Internal Biblical Markers and Prophecy Points to Jesus Being Crucified In the Kidron Valley on a Cross Made of Two Woods

The Crucifixion of Jesus is the central theme of the New Testament, and of true Orthodox Christianity.  Through the ages since A.D. 30, faith in ‘Jesus crucified' is an activity which, when properly placed, atones for all sins in the world, for all time.  This trust, in effect, is in turn set upon the Foundation of the historical Resurrection of Jesus from the dead and His Ascension back to Heaven before many witnesses.  This being the case, it should indeed be of great interest (to the believers of Christianity, and even its most ardent critics), for the location of the Crucifixion to be a known and affirmable site.  

In truth, the site has been on the lips of Christians since the early 2nd Century A.D., with the citing of the Apostles Creed.¹  The words from that Creed in the English "He descended to the dead" or "into hell", translates the Greek word "gehenna" for the words "dead" and "hell".  In Jerusalem, “gehenna” is the  transliteration of the Hebraic’s  "ge-Hinom" -- or, “the valley of Hinom.”  The Tradition of the Apostles certainly was accurately kept, but the meaning behind the like-sounding words of  "ge-Hinom" and "gehenna" was lost through bloody persecutions in the centuries that followed them. 

 The early Church suffered throughout the centuries, in every place, but at differing times: via local rulers, governors, and even Roman Emperors.  In the successive centuries, the ignorance of the nations to the Jewishness of their "Christian" faith was also manifest, for their trust was supposed to be into a Judean born, and Galilean reared heir to the Throne of Israel: the Messiah called Yeshua of Nazareth.  Yet, as early as the Roman bishopric of Sixtus in the 120s A.D., we see a slipping away of this realization, until some restoration by St. Polycarp some 30 years later -- by whom, our observation of Communion was given.²  

The Communion is a direct symbolism of the Crucifixion of Messiah in the “Egypt” of Jerusalem (i.e., the Kidron Valley)a , and in “Gehenna” (the Hinom Valley): a location where the two valleys join, south and east of the Temple Mount.  The partaking of the Eucharist is the Roman Church’s compromise to Polycarp’s command to observe the Jewish Passover: partaking its third cup of wine, and second Matzoh or afikoman.  By keeping this teaching of Polycarp, which came from John, which came from Christ, the historical aspect of the tradition was kept through the ages for us to discern also.

The Greek of the New Testament tells us that when Jesus broke the Matzoh, He distinctly did it in such a way, as to break the ends of it off in a circle like fashion, as it the ends were leaves being plucked from a tree.  And it was this difference that separates His breaking of bread from all other semikah rabbis, before or since, who have ever celebrated either a Passover meal or a Communion borne from its Festival.

 The Roman Church under the bishopric of Anicetus did keep this Communion, if for no other reason, than simply to honor of the wishes and tradition of this 115-year-old visiting bishop of Smyrna, who was also a 30 plus year disciple of John, the most beloved Apostle of Christ.³  After all, how one views Christ, be one a Gentile or Jew, more often than not, is just considered as a matter of perspective.

  

The Cross represents our dead man of self to GOD

The Cross, in Christianity, is both central and the extreme end in understanding GOD with any finality.  In writing to the Corinthians, the Rebbe Paul declared,

“The preaching of THE CROSS is -- to them that perish --

foolishness; but unto us -- which are saved --

it is THE POWER OF  GOD.”

(I Corinthians 1:18 - KJV, punctuation mine)

Why is it the power of GOD?  Because it, the Cross, is the means by which we may have a relationship with our eternal source: YHVeH Messiah, -- whose very Name, YHVeH, comes from the sound of the breath of our nostrils:⁴ showing us that He is our Life.  The difference between man and beast, is demonstrated by a comparison of Genesis 1:20, 24 (Hebrew singular, nefesh hayah) with Genesis 2:7 (Hebrew plural, nefesh hayyim).  In these verses, the Bible shows that while GOD imparted a single or first soul into beasts  and man by the power of the spoken word, -- as YHVeH He breathed the breath of lives (hayyim), i.e., a plural of two souls and a second life, into the nostrils of man.  Through this second life, and second soul, comes reason and eternality.  If we abrogate our responsibility to use this reason to seek out GOD, we are then liable to a Judgment for failing to do so (Hebrews 9:27). We find the pre-incarnate Christ, as YHVeH, to be the very “Being” who breathed this breath and eternal soul into our first ancestor (John 1:4, 9; Lamentations 4:20).  Therefore, if this same YHVeH died for our behalf upon the Cross, and rose again from the dead 3 days later -- then our eternal existence, and second soul or second life (beyond this present and temporary –or fleshly -- one) is either given or taken away, based on our response to that message.

The early Church Fathers, such as Justin Martyr, demonstrated that the Cross is part of our human existence, present in masts of ships, in shovels, in the carrying of banners, in mechanical engineering, and so forth (Justin Martyr, First Apology, .55).  The essential wood in those instruments, of masts and shovels and the like, are Lebanese cedar, having a red tone and oak-like strength.  Therefore, even as Adam means “the reddish one”, so too, might it be that the mast or vertical beam of the Cross, be made of the red-toned cedars of Lebanon.  And this is appropriate, too, as that very wood is also used in direct reference to Jerusalem and those who dwell there as if they were as prosperous and strong as the cedar trees of Lebanon (Psalm 92:12-13, Song of Solomon 4:15-16, Isaiah 10:32-34, 29:17ff.).  There again, we see a direct symbolism of the Cross with Jerusalem, which once had a house of Lebanese Cedar for the “ruler of Peace”(Isaiah 9:16) who like example was called “Solomon” (I Kings 7:1-12, 10:17, 10:21): the same Solomon, whose cedar house of Lebanon was once prominently displayed as the pride and joy of its king, in Jerusalem.  

I believe the horizontal beam of the Cross to have been made of Acacia.  Thus giving the Cross a trinity of material origins and an allegory for Scriptural interpretation of John 10:16, of two distinct and differing woods, cut down and united by iron pins.  

The Cross, says Justin Martyr, is metaphorically a man with hands extended; and just like the appendage of a nose to a face, so too, does the Cross have such an appendage apparent to it (by means of an iron bracket placed on the rear above the cross-beam).  In Justin’s comparison, we see that even as breathing through the nose can lift and empower a man, and difficulty breathing through the nose can set him down, so too does “the rope and pulley lifted up and set down the Cross through that iron bracket.”⁵    Man becomes a type of the dead tree,⁶ the bracket represents his nose (as it were):  Christ is crucified to man, (being the represented in the cross), as though both Christ and Adam were back to back.  Christ, the Living Second Adam is nailed to the First Adam, who is dead in trespasses and sins, and represented by the dead wood of the Cross:

  “…the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, by whom

the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world”

(Galatians 6:14, KJV)

  
By virtue of being his direct physical and spiritual descendants, we are already in the First Adam, who is as dead as the Cross in trespasses and sins.  Our nature is already inclined and imbued with the fallacies of spiritual sin.  We are spiritually flawed from our very conception, and this is manifest even at birth by the act of crying, rather than yawning one’s first breath.  By the joining of the two Adams as One, Christ so makes it possible for him (the First Adam) -- and his descendants -- to transfer spirit and soul through the activity of trust into the Living Christ on the Cross.  They are then given a completeness, in which the flaws of spirit and soul are filled in by GOD’s own Spirit and presence.  Man, in the spiritual realm of his being, then becomes “baptized” or immersed into GOD, through Jesus Christ.  Thereby, we are crucified with Him, buried with Him, and Resurrected with Him by a Baptism of Trust into Him on the Cross (Romans 6:3-5; John 11:25-26).  It is through the finished work of the Cross, and our faith and trust into He who finished that work, by which we are to come alive even as Christ is made alive again through the Resurrection (Romans 4:3,5,20-25; cf. I Corinthians 15:1-54). With death, we undergo a transformation and teleportation, receiving a body made without hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1-8,17); until we are added a recreated resurrected physical body, made from the atoms of “the self which makes up that you” which is now aiding you in the seeing, reading, or hearing of these words before you now.

The nose and the breath of GOD

The nose is the human appendage by which GOD breathed into Adam the breath of Life (Genesis 2:7), so that man became more than just a living creature, he became a living -- thinking and reasoning -- soul.  It is through the Cross, that the appendage of the dead nose of the First Adam, represented by iron in the rear of the Cross, is made alive through a union with the Living GOD in Christ.  Adam and Christ -- through the Cross -- are back to back.  There is no sexual intercourse or union.  There is no second breath through the nose, either.  Adam faces backward, toward the origin of his sin, while Christ faces forward, toward eternity future.  This confirms also the innocence of Messiah upon the Cross. 

 The old man, looking back (as if to the Garden of Eden, as if back upon the sin of his past), has no breath.  Yet, Messiah  -- while looking forward -- ceases breathing and dies.  All sin, past and future, is thereby atoned for in the Cross - by YHVeH Messiah.  The appendage of iron, (representing that soul which is dead), is upon the wood of the Cross (that tree which was once alive to GOD), is behind Christ, facing East  -- Messiah Himself (being truly alive to the Father), while hanging upon the Cross, faces west.  So that it is a trust-worthy saying that says,  “As far as the East is from the West, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us”(Psalm 103:12 - KJV).   

Messiah has taken out of the way all trespasses-- those by breath (that is all Spiritual Laws broken by man), and the handwriting of ordinances against us (that is all the Physical Laws broken by man), -- nailing them to the Cross (Colossians 2:13-14; cf. I Corinthians 6:9-10, 18).  He, Christ Jesus, has become our only mediator (I Timothy 2:5; Isaiah 43:25-26; I Corinthians 11:23-26).  It is only through YHVeH Messiah, Jesus Christ, that we may have a right relationship with GOD the Father.  This relationship is through the unmerited grace that GOD (by His great loving-kindness) gives us.  This coming perfect relationship and oneness with GOD, which is perfected through the Resurrection, is that of being His dear and beloved children.  We are to partake of just a tiny foretaste of that perfection in the now, by faith into Jesus.  This is accomplished by and through GOD the Holy Spirit, whom does so while giving glory and honor to the Son, Jesus Christ.⁷  This, being the case, the Cross, as GOD’s perfect plan of Salvation and Redemption of Mankind, ought then to be so much the more important and central to us, and to our very existence.⁸

Acacia

The Acacia connection, pointing us East, and that Christ was to be Crucified in the Kidron Valley

"And in that Day, it will be that the mountains

   will rain down YHVeH's Spirit,

   as though flowing down forth an intoxicating New Wine;

   and the hills will gush forth and flow with fatness;

   and all the deep channels of Judah shall flow with Living Waters;

   and an overflowing river shall pour forth as a artesian well-spring

   from out of the House of YHVeH,

              and a refreshing and watering it shall give as it fills  (even)

           the Valley of the Pierced Tree."     

(Joel 3:18, fully amplified from Hebrew, my translation)

         

      

 It was while reading this prophecy that led me on the inquisitive search for what the Bible truly teaches about the location of the Cross. At the same time that the Living Waters gush forth from the Throne of YHVeH Messiah in the Temple, the mountains will be thick with the Shekinah Mist of YHVeH Spirit.  The hills of Jerusalem will be “a very air of intoxication, and a refreshing - restorative one at that.”  I was particularly struck by the phrase, "Valley of Shittim", which in the English, is translated as:  "the Valley of the Pierced Wood" or "the Valley of the Pierced Tree.”  The pierced wood or tree is a direct - inference to the Cross upon which Messiah was crucified.⁹  

When the Ark of the Covenant was made, it was constructed of Shittah or Acacia wood.  The Hebrew word “Aron”, for “ark”, is used both of the Ark of the Covenant (which carried the 10 Commandments tablets and manna - e.g., Joshua 4:7), and of Joseph’s coffin (Genesis 50:26).  To some, the wood itself is a dead thing bearing about dead things; while to others, it is merely symbolic and a direct spiritual connection to eternal life.  The one mindful of “dead things,” has his mind on the direct concept of materialism.  The other -- correctly ascertains the spiritual connection and representation: (his mind in the heavenlies, while his hands and feet pragmatically operates in the sphere of the earthly).  

I believe that the vertical beam of the Cross, to which Messiah’s feet were nailed with stakes, was made of the cedars of Lebanon.  The Crossbeam, to which the bends of Messiah’s wrists were pierced, I believe to have been made out of Acacia. However, this is only an unproven theory on my part.  If the Cross were made of one sole wood, as “Shittim” implies, it probably refers only to Acacia.  Even as there were two tablets of the Law of Moses in the 10 Commandments, so too, is this Acacia wood representative of the two hands of YHVeH Messiah: the one who spoke those Commandments to Moses.      

         When the Escape-goat of Yom Kippur was tied in the wilderness to receive the sins of Israel, it was tied to the Shittim, also known to us as the Acacia; its head wrapped about with a crown of scarlet wool, and having been jabbed and spit upon  (cf. Epistle of Barnabus 7.6 ff.).  The shrub thought to have shared the characteristics of the matron, Rachel.  At the first, this seems a harsh assessment.  Acacia can grow as either a shrub or a tree.  It yields a non-tart edible food that is much like the pea pods.  Some Acacia bark can even be chewed like gum.  In the desert, nomads in need of water, have been known to cut up the roots of the Acacia about 4 to 5 feet from the stump, and chop up 2 to 3 foot sections.¹⁰  The water is then poured out into a water skin or it is sucked out of the root.  On some occasions, a clop of dirt is inserted into one end of the root.  It is then used as a temporary canteen (for that day), and carried over short distances.  Therefore, when Rachel is thought of, she is remembered for as the matron of shepherds, who gave Jacob/Israel the strength to roll away the stone, and grant the sheep a stream of overflowing life-giving waters (Genesis 20:6-9, cf. vv.20, 17).¹¹  This is an allegory of Messiah: Jacob representing Christ at the resurrection, and the children of Israel and those believers from the nations, are symbolized by the sheep.

 In Exodus 25:10, and again in chapters 36 and 37, we find that GOD turns the Shittim wood into His dwelling place.  Just like this example, Christians point to the power of YHVeH at the Cross, -- as though it were also GOD's dwelling place, captured in Time -- but reaching into every nanosecond of all time, to the ages / the forevers of eternity.  The Acacia teaches us that, like the waters of the root, our life is hid in Christ (Colossians 3:3).  When YHVeH Messiah died upon the Cross, the body of our sins -- from our conception to our deaths -- warped through time, to the Cross.  Those who believe into Him, their sins entered into Christ Jesus, into His innermost being, and our second death was destroyed, in the all-consuming fire of who He really is (Hebrews 12:29, 1:3), being the same essence and inner substance as the Father.  Our sins were not buried in the tomb with Christ, they were consumed -- once and for all -- in Him, at the Cross.  At the moment He cried out, “My GOD, My GOD, why hast thou forsaken Me?”  (Matthew 27:46)¹² -- sin was paid for and consumed, “once (and for all time)” (Hebrews 10:10). 

 To those of Heaven, beholding, the visage would have probably appeared to the angels (of the next dimension) as miraculous as was the Creation (Job 38:4-7).  The Cross would have looked as though it were on fire throughout, with black billowing smoke; a vacuuming effect of shadows and multitudes of human spirits throughout the ages, from Adam to the end of human procreation would have been witnessed as being absorbed into Christ’s chest, into His innermost being, with every sin - vice - and uncleanness burned up within.  All this would have been as though it was an alternate reality or dimension, and yet it was not.  All sin, for all time -- was consumed within Christ, as if He were the altar of the hearth of fire.  

The Great Tree of Shechem, the prophesied Cross

“And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem

  of the plain of Moreh…And YHVeH appeared unto Abram, and said,

      ‘Unto your seed will I give this Land.’

  And there, he built an altar unto YHVeH, who appeared unto him.”

                                                    (Genesis 12:6-7)

I believe the vertical beam of the Cross to have been made of Lebanese Cedar wood.  The prophecy of the Cross is also found in Israel’s relationship to the Great Tree of Shechem, from the time of Abram in 1981 B.C., until the death of Absalom in circa 1040 B.C. 

 In Genesis 12:6-7, YHVeH appears to Abram at Shechem (“the shoulder”), in the plain of Moreh (“the Teacher”), while in the presence of this great oak or terebinth tree.  It is quite probable that this tree was now about 367 years old, dating back to the receding of the floods of Noah.  Either Josephus places an equally old tree at Hebron, or he mis-locates his recollection of this tree.  In either case, Josephus cites that a tree, said to have existed since the Flood (that is, the Creation of the world as they knew it) still existed in his day (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 4.9.7)   

The Great tree itself was representative of the very Name of GOD, of EL.  EL comes from the Hebraic root word of “ool”, which word picture is best described as “the base of a great tree, which fibers are wrapped and rolled and twisted together in such power, that even the sharpest axe fails against it.”  Ezekiel 31:8-9 lists three types of trees that were in Eden: the cedar, the fir or “pine” tree, and the chestnut.  The Great Tree was not a chestnut, whose bark annually peels off.  The Great Tree was not a “pine tree”, which sheds its needles and leaks sap, to defile an encampment with “litter”.  The Great Tree was a cedar, whose wood was used in the Temple and by the Kohenim at the altar hearth of fire.  Called erez ארז in the Hebrew, this wood in Israel and Lebanon often has a red tone, and is pleasantly odorous.  It is ideal for beams and paneling, such as Solomon’s great house (I Kings 7:2 ff.), because it is frequently free from knots and defects, and is a natural repellent to bugs and pests.¹³

 

In Genesis 33:18-20, Abram grandson Jacob returns to this tree, and purchases his inheritance for 100 pieces of money.  Here, at the Great Tree, Jacob erects an earthen altar and calls this place:  “El Elohe Israel”, translated as, “El, the GOD of Israel.”  To what was this tribute made?  To the ancient tree, which symbolized EL, the GOD of Israel, and His coming Cross.  And when Jacob fled his Father-in-law Laban, and hid the idols of his household, to where did he run and bury them?  He ran to this tree, symbolizing the coming cross.  It was here that Jacob hid his sins, received forgiveness of sins from GOD, and then went forth in victory as a terror to all the enemies of GOD (Genesis 35:5).  Therefore all the sons of Jacob, he who is called Israel, are called out to follow after the example of their father, and be born again -- believing into Christ, YHVeH Messiah, and His atoning work at the Cross.

 In 1471 B.C., just before the death of Joshua, we read how that the descendants of Abram did gather under the Great Tree, erecting the Tent of Meeting, and placing the Great Tree within the very Sanctuary of YHVeH (Joshua 24:19-28).  The Tree represents Messiah on the Cross.  And making a Covenant with YHVeH, the children of Israel brought forth a Great Stone, rounded without instrument, and raised it up, erecting it in the shadow of the Great Tree, which was now some 877 years old.  In the presence of the Cross, they took a stone, symbolizing death; and raised it up, symbolizing the resurrection.  Stone in Hebrew is spelled Alef-Beth-Nun.  Separate the Alef, which letter represents the Name of GOD, and you will read as the Scribes understand: Alef-BeN, or “GOD’s Son”.  Again, the Cross, as represented by the Great Tree, was central to a restored and right relationship between Israel and GOD. 

In Judges 9:37, we find this Great Tree again; but now, having the power of divination granted unto it, and being called “the Tree of Prophecy.”  The word “Moreh”, on which plain this tree was located, being spelled backwards as “Haram”, means “sacred”.  Haram is defined as the surrendering and giving of devoted service to GOD, or the giving up of something profane to its ruin or destruction.  The mount on which this Great Tree rested was called “Ephraim” (doubly fruitful).  But rearranged, we see that like Jesus, this Great Tree was one of offence, for Shechem can be rearranged to spell “Makesh” in Hebrew, which means a place of stumbling or falling.  This is how we last know of the Great Tree, sometime around 1040 B.C., Absalom, the son of David, passed under this tree on his war mule, while in fighting his father’s armies in his rebellion.  This 1308-year-old tree, blown upon by the Spirit of YHVeH, reached down and grabbed Absalom up by his hair, and crucified him by his head, suspending Absalom helpless in its branches by the hair between heaven and earth.  David’s general, Joab, then took 3 arrows and pierced the Son of David through the heart (2 Samuel 18:9-15).  In the process, thus likening Absalom to Christ: who for the sins of Adam, was pierced through the heart with the arrows of 3 sins (the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life) in our place, upon the Cross.

Thought upon GOD’s love to us through the Cross:

“And let it not be, that I should glory, save in the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”                                                             

                          (Galatians 6:14)

In Micah 6:5, we read that Balaam's first prophecy against the children of Israel occurs at Shittim (“the pierced tree” or “acacia”).   But as we know from Numbers, while the unbelieving cursed in the presence of Shittim, in the presence of that which represents the Cross, it was GOD’s intent to use Shittim (and hence the Cross) to BLESS ISRAEL!

"Come, curse me, Jacob.  Come, defy (me) Israel.  How shall I curse (whom) GOD hath

not cursed?  or how shall I defy (whom) the LORD hath not defied?

From the tops of the rocks, I see Him, and from the hills, I behold Him.¹⁴

Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth of  Israel.

Let me die the death of the Righteous, and let my last end be like his.”    

 (Numbers 23:7-10  -     KJV)

In the emboldened above, I wish to show that the LORD is the focus of a dual prophetic application here.  The immediate application is indeed, seeing in that present time, the nation of Israel, the descendants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  But remember, YHVeH is speaking in a prophetical parable through Balaam (Numbers 23:5, 7); and we are supposed to be missing the point, because it is a parable spoken too plainly in the plain sense.  The underlined emboldened speaks of the LORD, who shall be beheld from the tops of the rocks, looking downward; and from the hills, looking downward.  He is not set high in terms of elevation, exalted from the top-most rock.  Rather, he is only slightly elevated, looked up to a little, but largely Messiah is crucified in a low place.  He is to be beheld in a form of humility (as it were), by those upon the hills looking down upon Him.  The Hills represent Jerusalem, and He has descended into the Valley of Jerusalem's Hills.  In other words, into Joel's prophecy, the Valley of the Pierced Tree, the Valley in which YHVeH Messiah was crucified. 

As the Paschal Lamb of GOD, Jesus / Yeshua fulfills the prophecy of Micah, which says,

“As a Shepherd, feed and nourish your people with the rod and scepter

of your tribe, as the firstborn flock of your possession and

successive heritage, who dwell and tabernacle as alone and as

isolated as a planted vineyard in an open field in the thick of a forest.

As a Shepherd, feed and nourish them in Bashan [the place of spears]

and Gilead [the heaping mounds] as in the ancient times.”  

  (Micah 7:14, translation mine).

In the Valley of Shittim, that valley which Joel by the Spirit now identifies shall be that of the Kidron at Jerusalem for the coming King Messiah, there flows a spring of   "living waters" (an artesian well) of importance to Joel's prophecy.  The well is called Siloam in the Greek, but Siloach in the Hebrew.  It is this well-spring that GOD Himself will replace with living waters that pour from out of His heart, through the left side of His belly, from His throne, to fill this Valley in the Kingdom Times of our LORD -- times yet to come  (Ezekiel 47:1ff; John 7:37-38; Revelation 22:1-2).

And strangely enough, when we look at the whipped body of Christ through the rabbinic teachings of Gematria, we see “GOD’s Love”.  For 26 lashes to the back is the same numerical values as YHVeH  (or ‘JeHoVaH’ or ‘LORD’), the letters in value being 10 + 5 + 6 +5; while 13 lashes to the breast is the same numerical value as AHaVaH  (or ‘LOVE’), being 1 + 5 + 2 + 5.  Therefore becoming symbolically, the 39 lashes upon Christ’s body was “The Love of YHVeH,” or “YHVeH’s Love;” (this being a free translation).  So now we see that in Scripture, even the whippings have deep meaning and great significance for us: being the physical demonstration of GOD’s Love (for us).  

For as it is written,

“For GOD so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever that believes into Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” 

(John 3:16 - KJV)

Each hand and arm of Jesus represents branches to Him, our true Vine: one arm to carry the nations (or we Gentiles); and one arm to carry the Jews.  Or we may counteract the Mormon position, and say that with one arm He upholds the Angels, and with one arm He carries mankind.  The one group He prevents more from having fallen away; while the other, He wholly redeems.  We are therefore called to be assembled -- joined together by Christ our head, -- even as there is one GOD, who is above all, in us all, and through us all.  (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.17.3; Ignatius, Epistle to the Trallians, .11)  And all this happens through the Cross!

Old Testament Confirmation in Teman and Toemnin 

In the Hebrew of Habakkuk, the significant word that deserves our focused attention is “Teman”, which denotes “south and to the east.”  That is, to the same general location of the Kidron as what we have already looked to -- in relation to the Great Two Witnesses and the True Messiah of Israel, YHVeH Messiah Jesus Christ.  In the King James Version of Habakkuk 3:3, we read,

“GOD came from Teman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran.  Selah.”  

Teman is that which lays to the south of one’s Right Hand.  It is likened to a servant who follows at his master’s right hand, but three steps behind.  In geography, Teman is in Edom, to the south and to the right hand of Jerusalem, as one faces north:  on the eastern bank of the Dead Sea (Jeremiah 49:7,20; Amos 1:12).  Obadiah 9 calls Teman “Mount Esau”, “the hill of the firstborn son”. ¹⁵   Mount Esau is the location of the hidden city of Petra (“Petra” means the “Rock”, a Messianic identifier). 

In Yiddish Food, according to the respectable work of John Cooper, we find that the Ashkenazi dish of Toemnin derives its name from Teman.¹⁶  The Sabbath dish is “covered and hidden,” it is “concealed” for more than an entire day.  It undergoes a period of “sleep”, of “rest”.  It is “a dish of life” to some, a dish despised “as death itself” to others.  The location of the Cross and the tomb of Resurrection, is to us, Toemnin:  “it is hidden and concealed” by the ravages of wars --and the ravages of time -- upon the landscape of Jerusalem.  

Paran, which accompanies Teman in Habakkuk, deals with the “revealing” of that which is “Teman” or “Toemnin” -- a revealing of that which is covered, having been hidden and concealed.  Like the book of Revelation’s title, “Paran” is the “pulling back of a covering” to show what lies within.  It is a revelation of that which was covered until now, that which was once hidden and concealed; but now, light having shone forth upon it, so that it is no longer in the state of darkness.  Even as YHVeH Messiah taught,

“For not -- is a thing  hidden (without a purpose),

which if (were)not (hidden), it may be revealed;

nor came it (first) into being (as) covered,

that it might come into the Light (and be not as a thing still hidden).”    

(Mark 4:22 - translation mine)  

Again, note the contrast of these two words, of being “hidden” and “revealed” in relation to Messiah’s ministry at the Cross.

‘To the South of one’s right hand’ --       Teman;          Crucified              (dark)

‘Covered’    --                                            Toemnin;       Dead & Buried    (dark)

‘ Revealed’ / ‘Revelation’   --                    Paran.            Resurrected          (light)

Even as the covered Sabbath casserole dish must rest over a very low flame for more than a day, stewing in its own juices to be the tastiest: so too, should this mystery “come to light”, after having stewed for two days -- being two millennia (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8), to be the most appreciated.  Toemnin is as an allegory of being as a Sabbath food for those -- in these last days -- who would partake of a Sabbath Rest in the work of YHVeH Messiah: whom we know as Jesus the Christ.  Amen.  For it was on the High Sabbath of the Passover that Christ was crucified; and like the Sabbath casserole, He was hidden and concealed, as though under a lid.  He was covered with a great stone in a tomb.  The location was Teman -- “south and to the right” (of the Temple of Jerusalem).  

Therefore, even as the early Church fathers might say,

"…Salvation is become a physical reality, and the Apostles are (shown to have been) filled with a form of completed knowledge or understanding, and the Passover of YHVeH advances…"

(The Epistle [of Mathetes] to Diognetus, .12 - translation mine)        

GOD comes forth from the South and to the right to conquer

The word “Paran” tells us that Messiah, who was dead and buried, and covered up, is alive to be revealed unto all.  GOD is not GOD of the dead, but of the living, energetic, and bright shining ones (cf. Matthew 22:31-32).  

Unlike their modern day descendants, the people of ancient Israel were cognizant of their Scriptures beyond the five scrolls of the Torah.  In the 1^st Century A.D., there appears to have been one perspective in which GOD would come down in power from above, after the manner of “Paran”.¹⁷  GOD would then, by means of a great and powerfully shining revelation, roll back the heavens and reality, as if He were rolling up a great Cosmic scroll.  In doing so, GOD would then rid Israel of their enemies before the establishment of His Kingdom.  But watch which direction He comes from.

"And YHVeH shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning,

and YHVeH GOD shall blow the trumpet,

and shall go with the whirlwinds of the South."     (Zechariah 9:14)    

"YHVeH came from Sinai,                   [Mt. Sinai - from south and east of Jerusalem]

and rose up from Seir unto them;  

He shined forth from mount Paran,      [a revealing light from the south & east]

and He came from the myriads of the holy ones at the Right Hand

as His fiery hillsides (asheda אשדה) went out to meet them."

(Deuteronomy 33:2)

In the Scriptures, noteworthy scholars inform us that the Hebraic singular ashed  אשד  (ravine, valley slope) is used only in Numbers 21:15.  Its plural 'ashedot' or 'ashdot' is used specifically for the Jordanian River and its regions, including those near and around Mount Pisgah (Deuteronomy 3:17,4:49; Joshua 10:40, 12:8).¹⁸  Clearly, there is a connection for us to look south and east of the Temple.  Thus, from the Right Hand (East) and from or with the whirlwinds of the South, GOD comes down and forth, as the valleys and ravines lift up to meet His Coming.¹⁹  GOD descends on Mt. Sinai in Arabia,²⁰  travels north, then northwest or westward toward Jerusalem.  At such a time, GOD will reward the faithful who did not faint, and thrust out into the outer darkness the unfaithful (Zechariah 2:5).²¹  All the while, reaffirming that it is in this direction, from the Temple, in which we ought to be looking. 

Ezekiel’s vision of the coming Cross in this location

“And the glory of YHVeH went up in the midst of the city,

and stood  (as though erected or propped up)

upon the mountain eastward of the city.”  (Ezekiel 11:23)

In the Hebrew of the above verse, the Hebrew for “went up” is VeYaAhL (ויעל), “alah” in the Qal imperfect.  Comparison of “alah” in the phonetic should also be made (אלה and עלה).  In the Tanakh (Old Testament), alah is often translated as “that which is brought up”, and as “that which is offered up”.²²  The idea conveyed here, is not just that which merely “ascends” or “goes up from”; but “that which is being led away from.”  The Greek equivalent is “ago’, from which root word “angel” is derived.  It is a picking up, of carrying away, and of coming, going, or leading away.  That “leading away” in “Alah” is the same experience that Jesus (called Yeshua in the Hebrew) experienced personally, in fulfillment of this prophecy, when He was led away from the midst of the city, from Gabbatha.  At Gabbatha, within the walls of Jerusalem at “the Pavement”,²³ Jesus was judged and whipped, and dispatched.  The Cross passed from here, through the Siloam Gate, and out to that mount “eastward of the city” (Ezekiel 11:23).  This verse is so important in prophecy, that in Ezekiel 43:1-7, we see how that Tawech תוך is reinforced so that it clearly defines how that the entire Temple Mount area, including that which would later become known as  “Gabbatha”.  Again, “Gabbatha” was that “midst of the city” from which “the Glory of YHVeH” was “led away from.”  Tawech is a derivative from a Hebrew root word that means, “to sever”.  And, indeed,  “after 62 weeks…Messiah the Prince…(was) cut off  [severed], but not for Himself”(Daniel 9:23).  So, even in Ezekiel, we have a prophecy signifying the manner in which Messiah must die consistent with that of Jesus Christ:  as being led away (and rejected out of Jerusalem), then lifted up and killed (in a propped up manner such as a crucifixion).

The glory of GOD points us: EASTWARD.

When the glory of YHVeH “stood” upon the mountain, eastward of the city, the word used here for “stood” in the Hebrew is  VaYAMaD (ויעמד).  This word not only means “to stand”, but is also inclusive of  “that which is propped up”  or “erected”, such as the Cross.  Even as the Cross was erected and stood up, being propped by means of a rope and pulley system, so too, does the prophecy point to a  “suspension” or SeLaH of GOD’s Glory to the East of the Temple, and in relationship to the Siloam Gate.  

In getting to this location, we find that the Kidron torrent river was flowing in John 18:2.  Twice, on the night prior to the Crucifixion, Christ and others crossed this flowing river.  That means: that there were at least two wooded bridges that specifically crossed the Kidron from Mt. Moriah to Mt. Olivet in Jerusalem in A.D. 30 - 1) in the northeast area by the Temple spanning Olivet to Moriah; and 2) one to the south, spanning Olivet to the Lower city near the Gate of Siloam.  This latter point requires a road leading north on the westward side of Olivet from En Rogel to this bridge.  Christ, upon being cast out of Jerusalem, was denied access of the lower city bridge, and had to wade through its frigid running torrent.  This is informed us in prophecy found in 2 Kings 6:6.  In this, we are shown that both Simon (now bearing up the Cross) and Christ (whom Simon bore up the Cross for) had to cross this stream of the Kidron.²⁴  

Only one “river” in Jerusalem is ever mentioned concerning the Passover.  That torrent-flood runoff stream is Easterly from the Temple: the Kidron.  In 2 Kings 23:13, the Mount of Olives is viewed in the context of a northern and southern mount, or a double peaked mount, as it were.  Modern geographers will designate this Mount of Olives with 4 peaks.  The southern aspect of this mount is known as Lehar HaMaschiyith  (להר־־חמשחית),


 the “hill of destruction” or the “destroying mountain”.  While some uses of Maschiyith mean “to pull down” (e.g. Genesis 13:10, and Ezekiel 26:4); it is also translated as “to wound” in Exodus 21:26.  Both of these carry Messianic implications: “the pulling down of strongholds” via the Cross, to which Paul alludes to in 2 Corinthians 10:4; and being “wounded for our transgressions” in Isaiah 53:5.  Even the bruising of the head, while having His heel bruised in turn, in Genesis 3:15, can be experienced through the Cross in prophecy and Gematria at this location.  

The tomb of  “the rich man” is in this general location, for in relation to the Tomb, we see the prophecy of Isaiah, which states:

“[GOD] Who raised the Righteous (One) from the East,

called Him to His foot.”  (Isaiah 41:2a)

That is “resurrected the Righteous One from the Eastern hill of Olivet”, and from this direction, GOD the Father “called Him up in the clouds to Heaven” -- Acts 1:9,11.

We are given an overwhelming amount of internal Biblical Evidence that places the Cross and the Tomb in this location South and East of the Temple.  So why has this information been ignored, and why hasn’t this area been excavated as of yet?  Because, as Paul points out, even when that which is known of GOD is made clear and apparent, men will prefer to hold an alternate version or slant upon the truth, to follow after the lusts of the vanity of their imaginations -- that they may be void of GOD in them (cf. Romans 1:18-23).  And as Messiah puts it, “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil”(John 3:19 - KJV).

Nehemiah’s Water Gate

As we have seen thus far, we are directed to associate an area South and East of the Temple for Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection from the dead.  In order to reach this location, Messiah must exit the Jerusalem through the Lower City.  The question then becomes: “Is there even more Biblical confirmation as to which gate Messiah must be ejected through, so as to “more resolutely corroborate” a Lower City ejection from an area south of the Temple?”  The answer is, yes.

Nehemiah points to the Kidron Water Gate

The water gate that covers access to the Gihon Spring, is located in the lower city, immediately south of the Temple, along the Eastern or Kidron Valley.  In Solomon’s Temple design, the stairs of the lower city ran from this gate -- up into Zion, signifying the ascent and descent between Heaven and Earth; while pointing to a coming Emmanuel, in the flesh: “GOD with us”.

"But the Gate of the Fountain  [Gihon]

 repaired SHALLUN

the SON of COL-HOZEH,

the RULER of MIZPAH;

              and he built it, and covered it, set up the doors thereof,

              the locks thereof, and the bars thereof,

and the wall of the Pool of Siloa(c)h  by the King's Garden,

and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David."     

                                                   (Nehemiah 3:15)  KJV

          In Nehemiah 3:15, what is being said, is that, "He who is called Recompense" - i.e. the Savior  (SHALLUN), is the Son of  "the One who is able to see all"- i.e. GOD the Father (COL-HOZEH), who is in turn the Ruler of the "Height" / "Watchtower"/ or "Watch"- i.e. Heaven (MIZPAH).  This is another Messianic Title of YHVeH Messiah: “He who is called Salvation” -- “the Son of the Heavenly Father” -- “Ruler of Heaven and Earth”.  In the Hebrew, Nehemiah 3:15 is directly related to the Torah's citation of Jacob becoming the builder and ruler of  “Mizpah” (Genesis 31:44-49).  In those verses of Genesis chapter 31, we see that a mound of stones that are built up for a testimonial witness (or Galeed), and was called "MIZPAH": is literally become “the Watchtower of (Heaven)”.  In the Akkadian, Mizpah would be referred to as “tulku”: “tul” being a heap or mound, and “ku” meaning that it is set apart as holy. 

         The Akkadian “tulku” is in turn used to translate astrological sign of Libra, the month of the weighing scales.²⁴  To the faithful, Mizpah upon the Earth, is a sacred place that also acts as a witness of scales from Heaven.  It is an earlier version, perhaps, of the Urim and Thummin (Light and Revelation - or “yes” and “no” stones) on the shoulders of the high priest. This is important to know, because the Pharisees placed so much emphasis on tipping the “Heavenly scales” by good works, and the brushing aside of sins by “indulgences” via animal sacrifice and the shedding of blood.  In this respect, they differed little from a “papal bull” version of Christianity.  We place our emphasis on the weight of our good works, versus the weight of our bad.  But GOD places His emphasis upon the straightness of the bar that is set upon the fulcrum, because in Hebrew, the same root word used for the straightness of the scale balance-bar, is also the same one used for “righteousness”.  

 In the application of this knowledge to Jerusalem, “the mound heap of stones” of Mizpah represents “the Temple”-- which is called to be the standard (or bar of straightness) by which all morality must be measured by.  Jerusalem, upon the Earth, is a type of a “Watchtower of Heaven”.²⁵  The “all-seeing One” represents GOD the Father.  Thus, the “Ruler of the Mizpah”, the “Ruler of the Stone heap”; i.e., the true “Ruler of the Temple”, the one holding the scales, is the “son of the All-seeing One”: “YHVeH whom ye seek” (Malachi 3:1), who is de facto, “the son of GOD”.²⁶

 At Bethabara, when the Hebrew nation crossed into the Promised Land, they also laid “a mound of stones in a heap” for a witness.  

  This is the First true Temple that followed the Exodus: it was an altar of stones, shaped without hands or iron instruments, built up unto GOD.  When John the Baptist called upon Israel, he pointed to these very stones at Bethabara as a witness.  The populace of most all Israel came to this site, rather than to Jerusalem, numbering over 3,000,000 (cf. Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 2.14.4. and 6.9.3.).  It is important that we cram this number into our psyche, or we will miss the impact.  The witness of the period is mind-bogglingly great, because it was over 3,000,000 Israelis, who witnessed both John and Christ, over the course of their respective ministries.  It was of these 3,000,000; in whose lifetimes, the New Testament was announced and published (both at home in Israel, and to the nations abroad). There were over 3,000,000 casual and intensive witnesses, who could have opposed and quashed Christianity at the first, but refused to do so.  Those 3,000,000 or so, were of a mind in which they felt alienated by the leaders of Judaism and those in power; and chose to be baptized in the Jordan for the remission of sins, rather than paying out money to the priest in Jerusalem, in order that they might be found right with GOD.  That is, through the rejection of the world system brought into the Church, John was beckoning the nation of Israel to take on the heart of the true faith of the Holy fathers.  It was on this occasion, with John at Bethabara, that over 3,000,000 from the tribes of Israel prepared their hearts, that they might enter into the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31.  They became only a step away from being as children of the Kingdom, their hearts having been made ready for YHVeH their GOD (Luke 1:17,16).  

Soon after this event, many then saw the dull appearance of Messhiach Yeshua (Isaiah 53:2).  The crowds were disappointed, and quietly dispersed (perhaps feeling let down, though without bitterness).  Jesus came in a manner like unto a Prophet -- and whom, like Jonah, came out of Galilee.  In contrast to Jonah, who was swallowed up in the waters  -- this One, (following John’s announcement and baptism), “rose up straight out of -- and stood upon the waters” (Matthew 3:16, translation mine).  In Nehemiah 3:15, we find that the city of David is offered as an allegory for Heaven; and the Lower City as Earth.  The Living Waters of Siloa(c) h is the Gospel of Judaism to mankind, while “Shallun” is an allegory for the Messiah who is called “the Recompenser / the Rewarder / the Redeemer”; but to us - He is called “Salvation” and “Jesus”. 

The Siloach or Water Gate

  Siloach is spelled as שלח, and having a Gematriac value of 338.  The significance of this, is that if a gate is named for Jesus; then for His greatest life event, He had better go out that gate for His crucifixion if He is Messiah.  Every indication of prophecy and history is:  that He does exactly that!

Now, in examining the epigraphy of the Hebraic alphabet prior to 410 B.C., but after Nehemiah's return, in the example of the Letter V from Arsham, we can find remarkable and almost indistinguishable similarities between the Het ח and the Mem ם.²⁷ This similarity is particularly relevant to the Book of Nehemiah, as we are quoting heavily on Nehemiah 3:15 in the above.  If the letter V from Arsham is composed within two generations of Nehemiah, and we see that the Het ח and the Mem ם are virtually indistinguishable, what does that tell us?  It tells us the answer of why, in respect to this “water source”, that we can see linguistically the raison d'être of how the Hebraic Scribal tradition kept the Het (pronouncing “Siloa-CH”), while the Oral Tradition among the people used Mem as the ending consonant (pronouncing  “Siloa-M”).  The written tradition S(h)-L-CH (Shiloach) is retained in the Old Testament; and the Oral Tradition kept S(h)-L-M (Siloam / Shalōm) in the New.  

Why did this occur?  The Scribes and Elders translating after one manner, but the people held fast to another tradition.  This Paradigm between priest and people has thereby given way to a controversy over just one letter --regarding a known wellspring in the center of the Jewish World.  Why?  It appears that from the Scribal Tradition, there was a rigidity of discipline and service within the Faith, but that service was fulfilled in a manner of “law” and hardheartedness.  As Yeshua said, it was for the hard-heartedness of the Fathers that Moses granted them a bill of Divorcement; but in the Beginning, (and the times prior to Noah's Flood), it was not so  (Matthew 19:8).  But was that stubbornness from the people or the priests themselves?  Whatever the reason, we see that S(h)iloach and S(h)iloam are both designations for the Gihon Spring Watergate that people access the city by way of a road that is meant to lead upward, by means of a stairway, that leads up to Heavenly Zion (Nehemiah 3:15).

Siloach, the sufferings of Messiah scourged, and insights to Gematria

Siloach.  This is the Hebrew word, which appears for the Kidron Valley’s “Lower City” Water Gate and its towers, is also referred to as the “Towers of Siloam.”  It was a double walled gate, with four towers of equal proportions to one another.²⁸  In 29 A.D., one of these towers fell and killed 18 men (Luke 13:4).  .  All of these towers were over 500 years old at the time of the one’s collapse.  The Hebrew language has no Gematriac letter for a value of 500.  Therefore, we then prophetically approach Siloach deducted by the number 18, being now at a value of 320, (338 - 18 = 320).  In this approach, we are thus informed by Messiah about Himself by Gematriac insight, that:

1)    That He is seen as the second Adam.²⁹

2)    He lives His life as one unmarried.³⁰

3)    His ministry does not allow Him the leisure of having a home.³¹

4)    He is a watcher of the people, but as a guardian, He is not deceived.  But He is also broken, that He might bear their burdens.³²

5)    He enlarges His people by adding to its number.³³

6)    He is a tabernacle and refuge unto those who trust into Him, and a thorn brier hedge to those who are offended in Him.³⁴ 

7)    He is offered up as a heaping, a shaking, or quivering heap that wavers back and forth as a sheaf of First-fruit grain unto GOD.³⁵

8)    He is torn and rent by the scourging, insomuch that as He walks from Gabbatha to Calvary, His body is dripping to pieces: chunks of blood, flesh, and skin just drip off onto the ground.³⁶

Therefore, we see that it is out this Gate-- the Gate that protected the Gihon Spring’s outlet, the Gate of Siloam, -- that Jesus must have exited Jerusalem, by way of prophetic fulfillment.  This gate, which protected Jerusalem’s primary water source, and located South-Southeast of the Temple proper, leads directly into the Kidron Valley, just slightly north of the Hinom Valley juncture.  

       In Gematria, the Orthodox Judaism practice of word association within the Hebrew language using word and numerical association, the phonetics of a word are also important, because the “spoken word is living”.  And since GOD is a Living GOD, the sounds of words spelled the same have a mystical association as well as the numerical.  These are synonyms of a type, or doors to a parallel dimension, opening the Scriptures to the wise in a deep and living way that is closed to the unlearned.  In effect, these teachings from the Scriptures are “Kingdom teachings”, to which the Pharisees and others hid from their congregation, and used against those who had not learned “letters”.

 For example, the letter Shin ש is a letter of “piety”, and generally pronounced with a “sh” sound.  It can also be pronounced as a simple “s”, which gives it synonymous capabilities with Samekh ס, which also is pronounced as a simple “s” sound.  This association can be seen in the Hebrew to Greek translation of Siloach/Shiloach to Siloam/Shiloam.  At the crucifixion march, when Jesus was cast out of the City of David, and out of Jerusalem, He was expedited out this gate שלח: Siloach.  In Gematria, Siloach is related in letter association and word association with סלה, Selah,  (the He ה and the Chet ח also being, at times, interchangeable in Gematriac word spelling and association).  Traditionally, this alternate spelling of Selah means “forgiveness”, and it was for this reason that on the Cross -- Jesus died: that all men might believe into Him, and receive the reconciliation and forgiveness of GOD.  After the phonetic equivalent, “selah” means “to hang and suspend”.  That is, it is also a designation of the Cross; and the manner of a crucifixion whereby “reconciliation and forgiveness” from GOD is attained.

At Mizpah, Jacob saw the stairs of the angels / messengers of GOD, leading from Earth to Heaven (Genesis 28:12).  In Jerusalem, these stairs led from Siloach / Siloam up to the Temple (Nehemiah 3:15), opening more by revelation and symbolism to man.  Therefore, forgiveness of sins is made available to us by the means of the Cross, and through the Source of Christ.³⁷  Both forgiveness, and the Messiah who brought that forgiveness, was sent from Heaven to Earth.  The atonement of the work of the Cross is “Heaven sent”, as from the Heavenly Zion -- as though down the staircase or ladder used by the angels (and priests) --and from the Throne of GOD the Father, personally.  

The gate of "Siloam" was perhaps first known as the gate of "Shalom" (שלם), the gate of "Peace".  It is quite probable that the waters (which are translated as "still" in the KJV) in Psalm 23, and translated as “the waters of rest”, refer directly to the waters of this particular spring of Gihon.  The Gihon Spring itself becomes a symbol of Messiah and His Living Tabernacle, to which David finds comfort in. 

In the days of the Jebusites of Jerusalem, when the leader of an enemy was conquered, he may well have been taken captive to Jerusalem.  There, from what is now the southeast corner of the Temple, in an area once called “the heights of Zion”, the enemy was exhibited.  Then, while still bound hand and foot, the enemy was pushed or dropped from a height of over 500 feet into a shadowy chasm below.  It may or may not be obvious to you, that David does indeed take this same view of Zion and the Kidron.  For in Psalm 23, in calling the Kidron Valley as the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he speaks of returning home as a son to his father: Jesse.  For he says, “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).  The LORD takes the place of his beloved and late father, Jesse, for David says:

 “When my father and mother leave me behind, then YHVeH will take me up” (Psalm 27:10, - translation mine).³⁸  

For that reason, it is through the Kidron Valley, which David passes through in Psalm 23, while returning home to the heights of Zion in Jerusalem; and entering through the Water Gate (Nehemiah 3:15).³⁹  In similarity, when a Jewish or Christian believer dies, this Psalm is quoted, because subconsciously, we all know that the inference of this Psalm is an earthly reflection of the Heavenly example: a returning to Zion and to the LORD in His Temple / a going home to Heaven and to the LORD at His Throne.  We therefore, possess inwardly, a confirmation of this interpretation also.

What is the prophetic significance of the word SiLoaCH?

Let's look at it.  The word SiLoaCH (סלח) is also the same spelling as ShaLaCH ( סלח):   "to send away" or "to cast out".  This event happened when YHVeH Messiah was scourged and cast out of Jerusalem in A.D. 30.  Again, the spelling also can read as "שלח" / "ShiLuaCH": a dismissal or divorce (decree).  In the case of YHVeH Messiah, the cry of the Sanhedrin’s bully faction was:  "We have no King but Caesar” (John 19:15 -KJV).  It was a third utterance of Divorce by the Jewish People toward their King, and toward GOD.  Even as the betrothal marriage ceremony was performed at Sinai/ Horeb; so on Mount Moriah, the Jewish nation through its first priests - scribes - and “holy ones” -- chose to Divorce themselves rather than to submit to marriage with its coming Messiah and King, the Right Hand of Power.⁴⁰

 

Again, by such a declaration as "We have no King but Caesar" (John 19:15), the First Priests, who represented the nation of Israel, divorced not only their rightful King and Messiah, but they divorced themselves from GOD.  Using just John, we see that the three utterances required in the presence of the rabbinate is fulfilled as:

"I divorce You":  John 18:29-32

 "I divorce You":  John  19:6-7

 "I divorce You":  John  19:15 ⁴¹

This desire of a divorce from YHVeH Messiah was a result of blindness.  It was a blindness and disorder of sin, which was addressed by Messiah in the parable of the wicked servants who took over the vineyard of their master (Matthew 21:33-40).  These wicked servants were full of darkness within and without (Matthew 6:23).  But, from the common folk, came Faith: though from among the poor.  The Pool of S(h)iloam,  is probably also meant to be known, by its phonetics,  as the Pool of Shalom -- the Pool of Peace.  This is the same “Pool” that the man who was born blind was sent to by Jesus.  As though an “apostle” (or “one who is sent”), this humble blind man was instructed to wash the clay from his eyes that Jesus had placed there - in order that he might see for the first time in his life (John, chapter 9).  In the Bible, humility often will bear good fruit; but pride, just as often, leads to bad fruit: darkness within, and the darkness without.  The darkness of sin will thrust one outside the Tabernacle of GOD’s grace, into the “outer darkness”.  Here, one is like the Devil with Job (Job 1:8-10), at the outside hedge of super-sized goads and briars, looking in.  In the outer darkness, unable to do anything but to weep, wail, and gnash their teeth.

But now, through the revealing of GOD's Love at and through the Cross, we see GOD did NOT accept this divorce, but allowed for a period of self-appointed separation by Israel in accordance to what he foretold in Deuteronomy Chapter 28.  In these Last Times, Israel is being called HOME through the Cross, a Jewish Cross, that of their King Messiah as when the Pesach Lamb was roasted upright, crucified on a cross for a Passover spit, its entrails (in antiquity) being as if Messiah Yeshua's crown of thorns.  This Messiah Yeshua, King David saw and foreknew.  And this Messiah is He whom Israel can see and look back on, and recognize that Yeshua is OUR King Messiah first, and THEN to the Nations.  And according to Scripture, that is how it should be.  To the Jew first, and then also to the nations.  But whosoever will, may come freely without money, without price (cf. Isaiah 55:1)...and whosoever cometh to ME (says Jesus) I will in NO WAY cast out. (John 6:37)   Yea, LORD...may all humanity believe and trust in Thee.  Amen.  

Thought on the Blind man’s Quest for Siloam / Shalom

          “For I determined not to know anything among you,

          save Jesus Christ [the anointing of Salvation],⁴²

and Him crucified.”

                                                          (I Corinthians 2:2)

End-notes

1          One variant of the early Apostles Creed could have been cited in this way at the confirmation Baptism of a new believer, before many witnesses.  “I believe in GOD the father Almighty, maker of the heavens and the Earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only one-of-a-kind begotten Son, our YHVeH.  He was conceived by the power of the Spirit Holy, born of a virgin -- Miriam.  He was lifted up and crucified, died, and was entombed.  He descended into Gehenna.  On the third day, He resurrected from the dead.  He ascended up by the clouds into Heaven, and sits on the Right Hand of the Power.  From thence, He shall come again with clouds to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Spirit Holy, the Separation of the Saints of Communion, the Atonement of Sin, the Resurrection from the dead, and the ever-lasting life.  (World without end.)  Amen.”  

                    The phrase, “the separation of the saints of communion”, is a reasonable assumption of the Syriac/Aramaic.  This later was clarified to be: “the Universal (Catholic) Church” - meaning that men and angels are both called out as being dedicated to YHVeH Messiah, unto Christ.  As to their separation, and love for one another - “the Communion of Saints”, they are as incorporate members, two sheepfolds that are part of the same flock, which is made possible through the Passion of Christ – yet separated in this life as holy and especially in the world to come away from corrupt  - base humanity.  By Jesus’ crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection; man and obedient good angels united in fellowship as if one of Heaven.

2          Roberts, Alexander and James Donaldson, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1885, May 1989 reprint; Vol. 1, pp. 568-569.  Fragments from the lost writings of Irenaeus, .III

3          Ibidem, p. 41,The Martyrdom of Polycarp, .9    Polycarp declared that he had been serving Christ for 86 years.  By implication, to the proconsul, Polycarp could only have meant that he had been serving as a bishop for that length of time.  Since a bishop assumes office at the same age as a rabbi, being no less than 30 years old, as a master, 86 more from age 30 makes age 116.  Bear in mind, Polycarp still could have been a few years older still. For example: in circa 109 A.D., Simeon, the son of Cleopas, died as bishop in Jerusalem at the age of 120.  Polycarp died a martyr on or about February 23, 156 A.D.  This makes him appointed bishop in Smyrna by John six months to a year before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and 28 years before John’s own death on or about Passover of 98 A.D.  Polycarp, at the ripe old age of 115, made the arduous round trip sea voyage from Ephesus to Italy, in order to visit and instruct Anicetus in Rome.  By celebrating the tradition of the Eucharist, we celebrate the core of the Passover festival, the Cross of YHVeH Messiah: this is the tradition of the Apostles; who in turn, are true sons of their forefathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. 

  

4          Lamentations 4:20; Genesis 2:7 

5          cf. Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians, .9  (shorter version).  Roberts, Alexander and James Donaldson, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1885, May 1989 reprint; Vol. 1, p. 53.

The Cross is lifted up and set by a mobile contraption that uses a rope and pulley system.  The Romans being experts in the art of war, always had a like number of artisans, carpenters, masons, etc., that accompanied them.  Their service would have been as a form of enlistment, contractual in nature for 5 years; or they would have simply been slaves.  Therefore, such a force of readily available artisans and engineers would have been present in Jerusalem, and daily put to work by the Romans.  The size of the detachment would have been in proportion to the Roman presence.  If the Romans had 600 soldiers plus officers, for example, these contract workers could have then numbered between 200 – 400 hired skilled laborers.  These artisans would have been considered a non-entity, and it would have been bad form for their mention by any of the Gospel writers and most historians of the era.  Cf. Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 3.5.1-2.

6          That is, the dead tree -- being the Cross -- is an allegory for the “dead world”.  Due to its intimation as Lebanese cedar, and red tone, more specifically, the Cross becomes the First Adam.

7          John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:13.

8          “And the points connected with the Passion of the LORD,

              which were foretold, were realized in no other case:

              For neither did it happen at the death of any man among  the ancients

              that the Sun set at mid-day, nor was the veil of  the Temple rent,

              nor did the Earth quake, nor were the rocks rent, nor did the dead rise up,

              nor was any one of  these men  [beside Christ] raised up on the third day,

              nor  received into heaven, nor at his assumption were the heavens opened,

              nor did the nations believe in the Name of any other;

              nor did any from among them, having been dead and rising again,

              lay open the New Covenant of Liberty.  Therefore the prophets spoke not

              of any one else but of the LORD, in whom all these aforesaid things occurred.” 

          181-183 A.D.  (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.34.3)

            Roberts, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p.512.

9          The likeness of entering this Valley (at Jerusalem by Messiah) is seen in the historical anamnesis in the Book of Judges.  In Judges 7:22, when the Midianites were defeated by Gideon and the 300, the survivors fled to the “House of Acacia” or “Beth Shittah”, in the East.  This location is in the Jordan Valley, near where John the Baptist first baptized by the Yarmuk and Jordan River juncture, before moving southward to Beth Bara.  The Ephraimites were called upon by Gideon to enter Beth Bara, and did so.  The house of Acacia represents the “ark” and the “cross”.  The Ephraimites represent all the race of Israel beside that of Judah, who will be cast into Israel in the last days by a worldwide anti-Semitism that is sparked by the nuclear flattening of Damascus, Syria (Isaiah 17:1).  They come to faith through sack cloth and ashes, like John the Baptist, at Beth Bara, and are reborn into a New Israel in the Great Tribulation: in those last 3 ½ years before Christ’s return.    

10        Air Force Manual 64-3, “Survival - Training Edition, U.S. Air Force” 15 August 1969; p. A1-37

11        In its first mention in Exodus 25:5, Shittim / Acacia wood appears between ram (and other) skins, and oil.  When our First Father Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, He and our First Mother were clothed by GOD in the coats of skins as a covering for sin (Genesis 3:21).  The oil that follows the Shittim wood, is oil for lighting (Exodus 25:6).  John 1:4 tells us that in Christ was life, and this life was the LIGHT of men.  And as we read the order of things in the Torah here in Exodus 25:3-8, we see the order of all things.  In verse 3, we see that first GOD created His Sanctuary, which we call Heaven, by the representation of gold, silver, and brass.  Then we see in verse 4 that GOD created the angels, the cherubim, and man - through the colors blue, purple, and scarlet, and that man was the last of these, yet destined as the centerpiece, being like unto both angels and cherubim in one form.  We then see in verse 5 that the atonements, which precede the Shittim Wood, which wood, represent the Cross.  The Cross then leads to the restoration of man in verse 6, for the light  of eternal life and the anointing of man occurs.  The incense, which represents prayer, shows an intimate restoration of communication between man and GOD.  In verse 7, we see how that GOD destines man to be as a priesthood unto Him; and in verse, that this plan is for all eternity, even as GOD is eternal, and is the GOD of the living (for all live unto Him that are His).  

12        There is a testimonial found in this quote of Psalm 22:1, that is revealed in the decipherment of Atbash.  At bash is the inverting code of the Hebraic alphabet.  The first letter and last letter switch places, the second and the second to last letter switch places, and so on.  Along with Gematria, this practice also dates back to at least the Babylonian exile.  Unlike Gematria, it is less understood, and more tedious.  Psalm 22:1 is an Atbash code of  5 sets of trinity, as a testimony of the ordeal of the Cross and Israel’s crucified Messiah. 

Translated:      “The people cut and oppress, the people cut and oppress;

                        Righteousness is branded and scarred,

                        Piety and Truth has been sweated out.

                        (Let it now) contract, and come to a close.”

13        Cedars are already known in Israel and Lebanon to exceed 40 feet at their base circumference, and 100-120 feet in height (cf. Harris, Theological Word book, p. 70; Tenney, Merrill C., Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1963, 1964 edition, p.662); in order to stand out, the Great Tree of Shechem would have had to dwarf such trees altogether.  It would have been a gargantuan type of tree never before seen, whose sheer size promoted awe and worship: perhaps to the effect of branches stretching out 195 feet from side to side; 225 feet in height; and a girth of 70 feet.  But this is only personal speculation.  I might yet be underestimating its sheer original size.

14        In his exposition of Genesis 15:5, Rashi explains how that GOD took Abram outside, and gave him the vision of being able to “look down” from above.  In effect, even before the ram in the thicket (Genesis 22:13), Abram was able to see Messiah’s Day and be glad (cf. John 8:56 with Genesis 15:4, 6).  Cf. Doron, “Rashi’s Commentary”,  p.31.   

15         Obadiah 9 tells us Edom is the place of origin for the modern Arab Palestinian; showing their claim upon Israel’s land is fraudulent.  For further study and documentation, read the eminent Joan Peters in her book, Peters, Joan “From Time Immemorial”, © 1984 Harper & Row, published of late by JKAP in Chicago 2002.  Joan Peters is a thorough researcher / author, in regards to Mid-East/Israeli affairs.

16        Cooper, John  “Eat & Be Satisfied”, Northvale, N.J.: Aronson, © 1993   This entire section was inspired by the insight of Toemnin/Teman as a covered Sabbath dish. 

¹⁷          In the First Century A.D., just like today, there was an expectancy of GOD's Spirit to mysteriously fall from the heavens and light upon the faithful in the same miraculous and eventful manner that in those times of antiquity GOD fell or came down upon His prophets and judges to deliver the people of GOD from their oppressors.  This notion they gathered from passages and commentaries such as that which might have been gathered about Zechariah 12:8, which reads:                       

"And in that Day: YHVeH shall protect the inhabitants around Jerusalem;

 And it will be that he who is feeble among them in that Day (shall be) like David:

 and the House of David (shall be) like GOD, like the ANGEL of YHVeH before them."

(cf. The Hebrew - Greek - English   Interlinear Bible (Literal translation), Green, Jay P., sr. (Editor),  Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, second edition 1986.)

This led to the populist idea among the zealots, such as Judas Iscariot, that when the Kingdom of GOD came with Messiah, the feeble would receive vigor and rejuvenation to be as mighty David in his peak years.  In that time, the House of Israel would take pre-eminence among the nations, and dwell as if they were gods.  The Greek uses “theoi”, which Herodotus the Greek historian translates as “the disposers” (Herodotus, Histories, 2.52).  In other words, the rabbis taught that the destiny of the Jews was to be the masters of this world.  Being supermen, meant being GOD-empowered, and that power then being used to subject even GOD’s Kingdom to the human, but Jewish, whim.

                 In effect, World War II and German National Socialism was GOD’s object lesson to the Jews.  This was because, in an attempt to name and claim by "faith", the leaders of the Jews at Jerusalem, those of the Sanhedrin (the ancient governing religious body politic of the Jews) called themselves "NASI" or "princes".  It was for a warning upon the modern descendant of Jacob that GOD allowed an enemy to rise up and be “princes” and “rulers” called Nasi, though spelled n- a-"Z"-i.  However, the eyes and ears were again shut to the obvious warning from GOD in not straying after the sins of these ancestors who are denounced in a manner like Korah, Datham, Abiram, and the prophet Balaam are in the Scriptures.  

 18     Harris, “The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament”, p.176  

 19   Isaiah 40:3-5

20        Galatians 4:25 clearly identifies Mt. Sinai as being in Arabia.

21        There will be Hebrew bodies piled high in Jerusalem’s Kidron and Hinom Valleys by the many tens of thousands, as every last Jew on earth (at that time) fights for their existence.  These will also be piled as high as the horses bridle (cf. Zechariah 12:11; Revelation 14:20, 16:16).  The return of Messiah, that there be flesh saved, regards His mission to the Jews, not the nations (Matthew 24:22, cf. vv. 16-22 in context; and Mark 13:20, cf. vv. 13-20 in context).  The city of Jerusalem is besieged by the armies of anti-Christ in one-third, being westerly; and by the armies of the Asiatic warlords in one-third to the north and east.  It is held from the Temple by one-third via the Jewish remnant, who for 45 days are hanging on for dear life from days 2580-2625, but are now being butchered in the valleys of Hinom and the Kidron, cut off from all escape (cf. Revelation 16:12, 16,19; Zechariah 12:3-9; Daniel 12:11-12; Jeremiah 31:38-40; Joel 3:14-17; etc.). 

        cf.  Harris, Archer, Waltke  “The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament”, Chicago: Moody, © 1980, 12^th print, Vol. 2, p.666; Vo. 1, pp.41-46.  ; Zodhiates, Spiros “The Complete Word Study Old Testament”, Chattanooga: AMG, © 1994, p. 2349.  In regards to textual criticism, compare the Hebrew extensively in Gematriac phonetics extensively with the Greek “aggelos” and “ago”.

22   Notice: that Jerusalem’s use of  “the Pavement,” is almost like that of a Colonial Square of Cobblestones.  It is an expression that the rest of Jerusalem’s streets are NOT founded in stones, like many of the Roman main arteries; and that the streets were dirt and rock of the mountain itself.  The only exception to this will be that of the Temple itself; but even within the Courts of the Gentiles, the pave stones were covered in a layer of dirt, to ease the securing of animal excrement, in order that the Temple be not defiled.  This is demonstrated when Jesus, while at Solomon’s Porch, stoops down and writes (probably the Hebrew word for Falsehood: Sheqar  שקר) in the dirt in John 8:6,8 -- (followed underneath by the names of the accusers, from oldest to youngest).  

23        The tree or “cross” of 2 Kings 6:6 being cast into a river, is taught in miracle of the floating axe-head, as Irenaeus relates:

“And the man of GOD said, ‘Where did it fall?’  And he showed him the place.  And he cut down a tree, and cast it in there, and the iron floated. 

[That is, he cut down a tree and cast it into a river, --2 Kings 6:6 -- signifying that Christ had to carry His cross through the cold Kidron brook following a recent rain, and during runoff.  This was a sign that through death, as through the Jordan, Christ will bear the souls of all men who believe, aloft to Heaven with Him.  It is also a greater depth understanding to the bark  (Heb. “eitz”) that was cast into Marah, and made the bitter waters sweet.  This shows that the coming Cross of YHVeH is the only means by which one can attain the Living Waters of YHVeH, and hence, eternal life.  For the laws and statutes were “uplifted” (Heb.- “nisahu”) as upon the coming Cross, and “tested” in the uplifting.  (Exodus 15:23-24).  Cf. Riskin, Shlomo - Jerusalem Post International, “Weekly Portion”, February 6, 2004 p.31]

This was a sign that souls should be taken up and away, being borne aloft through the instrumentality of wood, upon which he suffered, who can lead those souls that follow up and away and aloft that follow His ascension.

          This event was also an indication of the fact, that when the holy soul  of Christ descended [into Ge-Hinom], many souls ascended and were seen in their bodies.  [Matthew 27:52].  For just as the wood, which is the lighter body, was submerged in the water; but the iron, the heavier one, floated:  so when the WORD of GOD became one with flesh, by a physical and hypostatic union, the heavier and terrestrial having been rendered immortal by the Divine Nature, was taken up and borne into Heaven, after the Resurrection.”  (Irenaeus, Fragments .28)

Roberts, “The Ante Nicene Fathers”, pp. 572-573.                                                                     

24      Bullinger, E.W.  “The Witness of the Stars”, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1893, 1997 reprint (Chapter 2, “Libra”).

25        For which reason that even one stone set upon another was not allowed by the Romans in A.D. 70.  (cf. Mark 13:1-2).  GOD wanted to make sure that the Jews knew they were violating Deuteronomy 28, and would have no place to even call a mound heap as their Temple until the time of dispersion was fulfilled (Luke 21:24).

26        Micah 5:2 describes His origins as from of old, even to the everlasting ages of the everlasting ages.  John 1:1-18 informs us that this one is Jesus Christ.  He was at the “Beginning”, at the αρχη, the “Bereshith”, or “beginning of all time”, as expressed in Genesis 1:1.  This concept is seen in Greek concepts, in which Ceres (the daughter of Prometheus) became Isis, the queen of Egypt (through marriage to Osiris).  Thereafter, she was called by the Attic Greeks “IO”, after the concept of  “we have arrived as a civilization, beginning here.”  Egyptian wealth, naval and military, education and medicine, food and liquor, was all infused into Attic society Archē is, in turn, equated in the Greek with προτος: the first in pre-eminence, time, position, and authority before all others.  So when John uses protos in Revelation 1:5, when he quotes Messiah Yeshua as “the First”, he does not just explain Messiah as being just a “first one” born from the dead, but reaches for a deeper meaning.  Christ is “before the birth” πρωτοτοκος of all Creation, as Paul cites in Colossians 1:15.  He bears forth the Creation of the universe by His power, the power of the spoken word (Hebrews 11:3, Isaiah 14:24).  The Father thinks it, the Son speaks it into existence (John 8:28,38; 12:49; 14:24; Psalm 119:160, 33:6,9).  Cf. the “Oneness of GOD” in John 10:30, Deuteronomy 6:4, Zechariah 14:9.  Isaiah 48:16-17 lists a LORD YHVeH, YHVeH Spirit, and YHVeH the Redeemer; the Old Testament origin to Matthew 28:19’s justified use of “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”.

In John 1:3 , of YHVeH Messiah, we are informed twice that “all things through Him εγενετο”  -- all things came into being at a point in time when the “Beginning” was in a new state, and still unfolding into existence (i.e., ginomai being twice in the aorist).  “Egeneto” is followed immediately by an emphasis on ginomai’s perfect tense: “gegonen”.  This tells us the continuing existence of the new state that has come into existence, as being upheld by the word of His power (as it were).  (Cf. Zodhiates, Spiros “The Complete Word Study New Testament”, and the “The Complete Word Study Dictionary”, Nashville: AMG, © 1991, © 1992.)

27    e.g.  Trevor, John C. “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Personal Account”, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, © 1965,1977; pp. 140-141.

28    e.g. Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. 25, No. 6, Nov/Dec 1999, “Rewriting Jerusalem History” by Hershel Shanks, pp. 20-29.

29   נער  No’ar.  Valued at 320.  The word means a boy or youth.  Irenaeus reveals that when Adam and Eve were created, they were de facto as youths (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.22.4.).  This tradition he received from Polycarp, who received it from John, who received it from Messiah.  This age of equivocal maturity of Adam and Eve also answers: as to why a boy is given his Bar Mitzvah at 13, and a girl her Bat Mitzvah at age 12.   

30     סרס  Caric.  Valued at 320.  It means one who is unmarried, and does not engage in sexual intercourse: living life after the same asexual nature as a eunuch is supposed to.

31 נער  Na’ar.  This is the alternate pronunciation of No’ar.  It means “one who is tossed about”, “a wanderer”.  Jesus said, “Foxes have holes (to retreat into), birds of the air have nests (to lodge and rest in), yet the Son of  Adam has no place to lay His head (and call “Home”).”  cf. Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58.

32       עירם   Iyram.  Valued at 320.  There are several definitions of Iyr: a place that is guarded by watchers; a watcher or guard; a recently broken in and prepared animal (so that he might bear a load).  “Am”, or the “Mem” (by itself), is simply translated as either a people or nation.  The additional definition of the letter “Mem” is “waters”, which can also be used in metaphor and allegory for “people”.  Therefore, a “watcher or guardian of the people, who can discern their innermost thoughts”, is the intent of the word.

33    רחבעם   Rechabam/Rehoboam.  Valued at 320.  “He who enlarges a people”/ “a people who have enlarged”.  

34   שך  Sok / Sak.  Valued at 320.  A “Sok” is an interlaced booth or shelter, and is recognized as a Tabernacle (such as exhibited during the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths).  Inside the Tabernacle is refuge, such as with the example of Job 1:9-10, in which that which is within the hedge is a large place.  In Psalm 118:15 we read that it is the voice of Jesus (or “Salvation”) who is within the Tabernacles of the Righteous (ones).  There the people call Him “the Right Hand of YHVeH” (Psalm 118:15-16), who grants them eternal life (v.17).  This Tabernacle is a very “large place” to which the saints are delivered to (Psalm 18:6-19 describes the Elijahn Rapture; John 14:2 reaffirms its largeness).

“Sak” is a briar hedge, of goads and pricks.  It is a barb-mesh so super-sized, so that getting through is considered impossible.  When Jesus convicted Paul a few miles outside Damascus in Kaukab (Archaeology, Nov/Dec 1996,  “The World of Paul” by Neil Asher Silberman, pp.32, 33), He told Paul -- who was then called “Saul” -- that He was like Satan coming against Job, on the outside of the Tabernacle, kicking against the briars, trying to get in (Acts 9:4-5).  Job also lived in Syria, whose lands included an area in or around Saul’s destination of Damascus.  

35    עמרי  Omriy.  Valued at 320.  It means “a heap that is chastised from blows”.  Rearranged, it becomes:  עמיר  Amiyr.  Amiyr is that “bunch, handful, or sheaf (of grain)” waved as the First-fruits wave offering at the altar cauldron of the Temple.  Christ was indeed chastised by blows, until He became as a heap.  Then, He was sent away as the sacrifice of Israel (John 11:49-53), as the “First-fruits unto GOD” (I Corinthians 15:23. cf. Revelation 14:4). 

36    פרם  Param.  Valued at 320.  Param means, “to tear, and rend” (as to pieces).                                        

רסס  Racac.  Valued at 320.  Racac means “to moisten with drops or drippings, until (it) drips to pieces”.  The flesh of Messiah was so beaten, that to simply touch some of His flesh, was to see it fall away like flood-soaked drywall.  Therefore, as He was led from Gabbatha, and all the way to Calvary, He lost drippings and chunks of flesh and blood -- all along the Way.  The saying, “I’ll have my pound of flesh from him” was a literal happening on the Watergate Road, perhaps several times over, perhaps more.

37     “Christ is the source, and the Cross is the means” of victory, and salvation.  This is a favorite saying of Jimmy Swaggart 

38    Cf. also Luke 2:40-49. 

39        Not only do the stairs go down from the city of David, by means of this singular access from Zion, they go up to the city of David -- from the Gate of Siloam -- also.

40        Jesus was betrayed by “the elders, the first (or “chief”) priests, and scribes” in Peter’s account of  Mark 8:31 in Rome, as well as Matthew’s account in Matthew 16:21 in Jerusalem.  At the actual raucous before Pilate, in Mark 10:33 and Matthew 20:18, the chief priests, and scribes are listed by Christ as His detractors.  It would be these who delivered Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, beaten, spit upon, whipped, and put to death (Luke 18:31-33, 22:2).  Judas Iscariot communed with the “first priests and Temple Commanders [Gk. strategos]” in conspiring against Jesus.  The scribes and Pharisees worked hand in hand in such a manner, as to be virtually inseparable (Matthew 15:1, 23:13ff.).  It appears then, that the definition of a Pharisee or “holy one” was that of a society of  “Protectors of the Temple”; almost like a Masonic Lodge, if you will.  This required an oath of loyalty to the Order in the name of religious fervor to the Faith.  It also acted in an exclusionary manner to those not born into the Levitical tribe, and Kohenim (the priestly order).  As Saul (who became Paul) found out, he could be enabled as its “High Executioner” in the same way the Catholic Church enabled its executioners to ferret out the Jews in the Middle Ages, but Saul could never truly be the “insider” he truly wanted to be -- as a priest unto GOD.  Therefore, when we see the conspiracy of first priests against Jesus, (with the exception of the Sadducee  High Priest Caiaphas), we are seeing those who are known as “Pharisees” -- “Holy Ones” -- “The Protectors of the Temple Order” coming together against Messiah.  In the mind of Christ’s betrayer, Judas Iscariot the zealot, he was playing both ends of righteous zeal against the middle, and found himself lost to both.

41        When Israel asks, “Why hath the LORD done thus unto this Land, and unto this House?”  concerning the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem and the Diaspora, the answer comes back from the era of Solomon, “Because they forsook the LORD GOD of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath He brought all this evil upon them.”  (2 Chronicles 7:21, 22).  Because the first priests divorced themselves from YHVeH Messiah to serve other gods such as Caesar and Mamon (wealth), so too, did GOD grant them their request for their generation.

42        The Gospel of John, chapter 9 : in its entirety, is summarized by this verse.  In English, we say “Salvation”; in Hebrew, we say “Yeshua”; while in Greek, we utilize “Jesus” as the English adaptation.  By determining to know “Salvation”, the blind man who was man to see is determined to know “Jesus”.