Will A Nation Be Born At Once?

Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Jul 10, 2020

News Letter 5856-020
The 4th Year of the 4th Sabbatical Cycle
The 25th year of the 120th Jubilee Cycle
The 13th day of the 5th month 5856 years after the creation of Adam
The 4th Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Middle of the 70th Jubilee Since Yehovah told Moses To go Get His People
The Sabbatical Cycle of Sword, Famines, and Pestilence

July 11, 2020

Shabbat Shalom to the Royal Family of Yehovah,

 


Shabbat Zoom Meeting

From now on we are going to use this same meeting room id below for all our meetings each Shabbat. Keep it and save it. Should I forget to announce the meeting then the information will remain the same from week to week. The room will be open at 12:30 PM for chatting and socializing. The meeting will begin at 1:15 and then the room will remain open for chatting and discussions after the teaching.

Joseph Dumond is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Joseph Dumond’s Personal Meeting Room

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A Letter From Brother Aike

This letter now has its full thoughts. Please analyze the stories and reports because it contains prophetic insights on what’s happening in the Philippine ( even the world at large) which regards to the Torah restoration movement.

Thank you for being a brother to me and also to MLTC family of Torah keepers and our sphere of influence in the Torah restoration movement in and around the Philippine Islands.

Just like what I’ve said in my testimony in this letter, I didn’t expect as to have build a Torah Bible School building, though small but usable and practical for our next stage of work in teaching Torah to the Filipinos.

After 100 days of construction, I have exhausted all or most of our funds, in fact I had incurred a personal loan/debt of around $2,500. And still, need around $3,000 to complete the construction of the Torah bible school. Please bear in mind that It is my personal faith in YHVH that I always force myself to believe that YHVH will be with me as long as my motive is to work for His kingdom and spread His Torah. I push myself to the limit by long prayer and fasting, so I can maximize my mission here while I’m alive. You know that we have a similar passion to spread the Torah of YHVH by teaching His sabbaths and feast days and warn people about the perilous times what we are living right now. My motive is pure. So if ever I ask for help in terms of financial donation from sightedmoon, it is not for my personal gain but its purely for the work of the Torah. I know somehow you know that?

I have to talk to brother Ken and we are communicating via email. I have plans to venture in the month of August to see our potential Goshen in the area of Infanta, Quezon province ( 3 hours drive from Antipolo).

I’m overloaded with work with the soft opening of our Torah Community Bible School and I don’t get tired because I know I need to have enough energy, enthusiasm, faith, to believe in this end-times restoration work, notwithstanding the challenge that we are facing in our current situation of lockdown due to COVID 19.

I don’t how YHVH is gonna put all this thing together, but my faith says ” I BELIEVE YHVH CAN DO THIS, I work, I plant, I nurture and expect the best from YHVH. I think I’m maturing as a person, I’m 51 years old and so much potential. I think things are becoming better and better for the Torah movement. I hope sightedmoon brethren is building the same boat/ark so we can become one in the near future when they reach the Philippine soil. The most challenging thing is have the wisdom to lead people at the same time maintain harmony.

I have talked to Bishop Butch Belgica and Atty Jeremiah Belgica, they both agreed to be our adviser in our plan to set up the Foundation.

So long big brother, YHVH bless us all. May he favour you and bless you in all things spiritually, materially and financially.

Your little brother

brother Aike
servant of YHVH

July 2, 2020
Shalom sightedmoon,

Psalm 122 “ It is good for brothers to dwell together in unity.” And we are united in the Torah of YHVH through His son Yeshua/Jesus our Master, saviour and Rabbi.

It’s been quite a long few months since I wrote for Sightedmoon. Since March 15 the lockdown in general Metro Manila area (Islands of Luzon, Philippines) due to Corona pandemic and up til now the Philippine government extended the lockdown til July 15. Up till now things hasn’t quite normalized yet. Will it ever be normal again? The good thing is YHVH doesn’t change and still we move on to this life according to His perfect ways, because it is His world that we live in. King YHVH will impost His will on this world whether people like it or not.

I would like to share with you some insights which I believe is relevant for our present times. This is what I call “ the power of blessing and curse.” It is written in the book of Deuteronomy 29:29, Moses, after warning the 12 tribes of Israel the curses of disobedience.

“ The secret things belong unto YHVH our God/Elohym: but things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Law/Torah.”

An interpretation which is most relevant to the context for this statement comments: That which is revealed includes the Law/Torah with is promises of blessings and threats/curses. Consequently, that which is hidden can only refer to the mode in which God will carry out in the future His counsel and will, which He has revealed in the Book of the Law, and complete His work of salvation notwithstanding the apostasy of the people. Therefore the Law/Torah, YHVH’ revelation, has behind it God’s secret will whereby His counsel shall stand and man’s rebellion shall be confounded, to the triumph of His kingdom in His own time and way. In brief, the Law is revealed and its fulfillment in our time is assured.” (commentary by Rushdoony of Institute of biblical law vol. I ebook page 39).

As brother Joseph Dumond taught us the cycle curses in his books and I agree with Joseph D. that it is YHVH Himself who had sent Coronavirus to the people of the world. Yes, it came from China ( since most products are manufactured in China, LOL) but YHVH had allowed this deadly virus to struck mankind. Just as it is written in Deut. 28:22, the description of the curses are “ YHVH will strike you swelling lesions, with fever, with burning heat, with thirst, and with sword; and with wind blasts and with withering– and they will pursue you until your destruction.” “Until your destruction,” the verse does not say” they will destroy you.” Rather, the sense of the verse is that the people will decline and be destroyed as a result of the long accumulation of attack, hunger and disease ( commentary by rabbi Rashi Artscroll Chumash page 1079).

So it is very clearly revealed in the Torah that King YHVH is serious about His threats In Deut. 28 and 29 if people will disobey His laws and commandments. It is a blood covenant that we sign when we accept Yeshua as Lord and saviour. This is an ongoing transaction up to our present time. YHVH has revealed his secrets in the Torah, more particularly what Joseph Dumond had discovered the keeping of the sabbatical years by letting the land rest in the whole earth not just in the land of Israel today. This sabbatical year is the most ignored biblical commandment even in the Hebraic messianic Torah movement. Sad to know. Nobody is really paying attention to this commandment. YHVH has revealed His perfect will in the Book of Law ( five books of Moses) and “ what is hidden” before has been revealed to us now because YHVH loves us and cared for us. He cares for us so much that he has revealed this truths to us genuine Torah keepers, aren’t we? We better be or else !

Last February 28 I flew to Davao City the southern part of the Philippine Islands. This will be like my first mission trip for the year 2020. I’m scheduled and was privileged to be invited to speak to about 500 pastors and ministers from all over Mindanao through Bishop Benz Lumasag of AIMPHIL (Alliance of Interactive Ministers Phils).

This was a great opportunity for me to share about the concept of “Unity: in the Seven Feasts of YHVH in Leviticus 23”. Since I got an extra backup being designated as Lecturer for churches nationwide by Bishop Butch Belgica who is presently appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to head the OPARA ( Office of the Presidential Adviser for Religious Affairs). OPARA is active in promoting the sabbath and the 7 feasts to the political leadership such as the governors, mayors and government employees to actively pursue spiritual training as part of the mandate and directive by LGU (Local Government Unit).

So while I was in Davao City, I actively engaged in speaking to different groups about the OPARA mandate which was written in a booklet. It gave me confidence like never before because now, I can tell and teach Sabbath and Feasts to pastors and churches straight to their faces.

This made my work easier since you know how much rejected is the Sabbaths commandments in the modern churches today. So in each group that I went, within an hour or so of talk and lectures, straight to the point, I’m telling pastors to uphold the “ BAWAT TAHANAN MAY SAMBAHAN, BAWAT PAMILYA MAY KAPILYA.” In the Pilipino language it says the agenda of the office of OPARA, “ EACH HOME A CHURCH, EACH FAMILY A SMALL CHURCH.” Of course, I received outright rejection by pastors in most of my lectures since it sounds like changing or attacking the current system of worship like Sunday church assembly in large numbers. I just move on and see who are interested and later focus on them, but I made sure that in each Christian groups that I went, I would let them sign a petition letter or manifesto to support the vision of OPARA to have the sabbath and the 7 feasts of Leviticus 23 as national Holidays. You know House bill 6312 was not approved in the congress. It has to be refiled again, for this bill to be active again. It’s next to impossible if the majority of the Congressman would vote in favour on this. So now the vision is being pursued by OPARA and of course by us who are passionately teaching Torah to the Filipinos since 2006. The vision is still very much alive. Are you with us on this?

So, for almost two weeks I was in Mindanao making connections with different ministerial groups. I was so happy about the progress being made in our desire to spread and teach Torah to the Filipinos that I attempted to plan to have a big event celebration of the Feast of Pentecost in Davao City. By faith, I had reserved a venue for the said planned event. Torah keeping brethren from Digos City, Davao Del Sur had pledged to support me in the logistics and promotion. Bishop Benz Lumasag of AIMPHIL with his vast numbers of ministers have pledged to support the Feast of Pentecost celebration last May. My plan was to invited Bishop Butch Belgica and formally launch OPARA agenda in Mindanao in a big way. Probably invite Joseph Dumond to come over and just continue with the momentum of spreading the Torah in the Islands of the sea. Joseph Dumond told me recently that in all his research being done in the book of Isaiah, the “ISLANDS OF THE SEA” being referred there is no other than the Philippines, who are waiting for the Torah and the Glory of YHVH to be seen among the humble Filipino people, who have been oppressed religiously for centuries. When will my Filipino people be delivered from centuries of lies and oppression? Millions of Filipinos are poor because we were taught to worship idols and disobey the sabbath and the feasts and the laws of the Torah. These are the real cause of the curses in the Philippines soil and people and the economy.

To my demise, my plane ticket back to Manila was March 14 with all hopes and dreams I came back to my home, based in Mandaluyong city only to know that the Philippine government has declared a lockdown on all cities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces because of the Corona Virus pandemic that is escalating. All local governments in Metro Manila had issued travel bans and minimize the movement of the people as a precautionary measure to lessen the spread of the deadly virus.

All this was new to us. So I decided to move my family and several other brethren to stay in a farm that we have in Antipolo City, Rizal Province which was an hour and a half drive from Mandaluyong city. Later, a new report says that President Duterte himself had announced on national TV that it is forbidden for churches to have mass gatherings as well as secular sectors of the Philippine society. So everybody else was like shocked to know the real current serious condition due to Cov19.

But as for us, Torah keepers, we just continue to have a family Shabbat gathering and told everyone within the circle of faith just to have Shabbat at their own homes and besides this is what we have been teaching in line with OPARA “ Bawat Tahanan Sambahan, Each Family a home church.” My eyes have been enlightened to the fact YHVH had made a perfect move to teach Filipinos how true worship is to be conducted at their own homes, which is to have a covenant meal on sabbath day with each of their family members.

Now, this is a big blow to big churches who can no longer and had been forbidden by the authority to hold church gatherings and there’s nothing they could do about it.

Indeed, the 40 years wilderness journey of the Israelites with its 42 stations is likened to a process that transforms God’s people through trials and testing. Though unpleasant times were experienced during the lockdown, something good and optimistic came up during the lockdown period one of them is through OPARA. https://web.facebook.com/PARAOffice/

Can you see what’s happening here? In the middle of the lockdown period last May, in two weeks’ time, OPARA’s office had received more than 10,000 pastors registration for its program nationwide. What I can see here is YHVH is working behind the scene, activating and preparing the Filipinos to learn Torah, setting them up in the right venue for the near Torah revolution in the Philippine Islands. Watch out for more of this revelation coming to fruition.

On hand, my dreams for the Torah restoration movement is also coming to fruition as well. I remember back then that I have saved construction materials like wooden posts and lumbers because before I left for Davao city last February 28, my plan was to renovate my small farmhouse in Antipolo. Couple with little savings when the lockdown had begun, on March 18 I started to plan for the construction of the second floor of my little 10-year-old farmhouse. My plan changes when a neighbour friend of mine had offered a “backhoe- bulldozer” a heavy equipment service rental. With all my savings at hand, I proceeded with the paving of sloppy trenches on the farm property. After two days of work with the backhoe, I realized that for the first time, the backhoe had cleared and flatten around 1500 square feet of liveable open space. That is the time when I believe the Holy Spirit of YHVH struck with the idea to build a small Torah Bible School. As you know, when its for the work of the Torah, I give it my all no matter what the cost or circumstance may be.

We have a saying in the Torah that out of wilderness comes blessing or curse, but this time after 100 days of lockdown, a great blessings came up, the construction of the very first Torah Bible School.

This is a living miracle. I expect YHVH to do more in the coming days since we believe that YHVH will provide for our every need as long as we uphold the covenant of Torah, We continue to believe He will guide us along the way.
Our next mission would be to find our potential Goshen that could house our Torah communities with all our families. We welcome our sightedmoon brethren when they also planning to go to live in the Philippines. Until then…. more good reports.

Brother aike
Servant of the Living God broaike@yahoo/com
Paypal: messiahlivingTorah@gmail.com

 


 

Sightedmoon.com Mission

Sightedmoon.com began in 2005 trying to explain to people about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and how they reveal end-time prophecy and especially the Daniel 9 Prophecy. In 2006 we set up the web site and in 2007 we began our weekly teachings from the first of Aviv that year and have continued down until today each week. The only weeks we did not put out a newsletter was when we were away keeping each of the Feasts. Other than that those times we have not missed a week. We have used Yehovah’s word to do this. By that I mean we have used the scriptures. We have not used any apocryphal books. We have used history & artifacts to backup and support what Yehovah has said.

We have been blessed to be able to go to Israel 18 times and to have been able to give tours on almost all of those trips. And we have met friends for life from these tours on each trip.

We have taught you about the Sabbath and the Holy Days and explained to you how each was corrupted which led to other groups forming. We have taken the false teaching that some put out and walked you through the scriptures so you can understand. We have wanted you to understand and to think and to reason with the scriptures. We walked you through the anti-missionary misleading statements and showed you in the scriptures what was the truth. We have not compromised and that has led to many who joined us to then leave because we would not bend to their erroneous understandings. Each time this happens it is painful.

We have used other sound teachers in some of our messages, in order to give you as much information about how to worship Yehovah as we could and we know that I do not have all the answers. As Paul says we wanted to present you as the perfect bride to our Father.

In 2018 we learned what the scriptures were telling us about the coastlands and their role in the end times and we could not believe that Yehovah had already developed a relationship between us and Broa Aike in Manila and that leading to many other groups also.

And like all of you, we have waited and watched to see if these things would come to pass or if I would be added to the long list of teachers who had totally misunderstood what was being shown to us in the bible.

Today some are saying the USA is not destroyed at Shavuot May 31st, 2020 as I said. This is a false statement.  I said the 2300 Days began. That May 31st  started the countdown of the 2300 Days of Daniel 8. George Floyd was killed May 25 and by May 31st the entire USA and much of the world was rioting and looting and fighting with the police. We talk more about this in the next section. We had people attacking us before May 31st ridiculing us and still are. This is nothing new because it has been going on since 2005.

Who is Joseph Dumond to be qualified to teach these things? He is just like any of you, who one day was shown these truths about the Jubilee Cycles and I said in a prayer to Yehovah back in 2005, that I would tell people about this even though I had no clue how to do so if He would teach me His truths and not let me get involved in lies and misleading doctrines.

With the unbelievable events taking place this year on a worldwide scale, there is no way I could be manufacturing any of this. It is clearly laid out in Lev 26.

But few have believed us when we used the words of Yehovah. We could not get on any major Christian radio or TV shows to present our teachings except for the 700 CLub in the Philippines and we were on there twice now.

Then this year in 2020, people are having dreams of the end times and with nor mention of Yehovah’s words their message is going viral. People are more intrigued with dreams which can not be verified than they are with the word of Yehovah which can be verified. Having said that it is interesting that these dreams of fists pounding calendars and pointing at certain months seem to be matching what we have been telling you. Others are dreaming about the black wolf and now warning about what they see.

Sightedmoon.com does not teach based on dreams. We have taught you according to the word of Yehovah and we have completed the mission that we began in 2005. Now what?

The next 13 years are going to be the most dangerous ones for all of us. We are told;

Mat 24:22  “And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the sake of the chosen ones those days shall be shortened.

Isa 13:9  Behold, the day of Jehovah comes, cruel and with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land waste; and He shall destroy its sinners out of it.

Isa 13:10  For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its light.

Isa 13:11  And I will visit evil on the world, and their iniquity on the wicked. And I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the pride of tyrants.

Isa 13:12  I will make a man more precious than gold; even a man than the fine gold of Ophir.

Isa 13:13  So I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall move out of its place, in the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.

We are also told in Isaiah;

Isa 26:17  As a woman with child draws near to bear, she is in pain and cries out in her pangs; so have we been in Your sight, O Jehovah.

Isa 26:18  We conceived; we have been in pain, we gave birth to wind. We have not brought about any salvation in the earth; nor have the people of the world fallen.

Isa 26:19  Your dead ones shall live, together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of lights, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Isa 26:20  Come, my people, enter into your rooms and shut your doors around you; hide for a little moment, until the fury has passed by.

Isa 26:21  For behold, Jehovah comes out of His place to punish the people of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall reveal her blood, and shall no more cover her dead.

It is based upon this understanding and that of;

Rev 11:3  And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.

Rev 11:5  And if anyone will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone will hurt them, so it is right for him to be killed.

Rev 11:6  These have authority to shut up the heaven, that it may not rain in the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

This year of 2020 begins the 2300 Day count of Daniel 8. This 6 1/4 time period is when the Nations of Israel are going to be slaughtered so that just a remnant is left.

During this time there is a Sabbatical Year that begins in 2023 and goes to Aviv, 2024. We must have food stored during this crisis. With looting, burning of homes and war, it will be hard to do this.

By 2026 when the end of these 2300 days come to pass many will be starving and in prison, then the Two Witnesses begin to declare no rain anywhere on the earth for 3 1/2 years as they work to collect the remnant of Israel from around the world. We are told that the Coastlands, the Isles will collect Israel at this time.

The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

Isa 66:1  So says Jehovah, Heaven is My throne, and earth My footstool. Where, then, is the house that you build for Me? And where is the place of My rest?

Isa 66:2  For all those My hand has made, and all those exist, says Jehovah. But to this one I will look, to the afflicted and contrite spirit, and the one who trembles at My Word.

Isa 66:3  He who kills an ox is is as if he killed a man; he who sacrifices a lamb is as if he broke a dog’s neck; he who offers an offering is as if he offered swine’s blood; he who burns incense is as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.

Isa 66:4  I also will choose the things that delude them, and I will bring their fears on them, because I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they did not hear. But they did evil before My eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.

Isa 66:5  Hear the Word of Jehovah, you who tremble at His Word; your brothers who hated you, who cast you out for My name’s sake, said, Let Jehovah be glorified. But He will appear to your joy, and they will be ashamed.

Isa 66:6  A sound of noise from the city, a sound from the temple, a sound of Jehovah repaying His enemies.

Rejoice with Jerusalem

Isa 66:7  Before she travailed, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a man child.

Isa 66:8  Who has heard a thing like this? Who has seen things like these? Will the earth be brought forth in one day? Or will a nation be born at once? For Zion travailed and also brought forth her sons.

Isa 66:9  Will I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth, says Jehovah? Surely I will cause birth and restrain, says your God.

Isa 66:10  Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all who mourn for her;

Isa 66:11  that you may suck and be satisfied with her comforting breasts; that you may milk out and be delighted with the fullness of her glory.

Isa 66:12  For so says Jehovah, Behold, I will hold out peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like a flowing stream. Then you will suck, you will be carried on her sides and be dandled upon her knees.

Isa 66:13  As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.

Isa 66:14  And you will see, and your heart will rejoice, and your bones will flourish like the grass. And the hand of Jehovah will be known toward His servants, and His fury toward His enemies.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

Isa 66:15  For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and with His chariots like a tempest, to refresh His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.

Isa 66:16  For by fire and by His sword Jehovah will execute judgment with all flesh; and the slain of Jehovah will be many.

Isa 66:17  Those who sanctify themselves, and purify themselves to go into the gardens, behind one tree in the middle, eating swine’s flesh, and the hateful thing, and the mouse, will be cut off together, says Jehovah.

Isa 66:18  For I know their works and their thoughts; it comes to gather all the nations and the tongues; and they will come and see My glory.

Isa 66:19  And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape from them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, drawers of the bow; to Tubal, and Javan, to the far away coasts that have not heard My fame, nor have seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.

Isa 66:20  And they will bring all your brothers for an offering to Jehovah out of all nations on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, says Jehovah, as the sons of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah.

Isa 66:21  And I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites, says Jehovah.

Isa 66:22  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make stand before Me, says Jehovah, so will your seed and your name stand.

Isa 66:23  And it will be, from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before Me, says Jehovah.

Isa 66:24  And they will go out and see the dead bodies of the men who have sinned against Me; for their worm will not die, nor will their fire be put out; and they will be an object of disgust to all flesh.

It is with these scriptures in mind that Sightedmoon.com is now creating a vehicle, a legal entity to work with the Philippines, the coastlands, to prepare for the coming drought, by having water access, so food can be grown. It is through this legal entity and others that we will be training the Philippine people to be Priests ready to serve Yehovah and who can then teach the nations and rescue the remnant of Israel as Isaiah 66 says.

We have already begun.

We have a team working on the legalities and we are about to form an NGO Incorporated company. We have others working on other projects which this company can use to help the Philippine people during this coming crisis. At the same time, the NGO company will be hiring other corporations to do the work on the ground and to solicit donations for this work from Government sources and businesses alike.

We can use more help. If you want to be part of this 10-year plan, actually a 10-year and 13-year plan, then write to us and tell us how you can help and what skills you have. And pray for those who are working on this now, that Yehovah inspires them in each aspect of their all-volunteer work so that His will can be done and many can be saved.

The next phase has already begun!

 


 

2020

It has been an eventful year thus far. I do hope each one of you is taking the perpetual calendar that you can get from our web site and using it and making notes. Pauline created this and I did not see the need for it at the time. I now see just how useful this tool is and has been.

In our Newsletter 5856-016, we posted the following account of what we have been saying and when we began to state these things.

  • Since 2005 I have been telling people about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years.
  • Since 2007 we have been posting our findings online through our web site sightedmoon.com. Since then we have had about 2.6 million hits to our News Letters, videos and podcasts.
  • We have spoken in person across the USA and Canada starting in 2008 with the Prophecy Club. We have spoken in Switzerland Africa and the Philippines.
  • We have published The Prophecies of Abraham in 2010, Remembering the Sabbatical Year of 2016 in 2013, The 2300 Days of Hell in 2014, The Blood Moons-The Elephant in the Room in 2014, It was a Riddle Not a Command in 2019, Scripture Lessons for the Kingdom in 2018 and More Scripture Lessons for the Kingdom in 2020. We also have these books in French, Dutch, German, Portuguese and an East Indian dialect.
  • We now have associate ministries in Burundi and Kenya Africa. And they cover DR Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. We also have a thriving relationship with many ministries in the Philippines.
  • Since 2005 we have been telling you about the 70 Weeks of Daniel.
  • Since 2005 we have been telling you about the middle of the 70th Jubilee Cycle and that that year was 2020.
  • Since 2005 we have been telling you in every way possible that the 4th curse of Lev 26, of the sword, famine and plague was coming in this 4th Sabbatical cycle.
  • We even put a countdown clock on our web site with 0 Days, 0 hours 0 minutes and 0 seconds expiring at sunset in Israel when Shavuot began and we said if these things did not start to happen we would remove the sightedmoon web site.

Confirmation of The Time of Judgement

  1. Prior to the beginning of 2020, the USA signed a deal to end the Paris Agreement.  All 193 nations of the world had agreed to this covenant. That exit from the Paris Accord takes place this coming November. The Paris Accord is the most recent name of the UNEP which was signed into existence in Stockholm Sweden, June 5-16, 1972. This was the covenant made with many spoken of in Daniel 9. One week or one Jubilee later brings you to June 2020.
  2. The British also entered the European Common Market on January 31, 1973. This was still part of the preceding year if 1972, as the years start and end with Aviv. BREXIT is the final exit from the European common market and it has finally been ratified to be done by December 31, 2020. Again this too is a covenant made with many that the tribe of Joseph entered into and is now leaving, one week or one Jubilee Cycle later. Joseph is Ephraim and MAnanaseh. The British and the USA. They both entered into a covenant with the Great Whore of Revelation, The European Union and now one week later they are both coming out of those agreements. The whore is not going to be happy.
  3. The USA has also been withdrawing funding from many UN agencies. The latest one in 2020 was the WHO over the pandemic crisis. The UN is today greatly influenced by The European Union against the State of Israel and the USA.
  4. In 2020, the Barley was Aviv a month early and Avvi 1 was February 26, 2020. As it arrived we began the year with a Locust Plague being announced February 20, 2020. Swarms of desert locusts are plaguing several countries worldwide, including China, Jordan, Pakistan, Kenya and Sudan.East Africa is being hit particularly hard by the swarms, with the United Nations warning of an unprecedented threat to food security in the region, according to Bloomberg. The outbreak is being caused by an increased number of cyclones and could become worse if weather trends continue. This plague has not stopped as of this posting in June.
  5. We kept Passover March 10th and 11th. WHO World Health Organization Declares COVID-19 a ‘Pandemic.’ on March 11.
  6. Every nation around the world began to shut down and told their people to shelter at home for 3 months.
  7. Transportation Food Chains struggled to keep supply chains open during COVID 19 and panic buying.
  8. Stock Market tumbles as over 39 Million Americans are laid off from work due to the COVID 19 virus.
  9. We have begun the Great Depression of 2020.
  10. Nations print money 24/7 to help stave off financial bankruptcy of business after business as the Virus shut down deepens.
  11. The week before we kept Shavuot May 3rd, 2020, David Beasley, director of the United Nations World Food Program, warned Tuesday, April 21, that the world is on “the brink of a hunger pandemic” as it grapples with the global coronavirus crisis. He said that without action, the world could face “multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months.” Some 135 million people are acutely food-insecure and facing crisis levels of hunger or worse, according to a report published this week called the 2020 Global Report on Food Crisis. Now, the coronavirus could push an additional 130 million people “to the brink of starvation” by the end of the year, said Beasley. “In a worst-case scenario, we could be looking at famine in about three dozen countries, and in fact, in 10 of these countries we already have more than one million people per country who are on the verge of starvation,” Beasley said. He said there’s “a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself.”
  12. Monday, April 27, Food Processing Plants began to shut down due to the COVID 19 Pandemic
  13. Saturday, May 2, 2020, Wasted milk, euthanized livestock: Photos show how coronavirus has devastated US agriculture.
  14. During May as the nice weather arrive people began to ignore social distancing rules and defy the Health Ministry to remain at home and for businesses to remain shut. May 25, 2020, Americans across the country appeared to abandon social distancing guidelines as they sunbathed on beaches and gathered for pool parties on Memorial Day weekend. The long weekend traditionally signals the start of the US summer, and despite the country’s Covid-19 death toll approaching 100,000, many revelers dismissed any safety concerns to celebrate.
  15. As our countdown clock wound down to “0” as Shavuot began in Israel, massive civil unrest swept across the USA in protest of white police officers killing an unarmed black man in Minnesota on Monday, May 27, 2020. Protests and riots took place in these American cities Saturday night as the second Shavuot began that evening. I have not verified the following list. The National Guard was brought out in many cities and even for the White House. THE WHITE HOUSE. Friday night, President Trump was taken to the underground bunker due to the danger of the protests in front of the White House.

We posted the above on June 6th 2020.

We were looking for something to possibly happen on the 17th of the 4th Month and again for something to happen on the 9th of Av. We had no clue what might happen, but we were looking, watching. Keep in mind we are one month earlier than most this year.

The 17th of the 4th month was on June 10, 2020.

June 10-12 the US Stock market dropped 2462 points.

Seattle protesters take over city blocks to create police-free ‘autonomous zone’. Hundreds of protesters have taken over several blocks of Seattle and transformed it into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or “Chaz”, helping to amplify nationwide protests while offering a real-world example of what a community can look like without police.

Then on June 30 this was written about the Police free zone. And on July 1st, 2020 it was finally taken back by the police.

For several weeks now, activists have been squatting in a six-block area of downtown Seattle known as “CHOP” or “CHAZ” to protest police violence against black males, yet spasms of violence against black males keep erupting in the “police free” area.

During this time news reports and videos showed Transport Truckers being shot at on interstate highways. Trucks being mobbed and the drivers pummeled and their cargo looted. I saw videos of trains being looted and Amazon delivery trucks being looted not to mention store after store and no one tried to stop it but all join in the frenzied mob mentality. Whites were beaten and sucker-punched and denied access to various roadways.

Now I am wondering if anyone noticed what took place on the 9th of Av which fell on July 1, 2020.

Germany is at ‘the heart and core of the united Europe.’

BY JOSUÉ MICHELS • JULY 6

On July 1, Germany began its six-month presidency of the European Council for the first time in 13 years. This begins an unprecedented time, as now two of the highest senior positions in the European Union are currently led by Germans. Chancellor Angela Merkel has the opportunity to team up with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to shape the European Union for years to come.

A reporter asked Merkel and von der Leyen whether the EU countries could be afraid of “too much German.” The two women smiled in amusement at the reporter’s question before referring to themselves as “European.”

Although the six-month Council presidency rotates among the member states, Germany’s leadership is most noteworthy. It is the EU’s most populous, most prosperous and most represented country in Brussels. When another member state holds the Council presidency, its success is measured by German cooperation. When Germany holds the presidency, almost nothing stands in its way.

Moreover in the next six months, topics of an unprecedented magnitude need to be settled. Not only do Brexit negotiations need to be completed, but the EU also needs to deal with the aftermath of an unprecedented pandemic and the reconstruction of the economy, finalize the EU budget for the next seven years, tackle the climate change question, formulate a law on migration, and realign the Union’s foreign policy regarding the United States and China.

“Pandemic, Brexit, migration, [U.S. President Donald] Trump, power poker of the world powers—and right in the middle: the EU,” n-tv.de noted (Trumpet translation throughout). “Germany takes over the presidency of the Council at an explosive time. The expectations are huge for Chancellor Merkel also.”

Many of these issues have been on the EU’s agenda before, but all discussion points seemingly waited for German leadership.

Rarely if ever has the EU faced a more pivotal six months than those immediately ahead. Never before has the fate of the EU depended so much on a single nation. Never before has it been so clear that Germany is at the heart and core of the European project.

“We know that Europe is certainly in the most difficult situation in its history. This is reflected in the virus that still exists,” said Chancellor Merkel. “And we see it in the economic data that reach us and that applies to all member states of the European Union.”

“Germany Is Doomed to Lead Europe,” the Economist noted on June 27. “The EU’s biggest member is in charge, whether Germans like it or not.”

Along with Germany’s rising dominance in the EU is the use of its language. “English may be the European Union’s lingua franca, but listen carefully in the corridors of power and you’ll find the language of Goethe and Schiller is on the rise,” Politico wrote on June 26 in “We’ll All Be Speaking German Soon.”

At the end of World War ii, the U.S., Great Britain and France were determined to never let Germany rise again to dominate Europe. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed in part to prevent German military dominance. Britain joined the EU in part to prevent German political dominance. France hoped to lead Europe in partnership with a submissive Germany. Today it is clear that all efforts to contain Germany have failed.

Then on July 5, 2020, which was the 2nd Lunar eclipse in the past 30 days, we had the following start up.

Armed Black Militia Challenges White Nationalists at Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park

From our News Letter of May 30, 5856-015 we have this statement from Cyrus Harding. The peak of the crazy cycle as he called it was going to be ending on July 4, as the lunar eclipse took place.

Phase IV = June 14 – July 4. How much = 75%.

Today Shabbat July 11, is when the moon is in conjunction with Mars in the tail of the great sea monster Cetus. Israel was supposed to take control of the Jordan valley on July 1, 2020, but has put this operation off for the moment. When will this take place and what will be the reaction of the world when it happens? We wait and watch. Perhaps this is what the next crazy cycle is that Cyrus warned us about recently.

Since I wrote that News Letter on May 30, we now have the third witness who had a dream that in Sept and November this year of 2020 something big is to happen.

We also have to add the following information to the potential dates above.

Over the past two weeks 6 attacks have taken place on Iranian Nuclear facilities.

On June 26, in Khojir, about 12 miles east of Tehran. According to satellite data of the area, the explosion and subsequent fire seems to have taken place at a facility linked to the production of solid-propellant rockets. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Khojir site is made up of numerous underground tunnels suspected to be used in missile assembly.

The second attack of note took place in the morning of July 2 at the Natanz nuclear complex. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that “a building within the Iranian Natanz nuclear complex was damaged after a fire … with no casualties.”

The Natanz facility is well known to followers of Iran’s military nuclear program. The attacked building was constructed in 2012 by Iran for the development of advanced centrifuges.

Although Iran believes it was Israel that did these attacks they have no real proof. I will be watching for a retaliatory strike from Iran or its proxies in the weeks and months ahead.

 

Mysterious Explosions Expose Iran’s Continued Nuclear Ambition

Israel resorts to clandestine attacks to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
BY BRENT NAGTEGAAL • JULY 9

Over the past two weeks, mysterious explosions tore through areas around Tehran, leading many to believe that Israel is conducting a covert offensive against the Iranian regime.

Iranian media have announced six such explosions. It’s unlikely that Israel is behind all of these attacks; however, two of them stand out as potential Israeli targets because of their possible military dimensions.

The first took place in the early morning of June 26 in Khojir, about 12 miles east of Tehran. According to satellite data of the area, the explosion and subsequent fire seems to have taken place at a facility linked to the production of solid-propellant rockets. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Khojir site is made up of numerous underground tunnels suspected to be used in missile assembly.

While Israel did not confirm it was behind the attack, targeting a missile production site would be a natural extension of Israel’s no-tolerance policy on Iran’s desire to arm its proxies with Iranian missiles. Over the past two years, Israel has struck missile facilities and convoys of arms shipments inside Syria and Iraq. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he will not allow Iran to place precision-guided missiles inside Syria and Lebanon, and he directs almost weekly attacks against such sites.

However, the alleged Khojir attack is the first time in recent memory that Israel has struck a missile production site inside Iranian territory.

The second attack of note took place in the morning of July 2 at the Natanz nuclear complex. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that “a building within the Iranian Natanz nuclear complex was damaged after a fire … with no casualties.”

The Natanz facility is well known to followers of Iran’s military nuclear program. The attacked building was constructed in 2012 by Iran for the development of advanced centrifuges. According to the nuclear deal, Iran had to halt work on these centrifuges, which are used in the process of purifying nuclear form at an expedited pace. However, for the past two years, work at the Natanz facility has continued.

According to the Times of Israel, once the new centrifuges were operable, they would be sent far underground to do the work of creating weapons-grade uranium. At which point, it would be very difficult for an Israeli bomb to penetrate the layers of concrete and steel and destroy their production capability. “They were vulnerable while they were still being put together in the above-ground building that was targeted,” the Times of Israel wrote.

According to nuclear experts, the Natanz attack set back the Iranian march toward a bomb by a matter of months or longer. Institute for Science and International Security President David Albright told the Jerusalem Post that the attack was highly impactful. “It is clear that a major explosion took place, destroying nearly three quarters of the main centrifuge assembly hall, generating a fire that blackened a major portion of the building, the blackening visible where the roof had been blown away by the explosion,” Albright said.

As usual, Israeli officials have not confirmed they were behind the attacks. However, the New York Times cited a “Middle Eastern intelligence official” who said Israel was directly responsible for planting a powerful bomb inside the facility. According to the official, the explosion “destroyed much of the aboveground parts of the facility where new centrifuges—delicate devices that spin at supersonic speeds—are balanced before they are put into operation.”

In a separate Reuters report, an Iranian official said, “Iran’s enemies had carried out similar attacks in the past.”

On Tuesday, Iranian government spokesman called on the world to respond to Israel’s actions, although he did not directly blame Israel for the attacks. “This method Israel is using is dangerous, and it could spread to anywhere in the world,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said during a press conference.

That both attacks took place at two Iranian military sites—one used for the production of nuclear fuel and the other for components that could be used in the delivery of a nuclear weapon—indicates a direct act of sabotage, rather than mere coincidence.

Why Now?
For many anti-Netanyahu commentators, the reason for Israel’s attacks on Iran is purely political. Writing for Al-Monitor, Ben Caspit opined that Benjamin Netanyahu himself might have leaked that Israel was behind the attack in order to divert attention away from bad poll numbers over his handling of the coronavirus. Caspit wrote, “The only card he has left to play is the security card, and he is going for broke. That means setting back the Iranian nuclear program in order to allow Israel and perhaps the United States to block an Iranian nuclear breakout should Iran abandon its ‘strategic patience’ policy.”

It could also be that Israel received a free pass by the Trump administration to attack Iran’s facilities. Curiously, a week before the first attack took place in Iran, the first copies of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book made it to reporters. One of the revelations of his book, The Room Where It Happened, was that President Donald Trump supported an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

Bolton writes, “On Iran, I urged that he press ahead to withdraw from the nuclear agreement and explained why the use of force against Iran’s nuclear program might be the only lasting solution. ‘You tell Bibi [Netanyahu] that if he uses force, I will back him. I told him that, but you tell him again,’ Trump said, unprompted by me.”

With President Trump’s backing of a military strike now public knowledge, Israel would feel more confident that the U.S. would be compelled to come to Israel’s aid if Iran chooses to retaliate.

More importantly, Israel’s attacks reveal Iran is still hell-bent on acquiring a nuclear weapon.

As we have reported recently, Iran is currently breaking every stipulation of the nuclear deal. It has reduced its breakout time (the time it takes for Iran to produce enough weapons-grade fuel) from one year down to three to four months. All the while, it continues to purport that it has never desired to produce a nuclear weapon.

While some far-left commentators state that Netanyahu may have ordered the attack to save his own skin politically, most security experts clearly note that Iran’s pace toward developing a nuclear weapon has dramatically increased over the past few months.

Any Israeli action against Iran comes with a risk of retaliation, which is why Israel often chooses not to claim such attacks. If Israel openly boasts of the attack, then Iran is compelled to retaliate, putting Israeli lives at risk. It could do this by instructing any of its proxy forces, such as Hezbollah or Hamas, to rain down thousands of rockets on Israeli civilians.

That Israel would choose to attack Iran with a limited strike on highly prized nuclear and missile assets, and yet kill no Iranians, shows that Israel was after a strategic victory, not a declaration of war.

It also shows that an Iranian nuclear weapon is an imminently real threat.

And with the backing of the United States, it seems the current Israeli leadership is going to do all it can to do stop it.

Conceding the Bomb to Iran
Some leading security experts believe that there is no way to stop Iran’s march toward acquiring a nuclear weapon, so Israel should focus more on developing its deterrence measures for when Iran gets the bomb.

In an interview with the Times of Israel on July 8, former head of Israel’s Mossad Intelligence Agency, Shabtai Shavit, revealed, “Iran can’t be stopped in nuke bid, but can be deterred.”

“That means we have to ensure we have the capabilities so that if you [Iranians] go out of your minds one day, and want to use [the bomb] against us, take into account that Iran will cease to exist,” Shavit stated. “The price you will have to pay if you want to utilize that capability against us will be prohibitive.”

Such reasoning might have worked with the Russians during the Cold War, but does anyone really believe Iran would be deterred by mutually assured destruction? If you don’t give a loaded gun to a crazy person, you wouldn’t give a nuclear weapon to the fanatical regime of Iran.

As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has repeatedly stated, Iran is not a rational actor. In his booklet Great Again, Mr. Flurry writes, “The Iranian leader believes that causing a nuclear cataclysm will hasten the coming of his messiah. No matter what happens, these religious zealots believe they are winners. No other nuclear power thinks like that! It makes nuclear war inevitable.”

The fact that the former head of Israel’s intelligence agency is willing to concede that Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon shows that nuclear Armageddon is at the door.

Logic tells us that, and so does biblical prophecy.

The Trumpet has repeatedly warned about the prophetic significance of a nuclear-armed Iran. Our free booklet The King of the South explains the Iranian regime’s role in end-time events.

Despite the horrific scenario of a nuclear Iran, there is some comfort.

Several biblical prophecies show that Iran’s push for nuclear weapons actually foretells a coming end to all nuclear proliferation. Iran will indeed push the whole world toward war, but the culmination of that war will be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Mr. Flurry writes in Great Again:

Jesus Christ prophesied the outcome of these problems in Matthew 24:21-22. He said the coming “great tribulation” would be worse than any in mankind’s long, tragic history! He warned that unless these perilous days were shortened, no flesh would be saved alive! … Without the return of Jesus Christ, mankind would war all the way to the point that there would not be a single human being left alive on Earth! This is talking about the nuclear world war just ahead of us!
A thousand attempts have been made to stop Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. Hacking slowed but didn’t stop them. Espionage and assassination have yielded similar results. Attempts at friendship have been the most disastrous of all. Ongoing sanctions haven’t fared much better. Israel’s current turn to actual military action only further proves how close Iran now is to acquiring a nuclear weapon. And the radical regime will likely get it.

But there is good news at the end of all of this. As Mr. Flurry writes, “Christ is going to stop us from destroying ourselves completely! He—not an Islamic Mahdi currently hiding in a well—is going to return to this Earth. Jesus Christ is going to return in all power from heaven and place His feet upon the Mount of Olives, and bring us the real, true and lasting peace that we all desire!”

 


The Feast of Trumpet – Yom Teruah

Friday, August 21, 2020 (Begins Sunset night before) is the day we expect to begin the Feast of Trumpets. This is now just 7 weeks away. This year is a very difficult year to plan anything with the world being in a locked down state. We are no going to begin teaching each week on the meaning of each Holy Day and some things you did not know before.

Atonement – Yom Kippur

Sunday, August 30, 2020 (Begins Sunset night before)

 Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkot

Friday, September 4, 2020 (Begins Sunset night before) and goes for 7 days.

The 8th Day – Shemini Atzeret

Friday, Sept 11, 2020 (Begins Sunset night before)

All of these dates will not be finalized until the crescent moon is seen Thursday evening August 20, 2020.

 


 

Migdal Eder & the Birth of Messiah

We first presented the following article in 2016 which was shown to us by Chad Wilheim.

Just a few weeks ago we shared with you the deception of the Aleph Tav. How Satan has impersonated these two to lead people away from the truth. Today we are going to share with you another one of those truths that very few talk about and yet it makes so much sense and affirms what we already knew.

Satan has deceived the whole world. Everyone except you right. No, he has deceived the whole world.

Rev 12:7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

In Isaiah 14:12 we are told how Satan would even think to become like God.

“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
You said in your heart,
I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’

And it is in this method of being “LIKE” Yehovah that he has deceived the whole world and that includes all of us.
How many of you are now still keeping and celebrating Christmas, the birthday of Jesus the Messiah?

Yehshua said that Satan was the father of lies.

John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

And it is these lies that have been passed down to us from our fathers.

Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all.” 20 Can man make gods for himself? Such are not gods!…

Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

Once we learn the truth about how our fathers have lied to us we want nothing to do with it altogether. So we shun all activities surrounding the Christmas Story. But in so doing Satan has again kept us from the truth. First in believing the lie and then in ignoring the truth as we stay away from the lies.

But the best lies are often told with a mixture of truth in them. Let us now search out the truth of the birth of Yehshua and understand it as it should be in the plan of Yehovah.

This article is presented by Chad and Marilyn Wilhelm, who shared it with me last fall (2015) and I have waited until now (2016) to share it with you. It fits perfectly with our teaching last week on the birth of Yehshua being on the Feast of Trumpets. Again stop and think. Mary had given birth and would be unclean for 40 days.

Lev 12:2  Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If a woman has conceived seed and has borne a male, then she shall be unclean seven days; as on the days of her menstrual impurity she shall be unclean. 3  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4  And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying thirty-three days. She shall touch no holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are fulfilled.

And the nursing baby Yehshua would have touched her in order to be breastfed and each time the baby touched the unclean Mary, the baby too would be unclean.

Lev 15:19  And if a woman has an issue, and her issue in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days. And whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. 20  And everything that she lies on in her impurity shall be unclean. Everything also that she sits on shall be unclean. 21  And whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 22  And whoever touches anything that she sat on, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 23  And if it is on the bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until the evening.

So exactly how would the infant Yehshua be able to go into the Temple on the 8th Day of Sukkot to be circumcised as some teach you that His birth was on the 1st day of Sukkot? Just stop and think for a moment. It is impossible for the infant to go up to the Temple until at least 40 days after His birth. This is just another indicator we have that He was born on the Feast of Trumpets. More again on this next week. But this week I want to share this teaching from Chad.

The Greek and Hebrew fonts do not come across on this website and are shown as ???. So if you want them they are all on Chad’s site which you can link to at the end of the article.

Migdal Eder & the Birth of Messiah

My sincere hope, brethren, is that by the end of this teaching, you will truly get a better picture of the birth of our Messiah rather than the traditional view that has become the norm passed down from the early Church Fathers. Tradition (not the Bible) says that Yeshua‘s birthplace was in a cave over which the Basilica of the Nativity was built in Bethlehem. According to Origen of Alexandria (185 – 254 CE), the Roman Emperor Constantine built a Basilica over this cave in the 4th Century at the request of his mother Helena. It was destroyed and the present basilica was built by Emperor Justinian in 530 AD. Origen of Alexandria wrote that it was generally accepted that Yeshua was born in a cave at Bethlehem which could be visited in his day. (Origen of Alexandra, “Against Celsus” in

Volume 1, Chapter 51. )

There is no evidence that can be found within the Bible to support that claim! Let’s turn to a familiar passage of scripture and see what clues we can uncover from the text.

Revisiting the Birth: Clues from the Text

Luk 2:1-20 “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” {KJV} (emphasis mine)

In verses 7,12, and 16 I have put in bold what the KJV has translated from the Greek Text. These are the words with the ‘Strong’s Concordance” reference:   “ inG1722 a manger;G5336 “ however, when one looks at this particular text through an actual Greek Interlinear there is a missing Greek word. Here is what the text looks like from the Interlinear: “ ??G1722 IN ??G3588 THE ?????G5336 MANGER “ the Greek word   ??G3588    is not translated as it should be- although it is of my opinion that the translators in an attempt to smooth out the text inserted “a” instead of “the”. Let’s now take a look at this interesting Greek word. According to the Thayer Greek Dictionary, this Greek word is defined as ‘the definite article’, “the” in its masculine, feminine or neuter gender…the demonstrative pronoun. Examples: “this”, “that”, or “these”. The next word that should be studied in this passage of Luke chapter 2 is “manger”. The Greek word here is G5336 ?????? phatne? fat’-nay (from the Strong’s Concordance). This word comes from the Greek word ????????? pateomai (to eat); a crib (for fodder): – manger or stall. Listed below are the Hebrew words that are most similar to the Greek word ?????? phatne? (these are also the Septuagint related words).

H18 ????? evus:           a manger, stall (from H75 [ abas ] –to fodder, fatted, stalled)                                       H723 ???? urvah :           a herding place for an animal                                                                                               H1098 ????? belil :     feed, fodder                                                                                                                              H7517 ??? rephet:     a stall

This word G5336 ?????? phatne? could be translated as ‘manger’ but if we look into the ancient time and culture during Yeshua’s day, I’m of the opinion that this ‘manger’ was more of a stable or stall to house livestock. We will discuss this further in a bit.

Luke 2:15 “…Let us now go to Bethlehem…”

After the shepherds were told about the Messiah, how did they know where to go?

Luk 2:15-16 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Where would the shepherds have known to go in Bethlehem to find baby Yeshua? There were no directions provided… (more on this later as well).

What we know from the Bible about Micah 5:2 and Luke 2:1-20

Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem (Beit –lechem – ‘house of bread’– Micah 5:2). Luke records the birth place of Messiah as Bethlehem in Luke 2:11. Bethlehem is the city of David and of his father’s inheritance (1 Sa 16:4, 17:15, 20:6). Although the Brit Chadashah does not tell us where in Bethlehem Yeshua was born, the Tanakh does.

Location of Yeshua’s Birth

We are all familiar with this verse:

Mic 5:2 “And thou, Beit-Lechem Ephratah, Little to be among the chiefs of Judah! From thee to Me he cometh forth–to be ruler in Israel, And his comings forth are of old, From the days of antiquity.”

But do we go back and read the verses for context? Micah 4:1 – 5:4

Mic 4:1 “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

Mic 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. Mic 5:1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.”

To summarize: YHWH explains what it will be like in the millennial reign of Messiah (4:1 – 4:7). Micah 4:8 – 5:4 explains what will happen before that day!

The significance of ‘Migdal Eder’

Mic 4:8 “And thou, O tower ldgm of the flock  rdu, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.”

H4026 aldgm / ldgm migda?l / migda?la?h BDB Definition:

  • Tower 1a) tower 1b) elevated stage, pulpit 1c) raised

    bed

H1431 (ROOT WORD) ldg ga?dal BDB Definition: 1) to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to grow up 1a2) to become great 1a3) to be magnified

What did the Sages of Israel think about Micah 4:8 and 5:1-2?

Targums: Micah 4:8 “And you, O Messiah of Israel, who has been hidden away because of the sins of the congregation of Zion, the kingdom shall come to you, and the former dominion shall be restored to the kingdom of the congregation of Jerusalem.”

Targums: Micah 5:1 “And you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, you who were too small to be numbered among the thousands of the house of Judah, from you shall come forth before me the Messiah, to exercise dominion over Israel, he whose name was mentioned from of old, from ancient times.”

The sages of old understood Micah 4:8 and 5:1-2 to be about the coming Messiah!

Yeshua’s Birth at Migdal Eder

Where have we seen these words before? Migdal Eder?

Gen 35:16-21 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. 17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. 18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. 19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day. 21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond (from) tower of Eder [Migdal Eder].

RACHEL’S TOMB IN BETHLEHEM.
÷áø øçì ááéú ìçí.

RACHEL’S TOMB IN BETHLEHEM.
÷áø øçì ááéú ìçí.

 

Why is this significant? Because even the sages of old understood this passage of scripture was a prophecy concerning Messiah! They understood that Genesis 35:21 and Micah 4:8 were connected! According to Targum Jonathan (Jonathan Ben Uzziel) Genesis 35:21 is written this way:

Gen 35:2 “And Jakob proceeded and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder, the place from whence, it is to be, the King Meshiha (Messiah) will be revealed at the end of the days.” (emphasis mine)

Shadow Picture of Messiah Yeshua

Just as the naming of Leah’s children reveals YHWH’s plan of Messiah: The Messiah came as Elohim’s Son [Reuben – ‘see, a son’]. He was heard [Simeon – to hear] by some and joined to [Levi – joined] by others. We should praise him [Judah – praised] because he paid the wages [Issachar – wages] of sin. Soon he will come to dwell [Zebulun – habitation] with us and He will rule/judge [Dinah – Judgment] over the whole world.

Also note how Rachel’s children are thematically connected to Messiah Yeshua:

Joseph: bread man, suffering servant, exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh, savior of Egypt

Yeshua: bread of life, suffering servant, exalted to the right hand of the Father, savior of the world.

What about Benjamin?

How is Rachel’s other son Benjamin a shadow picture of Messiah [thematically related]?

Gen 35:18-19,21 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni (son of sorrow): but his father called him Benjamin (son of right hand). And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which isBethlehem. 21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond (from) tower of Eder [Migdal Eder]. Messiah was also born in Bethlehem, at Migdal Eder. He came the first time as a suffering servant, a son of sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). Yeshua now sits at the RIGHT HAND of the Father (Mark 16:19)… Our Heavenly Father will send him again a second time to return to put down iniquity and evil, set up the Kingdom, and rule/reign for a thousand years (Rev 19 & 20)!

Location of Migdal Eder

After Jacob left Bethel he came to Migdal Eder (the tower of the flock) and there Rachel began hard labour and as she delivered Benjamin she died and was buried there in ”…Ephratah which is Bethlehem” (Gen. 35:19). After burying Rachel, Jacob moved his flocks beyond Migdal Eder (tower of Eder/Flock). This would pinpoint the location as being near (to the North) to what is present-day Bethlehem. This establishes that Migdal Eder, “the tower of the flock” was in Bethlehem.

Keep in mind that the area which is called Bethlehem in biblical times covered a larger area than does present-day Bethlehem and Migdal Eder was in that city, or just on the outskirts of the city. The oldest tradition based upon Gen 35 and 48 places ancient Bethlehem Ephratah northeast of the current day city and about 4 miles south of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Other sources also suggest that Migdal Eder or the tower of the flock is a location on the outskirts of Bethlehem. The LXX has the location between Bethel and Rachel’s tomb. Eusebius locates it 1.9km east of Bethlehem (3.Eusebius Onamasticon 43.12) and others with a place called Siyan al Ghannam SW of Jerusalem (4.Avraham Negev: Archeological encyclopedia of the holy land pg 339)

This puts Migdal Eder very close to the modern day marker of rbk lhkr  (Kever Rakhel)- the tomb of Rachel. Isn’t it interesting that it is the third holiest site in Judaism? Our brother Judah continues to pray for Rachel and her children (tribes of Yosef and Benyamin)!

The Significance of Migdal Eder and the Holy Temple

Now that we have begun to uncover some clues about where Yeshua was born, let’s see if we can incorporate anything to do with the Holy Temple and the Temple services. When the Temple stood, there was the twice-daily offering of a male lamb instructed in the Torah called the Tameed (continual) burnt offering (Num 28:3). It was the first and last offering of the day in the Holy Temple. This offering was specific in that it could only be a male lamb without spot or blemish. It had to be perfect, or Tameem (complete, perfect).

According to the Mishnah (Baba K. 7.7), expressly forbids the keeping of flocks throughout the land of Israel, except in the wilderness and the only flocks otherwise kept, would be those for the Temple-services (Baba K. 80a) [Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Edersheim pg131]

Who were the ‘Shepherds’?

Luke 2:1-20 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

“…and, accordingly, that the shepherds, who watched over them, were not ordinary shepherds.” [The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Edersheim pg 131]

More than likely, these shepherds resided near Bethlehem were none other than the shepherds from ‘Migdal Eder’ who were well aware what the sages of old taught that the Messiah might well be announced from ‘Migdal Eder’ in Bethlehem. There is a good possibility that these Shepherds were either ‘Levites’ or designated Shepherds specifically trained to watch over sheep for Temple Services. I believe that they would have cared for and inspected each newborn lamb of any defects or blemishes and it was these ‘Levites’ (in my opinion) that declared whether or not these ‘newborn’ clean animals were acceptable for Temple service.

The sign: a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a THE manger

The Greek word used here for ‘swaddling cloths’ is sparganoo? spar-gan-o’-o G4683 [Strong’s] From sparganon (a strip; from a derivative of the base of G4682 meaning to strap or wrap with strips); to swathe (an infant after the Oriental custom): – wrap in swaddling clothes. It is interesting that this Greek word is used because it comes from the Greek word ????????? sparasso? G4682, a verb, meaning to convulse or tear. Continuing on with the Strong’s definition: A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: prolongation from spairo (to grasp, apparently strengthened from G4685 through the idea of spasmodic contraction).

What I am getting at here is that this Greek word translated as ‘swaddling cloths’ was more applicable to preventing a newborn animal or baby from scratches or injury. To further emphasize my point, In the book “The Chronological Gospels” by Michael Rood, Rood comments on the swaddling cloths from Luke 2:7: “A child of the King and potential heir to the throne was salted and swaddled as part of the initial dedication of the child and in recognition of the parents’ responsibility to raise the child according to the straight path

Eze 16:4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.

Soon after birth, the child was washed with salted water and bound in the swaddling cloths with all of his limbs made straight…Swaddling cloths were made from priests’ garments that were no longer serviceable. This cloth was used for the wicks in the Temple menorah and for swaddling the sons of kings…” (pg. 52).

Harold Smith , in “The Birth- Revisited” writes:

Approaching this subject from the Hebrew perspective will show, that while swaddling “cloths” were used in the handling of newborn babies, swaddling “bands” (as referenced in Job 38:9 (and Eze 16:4)) were used for subduing animals prior to sacrifice. These “swaddling bands” were strips of gauze-like cloth used to restrain a lamb being prepared for inspection before sacrifice to prevent thrashing that they not “blemish” themselves.

Could Yeshua, the ‘Lamb of Elohim, that takes away the sins of the world’ have been born at the birthing place (Tower of the Flock/ Migdal Eder) that was used to bring forth newborn lambs destined for the Temple? The place where the shepherds used to inspect the lambs of any blemish to determine if they could be used for Temple sacrifices? Not only the ‘Tameed’ offering (continual burnt offering), but also the Passover lambs for Israel and the High Priest? Could Yeshua have been wrapped in the clothing of the garments of Temple Levites?

“…Let us know go to Bethlehem…” (continued)

How did the shepherds know where to go? Harold Smith writes:

“There was no need for the angels to give these shepherds directions to the birth place because they already knew. These were the men who raised sacrificial lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple. When the angelic announcement came, they already knew exactly where to go, as Luke 2 indicates, for the sign of the manger could only mean the manger at the base of the Tower of the Flock, as it is found in the original Greek wording of Luke 2:7,12 and 16! You cannot explain the meaning or direction of the sign they were given or their response unless you have the right manger (stall), the right shepherds and the proper Hebraic perspective.”

Extra Thoughts…

Messiah Yeshua, who is The Passover Lamb, came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey

Rabbinic tradition has the High Priest riding on a donkey going to and from Bethlehem (perhaps Migdal Eder?) with his Passover Lamb back into Jerusalem through the ‘Sheep gate’- why is this significant? In the book of Nehemiah we read the following:

Neh 3:1 “Then Eliashib [H475] the High Priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.” [This was the 1st gate listed in Jerusalem] (emphasis mine)

The meaning of Eliashib is a contraction of two words, ‘el’ and ‘shuv’, meaning El (God) will restore.

Petri Paavola, in his research of “Jerusalem’s gates spiritual meaning” writes the following: “The high priest Eliashib with his brethren and priests built the Sheep Gate and set up its doors. This is the first gate mentioned. The spiritual meaning of the Sheep Gate is that the high priest was building it and that through the Sheep Gate lambs and sheep were brought to the temple, in which they were offered.”

Messiah Yeshua is the High Priest of the renewed Covenant, who is the Lamb, who was offered for the sake of our sins. The Spiritual meaning of the Sheep Gate is the death and offering of the Lamb (Messiah), through which sacrifice, blood and resurrection bring us forgiveness of sins and redemption. According to Nehemiah 3:1, the High Priest was setting up the doors of the Sheep Gate, which means that He is the Door of the sheep. What did Yeshua proclaim? John 10:7 “…I am the door of the sheep.”

*[Side Note] In my opinion, Yeshua came in through the sheep gate, ‘destined’ to be ‘offered’. Yeshua was hoisted on the execution tree at the same time the 1st Tameed offering was offered up in the Temple (the 3rd hour) and after the last Tameed offering at the 9th hour, Yeshua said “It is finished”… dying on that tree to redeem us of our sins (and to restore us back to the Father.) Just as Eliashib (meaning El will restore), the High Priest rebuilt the door to the ‘Father’s House’ –so too, does our High Priest Messiah Yeshua, who is the door, restores us back to the Father !!!

Putting all the clues together

What we know is that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). He was revealed from Migdal Eder (Mic 4:8). This Tower more than likely laid close to the town near the road to Jerusalem (old Hebron road – Hwy 60 in modern-day Israel) and not far away from where the Tomb of Rachel is located (current day). The Mishnah tells us that the flocks which pastured there were destined for Temple sacrifices (Shekinah 7:4). The Mishnah tells us that the shepherds (who I believe were Levites) watching over them were specifically trained to inspect the newborn lambs for any defects. This same location where newborn lambs were born and inspected, destined for sacrifice at the Holy Temple, is the same place that Messiah Yeshua was ‘born’. He was ‘inspected’ to be unblemished, and destined to be offered for us!!! The Shepherds (Levites) would have known the exact place to go look for this ‘sign’ at none other than Migdal Eder.

Here’s what I find fascinating about all this. First, it places Yeshua’s birth in the traditional location for Passover lambs to be born. Fitting, since He became the Passover Lamb of Elohim who took away the sins of the world. Second, it explains how the shepherds knew where to go to find the newborn baby — and why being wrapped in swaddling clothes would be a significant clue. Finally, it explains why those shepherds were notified as it was their holy calling to certify Temple-approved & Passover lambs upon birth.

Something else to think about…

Think of Messiah, as a newborn baby, wrapped or bound at the birthing place of the lambs ‘destined’ for Temple-Sacrifice. The Shepherds (who I believe were of the Levitical Priesthood), who had heard of the sage teachings of Migdal Eder, the Prophecy of Micah 4:8, 5:2 and Genesis 35:21 and the place where Messiah would appear. Think of all the connections of Messiah from his birth until his crucifixion… How much deeper can we draw from this than the Traditional ‘Nativity’ scene that so many people have come to believe?

Shalom & blessings,

Chad

www.returnoftheremnant.com

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0AACIbJbI

REFERENCES

Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Edersheim 1993

The Birth – Revisitedby Harold Smith

Where was the Birth Place of the Lord Jesus? – Cooper P Abrams III

Jerusalem’s Gates Spiritual Meaning http://www.kotipetripaavola.com/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithwalkers/2012/12/was-jesus-born-away-in-a-manger-at-migdal-eder/#ixzz3RZw43lZ2

Jerusalem Talmud,

Babylonian Talmud,

Mishnah

Targum Jonathan

KJV

 

I, Jacob Howard, wrote Dr. Charlie Dyer, who is the speaker on the Land and the Book Radio, a question about Migdal-Eder, mentioned in Micah 4:8. This was Dr. Dyer’s response.

Jacob,

Thank you for your e-mail, and thanks as well for your kind words! Denny and I both appreciate the privilege God has given us to serve Him in this way. You have encouraged us both!

As far as Midgal Eder is concerned, there is no universal identification of the site. But I do believe it was a real site. The best thing I’ve read on the subject is from Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. (You can find his complete work online at Google Books.) I’ll include his quotation here, and then I’ll follow it with a few observations. (I’ll also highlight the key point he makes in the quote.)

But as we pass from the sacred gloom of the cave [i.e., he was just talking about the birth of Jesus in a cave] out into the night, its sky all aglow with starry brightness, its loneliness is peopled, and its silence made vocal from heaven. There is nothing now to conceal, but much to reveal, though the manner of it would seem strangely incongruous to Jewish thinking. And yet Jewish tradition may here prove both illustrative and helpful. That the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, was a settled conviction. Equally so was the belief, that He was to be revealed from Migdal Eder, “the tower of the flock.” This Migdal Eder was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks which pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage in the Mishnah leads to the conclusion, that the flocks, which pastured there, were destined for Temple-sacrifices, and, accordingly, that the shepherds, who watched over them, were not ordinary shepherds. The latter were under the ban of Rabbinism, on account of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances, and their manner of life, which rendered strict legal observance unlikely, if not absolutely impossible. The same Mishnaic passage also leads us to infer, that these flocks lay out all the year round, since they are spoken of as in the fields thirty days before the Passover—that is, in the month of February, when in Palestine the average rainfall is nearly greatest. Thus, Jewish tradition in some dim manner apprehended the first revelation of the Messiah from that Migdal Eder, where shepherds watched the Temple-flocks all the year round. Of the deep symbolic significance of such a coincidence, it is needless to speak.

—Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, pp. 186-87

If Edersheim is correct (and I believe he is), the location for Migdal Eder would be north of Bethlehem and near the old road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. (That road is the old “Hebron road” one drives on between Jerusalem and Bethlehem today!) I believe this puts the location somewhere between the Jewish kibbutz of Ramat Rachel and Bethlehem, probably just to the west of Har Homa. There used to be an actual sheepfold in this area where I would take our groups but, sadly, it has been covered over by the modern road that now goes to Har Homa.

A key point here. Edersheim indicates that Migdal Eder was an actual spot, but he is not saying it was a town or village. Rather, the name means “Watchtower of the flock” which seems to identify it as a specific pasture area for sheep. And the sheep that grazed here were those specifically destined for Temple sacrifice. In that sense, the shepherds keeping watch over the temple sacrifices were the ones to whom God announced the birth of the ultimate “sacrificial lamb.”

I’m attaching a screenshot from Google Earth that might be of help in identifying the location for Migdal Eder. Note that Ramat Rachel is at the top of the picture and Bethlehem is at the bottom. The road running along the left side of the picture is the old Hebron Road, and Homat Shemu’el/Har Homa is just to the right of center in the picture. Based on Edersheim’s description, I would place Migdal Eder almost in the center of the picture…north of Bethlehem, just to the west of Har Homa, and east of the road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Since the word means “tower of the flock” it is likely a high spot in this area where sheep would graze. The hills right around (or right at) Har Homa are probably the best possible location.

I hope this is helpful!

Charlie

Satan has changed the birthday of Yehshua from the 1st day of the 7th month to December 25. He has everyone worshipping him already on Dec 25 and the world thinks it is Yehshua. And most of the Jews do not know what this day of shouting is all about. It is the birthday of our Messiah and it is the day He is going to come back on in the future.

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