Join Our Sabbath Meetings

There are many people in need of fellowship and who are sitting at home on the Sabbath with no one to talk to or debate with. I want to encourage all of you to join us on Shabbat, and to invite others to come and join us as well. If the time is not convenient then you can listen to the teaching and the midrash after on our YouTube channel.

What are we doing and why do we teach this way?

We are going to discuss both sides of an issue and then let you choose. It is the work of the Ruach (Spirit) to direct and to teach you.

The medieval commentator Rashi wrote that the Hebrew word for wrestle (avek) implies that Jacob was “tied”, for the same word is used to describe knotted fringes in a Jewish prayer shawl, the tzitzityot. Rashi says, “thus is the manner of two people who struggle to overthrow each other, that one embraces the other and knots him with his arms”.

Our intellectual wrestling has been replaced by a different kind of struggle. We are wrestling with Yehovah as we grapple with His Word. It is an intimate act, symbolizing a relationship in which Yehovah and you and I are bound together. My wrestling is a struggle to discover what Yehovah expects of us, and we are “tied” to the One who assists us in that struggle.

Today, many say Israel means “Champion of God”, or better — the “Wrestler of God”.

Our Torah sessions each Shabbat teaches you and encourages you to constantly challenge, question, argue against, as well as view alternative views and explanations of the Word. In other words, we are to “wrestle with the Word” to get to the truth. Jews worldwide believe that you need to wrestle with the Word and constantly challenge Dogma, Theology, and views or else you will never get to the Truth.

We are not like most churches where “The preacher talks and everyone listens.” We encourage everyone to participate, to question and to contribute what they know on the subject being discussed. We want you to be a champion wrestler of the Word of Yehovah. We want you to wear the title of Israel, knowing that you not only know but are capable of explaining why you know the Torah to be true with logic and facts.

We have a few rules though. Let others talk and listen. There is no discussion about UFO’s, Nephilim, Vaccines or conspiracy-type subjects. We have people from around the world with different world views. Not everyone cares who is the President of any particular country. Treat each other with respect as fellow wrestlers of the word. Some of our subjects are hard to understand and require you to be mature and if you do not know, then listen to gain knowledge and understanding and hopefully wisdom. The very things you are commanded to ask Yehovah for and He gives to those who ask.

Jas 1:5  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him.

We hope you can invite those who want to keep Torah to come and join us by hitting the link below. It is almost like a Torah teaching fellowship talk show with people from around the world taking part and sharing their insights and understandings.

We start off with some music and then some prayers and it’s as though you were sitting around the kitchen back in Newfoundland having a cup of coffee and all of us enjoying each other’s company. I hope you will grace us with your company someday.

Sabbath services begin at 12:30 PM EDT where we will be doing prayers, songs and teaching from this hour.

Shabbat midrash will begin at about 1:15 pm Eastern.

We look forward to you joining our family and getting to know us as we get to know you.

Joseph Dumond is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Joseph Dumond’s Personal Meeting Room

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3505855877

Meeting ID: 350 585 5877
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,3505855877# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,3505855877# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Meeting ID: 350 585 5877
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kctjNqPYv0

The Perpetual Calendar

We have available from our website a calendar you can use to keep track of the days of the month based on when the barley is ripe and when the moon is sighted. All you have to do is download it. https://sightedmoon.com/perpetual-calendar/

With the new year about to begin, you can learn about the calendar as you record it. This is a great tool to have and it is free to anyone who wants it.

SightedMoon Sukkot 2025

We are planning to have a SightedMoon.com Feast site this Sukkot at Cleftrock Kentucky. There are a limited number of places available, and if this is of interest to you, then please contact Ella Morgan to help in the organizing, set-up, and activities. You need to contact Ella ASAP and reserve a spot. There are 55 places available, and you need to make a $100 deposit by April 11 and the final payment by August 15.

Contact grannyella44@gmail.com, and you can check out the site at https://cleftrock.org. The Noah’s Ark site is just over an hour’s drive away. More info will come, but it’s time to sign up ASAP. Sukkot will be from September 8 to September 15, with check-in on September 7 and check-out on September 16.

Food Laws, The Deeper Meaning

Shalom, this is Sombra Wilson.  I am contributing this article at Joe’s request. Every Shabbat since late 2020 I have been writing teachings to share with Philemon Angwanga’s Torah community in Rusinga Island, Kenya.  This was a teaching I presented last Shabbat, April 26,2025

In the beginning it was what Eve ate in the Garden which caused sin to enter the world.  Why did Yehovah give us laws regarding food?  It was the first thing Yehovah spoke to Adam about. The instruction was much simpler in the Garden. Genesis 2:16

 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

So simple, you can have all of this, just don’t eat this one thing.

So what is the deeper meaning of the food laws of Leviticus 11?  What difference does it make what foods we eat?  What is Yehovah trying to teach us through one animal being clean while the other one is unclean.  Let’s look and see if we can find spiritual patterns in these instructions.

Let’s read Leviticus 11:1-23

11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.

4 “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.

9 “‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. 11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.

13 “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[a] the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

20 “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. 21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.

The first instruction is You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof.  We don’t eat the hooves of animals so why would this have any relevance to feeding our bodies?  W

Let’s look at this verse in Hebrew.  It looks like this

כֹּל מַפְרֶסֶת פַּרְסָה וְשֹׁסַעַת שֶׁסַע פְּרָסֹת מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה בַּבְּהֵמָה אֹתָהּ תֹּאכֵלוּ

And this is how it sounds

 11:3 Kol maf’rešet Par’šäh v‘shošaat sheša P’räšot maálat Gëräh BaB’hëmäh otäH Tokhëlû

In Hebrew, when Yehovah repeats himself, it means there’s something he wants us to pay attention to.  Look at the words highlighted in blue.  This word is repeated three times in different forms in this verse.  The root of these words is Pey Resh, which means tread, bull or fruitful.  The pey is an open mouth and the resh is the picture of a head.  Combined these mean “open the head”.  Imagine the heads of grains are scattered on the threshing floor, an ox is led to tread out the grain on the floor leaving the heads of grain crushed, revealing what’s inside the seed.  This is the root of the word Parsah Pey Resh Samech Hey which means a claw or split hoof, whereas the word Pey, Resh Samech Tav, Presot is the plural feminine tense of the word.  Yehovah is making a point of getting us to understand there must be a crushing, getting to the depths of what’s inside

The other focus of verse 3 is that it chews the cud

כֹּל מַפְרֶסֶת פַּרְסָה וְשֹׁסַעַת שֶׁסַע פְּרָסֹת מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה בַּבְּהֵמָה אֹתָהּ תֹּאכֵלוּ

This word for chew has it’s roots in the word Al Ayin Lamed which means to work or a yoke. The Ayin is an eye representing knowledge and experience, the lamed is a shepherd’s staff or a yoke; these letters mean “experience the staff”.  The yoke on the oxen is performing the work. The word  Ma’alat means the activity of working… What is it working? It’s working the cud.  The word for cud is Gayrah, it is made from the Gimel which is the picture of a foot and means to walk and the resh means a picture of a man. Gar, the root word of Gayrah means walking man or sojourner or traveler. The cud is grasses traveling through the four stomachs of a cow that are being worked in the mouth of the cow.

So a deeper meaning of this instruction to eat from animals which have a cloven hoof and chews the cud is that we are to seek what’s inside, what’s at the root of what comes into our lives, working to put the separation between the holy and the profane.

We see these same principles of separating in the days of creation, right in the opening scene of the bible.

Genesis 1:4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 

Genesis 1:7  So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 

Genesis 1:17-18  God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 

The Hebrew word is l’havdil~to divide, distinguish, make a difference.  This same word is used in Exodus 26:33 

33 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

We can see from this picture of the curtain that it separates one place or thing from another.  If we had  read the whole chapter of Leviticus 11 we would get to the very last verse which summarizes the whole purpose of the chapter. Leviticus 11:47

47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’”

But why? What makes one animal clean and another not?

Let’s revisit Leviticus 11:4-8

There are 4 different scenarios.

• One set of animals chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves, like the Hyrax, or rabbits
• One set of animals have cloven hooves but do not chew the cud, like pigs 
• One set of animals has neither cloven hoof nor chew the cud, like lions and hyenas
• And the last set of animals have both a cloven hoof and chew the cud, like cows, wildebeest or giraffe or goats.

Notice this set of 4 is similar to the set of 4 we see in the parable of the seed from Matthew 13:1-9

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

In this parable we again 4 different scenarios

• One crop that fell on the bad soil and bore bad fruit
• One crop that fell on bad soil but bore fruit that turns bad
• One crop that fell on the good soil and bore fruit that turns bad
• And one crop that fell on good soil and bore good fruit

Again we have a pattern that asks us to think about what we are to do with the things that come into our lives, we are to ruminate on them, chew on them, get to the meat of the issue and separate out the Holy from the profane.

Let’s look at the laws concerning animals that live in the waters.  We are instructed to eat only those things with fins and scales. The Hebrew word for fins is Senapeer. It’s root is Samech, Nun Pey which forms a word Senayf or Sanaf which means to join or insert, to be affiliated or annexed.  Fish who swim in a school together, they are joined to each other, like a strong community who work together for the good and benefit of all the members.  Together they are strong and protected.  The Hebrew word for scales is Qasqeset  which means like a coat of armour, covering plates of armour. 

Fish that have fins and scales are able to swim against the current. Other creatures of the sea, like eels who have neither fins nor scales get sucked away when a strong current comes along. They have no armour.  We need the affiliation of community and the armour of Yehovah in order to remain set apart and live for Yehovah and not become profane as the world influences us.

The laws concerning birds are a little more ambiguous. We have a list of birds to avoid as abominations, but as I looked up the names of the birds, I came across this second bird which in Hebrew is called Peres, but in English it is listed as ossifrage or a vulture, but this word Peres is the same root as the word for the Split Hoof we saw in verse 3.  The word peres means to split or spread apart, perhaps like the wings we see on a vulture or the claws spread apart as it picks up it’s prey.  The word translated as osprey in English is the Hebrew word Ozneeyaw – it’s root being the ayin and the zayin, picturing the eye and sword – birds of prey having keen eyes to spot the prey and sharp claws to kill. 

In verse 14 Da’ah, Dalet Hey,  is the word picture meaning “back and forth looking” – birds of prey circling around looking for prey.  This word is translated as vulture or a kite. The second bird listed in verse 14 is a Ayah, the aleph and the hey the letters represent strength and a sigh or the sound you make when you spot something you’ve been looking for, like a big inhale or exhale – ahh or aha.  Together these letters mean a strong sigh, or the sound an ox makes when it snorts.  With regard to birds it is a scream or a scratch – like a hawk soaring high in the air.

Verse 15 lists the Oreb, a raven. This word pictures dark as in the sky at night

Verse 16 lists a Hebrew word Yanah, which we translate as owl.  The root of this word is ayin nun meaning to watch or they eye of continuance.  The word picture is of a nomadic agriculturalist carefully watching over his livestock and crops.  The Owl sits on a branch and watches closely for movement on the ground and then silently swoops down to catch the prey.  The word for pelican or cormorant is the word Shawlawk, related to the word for throwing as these birds cast themselves into the water to catch fish. Shachaph is the word translated as gull and it means thin, emaciated or a sickness that causes one to become emaciated.  The last bird in this list is the Hebrew word Nets, which means to sparkle or flash or quarrel.  It is translated as Hawk as a hawk flies with a flash of speed to kill its prey.

I won’t go on, there are another 7 types of birds listed that are an abomination, that we should not consume them.  But it makes me wonder, what is it about all these Hebrew words that Yehovah wants us to not be partakers of?  We can read it literally and understand we are not to eat these birds of prey, but the deeper meaning. Could verse 13 be warning us that we are to continue to be discerning about what we see. Verse 14 could be saying  we need to be discerning about what we say. Verse 14 could be warning us to be discerning about when we do something (the reference to the dark of night), verse 15 could be warning us about what we are concerned with, or our reactions to things.  Can you look at the birds listed in verse 17-20 and see behaviours in those birds which we would be warned to avoid  participating in? Behaviours that would make Yehovah turn away from us?

I think these birds, and also the insects are teaching us to be discerning. The word for Locust has its root as the word for Rule, Master, Increase, abundance.  We are to be blessed with an abundance, but an abundance of righteous things, not an abundance of things that Yehovah hates.

2 Timothy 2:15  Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Ephesians 4:14 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

Yah ends the list with a purpose: Leviticus 11:45

“You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Choosing clean over unclean isn’t just about what goes into the mouth. It’s about what enters the soul.  Being discerning about our choices in life matters. Even at the end of the age, Yehovah calls His people to purity. Our bodies are His dwelling. Our appetites reveal our altar.

2 Corinthians 6:16

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

To eat is to unite. When you eat an animal, its nature becomes part of yours. May we be a people who eat, who consume, who participate only in what reflects righteousness, life, peace, and order. May we reject all mixture, confusion, and corruption~because that’s who we are, a people of distinction. A Holy Set apart people, sanctified by the word of Yehovah.

I offer also this video on the subject of Clean and Unclean animals which was part of the inspiration for my teaching.

Shavuot and Its Relationship to the 8th Day Feast

We have now come to the 50th day of Counting the Omer. This is the time to review our Oath, our Shabu, our sevening of ourselves. So let us once again go to the actual event. In synagogues around the world during the reading of the Ten Commandments, the custom in many synagogues is to rise, both to emphasize the importance of the event and to imitate the experience at Sinai when Israel stood to receive Yehovah’s revelation.

Israel at Mount Sinai

Exo 19:1 In the third month when the sons of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the wilderness of Sinai.

Exo 19:2 And they journeyed from Rephidim, and came to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness. And Israel camped there in front of the mount.

Exo 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him out of the mountain, saying, You shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel:

Exo 19:4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

Exo 19:5 And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the nations; for all the earth is Mine.

Exo 19:6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel.

Exo 19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which Jehovah commanded him.

Exo 19:8 And all the people answered together and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to Jehovah.

Exo 19:9 And Jehovah said to Moses, Lo, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever. And Moses told the words of the people to Jehovah.

Exo 19:10 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.

Exo 19:11 And be ready for the third day. For the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.

Exo 19:12 And you shall set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves. Do not go up into the mountain, or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death.

Exo 19:13 There shall not be a hand to touch it, but that he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, it shall not live. When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.

Exo 19:14 And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people. And they washed their clothes.

Exo 19:15 And he said to the people, Be ready for the third day. Do not approach a woman.

Exo 19:16 And it happened on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the voice of the trumpet was exceedingly loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

Exo 19:17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the lower part of the mountain.

Exo 19:18 And Mount Sinai was smoking, all of it, because Jehovah came down upon it in fire. And the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Exo 19:19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and became very strong, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

Exo 19:20 And Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Exo 19:21 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down. Command the people, lest they break through to Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish.

Exo 19:22 And let the priests also, who come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them.

Exo 19:23 And Moses said to Jehovah, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. For You commanded us, saying, Set bounds around the mountain, and sanctify it.

Exo 19:24 And Jehovah said to him, Away! You go down, and you shall come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, lest He break forth upon them.

Exo 19:25 And Moses went down to the people, and spoke to them.

The Ten Commandments

Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

Exo 20:2 I am Jehovah your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Exo 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exo 20:4 You shall not make to yourselves any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Exo 20:5 You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them. For I Jehovah your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me,

Exo 20:6 and showing mercy to thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments.

Exo 20:7 You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain. For Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

Exo 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exo 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God. You shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger within your gates.

Exo 20:11 For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day, and sanctified it.

Exo 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which Jehovah your God gives you.

Exo 20:13 You shall not kill.

Exo 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.

Exo 20:15 You shall not steal.

Exo 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Exo 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Exo 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw, they trembled, and stood afar off.

Exo 20:19 And they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear. But let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Exo 20:20 And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, and so that His fear may be before your faces, so that you may not sin.

Exo 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

But what more can we learn from this Holy Day?

Are you aware that It is connected to the Jubilee year?

The Feast of Weeks

Lev 23:15 And you shall count to you from the next day after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete.

Lev 23:16 To the next day after the seventh sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new food offering to Jehovah.

Lev 23:17 You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two-tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven, firstfruits to Jehovah.

Lev 23:18 And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bull, and two rams. They shall be for a burnt offering to Jehovah, with their food offering, and their drink offerings, a fire offering of sweet savor to Jehovah.

The Year of Jubilee

Lev 25:8 And you shall number seven sabbaths of years to you, seven times seven years. And the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be forty-nine years to you.

Lev 25:9 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth of the seventh month; in the day of atonement, the trumpet shall sound throughout all your land.

Lev 25:10 And you shall make the fiftieth year holy, one year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you, and you shall return each man to his possession, and you shall return each man to his family.

Lev 25:13 In the year of this jubilee you shall return each man to his possession.

Lev 25:14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another.

Lev 25:15 According to the number of years after the jubilee you shall buy of your neighbor, according to the number of years of the fruits he shall sell to you.

Lev 25:16 According to the number of years you shall increase the price of it, and according to the fewness of years you shall diminish the price of it, for he is selling to you the number of crops.

Lev 25:17 And you shall not oppress one another. But you shall fear your God. For I am Jehovah your God.

Lev 25:18 And you shall do My statutes, and keep My judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land in safety.

Lev 25:25 If your brother has become poor, and has sold his property, and if any of his relatives comes to redeem it, then he shall redeem that which his brother sold.

Lev 25:26 And if the man has no redeemer, and he himself is able to redeem it, and he has enough for its redemption;

Lev 25:27 then let him count the years of the sale of it, and restore the overplus to the man to whom he sold it, so that he may return to his possession.

Lev 25:28 But if he is not able to restore to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that has bought it until the year of jubilee. And in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return to his possession.

Lev 25:39 And if your brother who lives beside you has become poor, and is sold to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a bond-servant.

Lev 25:40 As a hired servant, as a temporary resident, he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the year of jubilee.

Lev 25:41 And he shall depart from you, he and his sons with him, and shall return to his own family. And he shall return to the possession of his fathers.

Lev 25:42 For they are My servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as a slave.

Lev 25:43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but shall fear your God.

The Feast of Shavuot is the 8th Holy Day after 7 weekly Sabbaths since the Days of Unleavened Bread. It too is like an 8th Day Feast. The 8th Day Feast I am referring to is Leviticus 23:36, which occurs at the end of the 7 Days of Sukkot but is not part of Sukkot itself. It is a separate Feast.

For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.

We are given more details in verse 39

“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.

But that is all we are told about this Feast Day. What does it represent?

This eighth day is referred to as “an assembly” or a “holy assembly,” which is:

H6116   (Strong) עֲצֶרֶת    עֲצָרָה ‛ătsârâh    ‛ătsereth ats-aw-raw’, ats-eh’-reth

From H6113; an assembly, especially on a festival or holiday: – (solemn) assembly (meeting).

Shemini Atzeret means “eighth-day assembly.” Atzeret is from the root (atzar) which means “to restrain, hold back,” and thus the Sages understand the designation to be referring to a “holding on to the festival” so as to restrain it from ending—making the festival last for yet another day. But since the text clearly states that one is to dwell in the Sukkah for 7 days (not 8), the eighth day was understood by the Sages as a separate festival, yet one which is, in every way, connected to the 7 days of Sukkot, and maintains the character of Sukkot.

In some of the triennial lists, the Torah section chosen for Shemini Atzeret was Deut 14:2216:17, a section that teaches about the Shemita year (sabbatical year) as well as the pilgrimage festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot). In linking this Torah section with the eighth day, the Sages intend to emphasize that Shemini Atzeret is symbolic of the conclusion of the whole festival cycle, In fact, if the history of the earth is patterned after the 7 day week, with the 7th day (Shabbat) symbolic of the Millennial reign of Yehshua, then the eighth day represents the World to Come in which (like the Sabbatical year and especially the Jubilee) everything returns to its rightful owner, all debts are cancelled, and freedom is proclaimed for all slaves.

Thus, Shemini Atzeret is to Sukkot what the Shemita year is to the cycle of 7 years, and what the Yovel is to the cycle of 7 groups of 7 years. The Yovel (Jubilee) takes its name from the verb יבֵל derived either from a word meaning “ram” (and thus “ram’s horn”) or from a word meaning “to produce,” and thus putting attention upon the promise Yehovah made that He would cause triple production of the crops in the 6th year so that the people would still be eating the produce in the 9th year (Lev 25:21-22).

H3104   (Strong) יֹבֵל    יוֹבֵל yôbêl    yôbêl yo-bale’, yo-bale’

Apparently from H2986; the blast of a horn (from its continuous sound); specifically the signal of the silver trumpets; hence the instrument itself and the festival thus introduced: – jubile, ram’s horn, trumpet.

H8643   (Strong) תְּרוּעָה t^erû‛âh ter-oo-aw’

From H7321; clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry; especially clangor of trumpets, as an alarum: – alarm, blow (-ing) (of, the) (trumpets), joy, jubile, loud noise, rejoicing, shout (-ing), (high, joyful) sound (-ing).

But Shavuot is also like the wave Sheaf day which comes again on the 8th Day. Wave Sheaf day is the day we begin the counting of the Omer to Shavuot 50 days later.

And it is to these Feasts, the 8th Day Feast at the end of Sukkot and to the Jubilee year and to Wave Sheaf Day that the Feast of Shavuot is likened. And yet Wave Sheaf Day is not a Holy Day as are the 8th Day Feast and Shavuot.

Let me say that again another way. Because the 8th Day Feast and the Yobel and Wave Sheaf day are likened to Shavuot then we can learn more about Shavuot by understanding these other Feasts or Moedim of Yehovah.

On the 8th Day, Yehovah came and met with Israel, and the whole of Sinai shook. Sunday is the 8th Day, the Sabbath is the 7th day.

Exo 19:16 And it happened on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the voice of the trumpet was exceedingly loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

Exo 19:17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the lower part of the mountain.

Exo 19:18 And Mount Sinai was smoking, all of it, because Jehovah came down upon it in fire. And the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Exo 19:19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and became very strong, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

Exo 19:20 And Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

How is this tied to the 8th Day? Well, let’s learn some more about what happened on Shavuot and then we can begin.

Act 2:1  And in the fulfilling of the day of Pentecost, they were all with one accord in one place.

Act 2:2  And suddenly a sound came out of the heaven as borne along by the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Act 2:3  And tongues as of fire appeared to them, being distributed; and it sat upon each of them.

Act 2:4  And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Again, both of these events took place on the 8th Holy Day of Counting of the Omer.

How is this tied into the 8th Day Feast? How are both of these events that took place on Shavuot connected to the Wave Sheaf Day and to The 8th Day Feast and to the Jubilee year?

Now, let us examine one of the most significant events in the Bible, which took place on the 8th Day Feast. This is what Yehshua was doing in John 10:22. The Feast of Dedication that many have stolen and applied to the Feast of Chanukkah in December. Please do read all of 1 Kings 8 to get the magnitude of this special day.

1Ki 8:1  And Solomon gathered the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, so that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion.

1Ki 8:2  And all the men of Israel were gathered to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

1Ki 8:3  And all the elders of Israel came in, and the priests took up the ark.

1Ki 8:4  And they brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels which were in the tabernacle; even those the priests and the Levites brought up.

1Ki 8:5  And King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled to him, were with him before the ark sacrificing sheep and oxen which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.

1Ki 8:6  And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah into its place, into the holy place of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubs.

1Ki 8:7  For the cherubs spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark. And the cherubs covered the ark and the staves of it above.

1Ki 8:8  And they drew out the staves, so that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place, in front of the Holy of Holies. And they were not seen outside. And there they are until today.

1Ki 8:9  There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when Jehovah made a covenant with the sons of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.

1Ki 8:10  And it happened when the priests had come out of the Holy of Holies, the cloud filled the house of Jehovah.

1Ki 8:11  And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah.

The 8th Day Feast is known as the Feast of Dedication, which in Hebrew is Chanukah. Yes, the 8th Day Feast at the end of Sukkot is the Feast of Dedication that Yehshua was keeping in John 10:22.

It was on this day that the Glory of Yehovah, the Shekinah, came and dwelt with man on this earth in the Temple. It was on this day of Shavuot that the Shekinah came down on Mount Sinai and gave the Law, which is the Ketubah and our Marriage contract or agreement that we and the world agreed to.

Shavuot signifies these things and it is also connected to the Jubilee when we are to go back to our own lands in the Jubilee year. 1947 was a Jubilee year, and in that year, the Jews went back to the land of Israel. Amazing how that year of all years was the year that they were sent back to the land. In Numbers 10 we are told that Judah was to lead each time the camp of Israel was to travel, Judah went first.

So now let us recap and understand the Holy Days before we go on to the next section on the Shekinah.

The Wave Sheaf day is on the 8th Day. It is the day the first group of Saints is brought back to life and goes to heaven with Yehshua as the first of the first fruits.

Mat 27:50 And crying again with a loud voice, Jesus released His spirit.

Mat 27:51 And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared,

Mat 27:52 and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose,

Mat 27:53 and coming out of the tomb after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Eph 4:8 Therefore He says, “When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.”

1Co 15:20 But now Christ has risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruit of those who slept.

1Co 15:21 For since death is through man, the resurrection of the dead also is through a Man.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive.

1Co 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruit, and afterward they who are Christ’s at His coming;

That was the first wave offering and the second wave offering is the one at Shavuot with the wheat in the two loaves. And just as we pointed out in the scripture in Mat 13 where Yehshua is talking about the parable of the Tares and the wheat we need to pay great heed to this as it is speaking about us now at the end of this age. The coming to the close of the 6th Millennial age of man. And again we are admonished as we are over and over throughout the Bible that we must keep the commandments if we are going to have any hope of entering that Kingdom.

Mat 13:39  The enemy who sowed them is the Devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Mat 13:40  Therefore as the darnel are gathered and burned in the fire, so it shall be in the end of this world.

Mat 13:41  The Son of Man shall send out His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity,

Mat 13:42  and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 13:43  Then the righteous shall shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.

1Co 15:50  And I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I speak a mystery to you; we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed;

1Co 15:52  in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1Co 15:54  But when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and when this mortal shall put on immortality, then will take place the word that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.

1Co 15:55  O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?”

1Co 15:56  The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law.

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Can you now begin to understand what being born again is all about? It is connected directly to these two Feasts that we are now teaching on. Do you see it?

Jhn 3:1  And there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

Jhn 3:2  He came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles which you do unless God is with him.

Jhn 3:3  Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jhn 3:4  Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?

Jhn 3:5  Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Jhn 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Shavuot is when you will be born again. Not before. Well, those who came out of the grave on Wave Sheaf Day in 31 C.E. were born again. Now Paul has explained it to you in 1 Cor 15:50 about how and when we are going to be born again in the twinkling of an eye on this day of Shavuot. The Jubilee Cycles show us that this day takes place in the last year of the tribulation in 2033 on the Feast of Shavuot.

Now I have just checked my charts and looked at the year the covenant was made with Abraham by Yehovah. It was done at Passover as we are told in Exodus on the very self-same day.

Exodus 12:40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

So when I check the year of the covenant that Yehovah made with Abraham and I look at Passover. I see that the 15th day when Passover was, was also the Sunday or Wave Sheaf Day that same year. (the year is 1810 BC but torah calendar is using the Julian years so it is actually 1809 BC. https://torahcalendar.com/Calendar.asp?YM=Y-1809M1)

The Covenant Yehovah made with Abraham was on Wave Sheaf Day, which is the 8th day of the week. I know that is a stretch. The Covenant Israel made at Mount Sinai with Yehovah was again on Shavuot the 8th Sabbath since Wave Sheaf Day. These are the Marriage Contracts, the ketubah.

Once the Groom proposes and the Bride accepts, then the Groom goes to prepare the house they are to live in.

Jhn 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me.

Jhn 14:2  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Jhn 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

The Groom in Jewish wedding comes about Midnight when the Bride does not know. This is the Feast of Trumpets, which comes at a Day and Hour no man can know.

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels of Heaven, but only My Father.

This is then followed by the 7 Days of Sukkot, which is the wedding, and then comes the 8th Day Feast. This is when Yehovah comes to dwell with man on the earth.

It is the consummation of the wedding. The Shekinah is going to dwell with us on this earth and never again leave us. Remember what you learned about the red carpet. It is all in play here.

YEHOVAH’s Shekinah Glory

Most people have little understanding of what the Shekinah Glory of YEHOVAH God is, let alone realize the prophetic significance of this manifestation of God. The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical expression, and it is from a Hebrew word that literally means “he caused to dwell” — signifying that it was a divine visitation of the presence or dwelling of YEHOVAH God on this earth. In order to fully understand the prophetic passages in the book of Revelation, we need to thoroughly grasp the concept of the physical manifestations of our Creator God. by John D. Keyser

In Revelation 21:22, the phrase “glory of God” in The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures is rendered “God’s SH’KHINAH” in the Jewish New Testament — notice this.

“I saw no temple in the city, for ADONAI [YEHOVAH], God of heaven’s armies, is its Temple, as is the Lamb [Christ]. The city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because GOD’S SH’KHINAH gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

This is very important. The word “Shekinah” (Sh’khinah) was coined from verbal cognates (related words) in the Bible which describe the “presence” of YEHOVAH God in a certain locality. The verbal cognates are used extensively to describe the “Shekinah” appearances. The word “Shekinah” itself is not found in the Biblical texts, but the concept clearly is. The word most certainly is derived from “shakan,” and whoever first used the word “Shekinah” coined it as a substantive (noun form) from the verbal forms used to describe the “abiding, dwelling, or habitation” of the physical manifestations of YEHOVAH God described in Exodus 24:16, 40:35 and Numbers 9:17-18 — and various other places where “shakan” is used.

Note that the word is also used to describe the mystical “Shekinah” presence in the Tabernacle and later in the first and second Temples. The word “mishkan,” (nksm mshkn), a derivation of “shakan” (nks shkn), is often translated “tabernacle.”

The Hebrew for tabernacle is more often simply “ohel,” ‘ohel, or tent. “Mishkan” means “dwelling place” — that is, THE “DWELLING PLACE” OF “HIM WHO DWELLS” OR “SHEKINAH.” The Hebrew verb “shakan” (nks shkn) simply means to take up residence for a long period of time in a neighborhood. The distinction between this word and “yashav” — which is also translated “dwell” — is as follows: You can use the word “yashav” to mean an individual doing the dwelling WITHOUT reference to others or to duration, while “shakan” means a PROTRACTED DWELLING IN THE MIDST OF A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A GROUP OF PEOPLE. The primary meaning is to reside and continue as a member of the community. Of course, when it refers to YEHOVAH God, it takes on an added mysticism that is obvious from the scriptures.

When verbal forms are translated as nouns, the word sometimes means “habitat.” Grammatically (in Hebrew), when verbal forms are translated as nouns, they are called “substantives.” Technically, therefore, “Shekinah” is a substantive rather than a noun.

Some people object that the word “Shekinah,” (hnkhsshknh), is not to be found in the Old Testament in its noun form, and that it describes a concept that is not scriptural. It is also claimed that the word was coined by Post-Biblical Rabbinic scholars. While it is admitted that the Rabbinic concept of YEHOVAH God being some sort of hovering non-personal force is an unacceptable extension of the meaning, the CONCEPT OF A PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION of YEHOVAH God’s localized dwelling on this planet IS, nonetheless, scriptural. I have chosen to use the word “Shekinah” (hnkhs) to name this “presence” and to better develop a concept I will get to later on in the article. Also, this meaning is in general use among many Christians — even though they are generally ignorant of the origin of the word.

In the Encyclopedia Judaica, the “Shekinah” is defined as “the Divine Presence, the numinous immanence of God in the world,…a revelation of the holy in the midst of the profane….” (Volume 14, pp. 1349-1351).

The Encyclopedia goes on to say —

“One of the more prominent images associated with the Shekhinah is that of light. Thus on the verse, ‘…the earth did shine with His glory’ (Ezekiel 43:2), the rabbis remark, ‘This is the face of the Shekhinah’ (Avot diRabbi Natan [18b-19a]; see also Chullin 59b-60a). Both the angels in heaven and the righteous in olam ha-ba (‘the world to come’) are SUSTAINED BY THE RADIANCE OF THE SHEKINAH (Exodus Rabbah 32:4, B’rakhot 17a; cf. Exodus 34:29- 35)…. “According to Saadiah Gaon [882-942 C.E.], the Shekhinah is identical with kevod ha-Shem (the glory of God”), which served as an INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN GOD AND MAN during the prophetic experience. He suggests that the “glory of God” is the Biblical term, and Shekhinah the Talmudic term for the created splendor of light which ACTS AS AN INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, and which sometimes TAKES ON HUMAN FORM. Thus when Moses asked to see the glory of God, HE WAS SHOWN THE SHEKHINAH, and when the prophets in their visions saw God in HUMAN LIKENESS, what they actually saw WAS NOT GOD HIMSELF BUT THE SHEKHINAH (see Saadiah’s interpretation of Ezekiel 1:26, I Kings 22:19, and Daniel 7:9 in Book of Beliefs and Opinions 2:10).”

Throughout the Bible, YEHOVAH God speaks of His desire for an intimate relationship with His people. The “Shekinah,” therefore, refers to the presence of YEHOVAH that was — but is not now — physically manifested in the time-space continuum. It could be seen. The presence was A VEHICLE OF THE PERSON OF YEHOVAH GOD IN THE THREE DIMENSIONAL WORLD. Solomon’s understanding that YEHOVAH cannot actually be limited to Temples on earth because of His eternal nature can be seen in I Kings 8:27 —

“But will God really dwell [ahsay ] on earth? Even the heavens to their utmost reaches cannot contain You, how much less this House [Temple] that I have built!” This omniscient, eternal presence of YEHOVAH (that Solomon recognized) is the HEAVENLY, but not the earthly, “Shekinah.” Even though the INFINITE spiritual presence is, and was, COINCIDENTAL with the PHYSICALLY DISCERNIBLE “SHEKINAH” — it was DISTINGUISHED from the physical even in Mosaic times. Right now the “Shekinah” is only manifested in the infinite way, but in the near future it will be manifested in the PHYSICAL FORM once again when IT RETURNS TO THIS EARTH to reside in the new Temple in Jerusalem!

During the time of Moses, the added PHYSICAL “Shekinah” presence was evidence of the REAL which is omnipresent and unseen. During the Mosaic dispensation, the “Shekinah” was physically disturbing. The presence was NOT YEHOVAH (hwhy YHVH) — it was a PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION of the actual presence of YEHOVAH among His people. Be aware that it is to be distinguished from the “angel of the LORD.” The “Shekinah” was first evident when the Israelites set out from Succoth in their escape from Egypt. There it appeared as a cloudy pillar in the day and a fiery pillar by night — note Exodus 13:20:

“They set out from Succoth, and encamped at Ethan, at the edge of the wilderness. The LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH] went before them in a PILLAR OF CLOUD by day, to guide them along the way, and in a PILLAR OF FIRE by night, to give them light that they might travel day and night. The PILLAR OF CLOUD by day and the PILLAR OF FIRE by night did not depart from before the people.”

The physical “Shekinah” was also evident at the crossing of the Red Sea —

“At the morning watch, the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH] looked down upon the Egyptian army from a PILLAR OF FIRE AND CLOUD, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He locked the wheels of their chariots so that they moved forward with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD [YEHOVAH] is fighting for them against Egypt” (Exodus 14:24-25).

The Israelites were led by the “Shekinah” for forty years, after which the “holy presence” of the omniscient God inhabited the Tabernacle and the land of Israel. The “Shekinah” was not always afterwards physically manifested — as we read in Numbers 35:34 —

“You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I Myself abide [‘shakan’], for I the LORD [YEHOVAH] abide [‘shakan’] among the Israelite people.”

When Moses and the Israelites finished erecting the Tabernacle, the “Shekinah” of YEHOVAH God filled it:

“When Moses had finished the work, the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the PRESENCE OF THE LORD [YEHOVAH] filled the Tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it and the PRESENCE OF THE LORD filled the Tabernacle. When the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set out, on their various journeys; but if the cloud did not lift, they would not set out until such time as it did lift. For over the Tabernacle a cloud of the LORD rested by day, and the fire would appear in it by night, in the view of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys” (Exodus 40:33-38).

{Special Note: This event took place on the first day of the First Month.

Exodus 40:16 This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected.}

Whenever that presence was physically manifested, it was frightening to those who experienced it:

“When Moses had ascended the mountain, the cloud covered the mountain. The PRESENCE OF THE LORD [‘Cavod YHVH’] abode [‘shakan’] on Mount Sinai, and the cloud hid it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. Now the PRESENCE OF THE LORD [‘Cavod YHVH’] appeared in the sight of the Israelites as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain” (Exodus 24:15-17).

Writes Fred P. Miller:

“Earlier, the seventy elders had gone up into the cloud and actually saw the “Shekinah” glory, and they were so afraid they asked Moses never to take them again. As far as they were concerned, they saw God! You can only imagine their hair on end and their wide-eyed appearance as they came down from the mountain exclaiming ‘We saw God! It was terrible!’” (Zechariah and Jewish Renewal).

A few days earlier, when the Ten Commandments were given, the appearance of the physical presence of YEHOVAH God on Mount Sinai is described as fire and cloud and thick darkness. The Psalms contain a description of this event calling it a “Shekinah” presence —

“Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain [Sinai] which God desires to dwell [‘shakan’] in; yes, the LORD [YEHOVAH] will dwell in it forever. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands; the LORD is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD GOD might dwell [‘shakan’] there” (Psalm 68:16-18).

Later, as we have seen, the physical “Shekinah” presence of YEHOVAH God took up residence in the newly completed Tabernacle and was apparent to the whole nation of Israel.

There are a number of other occasions when the direct intervention of YEHOVAH God was manifest in a “Shekinah” presence to Moses. At the time of the setting up of the Tabernacle (before it was finished) YEHOVAH spoke to Moses out of the cloud and Moses realized the “Shekinah” was a VEHICLE and NOT YEHOVAH God. As we see in Exodus 33, Moses asked for more — to actually “see” YEHOVAH God — and YEHOVAH allowed him to see A LARGER PORTION of His PHYSICAL “Shekinah” presence. Notice —

“And the LORD [YEHOVAH] said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have truly gained My favor and I have singled you out by name.’ He [Moses] said, ‘Oh, let me behold Your Presence!’ [He was speaking to Yehovah’s voice coming from the ‘Shekinah.’] And He [YEHOVAH] answered, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH], and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show. But,’ He said, ‘you cannot see My face, for men may not see Me and live.’”

After Israel entered the Promised Land, YEHOVAH’s presence was manifested spiritually in the Tabernacle — but not often in a physical manner. YEHOVAH’s actual presence was always accepted by the Israelites as being in the Tabernacle (and later in the Temple), but was not always physically confirmed by the visible “Shekinah.” However, there were occasional renewals of miraculous appearances of the “Shekinah” — such as when the Temple of Solomon was dedicated. There was an initial appearance in a vision when the LORD (YEHOVAH) promised that He would “shakan” or dwell in the house that Solomon was building. Notice I KIngs 6:11-13: “Then the word of the LORD [YEHOVAH] came to Solomon, ‘With regard to this House [Temple] you are building — if you follow My laws and observe My rules and faithfully keep My commandments, I will fulfill for you the promise that I gave to your father David: I will abide [‘shakan’] among the children of Israel, and I will never forsake My people Israel.’” Later, when the construction of the Temple was finished and the day of dedication was at hand, the holy “Shekinah” manifested itself in a very physical way — “When the priests came out of the sanctuary — for the cloud [‘Shekinah’] had filled the House of the LORD and the priests were not able to remain and perform the services because of the cloud [‘Shekinah’], for the Presence of the LORD filled the House of the LORD — then Solomon declared: ‘The LORD has chosen to abide [‘shaken’] in a thick cloud: I have now built for you a stately House, a place where You may dwell [‘shakan’] forever’” (I Kings 8:10-13).

This same incident is recorded in II Chronicles 5:13. The “Shekinah” would no longer be associated with the Tabernacle but was to be transferred to the Temple. As a result, this physical manifestation was necessary to that generation because the Law of Moses was being amended at this point and YEHOVAH God was showing His approval of the amendment to His legal system by the manifestation of the “Shekinah.”

Whenever YEHOVAH God makes a “forever” promise in the Bible, there are conditions connected to it — and this case is no different. When He said He would dwell (“shakan”) in the Temple “forever,” there were conditions to this promise. Therefore, at the destruction of the First Temple, He did not allow His “Shekinah” presence to stay in the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary of the Temple) after a certain level of corruption had taken place. What is surprising is that He stayed in the Temple for so long! Evidently, His love for His people is such that He endures far more than any human judge would deem possible. Even with all the corruption that occurred during the last days of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin (and most of the reign of Zedekiah). Ezekiel’s vision of the DEPARTURE OF YEHOVAH’S “SHEKINAH” from the Temple and city did not occur until after the beginning of the final siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and his army.

Ezekiel’s description of YEHOVAH’s “Shekinah” is more detailed but very similar to what the 70 elders saw on Mount Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 24. Writes Fred Miller —

 “Ezekiel’s description of the ‘Shekinah’ in chapter one of his prophecy is physically exciting just to read. Imagine actually seeing it! It is described as fire enfolding itself borne by cherubic creatures whose appearance pulsated with undulating light, themselves borne by gyroscopic double wheels. Lightning came out of the midst of the fire surrounded by clear sapphire where a man-like person on a throne sat in an electric eye. If electricity is anachronistic, the word is nonetheless ‘chashmal’ which is the modern Hebrew word for electricity. The Septuagint has “electrum” and so does the Vulgate! Whatever ‘chashmal’ and ‘electrum’ meant to the ancients who used these words it can only be said that ‘eyn chashmal’ in Hebrew and ‘opsin electrou’ in Greek and ‘speciem electri’ found in Latin in Eze. 1:27 is not ‘amber’ as in the English translation. The word ‘color’ does not appear in the text” (Zechariah and Jewish Renewal).

There are other descriptions of the nature of YEHOVAH God’s “Shekinah” that Ezekiel saw LEAVING a then-desolate Temple. The building was still standing but no longer had YEHOVAH’s glory before it was destroyed!

The Departure and Return of the “Shekinah”

It should be noted that Ezekiel saw both the DEPARTURE of the “Shekinah” and the RETURN in two distinct visions separated in time by a number of years. The visions that he saw — of events that happened after his own death — describe exactly the same “Shekinah” which he saw first in chapter ten and then afterwards leave the Temple in chapter ten. As we shall note, at the beginning of chapter ten the “Shekinah” was still in the Temple —

“The glory of the LORD [‘Cavod YHVH’] went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house [Temple]; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory [‘Cavod YHVH’].”

However, YEHOVAH God was making preparations to REMOVE the “Shekinah” from the Temple and then from the very city itself:

“And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight; when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the EAST GATE of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above” (Ezekiel 10:19).

Then, in Ezekiel 11:23, we read of the actual DEPARTURE of YEHOVAH’s “Shekinah” from the MOUNT OF OLIVES —

“And the glory of the LORD [‘Cavod YHVH’] went up from the midst of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city [Mount of Olives].”

From the Mount of Olives, the “Shekinah” departed from this earth to later return to the Temple that was rebuilt under Zerubbabel but before the arrival of Ezra and Nehemiah. The “Shekinah” remained in the Temple from this time through the enlarging of the Temple complex by Herod, and his subsequent improvements. This is borne out by a little known but awe-inspiring incident that occurred when Herod tried to tap into the tremendous wealth of King David’s tomb in order to finance his grandiose plans to rebuild the Temple.

Writes Gary Arvidson:

“So, how was Herod able to finance this and other projects? Toward the beginning of his great work ‘all their sacred treasures were exhausted.’ We are told in this same context that people around the world sent an abundance of money for the Temple project. But there were other funds to be raised. And Herod found ANOTHER SOURCE!” (In Search of King David’s Tomb, part 1, p. 27).

Arvidson goes on to say:

“What we are going to find is that Herod tapped David’s Sepulchre as a major resource for his great works…and as a consequence gained access to David’s Sepulchre to finance and decorate his empire. What had been amassed for the First Temple and laid aside by Solomon, was finally used for the Second Temple period” (ibid.).

The first-century A.D. Jewish historian and priest Josephus, records that

“at this time he [Herod] opened the Sepulchre by night, and went into it, and endeavored that it should not be known in the city, but took only his faithful friends with him” (Antiquities 14.7.1).

Then begins the most unusual account of all. Herod was determined to explore the multi-room structure of David’s tomb to the limits. Suddenly, a great miracle occurred —

“However, he [Herod] had a great desire to make a more diligent search, and to go further in, even as far as the very bodies of David and Solomon; WHERE TWO OF HIS GUARDS WERE SLAIN BY A FLAME that burst out upon those that went in, as the report was. So he was terribly frightened, and went out, and built a propitiatory monument of that fright he had been in; and this of white stone, at the mouth of the Sepulchre…” (Antiquities 14.7.1).

The physical “Shekinah” put the fear of YEHOVAH God in Herod and his surviving men and, frankly, “scared the hell” out of them!

YEHOVAH’s “Shekinah” remained in the Temple all through the life and death of the Messiah and up to the year 66 A.D. — when it was seen leaving the Temple and alighting on the Mount of Olives. Notice!

“There is also another reason why Christians in the first century were very interested in the Mount of Olives. This is because it was believed that the Shekinah Glory of God which supposedly dwelt inside the Holy of Holies at the Temple left the sanctuary and went to the Mount of Olives and hovered over that spot at the time of the Roman/Jewish War which ended in A.D. 70. The fact that the Shekinah Glory left the old Temple and migrated to the top of the Mount of Olives was an important event to Eusebius [church historian and scholar A.D. 260?- 340?]” (Secrets of Golgotha, by Ernest L. Martin. 1988: ASK Publications, Alhambra, CA. p. 83).

In Eusebius’ book Proof of the Gospel we find this passage —

“Believers in Christ congregate from all parts of the world, not as of old time because of the glory of Jerusalem, nor that they may worship in the ancient Temple at Jerusalem, but…that they may worship at the Mount of Olives opposite to the city, whither the glory [the Shekinah Glory] of the LORD[YEHOVAH, YHVH] migrated when it left the former city” (Book VI, Chapter 18 (288)).

According to Eusebius the “Shekinah” Glory left the Temple and hovered over the Mount of Olives during “the siege of Jerusalem” (66 A.D. to 70). However, Eusebius was not the only observer who mentioned that the “Shekinah” Glory left the Temple before the destruction of the Temple and hovered over the Mount of Olives. A Jewish rabbi named Jonathan — who was an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem — said the “Shekinah” Glory left the Temple and for three and a half years

“abode on the MOUNT OF OLIVES hoping that Israel would repent, but they did not; while a Bet Kol [a supernatural voice from heaven] issued forth announcing, Return, O backsliding children [Jer. 3:14]. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you [Mal. 3:7], when they did not repent, it said, I WILL RETURN TO MY PLACE [Hosea 5:15] (Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations 2:11)” (Secrets of Golgotha, by Ernest L. Martin. 84).

There was yet another writer who recorded the fact of the “Shekinah” presence of YEHOVAH God moving from the Temple in Jerusalem just before the war with the Romans. Josephus mentioned that in the Spring of 66 A.D. some astonishing events took place within the Temple. He recorded three miracles associated with YEHOVAH’s “Shekinah” and the Temple — and each one showed clearly that the “Shekinah” was departing from the Holy of Holies. In War VI, 290 he stated

“that a GREAT LIGHT shone over the altar for thirty minutes at 3 o’clock in the morning (a week before Passover in A.D. 66) and then it DEPARTED. He said the sacred scribes interpreted this sign as a bad omen for the Temple. It was like the Shekinah Glory moving away from the Tabernacle in the wilderness as a sign to disassemble the Tabernacle and transport it to another location” (ibid.).

Josephus goes on to say that

“a few days later (during Passover itself) the enormous brass gates of Nicanor, requiring twenty men to open and close them, opened at midnight of their own accord (War VI, 293-295). This was also interpreted as showing a desolation coming upon the Temple. And then, about fifty days later, on Pentecost, the final sign was given which definitely showed that the Shekinah Glory was departing the Temple as the other signs indicated (ibid.): “Moreover, at the festival which is called Pentecost, the priests on entering the inner court of the Temple at nightfall, as their custom was in accomplishment of their ministrations, stated that they first became aware of a commotion and a roar, and after that the voice of a great multitude saying ‘We are departing hence’” (War VI, 299). 26/36

When we couple Josephus’ information with that of Rabbi Jonathan (also an eyewitness) we can see that the “Shekinah” went directly to the Mount of Olives and remained over the top of the mountain for 3 and 1/2 years — from late Spring in 66 A.D to about December of 69 A.D, some eight months before the Temple was destroyed by the Romans. It then went back to heaven and had not returned to earth up to the time he wrote. These miraculous events had much more significance to the early Christians than may meet the eye today. Eusebius, as we have just seen, mentioned the importance of this removal of the Shekinah glory. It was clearly a sign that YEHOVAH’s physical presence had departed from the Temple on the western hill of Jerusalem and had retreated to the MOUNT OF OLIVES on the EAST as the new place of His divine residence. This event of the “Shekinah” glory leaving the Temple and residing on the Mount of Olives became highly significant to the early Christians because this is the mountain where YEHOVAH’s holy “Shekinah” will RETURN in the near future!

Vision of the Temple That Might Have Been

Ezekiel, still in a vision, returned to the captives in Babylon and later saw yet another TEMPLE — which is recorded in chapters 40-43 of his book. In his vision of this Temple, as it would have been if the House of Israel had repented of their national sins and returned to YEHOVAH God after they were taken into Assyrian captivity, Ezekiel saw the “Shekinah” RETURN to the Holy of Holies. Ezekiel states that this is THE SAME “Shekinah” he saw leave the Temple when he had the vision by the river Chebar —

“And behold, the glory [‘Shekinah’] of the God of Israel came from THE WAY OF THE EAST [FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES]. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His [‘Shekinah’] glory. It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw — like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of the LORD [‘Cavod YHVH’] came into the Temple by way of the gate WHICH FACES TOWARD THE EAST. The spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD [‘Cavod YHVH’] filled the Temple. Then I heard Him speaking to me from the Temple while a man stood beside me. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell [shakan] in the midst of the children of Israel FOREVER. NO MORE shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places’” (Ezekiel 43:2-7).

This event, which Ezekiel experienced in vision, was never fulfilled because of Israel’s unfaithfulness. (See our article, Ezekiel’s Temple and Sacrifices: Will Temple Sacrifices Resume in the Millennium?) However, YEHOVAH God will return to a future Millennial Temple constructed by the Messiah after his arrival. This event is recorded in Zechariah 2 — where YEHOVAH says:

“Sing, Jerusalem, and rejoice! For I have come to live [shakan] among you, says the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH]. AT THAT TIME [of the end] many nations will be converted to the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH], and they too shall be my people; I will live [shakan] among them all. Then you will know it was the LORD of Hosts [YEHOVAH, YHVH] who sent me to you….Be silent, all mankind before the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH]; FOR HE [IN THE FORM OF THE “SHEKINAH”] HAS COME TO EARTH FROM HEAVEN, FROM HIS HOLY HOME” (10-13).

The Golden Age to come, which Zechariah said was to follow the return of the “Shekinah” at the end of the age, describes the city and surrounding areas as being at peace in an age when people can grow old in a secure environment. To those who lived in Jerusalem, in the hearing of Zechariah, that would seem like a miracle — so great was the desolation of the place. But of the conditions that would follow the RETURN of the “Shekinah” to the Temple at the end of the age, Zechariah records:

“Thus said the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH]: I have RETURNED TO ZION, and I will dwell [shakan] in Jerusalem….Thus said the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH] of hosts: There shall yet be old men and women in the squares of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of their great age. And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing in the squares. Thus said the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH] of Hosts: Though it will seem impossible to the remnant of this people IN THOSE DAYS, shall it also be impossible to Me? — declares the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH] of Hosts” (Zechariah 8:4-6).

Revelation 19

Now what about the New Testament — does the New Testament record the RETURN of YEHOVAH God’s glory or “Shekinah” to this earth and to a NEW Temple in Jerusalem? Indeed it does, and in a passage that Christians (in their confusion) have taken to refer to the return of the Messiah for more than 1,700 years!! Incredible as it may seem, Satan has blinded millions over the centuries to the TRUE identity of the Person pictured in Revelation 19 —

“Then I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd, like the sound of rushing waters, like loud peals of thunder, saying, ‘Halleluyah! ADONAI [YEHOVAH, YHVH], GOD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES, HAS BEGUN HIS REIGN!’….Then I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called FAITHFUL AND TRUE, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were MANY ROYAL CROWNS. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself. He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, ‘THE WORD OF GOD.’ The ARMIES OF HEAVEN, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations — ‘He will rule them with a staff of iron.’ It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of ADONAI [YEHOVAH, YHVH], GOD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’” (Verses 6, 11-16, Jewish New Testament).

YEHOVAH God the Father’s future universal role on earth in the form of the physical “Shekinah” presence is a major theme of the Old Testament. Verse 6 above inaugurates YEHOVAH God the Father’s Kingly reign on earth — although its establishment requires several stages: first is the RETURN OF THE MESSIAH (YESHUA) in Revelation 14:14, the wedding feast of the Lamb (Yeshua) in Revelation 19:7-9, climaxed by the RETURN OF YEHOVAH’S SHEKINAH PRESENCE (Revelation 19:11-15); then Satan must be chained (Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10), judgment must take place (Revelation 20:11-15), and only then does the Messiah actually rule as king and priest to his Father who resides in the new Third Temple in the form of the “Shekinah” presence.

In order for the wedding feast of the Lamb (Yeshua the Messiah) to take place, the Messiah must FIRST return to this earth — NOT afterwards as would be the case if Revelation 19 referred to the Messiah’s return!

In Titus 2:13 we are encouraged

“to expect the blessed fulfillment of our CERTAIN HOPE, WHICH IS THE APPEARING OF THE SH’KHINAH OF OUR GREAT GOD AND the appearing of our Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah” (Jewish New Testament).

Verses 11-16 of Revelation 19 describe this eagerly awaited (by the early Christians) “Second Coming” of God’s (YEHOVAH’s) holy “Shekinah” — NOT the Second Coming of the Messiah as millions have blindly assumed!

The phrase “Faithful and True” in verse 11 has been correctly capitalized in all the translations I have seen, and denotes the ULTIMATE in faithfulness and truth — which, of course, is YEHOVAH (YHVH) the Father. In Jeremiah 10:10 we read:

“But the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH] is the true God [more correctly, “God of truth” — Elohim emet]; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to abide His indignation.”

The “God of truth” in the above verse is not primarily the God who reveals eternal verities, but the God who can be trusted to keep His covenant. The RETURN of the “Shekinah” Glory will be the faithful REAPPEARANCE of Him who has already appeared among men — this time He comes to bring the covenant promises to their final and full consummation.

In verses 12-13 of Revelation 19 we read —

“His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were MANY ROYAL CROWNS. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself. He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, ‘THE WORD OF GOD.’”

The phrase “The Word of God” is thought by many to refer to Yeshua the Messiah — and they try to link this phrase to the “logos” of John 1:1. However, there is absolutely NO justification for doing this. In fact, NOWHERE in the Bible does this phrase refer to Yeshua the Messiah! In most cases in the New Testament, “the word of God” refers to the message or words revealed through the writings of the Old Testament or Torah. However, and note this, there are a few passages in the Bible that indicate a DIRECT communication from YEHOVAH, through the “Shekinah,” took place.

Notice I Kings 12:22 —

“But THE WORD OF GOD came to Shemaiah, the man of God: ‘Say to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all the House of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people: Thus said the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH]: You shall not set out to make war on your kinsmen the Israelites. Let every man return to his home, for this thing has been brought about by Me.’ They heeded THE WORD OF THE LORD [YEHOVAH] and turned back, in accordance with THE WORD OF THE LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH]” (The Tanakh).

Here “the word of God” is clearly identified with “the word of the LORD [YEHOVAH],” showing that “the word of God” is the SAME as “the word of the LORD” — and is certainly indicated to be the “Shekinah” of the LORD [YEHOVAH] communicating with Shemaiah.

Similarly, in I Chronicles 17, we read:

“But that same night THE WORD OF GOD came to Nathan: ‘Go and say to My servant David: Thus said the LORD [YEHOVAH], YHVH]: You are not the one to build a house [Temple] for Me to dwell [shakan] in” (verses 3-4).

Once again, we find here that the phrase “THE WORD OF GOD” is associated with YEHOVAH and indicates that He is communicating to Nathan the prophet by means of His holy “Shekinah.” In the New Testament, we read where “the word of God” came to John the Baptist —

“Annas and Caiaphas being high priests, THE WORD OF GOD came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH], Make His paths straight.’”

Here we see that John the Baptist receives a direct communication from YEHOVAH God which tells him to “prepare the way of the LORD [YEHOVAH] — thus linking the “word of God” with the One called YEHOVAH or YHVH.

In Revelation 19:13 the phrase “The Word of God” is capitalized in the original Greek, thereby indicating the Rider of the white horse to be the physical “Shekinah” representation of YEHOVAH God — a component of the same “force” that directly communicated with Shemaiah, Nathan and John the Baptist.

In the first verses of the gospel of John in the New Testament, we can find confirmation that the “Word of God” is, in fact, the Shekinah Glory of YEHOVAH God. Since the publication of the King James Version of the Bible in 1611 this, and almost all versions that have stemmed from it, have attached the masculine gender to the Greek concept of the “Logos” to explain the presence of the Shekinah Glory at the Creation. Unfortunately, due to this gender change, and the modern Christian’s lack of understanding of the Logos concept in the environment of 1st. century Greek philosophy, most have blindly taken the “Word” to mean a pre-existence of Yeshua the Messiah! Nothing could be further from the truth!

Any one of the eight English translations of the Bible prior to 1611 (the Tyndale Bible (1535), the Matthew Bible (1535), the Taverner Bible (1539), the Great (Cranmer’s) Bible (1539), the Whittingham Bible (1557), the Geneva Bible (1560) and Bishop’s Bible (1568)) assign no gender to the “Word” and simply call it “it,” such as in John 1:3: “By IT all things were made. Without IT nothing was made.” The Coverdale Bible (1550) has “THE SAME” rather than “it.” This seems like a strange way of referring to Yeshua the Messiah!

This is further reinforced by the Aramaic version of the Bible — where the first verses of the gospel of John leave little doubt that the “Word” refers to YEHOVAH God’s Shekinah Glory. Notice!

Verse 1: In the beginning [of creation] there was the MANIFESTATION; and that MANIFESTATION was with God [YEHOVAH]; and God [YEHOVAH] was [the embodiment of] that MANIFESTATION.

Verse 2: This [the MANIFESTATION] was in the beginning with God [YEHOVAH].

Verse 3: Everything was within his [more correctly, IT’S] power, [otherwise] nothing would ever exist.

Verse 4: Through him [it, the MANIFESTATION] was life and life became the spark of humanity.

Verse 5: And that [ensuing] fire [the MANIFESTATION] lights the darkness and darkness does not overshadow it [the MANIFESTATION].

This article has shown that the Shekinah Glory was the manifestation of YEHOVAH God the Father. If we replace the word “Manifestation” with the words “Shekinah Glory” in these verses of John, then we clearly see that “The Word of God” in Revelation 19:13 is none other than YEHOVAH’S Shekinah Glory!

Verse 1: In the beginning [of creation] there was the SHEKINAH GLORY; and that SHEKINAH GLORY was with God [YEHOVAH]; and God [YEHOVAH] was [the embodiment of] that SHEKINAH GLORY.

Verse 2: This [the SHEKINAH GLORY] was in the beginning with God [YEHOVAH].

Verse 3: Everything was within his [the SHEKINAH GLORY’S] power, [otherwise] nothing would ever exist.

Verse 4: Through him [it, the SHEKINAH GLORY] was life and life became the spark of humanity.

Verse 5: And that [ensuing] fire [the SHEKINAH GLORY] lights the darkness and darkness does not overshadow it [the SHEKINAH GLORY].

Of course, this is not to say that the translation of the book of John in the King James Version — and all those that are based on it — are wrong. It just means that we don’t understand the idiom of John’s day and we get all confused with the Greek concept of the Logos that John uses to get his point across. John nowhere indicates that this “Word” or “Logos” is anything else but the Shekinah Glory of Yehovah God.

Finally, in Revelation 1:2, “the Word of God” is clearly separated from Yeshua the Messiah — notice!

“This is the revelation which God gave to Yeshua the Messiah, so that he could show his servants what must happen very soon. He communicated it by sending his angel to his servant Yochanan [John], who bore witness to THE WORD OF GOD AND to the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah….”

The next verse, verse 14 of Revelation 19, states that

“the ARMIES OF HEAVEN, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him [Adonai, YEHOVAH (see verse 6)] on white horses.”

Throughout the New Testament the “armies of heaven” are ALWAYS associated with, and are commanded by, ADONAI — who, according to the plain words of the apostle James is THE FATHER!

“With it [the tongue] we bless ADONAI, THE FATHER; and with it we curse people, who were made in the image of God” (James 3:9) — Jewish New Testament).

Further, in Ephesians 1:3, this is echoed when Paul says —

“Praised be ADONAI, FATHER OF OUR LORD YESHUA THE MESSIAH…”

In Revelation 1:8 we find written:

“I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’” says ADONAI [YEHOVAH, YHVH], God of HEAVEN’S ARMIES, the One [ADONAI] who is, who was AND WHO IS COMING.”

Again, in Revelation 4:8:

“Holy, holy, holy is ADONAI, GOD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES, the One who was, who is and who IS COMING.”

Also, in Revelation 11:16 —

“We thank you, ADONAI [YEHOVAH, YHVH], GOD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES, the One who is and was, that you have taken your power [in the form of the “Shekinah”] AND HAVE BEGUN TO RULE [ON EARTH AFTER HIS COMING IN REVELATION 19].

I don’t wish to seem redundant, but the One on the white horse leading the armies of heaven to this earth is YEHOVAH THE FATHER in His “Shekinah form — NOT Yeshua the Messiah!

Moving now to verse 16 of Revelation 19, we read —

“And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.’”

These titles denote the ultimate in praise that can be bestowed and, therefore, must be titles of YEHOVAH God the Father. Throughout the New Testament, the Messiah indicates that the Father was far GREATER than he — see John 14:28 for example. Also, if we examine the original Greek for “King of kings and Lord of lords” we will quickly discover that the first “King” and the first “Lord” in this title both start with upper case letters — showing Him to be the ULTIMATE “King” of all kings and the ULTIMATE “Lord” of all lords. Some argue that the Lamb (the Messiah) depicted in Revelation 17:14 also has these titles and must, as a result, be the Rider of the horse represented in Revelation 19. But, once again, if we closely examine the original Greek we will, first of all, find that the title is REVERSED from that in Revelation 19 and reads instead “lord of lords and king of kings.” Then we will notice that the first “lord” and the first “king” of the title are lower case in the Greek — showing that the Messiah was (as pictured here in Revelation 17:14) NOT the ultimate “lord of lords” or the ultimate “king of kings.” He is a LOWER “lord of lords” and “king of kings,” which entirely agrees with Yeshua’s statement that his Father was greater than he.

The title in Revelation 19:16 expresses YEHOVAH (YHVH) THE FATHER’S rulership over all creation and all the kings and lords therein. It is equivalent to the phrase “King of kings of kings” which the Jewish Siddur (prayer book) applies to YHVH in this song which introduces the Sabbath in many Jewish homes —

“Welcome, ministering angels, messengers from the Most High, from the King of kings of kings, the HOLY ONE, blessed be he. Come in peace….bless me with peace,…go in peace….” (Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 840).

When we add all these proofs up, the clear and astounding TRUTH is that Revelation 19 pictures the glorious RETURN OF YEHOVAH GOD’S “SHEKINAH” PRESENCE to this earth to rule, with the Messiah directly under Him, from the new Third Temple in Jerusalem. May YEHOVAH God hasten that day!

So, what of the return of Yeshua the Messiah? If Revelation 19 depicts the “Shekinah” return to this earth, do the Scriptures elsewhere record the future event of the Messiah’s Second Coming? They surely do — in Revelation 10:1-7. Notice!

“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. HE WAS DRESSED IN A CLOUD, with a RAINBOW over his head; his face was LIKE THE SUN, his legs like columns of fire; and he had a little scroll lying open in his hand. He planted his right foot ON THE SEA and his left foot ON THE LAND, and shouted in a voice as loud as THE ROAR OF A LION; and when he shouted, seven thunderclaps sounded with voices that spoke. When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Seal up the things the seven thunders said, do not write them down!’ Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand toward heaven and swore by the One who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: THERE WILL BE NO MORE DELAY; on the contrary, in the days of the sound from the seventh angel when he sounds his shofar [trumpet], THE HIDDEN PLAN OF GOD WILL BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETION, the Good News as he proclaimed it to his servants the prophets.”

This passage pictures the return of the Messiah — NOT Revelation 19! The book of Acts in the New Testament verifies this, if we care to read it carefully:

“And after he [the Messiah] said these things, while they [the apostles] were looking on, he was lifted up and A CLOUD CAUGHT HIM UP FROM THEIR VISION. And as they were gazing into the sky while he was on his way, also, look! two men in white garments stood alongside them, and they said: ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who was received up from you into the sky WILL COME THUS IN THE SAME MANNER AS YOU HAVE BEHELD HIM GOING INTO THE SKY’” (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures).

Now, HOW did the Messiah go up into the sky? Was he on a white horse? No! Did he have the armies of heaven with him? No! Was his robe soaked in blood and was he wearing MANY crowns? No! The simple truth is that “a cloud caught him up from their [the Apostles] vision” as he was lifted up into the sky, and Revelation 14:14 shows him RETURNING THE EXACT SAME WAY with one difference — this time he is wearing the crown of rulership and bringing the saints with him!

Daniel 7:13 records the Messiah receiving this crown of rulership — notice:

“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man [Yeshua the Messiah], coming WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN! He came to the Ancient of Days [YEHOVAH, YHVH], and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him [the Messiah] was given DOMINION AND GLORY AND AKINGDOM, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”

For centuries Christians — and even the Churches of YEHOVAH God — have been thoroughly confused over these two events and placed their hope and expectations and yearnings on the return of Yeshua the Messiah while relegating YEHOVAH (YHVH) and His return to the dust bin! While the return of Yeshua the Messiah is not to be minimized — the FAR GREATER, earthshaking, awesome mind-reeling event is that of the “SHEKINAH” GLORY OF YEHOVAH GOD RETURNING TO THIS EARTH to reside and rule from the Temple in Jerusalem! THIS is the event pictured in Revelation 19! All the prophets of the Old Testament clearly predicted a visible, awesome, literal manifestation of the “Shekinah” Glory of YEHOVAH once again — this we see in Revelation 19. For more exciting information regarding the return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah, read our article The Return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah!

Much too often Christians have allowed themselves to hastily read through the texts, all the while ASSUMING that when the prophets write of YEHOVAH Himself acting in decisive ways, they actually refer to His Messiah. How often have you heard preachers and ministers say that “when Jesus returns, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.” Unfortunately, this is CARELESS AND UNSCHOLARLY exegesis. As you can plainly see, after reading all the texts I have laid out, the prophets ALWAYS maintain a CLEAR DISTINCTION between the DRAMATIC APPEARANCE of the LORD God (YHVH) in Revelation 19 and the coming of the Messiah in Revelation 10:1-7, and His subsequent rule UNDER YEHOVAH God.

The prophets understood this dramatic, personal intervention of YEHOVAH in history as a RETURN or “Second Coming.” We read in Haggai that YEHOVAH God declares:

“ONCE MORE in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land” (2:6).

Isaiah clearly yearns for this time to arrive:

“Oh, that You would rend the heavens and COME DOWN, that the mountains might quake at Your [‘Shekinah’] PRESENCE — as fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil — to make Your name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your Presence! When You did awesome things which we did not expect, YOU DID COME DOWN, the mountains quaked at Thy [‘Shekinah’] presence. For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides You, who acts in behalf of the one WHO WAITS FOR HIM” (Isaiah 64:1-4).

Also, in Isaiah 24, the prophet proclaims —

“Behold, YEHOVAH lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants…They raise their voices, they shout for joy. They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of YEHOVAH. Therefore glorify YEHOVAH in the east, the name of YEHOVAH, the God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea…So it will happen IN THAT DAY, that YEHOVAH will punish the host of heaven, on high, and the kings of the earth, ON EARTH…Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, FOR YEHOVAH OF HOSTS WILL REIGN ON MOUNT ZION AND IN JERUSALEM, and His glory [‘Shekinah’ presence] will be before His elders… For behold, YEHOVAH IS ABOUT TO COME OUT FROM HIS PLACE to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; and the earth will reveal her bloodshed, and will no longer cover her slain” (Isaiah 24, selected verses).

The prophets were thinking back to the time of Moses and the unprecedented events at Mount Sinai, when YEHOVAH God dramatically judged the nation of Egypt and freed the Israelites from slavery. There, at Mt. Sinai, all Israel experienced the awesome, visible, dramatic, manifestation of the Presence (literally, “face”) and GLORY OF YEHOVAH.

Explains James Tabor,

“The Torah is most explicit regarding this unprecedented experience. Nothing like this had ever happened before, or has happened since. YEHOVAH Himself appeared to the people in a fiery cloud-like pillar; they actually heard His voice and saw His Glory (Exodus 19:18-19; 20:18-21; 40:34-38; Numbers 14:14). The very purpose of the Tabernacle (literally, “dwelling place”) was to provide a locus for this extraordinary manifestation of YEHOVAH” (The LORD (YHVH) God and His Messiah).

We have seen Ezekiel report that this Presence (“Glory”) of YEHOVAH departed shortly before the Exile. Ezekiel understood this in the most LITERAL way — actually describing the cloudlike “Shekinah” moving through the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem, up the Mount of Olives, and away (Ezekiel 10:18-19; 11:22-23). In Deuteronomy 31:17 this “departure” is called the “hiding of the Face of YEHOVAH.” To fully understand this teaching of Scripture, I have endeavored to show the DISTINCTION between the general presence of YEHOVAH God (which is always with His creation) and this VERY SPECIFIC, literal, awesome, visible, manifestation of the Divine Glory or “Shekinah.”

In that sense, YEHOVAH God departed from this planet, and in that sense, all the prophets (including John) tell of His return. In other words, they clearly point to and predict a visible, earthshaking, LITERAL, manifestation of the holy “Shekinah” (Glory of YEHOVAH) once again. For the righteous, this will bring great rejoicing, but for all the wicked this will cause terror and the fear of judgment.

I have also tried to point out that the Scriptures show a definite focus on the EAST. On the EAST side of Jerusalem is the EASTERN gate of the Temple Mount, and EAST of that gate — the Mount of Olives. From this sacred area, the holy “Shekinah” (Glory of YEHOVAH) departed, and it is HERE that it will return. This clearly connects to the passage in Zechariah that predicts “on that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” (14:4).

This area — EAST from the Temple Mount and including the Mount of Olives — is evidently the El Bethel (not the northern town of Bethel) where the patriarch Jacob had his vision of the ladder going up to heaven. He identified this place as awesome and sacred, and none other than the portal or “gate of heaven.” Evidently, Jacob was lying on the Temple Mount area and facing EAST, looking in his dream at the summit of the Mount of Olives (Genesis 28:17; 35:58).

YEHOVAH God the Father Himself will return to Zion in His Shekinah glory — acting personally and directly to punish the wicked and rule as King over all nations. This is the day pictured in Revelation 19 — that we should be waiting for with increasing expectations and excitement. Let’s retrieve YEHOVAH GOD from the dust bin and give Him His rightful place in the scheme of things, as well as the greater praise and adoration that is His due — not forgetting to stay awake for the earlier return of His Son and Servant Yeshua the Messiah. Hope of Israel Ministries — Preparing the Way for the Return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah!

Hope of Israel Ministries

P.O. Box 853 Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.

http://www.hope-of-israel.org