaragdov, oute kokkov, all? osa semnothtov, eutaxiav, aidouv emfasin peritiqhsin? Opera a Wyttenb., vol. i., page 390. “An ornament, as Crates said, is that which adorns. The proper ornament of a woman is that which becomes her best.

This is neither gold, nor pearls, nor scarlet; but those things which are an evident proof of gravity, regularity, and modesty.” The wife of Phocion, a celebrated Athenian general, receiving a visit from a lady who was elegantly adorned with gold and jewels, and her hair with pearls, took occasion to call the attention of her guest to the elegance and costliness of her dress, remarking at the same time, “My ornament is my husband, now for the twentieth year general of the Athenians.” Plut., in vit. Phoc. How few women act this part! Women are in general at as much pains and cost in their dress, as if by it they were to be recommended both to God and man. It is, however, in every case, the argument either of a shallow mind, or of a vain and corrupted heart.

Verse 4. The hidden man of the heart] ?o kruptov thv kardiav anqrwpov. This phrase is of the same import with that of St. Paul, Rom. vii. 22, o esw anqrwpov, the inner man; that is, the soul, with the whole system of affections and passions. Every part of the Scripture treats man as a compound being: the body is the outward or visible man; the soul, the inward, hidden, or invisible man.

A meek and quiet spirit] That is, a mind that will not give provocation to others, nor receive irritation by the provocation of others. Meekness will prevent the first; quietness will guard against the last.

Great price.] All the ornaments placed on the head and body of the most illustrious female, are, in the sight of God, of no worth; but a meek and silent spirit are, in his sight, invaluable, because proceeding from and leading to himself, being incorruptible, surviving the ruins of the body and the ruins of time, and enduring eternally.

Verse 5. For after this manner] Simplicity reigned in primitive times; natural ornaments alone were then in use. Trade and commerce brought in luxuries; and luxury brought pride, and all the excessive nonsense of DRESS.
Who trusted in God] The women who trust NOT in God are fond of dress and frippery; those who trust in God follow nature and common sense.

Being in subjection unto their own husbands

Verse 6. Even as Sarah obeyed] Gen. xviii. 12: And my lord is old.” The words of the apostle imply that she acknowledged his superiority, and her own subjection to him, in the order of God.
Whose daughters ye are] As Abraham is represented the father of all his male believing descendants, so Sarah is represented as the mother of all her believing female posterity. A son of Abraham is a true believer; a daughter of Sarah is the same.

As long as ye do well] For you cannot maintain your relationship to her longer than ye believe; and ye cannot believe longer than ye continue to obey.
And are not afraid with any amazement.] It is difficult to extract any sense out of this clause. The original is not very easy; mh foboumenai mhdemian ptohsiv may be rendered, And not fearing with any terror. If ye do well, and act conscientiously your part as faithful wives, ye will at no time live under the distressing apprehension of being found out, or terrified at every appearance of the discovery of infidelities, or improper conduct. Being not guilty of these, you will not have occasion to fear detection.

Verse 7. Dwell with them according to knowledge] Give your wives, by no species of unkind carriage, any excuse for delinquency. How can a man expect his wife to be faithful to him, if he be unfaithful to her? and vice versa.

Giving honour unto the wife] Using your superior strength and experience in her behalf, and thus honouring her by becoming her protector and support. But the word timh honour, signifies maintenance as well as respect;-maintain, provide for the wife.

As-the weaker vessel] Being made delicately, and consequently more slenderly, constructed. Roughness and strength go hand in hand; so likewise do beauty and frailty. The female has what the man wants-beauty and delicacy. The male has what the female wants-courage and strength.

The one is as good in its place as the other: and by these things God has made an equality between the man and the woman, so that there is properly very little superiority on either side. See the note on 1 Thess. iv. 4.

Being heirs together] Both the man and woman being equally called to eternal glory: and as prayer is one great means of obtaining a meetness for it, it is necessary that they should live together in such a manner as to prevent all family contentions, that they may not be prevented, by disputes or misunderstandings, from uniting daily in this most important duty-family and social prayer.

Verse 8. Be ye all of one mind] Unity, both in the family and in the Assembly, being essentially necessary to peace and salvation. See on Rom. xii. 16; xv. 5.
Having compassion] Being sympathetic; feeling for each other; bearing each other’s burdens.
Love as brethren] Be lovers of the brethren.

Pitiful] Tender-hearted; let your bowels yearn over the distressed and afflicted.
Courteous] Be friendly-minded; acquire and cultivate a friendly disposition. But instead of this word, tapeinofronev, be humble-minded, is the reading of ABC, more than twenty others, with the Syriac, Arabic of Erpen, Coptic, Armenian, Slavonic, and some of the fathers. This is probably the true reading, and Griesbach has admitted it into the text.

Verse 9. Not rendering evil for evil] Purposing, saying, doing nothing but good; and invariably returning good for evil.
Ye are thereunto called] This is your calling – your business in life, to do good, and to do good for evil, and to implore God’s blessing even on your worst enemies. And this is not only your duty, but your interest; for in so doing you shall obtain God’s blessing, even life for evermore.

Verse 10. For he that will love life] He who wishes to live long and prosperously, must act as he is here directed. 1. He must refrain from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering. 2. He must avoid flattery and fair speeches, which cover hypocritical or wicked intentions. 3. He must avoid evil, keep going away from evil. 4. He must do good; he must walk in the way of righteousness. 5. He must live peaceably with all men; seek peace where it has been lost; restore it where it has been broken; and pursue it where it seems to be flying away. He who lives thus must live happy in himself. And as excess in action and passion always tends to the shortening of life, and nothing preys on the constitution more than disorderly passions, he must live not only happiest but longest who avoids them.

Verse 12. The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous] That is, He is continually under God’s notice and his care; God continually watches for him and watches over him, and he is under his constant protection.

And his ears are open unto their prayers] The original is very emphatic: The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears to their prayers.

The righteous man ever attracts the Divine notice, and wherever he is, there is the ear of God; for, as every righteous man is a man of prayer, wherever he prays, there is the ear of God, into which the prayer, as soon as formed, enters.

But the face of the Lord] Far from his eye being upon them, or his ear open to their requests, (for prayer they have none,) his face, his approbation, his providence and blessing, are turned away from them; and he only looks upon them to abhor them, and to turn the arm of his justice against them.
Verse 13. Who is he that will harm you] Is it possible that a man can be wretched who has God for his friend? “All the devices which the devil or wicked men work against such must be brought to naught, and by the providence of his goodness be dispersed.” If ye be followers, &c.] ean tou agaqou mimhtai genhsqe? If ye be imitators of the good One, i.e. of God. ?o agaqov, the good One, is one of God’s prime epithets, see Matt. xix. 17, and Satan is distinguished by the reverse, o ponhrov, the EVIL one, Matthew xiii. 19, where see the notes. Instead of mimhtai, followers, or rather imitators, zhlwtai, zealous of what is good, is the reading of ABC, fifteen others, both the Syriac, Erpen’s Arabic, the Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian and Vulgate, with some of the fathers. This is a very probable reading, and Griesbach has placed it in the margin as a candidate for the place of that in the text.
Verse 14. But and if ye suffer] God may permit you to be tried and persecuted for righteousness’ sake, but this cannot essentially harm you; he will press even this into your service, and make it work for your good.

Happy are ye] This seems to refer to Matt. v. 10, &c. Blessed or happy, are ye when men persecute you, &c. It is a happiness to suffer for Messiah; and it is a happiness, because if a man were not holy and righteous the world would not persecute him, so he is happy in the very cause of his sufferings.
Be not afraid of their terror] ton de fobon autwn mh fobhqhte? Fear not their fear; see Isa. viii. 12. Sometimes fear is put for the object of a man’s religious worship; see Gen. xxxi. 42; Proverbs i. 26, and the place in Isaiah just quoted. The exhortation may mean, Fear not their gods, they can do you no hurt; and supposing that they curse you by them, yet be not troubled; “He who fears God need have no other fear.”

Verse 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts] To sanctify God may signify to offer him the praises due to his grace, but as to sanctify literally signifies to make holy, it is impossible that God should be thus sanctified.

We have often already seen that agiazw signifies to separate from earth, that is, from any common use or purpose, that the thing or person thus separated may be devoted to a sacred use. Perhaps we should understand Peter’s words thus: Entertain just notions of God; of his nature, power, will, justice, goodness, and truth. Do not conceive of him as being actuated by such passions as men; separate him in your hearts from every thing earthly, human, fickle, rigidly severe, or capriciously merciful. Consider that he can neither be like man, feel like man, nor act like man. Ascribe no human passions to him, for this would desecrate not sanctify him. Do not confine him in your conceptions to place, space, vacuity, heaven, or earth; endeavour to think worthily of the immensity and eternity of his nature, of his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Avoid the error of the heathens, who bound even their Dii Majores, their greatest gods, by fate, as many well-meaning believers do the true God by decrees; conceive of him as infinitely free to act or not act, as he pleases. Consider the goodness of his nature; for goodness, in every possible state of perfection and infinitude, belongs to him. Ascribe no malevolence to him; nor any work, purpose, or decree, that implies it: this is not only a human passion, but a passion of fallen man. Do not suppose that he can do evil, or that he can destroy when he might save; that he ever did, or ever can, hate any of those whom he made in his own image and in his own likeness, so as by a positive decree to doom them, unborn, to everlasting perdition, or, what is of the same import, pass them by without affording them the means of salvation, and consequently rendering it impossible for them to be saved.

Thus endeavor to conceive of him; and, by so doing, you separate him from all that is imperfect, human, evil, capricious, changeable, and unkind.
Ever remember that he has wisdom without error, power, without limits, truth without falsity, love without hatred, holiness without evil, and justice without rigour or severity on the one hand, or capricious tenderness on the other. In a word, that he neither can be, say, purpose, or do, any thing that is not infinitely just, holy, wise, true, and gracious; that he hates nothing that he has made; and has so loved the world, the whole human race, as to give his only-begotten Son to die for them, that they might not perish, but have everlasting life. Thus sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and you will ever be ready to give a reason of the hope that is in you to every serious and candid inquirer after truth. Most religious systems and creeds are incapable of rational explanation, because founded on some misconception of the Divine nature.

“They set at odds heaven’s jarring attributes, And with one excellence another wound.” The system of humanizing God, and making him, by our unjust conceptions of him, to act as ourselves would in certain circumstances, has been the bane of both religion and piety; and on this ground infidels have laughed us to scorn. It is high time that we should no longer know God after the flesh; for even if we have known Jesus Christ after the flesh, we are to know him so no more.

What I have written above is not against any particular creed of religious people, it is against any or all to whom it may justly apply, it may even be against some portions of my own; for even in this respect I am obliged daily to labour to sanctify the Lord God in my heart, to abstract him from every thing earthly and human, and apprehend him as far as possible in his own essential nature and attributes through the light of his Spirit and the medium of his own revelation. To act thus requires no common effort of soul: and just apprehensions of this kind are not acquired without much prayer, much self-reflection, much time, and much of the grace and mercy of God.

A reason of the hope] An account of your hope of the resurrection of the dead and eternal life in God’s glory. This was the great object of their hope, as Christ was the grand object of their faith.

With meekness and fear] Several excellent MSS. add the word alla, but, here, and it improves the sense considerably: Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, BUT with meekness and fear. Do not permit your readiness to answer, nor the confidence you have in the goodness of your cause, to lead you to answer pertly or superciliously to any person; defend the truth with all possible gentleness and fear, lest while you are doing it you should forget his presence whose cause you support, or say any thing unbecoming the dignity and holiness of the religion which you have espoused, or inconsistent with that heavenly temper which the Spirit of your indwelling Lord must infallibly produce.

Verse 16. Having a good conscience] The testimony of God in your own soul, that in simplicity and godly sincerity you have your conversation in the world. See on the term conscience at the end of Hebrews.
Whereas they speak evil of you]
Verse 17. For it is better]
Verse 18. Christ also hath once suffered]
Put to death in the flesh] In his human nature.

But quickened by the Spirit] That very dead body revived by the power of his Divinity. There are various opinions on the meaning of this verse, with which I need not trouble the reader, as I have produced that which is most likely.
Verse 19. By which] Spirit, his own Divine energy and authority.
He went and preached] By the ministry of Noah, one hundred and twenty years.
Unto the spirits in prison]

Verse 20. When once the long-suffering of God waited] In Pirkey Aboth, cap. v. 2, we have these words: “There were ten generations from Adam to Noah, that the long-suffering of God might appear; for each of these generations provoked him to anger, and went on in their iniquity, till at last the deluge came.” Were saved by water.] While the ark was preparing, only Noah’s family believed; these amounted to eight persons; and these only were saved from the deluge di uoatov, on the water: all the rest perished in the water; though many of them, while the rains descended, and the waters daily increased, did undoubtedly humble themselves before God, call for mercy, and receive it; but as they had not repented at the preaching of Noah, and the ark was now closed, and the fountains of the great deep broken up, they lost their lives, though God might have extended mercy to their souls.

Verse 21. The like figure whereunto, now saveth us also, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
There are many difficulties in this verse; but the simple meaning of the place may be easily apprehended. Noah believed in God; walked uprightly before him, and found grace in his sight; he obeyed him in building the ark, and God made it the means of his salvation from the waters of the deluge.

Verse 22. Who is gone into heaven] Having given the fullest proof of his resurrection from the dead, and of his having accomplished the end for which he came into the world.
On the right hand of God] In the place of the highest dignity, honour, and influence.
Angels and authorities and powers] That is, all creatures and beings, both in the heavens and in the earth, are put under subjection to Yeshua.

He has all power in the heavens and in the earth. He alone can save; and he alone can destroy. None need fear who put their trust in him, as he can do whatsoever he will in behalf of his followers, and has good and evil spirits under his absolute command. Well may his enemies tremble, while his friends exult and sing. He can raise the dead, and save to the uttermost all that come unto the Father through him.

If he have all power, if angels and authorities and powers be subject to him, then he can do what he will, and employ whom he will. To raise the dead can be no difficulty to him, because he has power over all things. He created the world; he can destroy it, and he can create it anew. We can conceive nothing too difficult for Omnipotence. This same omnipotent Being is the friend of man. Why then do we not come to him with confidence, and expect the utmost salvation of which our souls and bodies are capable?

1 Peter 4

Verse 1. As Christ hath suffered] He is your proper pattern; have the same disposition he had; the same forgiving spirit, with meekness, gentleness, and complete self-possession.

He that hath suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from sin] This is a general maxim, if understood literally: The man who suffers generally reflects on his ways, is humbled, fears approaching death, loathes himself because of his past iniquities, and ceases from them; for, in a state of suffering, the mind loses its relish for the sins of the flesh, because they are embittered to him through the apprehension which he has of death and judgment; and, on his application to God’s mercy, he is delivered from his sin.

Verse 2. That he no longer should live-in the flesh] Governed by the base principle of giving up his faith to save his life; to the lusts of men – according to the will of his idolatrous persecutors; but to the will of God; which will of God is, that he should retain the truth, and live according to its dictates, though he should suffer for it.
Verse 3. The time past of our life] This is a complete epitome of the Gentile or heathen state, and a proof that those had been Gentiles to whom the apostle wrote.
1. They walked in lasciviousness, en aselgeiaiv? every species of lechery, lewdness, and impurity.
2. In lusts, epiqumiaiv? strong irregular appetites, and desires of all kinds.
3. In excess of wine, oinoflugiaiv? wine, and fluw, to be hot, or to boil; to be inflamed with wine; they were in continual debauches.
4. In revellings, kwmoiv? lascivious feastings, with drunken songs
5. In banquetings, potoiv? wine feasts, drinking matches, &c.

6. In abominable idolatries, aqemitoiv eidwlolatreiaiv? that is, the abominations practised at their idol feasts, where they not only worshipped the idol, but did it with the most impure, obscene, and abominable rites. This was the general state of the Gentile world; and with this monstrous wickedness believers had everywhere to struggle.

Verse 4. They think it strange] xenizontai? They wonder and are astonished at you, that ye can renounce these gratifications of the flesh for a spiritual something, the good of which they cannot see.
Excess of riot] aswtiav anacusin? Flood of profligacy; bearing down all rule, order, and restraints before it.
Speaking evil of you] blasfhmountev? Literally, blaspheming; i.e.
speaking impiously against God, and calumniously of you.

Verse 5. To judge the quick and the dead.] They shall give account of these irregularities to Him who is prepared to judge both the Jews and the Gentiles. The Gentiles, previously to the preaching of the Gospel among them, were reckoned to be dead in trespasses and sins, Eph. ii. 1-5; under the sentence of death, because they had sinned. The Jews had at least, by their religious profession, a name to live; and by that profession were bound to give to God.

Verse 6. Was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead] There are as many different translations of this verse, and comments upon it, as there are translators and commentators.

Verse 7. But the end of all things is at hand] I think that here also St. Peter keeps the history of the deluge before his eyes, finding a parallel to the state of the Jews in his own time in that of the antediluvians in the days of Noah. In Gen. vi. 13, God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me. This was spoken at a time when God had decreed the destruction of the world by a flood.

In a very few years after St. Peter wrote this epistle, even taking it at the lowest computation, viz., A. D. 60 or 61, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. To this destruction, which was literally then at hand, the apostle alludes when he says, The end of all things is at hand; the end of the temple, the end of the Levitical priesthood, the end of the whole Jewish economy, was then at hand.

If these words could be taken in any general sense, then we might say to every present generation, The end of all things is at hand; the end of all the good which the wicked enjoy, and the end of all the evil which the righteous suffer.
Be-sober, and watch unto prayer.] Be sober – make a prudent and moderate use of all you possess; and watch against all occasions of sin; and pray for the supporting hand of God to be upon you for good, that ye may escape the destruction that is coming upon the world, and that ye may be saved from among them when the scourge comes.
Verse 8. Have fervent charity] agaphn ektenh? Intense love; for love shall cover a multitude of sins. A loving disposition leads us to pass by the faults of others, to forgive offenses against ourselves, and to excuse and lessen, as far as is consistent with truth, the transgressions of men. It does not mean that our love to others will induce God to pardon our offenses. See the note on James v. 20.

Verse 9. Use hospitality] Be ever ready to divide your bread with the hungry, and to succour the stranger.
Without grudging.] aneu gaggusmwn? Without grumblings. Do nothing merely because it is commanded, but do it from love to God and man; then it will be without grumbling.
Verse 10. Hath received the gift] carisma? A gift; any blessing of providence or grace. I cannot think that the word means here the Holy Spirit, or any of his supernatural gifts or influences; it may include those, but it signifies any thing given by the mere mercy and bounty of God: but perhaps in this place it may signify some or any office in the Assembly; and this sense, indeed, the connection seems to require.

Stewards of the manifold grace] Whatever gifts or endowments any man may possess, they are properly speaking, not his own; they are the Lord’s property, and to be employed in his work, and to promote his glory.
Verse 11. If any man speak] In order to explain or enforce God’s word, and edify his neighbour, let him do it as those did to whom the living oracles were committed: they spoke as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Of the ability which God giveth] Perhaps the ministering here may refer to the care of the poor, and the ability is the quantum of means which God may have placed in their hands; and they are to minister this as coming immediately from God, and lead the minds of the poor to consider him as their benefactor, that he in all things may be glorified through Yeshua.

This is implied in the essence of any charitable act: the actor is not the author, God is the author; and the poor man should be taught to consider him as his immediate benefactor. Those who give any thing as from themselves, rob God; for to him the praise for all good, and the dominion over all men and things, belong for ever and ever.

Verse 12. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial] purwsei? The burning.
St. Peter returns here to what he had often touched upon in this epistle, namely, to exhort the believers to behave with patience and integrity under their present severe persecution; to which purpose he uses the following arguments:- First, He intimates that it was not a strange or unusual thing for the people of God to be persecuted.

Secondly, That if they suffered here as Messiah did, they should hereafter be glorified with him.
Thirdly, Besides the prospect of that future glory; they had at present the Spirit of God for their support and comfort.
Fourthly, That it was an honour for any of them to suffer, not as a malefactor, but as a believer.

Fifthly, Though the afflictions began with the believers, yet the weight of the storm would fall upon the unbelievers. From these considerations he exhorted them to persevere in their duty, and trust all events with God.
Verse 14. If ye be reproached for the name of Yeshua] To be reproached for the name of Messiah is to be reproached for being a believer, that is, for being like Messiah. This is the highest honour to which any man can arrive in this world, and therefore the apostle says to such? Happy are ye.
The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you] As this Divine Spirit rested upon Yeshua, so does it rest upon his persecuted followers.
On their part he is evil spoken of] kata men autouv blasfhmeitai, kata de umav doxazetai? By them he is blasphemed, by you he is honoured.

Verse 15. But let none of you suffer-as a busybody in other men’s matters] allotrioepiskopov? The inspector of another; meddling with other people’s concerns, and forgetting their own; such persons are hated of all men. But some think that meddling with those in public office is here intended, as if he had said: Meddle not with the affairs of state, leave public offices and public officers to their own master, strive to live peaceably with all men, and show yourselves to be humble and unaspiring.

Verse 16. Yet if-as a believer] If he be persecuted because he has embraced the faith, let him not be ashamed, but let him rather glorify God on this very account.
Verse 17. Judgment must begin at the house of God] Our Lord had predicted that, previously to the destruction of Jerusalem, his own followers would have to endure various calamities; see Matt. xxiv. 9, 21, 22; Mark xiii. 12, 13; John xvi. 2, &c. Here his true disciples are called the house or family of God. That the converted Jews suffered much from their own brethren, the zealots, or factions into which the Jews were at that time divided, needs little proof; and some interpreters think that this was in conformity to the purpose of God, (Matt. xxiii. x25: That on you may come all the righteous blood shed from the foundation of the world,) “that the Jewish believers were to be involved in the general punishment; and that it was proper to begin at them as a part of the devoted Jewish nation, notwithstanding they were now become the house of God, because the justice of God would thereby be more illustriously displayed.”

“God never punishes the world but because of the wicked, but he always begins with the righteous first. The destroyer makes no difference between the just and the unjust, only he begins first with the righteous.” See Ezek. ix. 1-7, where God orders the destroyer to slay both old and young in the city: But, said he, begin at my sanctuary.

Verse 18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved] If it shall be with extreme difficulty that the Christians shall escape from Jerusalem, when the Roman armies shall come against it with the full commission to destroy it, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Where shall the proud Pharisaic boaster in his own outside holiness, and the profligate transgressor of the laws of God, show themselves, as having escaped the Divine vengeance?

Verse 19. Suffer according to the will of God] A man suffers according to the will of God who suffers for righteousness’ sake; and who, being reviled, reviles not again.
Commit the keeping of their souls] Place their lives confidently in his hand, who, being their Creator, will also be their preserver, and keep that safely which is committed to his trust. God is here represented as faithful, because he will always fulfill his promises, and withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly.

But they had no reason to hope that he would care for their lives and souls unless they continued in well-doing. He who is employed in God’s work will have God’s protection. The path of duty ever was, and ever will be, the only way of safety.
THE apostle recommends fervent charity – unfeigned love both to God and man. It is well said of this grace that it is a universal virtue which ought to precede, accompany, and follow, all others. A charity which has God for its principle, and Yeshua for its pattern, never faileth. If our charity be extensive enough to cover all the defects of our neighbour in bearing with them; that of God is sufficient to cover all the sins of a sincere penitent by blotting them out. If we ought to be charitable to all, it is after the example of our heavenly Father, who is loving to every man, and hateth nothing that he has made.

The difficulty of escaping the corruption that is in the world is great; and, consequently, the danger of losing our souls. In this great work, watchfulness, prayer; faith, and obedience, are indispensably necessary.
He who does not walk with God here cannot see nor enjoy him hereafter.

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