John 14:6, the Theology of the Cross, continued

Christ: The Door of the BA {WAY}

And Jesus said,
“He that enters not by the DOOR into the sheepfold,
but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
…I am the DOOR of the sheep. … I am the DOOR:
by Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved;
and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:1,7b,9) KJV

The Hebrew word used for DOOR, as used above in the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel, would be PeTaCH. In Gematria, PeTaCH holds a value of 488. This is the GATE or Destination Entrance-Way of BA. In the 488 equivalent of BeTHULiYM, we find that this entrance is being for “those who have been separated or set apart,” and are, through Christ’s perfect work of the Cross, made “virgins”. These attain the purity of the BA itself -- and since Christ Jesus is the BA, who is the Image of the Father -- then we see that, it is through the Son, that we attain a righteousness and purity that is beyond ourselves that makes us acceptable to GOD the Father. This is GOD’s grace toward us, unmerited/unearned by us, being the gift of GOD, not of works, lest any one should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

PeTaCH is also Gematrically synonymous (after the value of 488) with CHeTHLoN, which means - “to wrap or envelop”.
Chethlon is describable in three word pictures to this effect. In the first word picture, we have someone who is enwrapped by clean bandages, such as the victim on the road to Jericho, who is aided and treated by the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-34). The Good Samaritan pours oil and wine into the victim’s wounds, and then enwraps them with fresh and clean linen.
In the second word picture of CHeTHLoN, we see the encircling or enwrapping of a protective pen that was used by sheepherders for the protection of their sheep in ancient Israel. By day, they were led out to graze in the fields. By night, the sheep were herded into a walled corral, providing them a defense from predators. In the third word picture of CHeTHLoN, we are given the illustration of a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them from the elements of cold and rain.
It is through the DOOR, through the PeTaCH in the person of Jesus Christ, that we have hope of a right relationship with GOD, and hope of a “snatching away” from Judgment (being the hopes and aspirations of the doctrine of the Rapture). For the next synonym of PeTaCH after its Gematriac (i.e. numerical parallel door) synonym of 488, is CHaTHaPH - “that or he which clutches and snatches, taking away.” Thus, Jesus, our DOOR, after the mystery of the Hebrew, shows that He is the Messiah who will also snatch that which is His away, like a thief in the night, before the Great Judgment upon the earth comes (cf. Luke 12:35-40, I Thessalonians 5:2-7).

It is at the DOOR that we see the stripes and the Cross of Yeshua our Messiah. In the PeTaCH we see the suffering Messiah, who after the Gematriac synonym of 488 suffers for us: MeCHoLaTHiY “the grief or affliction of YH.” The word affliction can be translated for us as “Tribulation”, “trials”, “great Testing”, or “Judgment”. Christ bore for us our trials and tribulations by going to the Cross for us, being whipped and beaten, and dying for us on our behalf when he was perfectly blameless and guiltless from all sins. Because of this, we can -- through Christ and His perfect work at the Cross, by trusting into Him, being baptized (in effect) by our Faith into Him -- be delivered from the Tribulation that is coming upon the Earth (Revelation 3:10; cf. Romans 6:3-10, Matthew 22:30-32).

In the DOOR, we also see, after the Gematriac synonym, the PiTuaCH: “the carved work”. In YHVeH Messiah, PiTuaCH could refer to the flog marks on His beaten body, or the piercings in His hands and feet and side. In the New Jerusalem, the work of the Cross and the sufferings are also represented by the Gates of Pearl (Revelation 21:10-21). The Gates are like tunnels, with a length of 144 cubits or ca. 216 feet. This length will probably be the distance between the site of the Crucifixion (at the Kidron/Hinom juncture) and the Garden Tomb, into which Christ was temporarily buried -- until He rose from the dead 3 days later. The pearl, as you may know, is that which is made by the agitation of the oyster by the grains of the sea. By much affliction or tribulation, that which agitates is made beautiful. Even so, it may be said of mankind in relation to YHVeH Messiah, who foreknew and foretold this, as Jacob’s prayer to YHVeH demonstrates in Genesis 32:12.

To the believer, PeTaCH is reckoned as an OPEN DOOR. To the unbeliever, it is shut or closed until they reach out to trust into the DOOR, YHVeH Messiah,

“For whosoever shall call out upon, and invoke or invite
the NAME of the LORD, shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13, Joel 2:32 - Translation mine).

His NAME, to the Gentiles, is Jesus; but to the Israelites, He is Yeshua: “Salvation”. He is the same YHVeH into whom father Abraham trusted. Abraham’s father was Terah, which is Aramaic for a “gate” or “door”. Abraham left the gate of his father and of his old self in Haran, crossed over to enter into the “gate” or “door” of YHVeH, and became a “new Creation” in GOD.


A Closer Look at BA

“No man comes up to the AB (Father) except through Me.,” says Jesus.

The letter Beth also means “house” in Hebrew, as well as being a letter. In these two letters, we may Gematrically read as either “GOD’s House” (Alef-Beth), or as “the House of GOD” (Beth-Alef). In either case, the substance of the Way is the same and of equal quality. In effect, Alef-Beth holds a “greater” distinction than Beth-Alef (John 14:28), but they are equal in substance, being ONE (John 10:30). In the Hebrew, we read BA as אב. This word, Gematrically, points us toward the doctrine of the Oneness and the Trinity of GOD. BA is ONE word, consisting of TWO letters, having a value of THREE. In BA, we have the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, whose path is revealed, even as Jesus said,

“…and many shall inherit eternal life.Then shall be: the first last, and the last (ones be) first.”(Matthew 19:29-30 - translation mine)

When we reverse BA, we read in the Hebrew, AB: (The) Father. The first letter of AB is called an Alef. Alef stands numerically as 1. Alef also stands as the abbreviated form for GOD in El, Eloah, and Elohim. Alef is also one of the Names of GOD, as it is written,
“Hear, listen, and be obedient, O Israel,
YHVeH our GOD -- YHVeH is ONE!” (Deuteronomy 6:4 - translation mine)

“And it is (to be) said, IN THAT DAY,
YHVeH will be King over all the Earth (and all that therein is);
YHVeH shall be ONE (united), and His NAME: ‘ONE’ !” (Zechariah 14:9 - translation mine)

How is this possible? How does YHVeH = 1? Through the Alef: א The rabbis give YHVeH (spelled as Yod-He-Vav-He) a Gematriac value of 26.

Yod י holds a value of 10.
Each He ה holds a value of 5.
The Vav ו holds a value of 6.
Thus, Yod (10) + He (5) + Vav (6) + He (5) = 26.

Thus, YHVeH / Jehovah / LORD has a Hebraic value of 26. This same value is found in the subdivision of Alef. The explanation of how the rabbis view Alef א subdivided, is that it is composed of 3 letters. A Yod י in the upper right hand corner (a value of 10); a Vav ו as the middle line or stroke (a value of 6); and a Yod י in the lower left hand corner (a value of 10). Thus, Alef being revealed as though it were 10 + 6 + 10, equaling a value of 26; and fulfilling the scriptures of Deuteronomy 6:4 and Zechariah 14:9.

Now, we subdivided the Alef א as being only two letters, we would have a Yod י, and either an upside down or backward Ayin ע. Ayin ע is “an artesian well that continually gushed forth waters”. Thus, we may interpret the Ayin ע as being symbolic of “Living Waters”. To which, in the days of Jeremiah the prophet, YHVeH warned,
“My people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken Me,
the mountain-artesian-well-spring -Fountain of Living Waters;
(and they have done so) to hew out cisterns,
broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13 translation mine)

“The Hope of Israel, YHVeH : all who forsake You shall be ashamed.
‘Those who depart from Me shall be written in the Earth,
[cf. John 8:1-9]
because they have forsaken YHVeH:
the mountain-artesian-well-spring-Fountain of Living Waters.’ “
(Jeremiah 17:13 translation mine)

Christ Jesus is our source of those Living Waters. The River of Life come from the Throne of YHVeH in Ezekiel 47:1-12. This River of Life is further defined as the Throne of GOD the Father and the Lamb in Revelation 22:1-2. Finally, in John 7:37-38, Jesus reveals that He is the Source of the Living Waters of the coming Kingdom and of the New Jerusalem, for out of His innermost hollow shall flow rivers of Living Water. This appears to indicate that it shall flow out from His heart and through the hole in His side, through which He was pierced (cf. John 19:34).

The word used for “fountain” in Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13 is “maqor”. We are called, in Isaiah 12:3, to draw the waters out of the “maqor” of “Salvation” (or “Jesus”) with joy. So let us draw a little more from Christ or the “BA”. If we read BA after the subdivision of Alef in two parts, we may read either the phonetic rendering of BaY-Ah : “a doorway”; or the means by which we attain passage through BEiY {Beth-Ayin-Yod}: through “prayer”.

If we further subdivide the Alef to its full division of three letters, we may read how that BA becomes the Hebrew word BiY-VaY {Beth-Yod-Vav-Yod} : “at the request of,” “By the permission or leave of.” Thus, it is only through Jesus that we attain “permission” and gain “access” to “GOD’s House” of Heaven, and to the Father.

If we were to raise the Alef א by 90 degrees, so that the Vav ו would stand as a vertical, we will see Christ crucified. His right wrist being nailed “palm up”, His left wrist being nailed “palm down”. YHVeH Messiah’s left side, being the exposed side to be pierced by the spear. This position was itself causing “His bones (to be) out of joint” (Psalm 22:14). The left wrist being bound by the Tefillin, forming the word “Shaddai” (Almighty), which word represents the nation: Israel. The right hand, elbow down, represents the Messiah as YHVeH, the Right Hand of Power (Matthew 26:64), who -- as its governor --carries the nations of the Earth (Psalm 22:27-28; Isaiah 40:15).

Thus, John 14:6 encodes for us a study of the Theology of the Cross in the Hebrew that He shared with Israel. It now passes to we of the Gentiles (Nations) to share it back with them, and amongst the saints among ourselves.