Biblical Fruits and Grains: The Pomegranate

The Pomegranate –

Its tree or shrub generally grows to a height of 20 - 30 feet, and produces a grenade-like fruit, which is compared to an apple in its shape. Within its skin are hundreds of pods which are eaten raw or squeezed for juice. The tree itself is a flowery shrub-like deciduous evergreen with crimson flowers.

The plant thrives in soils with high alkalinity, upon brackish irrigation waters, and in dry climates where the temperature doesn’t usually fall below 12 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Pomegranate tree will bear fruit about 3 years from its planting, but the fruit must remain up for 6-7 months after flowering. If it does not remain attached, the fruit will never sweeten/ripen. Once plucked, its fruit is the same as that of the apple. It is a favorite sustenance of lepers, who derive some apparent relief from its properties.

The pomegranate is highly susceptible to infestation and dry rot, as well as soft rot (from over-watering). Vinegar would have been applied to the plant to combat caterpillar infestations.

The Pomegranate is used by tanners in the tanning of leather. The root bark, fruit rinds, and even the trunk bark have solutions of tannin hovering around 25% in them. The bark of the stem and root are used in the treatment of tapeworm infestations, but mild overdoses can cause a simultaneous dual direction “body cleanse”.

The presence of the Pomegranate, along with the Vine, the Fig, and the Olive, is considered to be linked to G-D’s Temple Blessing upon Israel (Haggai 2:13).

The Passover lamb is required to be roasted whole while suspended on a dry pomegranate branch.

During the time of first fruits, Jewish tradition tells us:

"When a person goes down to his field and sees (for the first time) a ripe fig or a ripe cluster of grapes, or a ripe pomegranate, he binds a reed or grass ribbon around it and says, 'These are the firstfruits...'" (Bikkurim 1:1)

In I Samuel 14:2 ff., while Saul rested under a Pomegranate Tree with his 600 bodyguards about him, G-D used Saul’s son Jonathan and his armor bearer in his delivering Israel from the Philistines, who were on the threshold of victory in defeating Israel.


The Pomegranate is also associated with the Temple's High Priest.

The Crimson flowers and the fruit rinds of the pomegranate were used to make red dyes used in both textile work (Exodus 28:31,33,34) and in the dying of wool, such as that of the High Priest’s garment.

The High Priest wore 8 “garments” –the breastplate, the robe, the tunic, the crown, the pants, the turban, and the belt. In these he used 3 materials: twisted linen, dyed wool, and gold. Gold was used in only the high priest’s crown and in the pomegranate bells at the hem of his garment (Exodus 28:34, 36). There were 72 pomegranate shaped bells on this hem, with sky blue, crimson red, and dark red wools.

Is Jesus G-D? Scripture says: Yes.

In Colossians 1:15, Paul refers to Christ as the "prototokos pases ktiseos" -- "(the) One who is pre-eminent above and over all Creation and its Creatures."

If we compare this to Revelation 3:14's "he arche tes ktiseos", we see that Jesus as the Logos is the Source or First-Cause of creation, the Intelligent Reason issued forth from G-D the Father taking on personhood

En arche een ho Logos,
kai Logos een pros ton Theon,
kai Theos een ho Logos. (John 1:1 in Greek transliteration)

as the Logos, Christ is "pros" / "up alongside with" G-D, and G-D was the WORD.

And that is why He has pre-eminence: because - "in Him, life was; and the Life was the Light of men. All things were made by Him. And without Him, was not made any (thing) that was made." (John 1:4,3).

The article (ho) is on the Logos in John 1:1c, in order to highlight that the WORD was G-D, and had the fullness of G-D in Him, but was not the completeness of G-D alone in a yachid person, because G-D is One in an ehad or "complex and united oneness unity".

In John 1:3, using the word "ginomai" (the Greek verb which means "to become"), we are informed that it is through the Logos (of John 1:1) that: "all things through Him CAME INTO BEING (egeneto) and without Him CAME INTO BEING (egeneto) not even one (thing) that CAME INTO BEING (gegonen)."

Ginomai in the aorist is egeneto...referring back in Time to a point when the "beginning" or "New State" was occurring or still unfolding into existence. That is, it had now been made manifest as that creatio ex nihilo (that which was created from nothing), yet made sure and called "good"; but was still being made "complete". You might liken it to watching a blade breaking ground, and growing and growing; then budding, and finally blooming as the flower opens to its fullness and beauty.

After the aorist, we move from egeneto to gegone...the perfect tense of ginomai. Gegone speaks of the continuing existence of this Beginning is dependent upon the Logos of John 1:1. That is, "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." (Job 26:7)

The hanging of the earth and all existence is continually upheld by the Logos of G-D the Father -- His Intelligent Word, whom is Christ Jesus-- and the power of His will, the same will as that of the Father. Hence Jesus and the Father are One (united in Complex Unity) / echad (John 10:30).

By the WORD of the L-RD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." (Psalm 33:6)


Colossians 1:15-17 {of Christ] :
"who is the image of G-D the invisible before-the-birth of all Creation because in Him were created all the things in the heavens and those upon the Earth, those invisible and those invisible: whether thrones, whether lord-ships, whether (first)rulers, whether authorities - ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM AND FOR HIM HAVE BEEN CREATED, and He is prior to all things, and all things in Him *stand*together*with*(Him)* / *stand*because*of*(His power)." -- Translation mine.

Existing prior to all things, and all things finding their existence / birth / origin in Him: all Creation is upheld or cast down for HIS glory, and by HIS power. One word translated a little differently than you might be used to seeing, is "prototokos". Translated as First-born in the KJV, in Colossians and Revelation 1, it is Proto ("before") and tokos (from 'tikto' - meaning "to bear or bring forth"). In these two passages (Col. 1:15, Rev. 1:5, especially -- the more correct Greek to English usage is "before the birth".)

Hence, exercising His right of inheritance to all things from His Father as He who is legally - a First-born as He existing "before the birth" of all Creation and all things created that were created (hence as uncreated G-D in G-D).

Jesus says in Revelation 1:8 - I AM -- the Alpha and the Omega, (the) Beginning and (the) End, says the L-RD: The BEING, and who was, and who is returning (as) the ALMIGHTY

and again in Revelation 1:11 - I AM -- the Alpha and the Omega -- the FIRST [He before all] and the Last [the most extreme end, to the end of forever]. (Direct Greek to English translation)

Hebrews 11:3 - Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of G-D, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

When John uses the word prototokos in Revelation 1:5, he does NOT "just" explain Christ as being the first one born back from the dead...but instead, reaches down, and digs deeper into its meaning.

Christ is not only "before the birth of all Creation", but:

"He (is) before the birth out of the dead (ones), and the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth." (Revelation 1:5)

This relates to His Messianic lineage, and His origins in eternity, as stated in Micah 5:2 ...He shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.38.3 tells us of this separately enough to be distinct and yet united entity we call "the Son" who is both begotten and unbegotten, who is part of the ONE Triune G-Dhead:
"...the uncreated G-D --
the Father planning;
the Son carrying these into execution and performing the work of creating;
and the [Holy] Spirit nourishing and increasing...."

Jesus is begotten, not made, homousios with the Father...as John 1:1 tells us in the Greek, though containing the fullness of G-D, he was not the totality of G-D...which is why He was "pros" (up, alongside, and with). And this is why the article in 1:1c did not rest on Theos (kai Theos een HO Logos) but on Logos. Hence it did NOT read "and (the) G-D was the Word", as to infer fullness or totality in the person of the Word, but rather was "and the Word was G-D"...inferring fullness, but not totality.

I Corinthians 13:12, Paul uses the term prosopon pros prosopon to describe what the English translate "face to face".

Jesus is pros, up alongside and with, pros ton Theon, up alongside and with G-D in John 1:1. He as the ikone (2 Corinthians 4:4) or direct face to face unbegoten person in the image or reflection of G-D the Father, who also stands or sits next to the Father, even as Moses stood next to the Angel of YHVeH and spake as one would speak "face to face" in the Torah.

Prosopon also incorprates "ops" as its root word (think "optical"), that which is seen with the eye. It can mean just about anything, and usually translated to mean a surface or face of something.

As "prosopo", as used in 2 Cor. 2:10, we have it translated as "presence" (RSV)/ "person" (KJV) in the sense that Paul, the apostle of Jesus, represents the presumption of the gathering of two or three persons required for Christ to be in their midst.

Hence, when Jesus is pros ton Theon, He is beside something more than just the person of Himself, He is beside the separate person of the Father...but He is One in and with the Father and the Holy Spirit as G-D (Matthew 28:19).



A lesson from Tabernacles, etc.

On the Leviticus 23 festival of Tabernacles or Sukkot, those in eretz Israel (within the borders of the land of Israel) build a sukkah, a tabernacle of branches and fruit, with 3 sides, and open to the stars above. This is a festival of "joy" and of "forgiveness". Man enters into his own personal tabernacle relationship with G-D, one even MORE intimate than the holy priests entering into the Temple. Each of these 3 walls represent each occasion in which all the males must come up to Jerusalem and stand before the L-RD. Each wall represents the fathers of Abraham - Isaac - and Jacob.

As a man lays down to sleep, he beholds a handful of stars, and considers his own lineage, that his sons might also be reckoned as the "sons of G-D", even as the stars fill the heavens. The song of Psalm 27 is sung twice a day during the Festival.

Psalm 27:5 says, "For He shall hide me in His SUKKAH in the Day of Evil, He shall hide me in the secrecy of His Tabernacle: on a Rock, shall He lift me up." Compare this with Psalm 118:5, 15-16; and recognize that "salvation" here and in Psalm 27 incorporates the very name of Yeshua (i.e., Jesus).

365 days a year, the priests offer the wine libation. Only during Sukkot, is the water libation offered. Even the Rabbis use and proclaim forth the words of Isaiah 12 at the remembrance of the water libation, which the priests themselves would have said.

But Isaiah 12 tells us clearly, that the water libation is drawn
from "out of the wells of Yeshua",
for "G-D is Yeshua",
and that "YH YHVeH is become to me Yeshua" (Isaiah 12:3, 2).

He is the source and the mountain artesian well (maqor) {cf. Ezekiel 47:1, Joel 3:18} of Living Waters as HASHEM (Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13) from which we figuratively, spiritually, and literally draw from.

Jeremiah 17:13 was prophetically fulfilled when Jesus, while at Solomon’s Porch, judges those of the 23 of the Sanhedrin Katan before Him, and stoops down and writes (probably the Hebrew word for Falsehood: SHeQaR) in the dirt in John 8:6,8 -- (followed underneath by the names of the accusers, from oldest to youngest). The identification of He who does this is Jehovah / YHVeH without a doubt in Jeremiah 17:13, and it is Jesus / Yeshua who fulfills the prophecy (2X - Revelation 19:10c: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy / for the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus).

And if in the voice of the Almighty, the every knee shall bow utterance is made in Isaiah 45:22-23, why does Paul call Jesus as G-D while citing this in Romans 14:10-11?


Yeshua tells us (in John's Gospel) to pray after the manner of "proseuchomai", to express our wants - needs - and concerns to G-D. We pray after the manner of "aiteo", of a lowly slave status to one of great importance and exalted on high from us -- with humility and politeness.

When Jesus prays, he prays after the manner of "erotao" in the Greek, as an equal of the Father to the Father (John 14:16).

And we can go back and forth on this issue as to whether Ego Eimi in John 8:58 and the LXX Exodus 3:14 means "I AM (he who continuously is)" and whether that infers Deity or not, etc. But in the end, by Jesus' example, when He found utter unbelief, what did He do? Stick around? It seems more often than not, He simply got up and left. But when Abram (or anyone) believed G-D (even being believed by a Roman centurion or a Samaritan woman), the L-RD counted it to him for righteousness. Here's to Isaiah 32:17.


Is Jesus G-D? Yes.
Is Jesus G-D from G-D? Paul aware of the verse in Isaiah 42:8 that I am the L-RD: that is my Name: and my glory will I not give to another... must then teach that Jesus is the L-RD. In fact, the first definitive sign of the Trinity appears in condensation in Isaiah 48:16-17 which mentions a 3-Person tier of HASHEM in Elohim (G-D), which Christians like me can easily explain as Father-Son-Holy Spirit by a simple use of Gematria and the squared letter of Alef, using the very same teaching of the rabbis to prove G-D is Trinity and One (in complex unity).

But getting back to Jesus...Paul states in Ephesians 1:21, that Christ is Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

In I Corinthians 15:27 - Paul says in regard to Christ: For He hath put all things under His feet. but clarifies that He has not yet taken possession or exercised His full authority to rule and reign what belongs to Him, as yet.

The Gospels state of Christ:
Mat. 11:27 - All things, including principalities, are delivered unto Him
Mat. 28:18 - All power on Earth is given to Christ
Luke 10:22, John 3:35 - The Father entrusts all power and dominion as part of the "all things" into Christ.
John 17:2 - Jesus has power over all flesh, hence authority as only G-D has

In Colossians 1:15-17, we read of Jesus:

"Who is (the) image [eikon] of G-D the Invisible before the birth [prototokos] of all Creation, because in Him were created all things:
-- the things in the heavens; --
and those upon the Earth: those visible and invisible -- whether thrones, whether lord-ships, whether rulers, whether authorities, -- all things through Him, and for Him, have been created; and He is prior to all things, and all things in Him stand-together-with/stand-because-of [sunesteke] (Him)."

This last word, sunesteke, is the perfect indicative active of sunistemi; and tells us that Jesus "completes" or "fulfills the action" of causing the Earth and the Universe and the very concept of "law" to stand together, whether on Earth or in the Heavens.

In other words, Jesus indeed acts as the exact mirror-reflection (eikon) of G-D the Invisible (2 Corinthians 4:4, John 1:18), as G-D. His existence precedes (proto) any birth or manifestation (tokos, from 'tikto' - to bear and/or bring forth) of Creation...whether in Heaven, or upon the Earth.

In Revelation 1:8, it is Jesus, whom every eye shall see, Whom subsumes these titles:
Ego Eimi (I AM)...cf. John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14 (LXX)
to Alpha kai to Omega (the Alpha and the Omega) cf. Isa. 41:4, 44:6
Arche kai Telos (the Beginning and the End)
Ho Ohn (The Being)
Ho Pantokrater (the Almighty) cf. El Shaddai

Thus, in several witnesses of the New Testament, we see the teaching of Jesus as G-D, the G-D of Israel.

Why is this necessary to know? Because "IN THAT DAY, there shall be ONE HASHEM who will be king over all the Earth..." in Zechariah 14:9, this implies that there was a prophetical acknowledgement of more than one "person" of HASHEM who makes up "the Being" or "Elohim" / G-D. Hence, Jesus as the Logos of G-D, who was up alongside and with the Father (John 1:1), and finds existence from and in the Father as G-D, is indeed G-D, having the fulness of G-D. However, we must clarify that Jesus as a person. has not as a person the totality of G-D in His one person, as He Himself explained in Matthew 28:19 and many other verses.

In effect, G-D the Father as a person, alone, in spritual substance, may be projecting Himself forth as if more than just exact mirror images in the persons of the Holy Spirit and the Son, but as persons of actual spiritual substance and intelligence extended from Himself...One with Himself, so that He who denies Christ, actually denies the Father who sent Him.

And we see that this ties into the theology in the Hebrew that John 14:6 would have used. The association between the Ba (Way - Gk. hodos) and Ab (Father), the Emet (Truth - Gk. aleitheia), and the Chayyim (Lives - Gk. zoe, the eternal life)



John 14:6 testifying as Jesus being G-D from G-D
“No man comes up to the AB (Father) except through Me.,” says Jesus in John 14:6.

The letter Alef in Hebrew Gematria, stands as the abbreviateve for Elohim / G-D. 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 would read the Way to which Jesus refers Himself as BA. 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 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 (in Gematria). Alef numerically as 1, in complex unity, is also one of the inferred Names of GOD, as He is and shall be ONE in Deut 6:4 and Zech 14:9.

How is this possible? How does YHVeH = 1? Through the Alef: א.
The rabbis give YHVeH (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 / L-RD has a Hebraic value of 26. This same value is found in the subdivision of Alef.

To then say that G-D is One and Trinity, is de facto a concept around since the teaching (i.e., preceding the Christian Era in Judaism), even though it was a mystery at the times before Christ came.

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 of G-D being ONE, yet by their own confession, Trinity in Complex Unity by example.

If 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, the L-RD 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) Cf. Jeremiah 17:13, and 17:13 with John 8:1-9.

Christ Jesus is our source of those Living Waters. 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 by a spear (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” (Yeshua / “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 (Beth-Yod-Ayin) : “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 squared 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 reminiscent of 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 (Lamentations 4:20), 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).


Jesus said: “I am the Truth”

In the Hebrew, the word for “Truth” (or “aleitheia” in the Greek of John 14:6), is EMeT (Alef-Mem-Tav).
The letter Mem מ in Gematria, stands for “waters” or “peoples”.
The letter Tav ת stands for a “sign” or the “end” of something.

On Hebrew coins, Tav was actually written with either an “X” or a traditional form of a Cross. If we subdivide Alef from Emet, we read “Alef - MeT” or of “G-D’s Death”. G-D is He who, if divided from the people, sees the Mem-Tav (“the people who come to an end or finality”, or “they who come to the Cross”). But if G-D, through the Alef, joins Himself to the people, He does so by bringing an end or finality to sin through the Cross. He becomes their deliverer, their Savior, their “TRUTH”. Therefore, by taking the Name of EMeT or “Truth” upon Himself, YHVeH Messiah is signifying that in order to deliver mankind, He must somehow die in the process of doing so.

Now if we reverse our reading of EMeT (Alef-Mem-Tav), we find that “Truth” now becomes TeMA (Tav-Mem-Alef): which means, “to be made complete”.

Even as Jesus the True Messiah teaches, we may be reminded,
“If you continue in My word, (then) are ye My disciples indeed:
And ye shall know the TRUTH,
[you shall be made complete]
and the TRUTH shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) KJV

Therefore, as our EMeT, as the “TRUTH” of the Mem מ (“the peoples”), Christ can boldly proclaim that He is the “Alef א and the Tav ת, the First and the Last (even as Alef and Tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet and in EMeT).

Reversed, the last and first letters spell “taw” in the Hebrew. Taw means a “room, chamber, or sanctuary”. Therefore, if in EMeT (Truth) Christ becomes a “Taw” of the “Mem” - what is being said, Gematrically speaking, is that Christ is also become “a Sanctuary of the peoples.” (Cf. Proverbs 18:10) with

“ The L-RD also thundered in the heavens, the Highest gave His Voice…
He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters…
He brought me forth into a Large Place;
He delivered me, because He delighted in me. ”
(Psalm 18:13,16,19) KJV

Now, to this effect, we see the fulfillment of the promise of Messiah in John 12:26,
“If any man serve Me, let him follow Me;
and where I am, there shall also My servant be."

And since the resurrected and Eternal Christ now resides in Heaven with the Father, as G-D from G-D, very Light of very Light, it would be an ideal place for we who believe to be in the life that is offered only to those who believe into Christ and His atoning work at the Cross, and which eternal life would follow our departure from this one and our mortal bodies at death.

Fictional Short Story: A Flash in the Pan, or, The Rear View of Politics

Recollections of a Western Deputy (1871 -1897)
1876: A Flash in the pan, or, the Rear view of Politics

The Old West. There are some folks that brag about gun play, and all the hoop and a holler adventures they had; most of which never happened, or, didn’t quite happen the way they told it. I can tell you that. I served as a deputy United States Marshall for 26 years. And, I have seen more true to life adventures than that fella Sam who goes by Mark, Mark something or other, in one of his books. Take for example, this here entry in my unofficial US Deputy Marshall Diary I kept to pass down to posterity.

On July 6, 1876, I recorded this entry regarding the events of the 4th and the 5th.
The United States of America is now 100 years old. Just 11 years ago and 2 months to this day, I left the Cavalry after 4 long hard years, years that are so bitter at times, I don't rightly wish to remember they were real. For a few hours today, I actually was able to forget the Great War

Kenneth “Butcher's boy” Beavers. that little 9 year old rascal, played some more of his pranks. On Remembrance night, July 4, he slipped out of his bedroom window at 42 Chestnut and sneaked down through the alley and around the corner of Chestnut and Main to do some mischief. Butch decided that he was going to try to switch up as many horses as were on Main Street to make this Remembrance Day, 1876, more memorable. We had only 3 coal oil porch lanterns on the whole of Main Street, so unless you had your own lamp, because of it also being a cloudy night, the streets was all but pitch dark.

Kenneth untied some 15 horses in front of Maywood’s Saloon, and tied them at different locations up and down the street. I caught the little rascal when he had untied number 17, and escorted him home. His pa was gone off to buy some cattle for a poke, but his ma still made use of her husband’s belt. Upon reflection, the boy seemed to try to tell me about the 15 horses he moved about up and down Main Street, but between the crying and his ma’s screaming, I couldn’t tell for certain. She slammed the door, and chased him off to bed. I wish he would have come clean as I was walking him home.

When I returned to my patrol of Main Street, I quickly found out about the horse switch, and used Mr. McFahy's lantern to sort out horse to owner. This emptied out half of Maywood's Saloon, causing Mr. Maywood no small ants in the pants. One horse was missing, Wild Thunder, a yet unbroken Indian Horse that was captured by one of the visiting trappers. Wild Thunder was taken round back of Maywood's Saloon, and strategically placed between the shallow hole the patrons used as a cowboy outhouse and the back door of Maywood's saloon. Wild Thunder's hind legs were probably within 4-5 feet to Maywood's back door, as best as I can reckon.

Unfortunately, round about closing time, or midnight, the last of the pedestrian customers included his honor, the mayor: Jack O’Riley. With him, one of our "upstanding" citizens (who will fine me a month's pay if he should find I dared write his name down) were engaged in a deep discussion about the Great American War when they went out to alleviate themselves at the same time. The brilliant New Orleans whale-oil lamp inside the Saloon by its back door did not project much, if at all, past the door. I know this from a previous experience. So the horse was clearly waiting in the shadows.

From our investigation (Sheriff Bond, Marshall Jackson, and myself; conducted the following morning) of what happened next, we discovered that it was the upstanding citizen who was well known for his peeing exploits, who let loose first. He, if habit serves correct, was letting loose even before he was fully through the door.

Some men are distance spitters, but our anonymous upstanding citizen had the unusual knack of being a distance pee man with the record of 16 feet 8 inches with last New Year's, and that with no wind...although he did pass gas twice, and was disqualified for 17 and 18 feet. It was so bad, that on both occasions, even the mountain men and fur-trappers found themselves vacating the event. No small feat for those who take baths only once or twice a year by falling accidental like into a river or something.

So you can just imagine what happened next when, full of beer and sour whiskey, he sprayed forth like a New York boiler engine fire hose, “tinkle, tinkle”, into the back parts of that bronc, Wild Thunder. Wild Thunder let loose with a flurry of kicks that lay both his honors out against the back wall of Maywood’s saloon. When the mayor and his other honor hit the wall, the witness statement from Mr. Maywood was that they sounded like they slipped. Having run out of straw and saw-dust to catch up the mud and the other, Maywood closed the back door, and thought nothing else of it. About 10 minutes later, according to Mr. Maywood, he had locked up and sent everybody else home.

There being no gun play, it wasn't until just before dawn early next morning, that Me and the Marshall made our rounds before heading out of town. As usual, the Sheriff was home sleeping it off. Marshall Jackson was the first to find both these “gents” – and I use the word “gents” quite loosely -- all laid out next to the back wall of Maywood’s in an awful state. The mayor was laid out, sunny side up, just as dawn was breaking; his pants down about his knees, and he bore a perfect horseshoe bruise impression on his right buttock. The details of a horse-shoe impression I haven’t seen outside one of them fancy New York bar paintings back in 1868.

Marshall Jackson first sent me to fetch the county doctor on the other end of town, and then to wake the Sheriff. The doc had gone on a maternity call. That horseshoe bruise left so good an artistic impression, that Sheriff Bond went two doors over to wake and fetch the famous portrait photographer, Eugene Banks. In two shakes of a lamb's tail, Sheriff Bond was back, dragging a poor half-asleep Mr. Banks, camera and gear flung hastily over the photographer's shoulder.

Now, I don’t know about you…but I would have much preferred to take and look at an unmarried female backside over a man’s any day. This made me think that maybe Sheriff Bond, despite his still being a wee bit drunk, was maybe just a little bit peculiar, even if he did have a wife and three kids.

So, there we were; ankle deep in cowboy droppings from both sides, with all the mud and who knows what else, at the back of Maywood’s Saloon. Mr. Banks flashed his first picture with the lens about 5 feet away from the mayor's still unconscious landscape. This one, Mr. Banks was able to later save and develop. The noise of the gunpowder flash going off from that first picture seemed to stir the mayor just a little bit. Meanwhile, the Sheriff, the Marshall, and me began arguing about whether or not to destroy the picture, and stop all this nonsense.

While we was busy arguing, paying little mind to gawking, Mr. Banks then made a mistake. He stated that he wanted to make sure he had a gotten a clear shot, because the flash wasn't bright enough, and the dawn’s early light really hadn’t cast a whole lot of light yet there behind the saloon. So this kinda famous photographer, Mr. Banks, gave us a demonstration why people knew his name near and far. He added lots more powder for flash. I mean, he must have taken out a four pound gunny sack and laid a mound higher than a pair of boots on that flash pan. That powder ran all over, and grains of black powder were sprinkling down on the ground like he was spreading out a mound of feed for Mrs. Kolmar’s chickens.

Moving in for a closer shot, Mr. Banks put the camera’s legs over the mayor’s legs and went to take a picture of the horseshoe bruise impression from about two feet from lens to buttock. . And wouldn’t you know it, just as Mr. Banks lit the flash pan, the mayor kicked out with his legs into the camera and the photographer's legs, and about half that black flash powder landed on and between the mayor’s back cheeks, and all lit up with the smell of burning flesh and acrid sulfur smoke.
The explosion was so powerful, that half of the back yard of Maywood's seemed to go up in smoke. Both the Marshall and me were putting out fires on our pant legs, while the gust from the explosion blew Sheriff Bond's hat from off his head. All three of us suffered what looked and felt like sunburn.

That poor mayor, Jack O'Riley, he jumped up clean out of his shoes and out of his pants that landed him from a prone position directly up and onto both feet at a run, with a howl that awoke almost half the town. The Sheriff tried to follow while I and the Marshall were putting our own fires out, and getting what looked like tobacco burns. About 8 or 10 seconds later, in the time it took for the Marshall and me to sprint the 75 feet from the back of Maywood’s Saloon to Main Street (out to the store front), the mayor had already sprinted another block and a half down Main and deposited himself in the water trough. What looked like over 100 people, were gathered around Mayor Jack O'Riley. In a queer form of human nature, they barely moved an inch among but a one of them, staring at him for over two hours as he lay wallowing in agony in the water trough at Main and Holdren. That is, until Doc Olaf arrived back from delivering twins out at the edge of the Prairie.

Doc Olaf spent all morning and most of the afternoon with Mayor O'Riley, but the pain was too much. Mayor O'Riley died of complications. Before the town could hang him, the photographer as he posted the picture he took of the mayor up at the telegraph office, even before he could have heard the news, is alleged to have gone out back, and to have shot himself with two broken arms, a bloodied nose, and other yet to be determined injuries, committing suicide.

The Marshall confiscated what appears to be a 12 inch by 12 inch picture of the Mayor’s buttock, the same one that the photographer displayed down at the telegraph. It is in the Marshall's safe as evidence. Beneath it, Mr. Banks added the caption in his own writing, stating: “For quality and detail in your portrait, Eugene Banks, photographer extraordinaire. Reasonable rates. This week only."

The money this town could have made by his public trial and hanging is a real missed opportunity...if you were to ask me. Deputy B. July 6, 1876.
=====================================================================


The above is an exploration of whether or not I could write a fictional short story that could hold a mass audience reader general interest, and eventually make money at it. It is not meant to be an endorsement to love lying or love making lies up.

Skeptic Questions about Jesus answered, 4

The contention: Did Jesus give a false prophecy in Matthew 24:34's Olivet discourse saying that the generation that lived then must see all Jesus' prophecies fulfilled?


Matthew 24:

ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἡ γενεὰ αὑτη ἑως ἂν πάντα ταῦτα γένηται.

ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσεται, οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσιν.

34 Truly I say to you, In no way will this generation pass away until all these things have occurred.

35 The heaven and the earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away, never! (LITV)

The specific word of being put aside, of passing away in removal (such as by neglect from being upheld and affirmed) is pererchomai. In verse 34, it is found in the aorist subjunctive active. In verse 35, it is found first in the future middle, then in the aorist subjunctive middle.

The aorist subjunctive active is speaking of a simple undefined action being accomplished by the subject of the verb in the subjunctive mood, or that assertion about which there is some doubt upon the part of the hearer. In the Aorist subjuctive middle, the speaker here is concerning himself or acting in some way as to infer upon himself that his words will NEVER BE SET ASIDE, and NEVER PASS AWAY. Ou shows that it will "certainly not", and me speaks of a conditional negative. Therefore, not even an astronomical chance...or under no condition ...will -- such and such -- pass away.

But what is that such and such in verse 35? His words. Now in verse 34, is there a condition of certainly not under any condition the generation passing away, or his words?

In Matthew 1:17, we see Matthew uses genea as a "genealogical circle of time" as a synonym to genesis (Matthew 1:1) in which he lists the Patriarchial lineage from Abraham down to Messiah's step-father.

Matthew's other applications of genea are found in 11:16, 12:39, 12:41, 12:42, 12:45, 16:4, 17:17, and 23:36.


Matthew 11:16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation [this people]? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation [this people] seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, [this people], and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation [this people], and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation [people] seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation [people], , how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you [this people here in Israel and in the diaspora] prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [such as the context of the book of Acts] 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew [who slew Zacharias, that generation, or that people..i.e., their fathers?] between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation [this people].

In the context that Matthew consistently uses, in no way shall this people...i.e., the Jew...pass away, until all these things be fulfilled.
The confusion is because of the oft either / or dual application in which genea could be descriptive of this generation as well as this people.

In other words, Christ affirms the Covenant of Faith made to Abraham, Christ affirms the prophet Jeremiah in Chapter 31 of that book, and Christ affirms that He is devoted to them, despite their whoring after other gods and idols like their Fathers before them for the last 15 plus centuries. And the application of how Jesus interprets the Burning Bush passage as testifying how that G-D is a G-D of the Living and that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are testified to as being alive in Exodus 3...also needs to be brought in how to interpret Jesus properly.

In Torah, G-D consistently offers heavenly things...the Jew demands earthly things. No to manna, yes to cabbages and leeks and quail. No to the commandments and a Heavenly voice, yes to open fornications and revelry and worship of wealth as a golden calf and god. No to Divine appointment such as Moses and Aaron's offices, yes to rebellion and self appointment (like Korah). Paul in Galatians 3:5-18 points to a better way.

Until the Jew (or Gentile, for that mater) can grasp the Heavenly, and deny the Earthly, he will always reject G-D and His Christ...and accept pretender after pretender who appeals to his earthy nature instead. This is the perverse genea...any people in any generation who reject G-D's Messhiach, the breath of our nostrils (Lamentations 4:20).


As I noted, there is a synonymous link between genea and genesis in Matthew 1:17 and 1:1.

This genea...
This genesis of people.

What is Jesus saying?

He is saying, "Beginning here" after the form of his teaching about Himself as the foundation stone of the Church, and Peter being the first little rock who is laid upon the New Testament foundation of Christ (Matthew 16:16-18).

Thou art Peter, and upon Me I will build My Church. But moreso than that.

Re: Revelation 19:10c - "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Or inverted - "the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus."

Hence, "beginning here, upon My word of Revelation" I will build my Church, I will build a generation or genea of people who will never pass away. This is what is implied, and how to read Christ.

In Matthew 24, what is the context of the verse in question?

31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

So who shall not pass away? In the context of the above, the genea that is called "the elect". Christ redeems His "Christians" who are truly believe Him by Faith and practice their daily trusting into the Father through Him.

Matthew 24:14
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

The Gospel was not preached in every nation as yet.

Earlier in the same chapter we read another condition:
"For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."

This is yet to be fulfilled, for these imply deceiving magics and miracles so as to fool the lost. But at the same time, we know that Mathew 24:14 will be fulfilled only when Revelation's 144,000 Israeli men who are virgins will evangelize the world for Jesus in every nation on Earth. This prophecy is yet to come. It cannot be discounted because Christianity has never ceased to exist.

Hence, because the Jews still exist as a race and people, and Christianity still exists and has always had Jews as part of that Faith, the prophecy of Jesus stands. And because the end of the world and the passing away of the Earth has never come, we will never be able to stand in judgment in the Present to say whether Jesus' words could not survive the passing away of this planet. In fact, we would be obliged to confirm its likelihood, be they shipped off to another galaxy in a satellite by NASA; or by faith, accepting that Jesus as G-D from G-D, is above and beyond Time and Creation, which He Himself spake into Being as from G-D the Father, way back when at the Beginning.

Resolving Rashi's "Voice of the LORD G-D walking" as a testimony of Jesus

In Genesis 3:8,
"They heard the VOICE of HASHEM G-D walking in the Garden toward the direction of the sun; and the man and his wife hid...."

Rashi comments:
"They heard...I have come for nothing but the simple meaning of Scripture and for aggadah, which resolves the words of Scripture with each word stated in its proper framework, and with its correct meaning.
'they heard the VOICE of the Holy One', Blessed is He, 'WHO was walking in the Garden'...toward the direction of the sun ...in the tenth (hour)."

Judaism says G-D is incorporeal, and invisible...hence, unable to walk in a visible manner. But this is refuted in Genesis 18 and many passages of Tanakh. Rashi knows this and refutes the notion. This is why he sets the commentary of this above verse of Genesis 3:8 up in this way.


Rashi: Genesis 3:8
"They Heard: There are many aggadic mishrashim, and our Rabbis have already arranged them in their proper setting, in Bereishis Rabbah {19:7} and in other. I have come for nothing other but the simple meaning of Scriptures and for aggadah {exegesis of a non-religious ritual nature or interpretation} which resolves the words of Scripture -- with each word stated in its proper framework and with its {properly translated} meaning. "They heard the Voice
{Artscroll /Sapirstein translates as QOL as "sound" in this instance, I concur with the KJV} of the Holy One, Blessed is He, who was WALKING in the Garden"."

Artscroll / Sapirstein comments on the immediate portion above:
"Bereishis Rabbah 19:7". They heard the sound of G-D going in the garden with QOL, "sound", as the subject of MeTHaLaK.

But "going" is expressed by HOLaK, whereas MeTHaLaK means "walking", NOT "going". But a "sound" cannot be said to be walking {hence my point, a Voice/Ambassador/Representative/Messenger can!}; hence its subject must be "G-D". "

In spite of methalak instead of mahalak being written in Genesis 3:8, the action (as supported by Rabbinics publishing via Artscroll) was G-D "walking".

In Deuteronomy 23:14, we translate that G-D "walks" with the same spelling as Gen.3:8; although the JPS translates "goes along". But regarding Isaiah, the Psalms, and Daniel...G-D stands up and He sits down (Isaiah 3:13, Psalm 82:1 with Daniel 7:9).

Regarding Exodus 33:23, Moses was forbidden to look upon the face of G-D, but he was allowed to see G-D's backside in the afterglow. Since Man is designed after the image mold of the Creator who in these and other passages has a face, wooly hair on his head, palms / hands, shoulders, and FEET, and who can sit and stand...and since "angels" and "cherubim" are also considered incorporeal (without physical material substance, being spirit-beings) and can walk...then G-D -- a Being Who is Spirit (John 4:24) -- must also have a spiritual likeness of legs, a rear end, and a back as well, and hence can then certainly walk also (if He so desires).


In the passage of Genesis 18:1 ff., HASHEM appears as a man...HASHEM appears as a man...HASHEM appears as a man to Abraham on the plains of Mamre. He is called "The Holy One" by Rashi. This HASHEM who appears as a man, is accompanied by two angels of Lot's deliverance.

There is absolutely no doubt, over and over, that Rashi views this HASHEM at Mamre -- and His Garden appearance also -- as visible.

Hence, Rashi himself, among the greatest of rabbinic commentators, recognizes the mystery of the VOICE of HASHEM as HASHEM in these two passages by its simple meaning and non-halikah interpretation...even though he cannot quite make the connection.

The VOICE is more than "qol", it is the person called "Logos". He is called the "Angel of HASHEM" as HASHEM, because He alone is HASHEM of Hosts: who can say come here, go there, pick up and carry, etc.

"By the WORD of the L-RD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." (Psalm 33:6)

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the WORD of G-D, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.


Deuteronomy 13:18 ...thou shalt hearken to the VOICE of YHVeH thy G-D...to do that which is right in the eyes of YHVeH thy G-D.

Perhaps I may better explain this as we begin looking at this after the manner that we call "the Angel of YHVeH" as the G-D of Israel...so are we to call "the VOICE of YHVeH" as the G-D of Israel.

Ask yourself, what is really the difference in the wording here? Malak is used for angel and messenger. Qol is used for Voice and sound. The entire verse of Deuteronony 13:18 reads:

When thou shalt hearken to the VOICE of YHVeH thy G-D, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of YHVeH thy G-D.

Notice that the Qol / Voice in the issuing of the commands and commandments: is audible, it is intelligent, it is reasoning. Now take the use of the Greek word "logos", "the (intelligent) word" and "reason(ing)".


In Genesis 3:8, Adam and Eve hear the person of the G-Dhead known as "the Word". After being called YHVeH Elohim in Genesis chapter 2, we next see Him being called "the Voice of YHVeH" thousands of years before He revealed Himself as the Angel of YHVeH to Moses.

If we approach it in this context...then the prophecy of the seed of a virgin holds just as much weight as any and all 613 commandments given at Sinai. The prophecy about the virgin birth never diminishes the coming "Instruction" or "Law" of Moses. neither should any rabbinic sage erroneously turn around and take away from the visitation of G-D in the Garden in Genesis 3, either.

Lesson through John 1 in viewing Exodus and Deuteronomy
In John 1:1-18, we see that emphasis that Jesus/Yeshua is the "Word', the "Logos" of G-D. He is considered the Intellect, Reason, and "VOICE" of G-D the Father to Creation.

In the Torah, we are told of Him. From the Johannine aspect, if we were in Ephesus of Asia in the late 50s, we could be taught of John along these lines out of the Torah. The Voice or "qol" (in the Hebrew) is viewed as an ambassador issuing forth or decreeing the words of the Emperor, and having such authority as second only to the Emperor in seeing those words carried out. Hence, in the case of Jesus, the Son of G-D tells us what G-D the Father states, and shares the Throne of Authority as G-D with the Father, having unto Himself the Tetragrammaton Name reserved only for G-D:

In Deuteronomy 30:20, we read:
"That thou may lovest the L-RD thy G-D,
that thou mayest obey His VOICE,
(and) that thou mayest cleave unto Him [His VOICE]:
for He [the VOICE] (is) thy Life, and the length of thy days...."

"Hearken unto the VOICE of HASHEM,
to keep His Commandments and His Statutes which are written in the Book of the Law...." (Deuteronomy 30:10)

"And thou shalt return and obey the VOICE of HASHEM,
and do all of His Commandments which I command thee this day." (Deuteronomy 30:8)

"And thou shalt return unto HASHEM thy G-D,
and shalt obey His VOICE..." (Deuteronomy 30:2)

"If thou wilt diligently hearken to the VOICE of HASHEM thy G-D,
and wilt do right in His Sight...." (Exodus 15:26)

"Thus shalt thou say to the House of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel...
Now therefore, if you will obey My VOICE indeed,
and keep My Covenant,
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people:
for all the Earth is Mine." (Exodus 19:3,5) [cf. Jeremiah 7:23ff]

If Jesus/Yeshua is identified as the ambassador "Logos" or "Word" of G-D the Father in the New Testament, He can also be the ambassador "Qol" or "VOICE" of G-D the Father in the Old Testament.

Jesus is more than just a "sound", a "call", an "utterance", or simply a "voice" -- He is G-D from G-D, Light from Light, very G-D of very G-D, begotten and NOT made




The Lesson from Haggai:

The emphasis of our life in service to the L-RD is found in obeying the VOICE of YHVeH through faith (1:12), and NOT through trusting what works of the hands we do as to our righteousness in Him (2:14).

Chapter 1:
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the VOICE of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. (KJV)

VOICE [Qaf - Vav - Lamed] is spelled here (in the Hebrew) the same as in the quotes in Torah I have cited in conjunction with the VOICE of YHVeH as being equivocal to saying "the Angel of YHVeH...both being names for "G-D" after a descriptive no different than El Shaddai (G-D Almighty), and El Roi (G-D who sees all).


Chapter 2:
14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. (KJV)

repeated:
14. And Haggai replied and said, "So is this people, and so is this nation before Me, says the Lord; and so is all the work of their hands, and whatever they sacrifice there is contaminated. (Judaica Press)


Rashi comments:
So is this people Just as you err in this, so do you err in many halachot.

[Rashi repeated for the Gentile understanding:] Just as you err in this, so do you err in the ritual law keepings of many laws.

[In other words, Rashi is again just at the brink of getting it, but doesn't quite make the mark. But notice how he affirms the thesis of Paul's arguments in Romans, and leans toward the fact that it is Faith and not works of the Law that holds redemptive power towards righteousness in Him. The same VOICE who spake to Adam in the Garden, spake to and led the remnant of Israel through the prophet Haggai (1:3, 13-14) only 3 months earlier.]

and whatever they will sacrifice there if they do not put their hearts to learning.
[That is, the application of faith / trust, the application of the heart in a right "faithing" and the right retention and practice of that "faithing / trusting" triumphs over the works of doing this and not doing that.
In Romans 11:22, Paul tells us to pursue an Inner Righteousness. The word Paul uses is Chrestotata in the Greek, from which the name "Chrest" was designated to Messiah by Roman historians, and his followers called as "Chrestians". Chrestotes is an inner righteousness of "kindness, graciousness, gentleness, of being mellow". Christians in the First Century were called Chrestians, or "the Gracious Ones', because these characteristics were daily present with them. In Romans 14:17, we find that those who live in "righteousness, peace, and joy in and through the Holy Spirit"...these are they living in the Kingdom of G-D, and v.18, "serves Christ".]




In his commentary to Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:2, Rashi says in the Hebrew: "And Moses consulted the Shekinah, (who) said, 'I told them that it [the Land] is good.'"

The Shekinah is the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.

Jesus says that we have never heard the Father's Voice nor seen His shape. We have, however, had instances where man has heard and spoke with the pre-Incarnate Son, and heard also the Holy Spirit.

Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit have fulfilled their ministries as both G-D and mediators. Jesus is the mediator between G-D the Father and man, the Holy Spirit apparently is the person of the G-Dhead that directs our attention to Jesus as our deliverance from sin and death.

In effect, the Holy Spirit is likened to the Voice of our Heavenly Mother...the One the Roman Catholics try to disinherit with the pseudo of the "perpetual virgin Mary". The Shekinah isn't just a presence, or light, it is the manifestation of the outward sign of the Holy Spirit...even as "He" would later manifest upon Jesus in thye form of a dove lighting down from Heaven.

Rashi says that the Shekinah speaks...in the Hebrew; and the Rabbis concur in their conclusions that, well, he simply meant 'G-D'. So if the Shekinah speaks, and Rashi isn't banned by the Rabbis for saying thus...what else about this Voice does Rashi say, so as to infer "personhood" upon what might otherwise have been written off as Semantics in the English translations?

The Holy Spirit blew forth as a wind to express His Presence and give strength and vigor to Israel, and parted the Red Sea. And at the proper time, the Right Hand did cover their enemies in that same sea.

The Holy Spirit blew forth and brought the pheasants by the hundreds of millions to Israel. And the Holy Spirit was hovering at the Beginning over the face of the deep, and moved upon the faces of the waters.

Whenever there was life brought forth, both the pre-Incarnate Jesus (the Word) and the Holy Spirit (Wisdom) was there. If life wasn't brought forth, such as when YHVeH Yeshua spoke from the whirlwind unto Job, we needn't expect some sign of the Spirit's presence.

When YHVeH the Son did a likewise whirlwind to Ezekiel as He had done to Job...that prophet, Ezekiel, became indwelt by the person of the Holy Spirit in the same way we New Testament believers have become indwelt by G-D.

In the New Testament, we simply see revealed what was in the Old Testament just somewhat concealed. As we move from Torah to Writings to Prophets in the Tanach, we see this pattern of unfolding insights, revelations, and happenings consistently supporting the New Testament through many legal and prophetical precedents.

But in the end, as Revelation 19:10c informs to this effect, that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit / true-intent of Bible prophecy. Our focus is ever on Him, and the revelation of Him in our hearts, minds, and lives -- unto eternity.