10 Av: a mirror (prism) day of an eternal Covenant
Perhaps one of the most common themes of the Scriptures is the waiting; a waiting related to seeking, but especially to the fulfillment of a certain time or promise... at the appointed time.
Perhaps one of the outstanding characteristics of the chosen people is the waiting. This people has been in a constant state of waiting, and perhaps this waiting has kept him alive through the ages: “How to die out, when his promises have not yet been fulfilled?!”
This people was born from waiting... Abraham’s waiting for his promised son, Jacob’s waiting first for Rachel, then to return home... Israel’s waiting in Egypt for a deliverer, Moses’ waiting to be told from the burning bush that it was time for a miracle to occur.
This waiting has been accompanied by mistakes. Sometimes a long wait brings doubt, and there have been many cases where, on the eve of the expected moment, the man or the people have found themselves at the worst moment of their waiting, totally unprepared. Even Abraham, the man of the most extraordinary promises, the father of all believers, just before the fulfilment of the promise, fell badly in regard to waiting... finding human solutions to “help” the One-who-Is in the fulfilment of His promises.
Over time, after Israel had witnessed the miracle of deliverance from the captivity of Egypt, just after the chosen people had seen the glorious manifestation of the One-who-Is, pronouncing the Covenant with His people on Mount Sinai, amid thunder and lightning, even after these charged moments of the presence of the One-who-Is in his midst, Israel, waiting for Moses, who had been on the mountain for almost forty days, this people of waiting grows weary of waiting and falls into a fatal idolatry. It was the 9th of Av [see Day of the Law...], the day on which Moses broke before the golden calf the tablets of the Law written by the «Love» of Israel Himself... what a day!... a unique day in history, but also repeated in similar events, unfortunately, over and over again, over the ages.
But I don’t want to dwell on this day. There are much more important days to dwell on, and the most important of them is the day after the 9th of Av, the day on which the Tent of Meeting was “established”: the 10th of Av.
This Tent of Meeting has been and will forever be the heart through which the One-who-Is has pulsed and will pulsate life (and light) to His chosen people.
I feel compelled to recall certain aspects and to go into details, details that can be missed on a superficial reading of what happened on Mount Sinai, the place where Moses (and Joshua) was invited by the «Love», the place where he stayed for forty days, with their evenings and mornings.
Just after the glorious moment of the pronouncement of the Covenant by the One-who-Is, amidst the thunder and lightning on Sinai, the «Love» called Moses to Himself saying the following words: “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there. I will give you some tablets of stone with the Law, and [I will give you] the commandments which I have written for their teaching.”
At first glance, or at a cursory glance, it might seem that the Law and the commandments mentioned here are one and the same: the Ten Commandments... but at a closer look at what happened on the mountain we will see that there is a difference between the Law written on tablets of stone and the “commandments given for their teaching”; in other words, Moses, when came down from the mountain, came not only with the two tablets of stone written with the finger of the One-who-Is, but also with the commandments written for their teaching, commandments or law about which it was said: “He shall have it with him and read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the One-who-Is the «Love», to keep and do all the words of this law and all these commandments.” “Which one?” - we ask. “For they keep Your word and keep Your covenant. They teach Jacob Your rules [ceremonies], and Israel Your Law: they burn incense before You, and the burnt-offering upon Your altar.”
The «Love» would not have needed “forty days and forty nights” to write on the tablets of stone the Ten Commandments. What happened on the mountain, and what the One-who-Is wrote before Moses was more than the Ten Commandments, and similar in importance. What was written there begins as follows, “Speak to the children of Israel to bring Me a gift [present]... to make Me a holy place, and I will dwell among them. You shall make the Tent [... and all that is related to it...] according to the image that I shall show you.” And the cascading commandment continues as follows, “You shall do...”, “you shall do”, “you shall do” ... until “You shall keep the Sabbath [...] this shall be between Me and the children of Israel an everlasting sign [...].” ... then He gave him the two tablets of stone with the words spoken by the One-who-Is “out of the midst of the fire on the day [of the Law] when all the people were gathered together.”
On the 9th of Av, Moses (and Joshua) came down from the mountain with the tablets of the Law in his hand, but also with the words of the Covenant written in the book of the everlasting Covenant... commandments concerning the «gift» (present), the Tent of Meeting.
Forty days and forty nights of waiting had passed. The people of the valley had grown weary in waiting for Moses, and in the meantime they had made for themselves a golden calf and an altar for sacrifices on the day of their feast, eating, drinking and dancing... corrupting themselves into a worship before an unknown god: the father of all lies and deceptions from the beginning, when Eve and Adam also corrupted themselves.
The «Love» would have destroyed them instantly... with fire would have consumed them... all of Israel, every last one of them, making from Moses the great nation promised to Abraham... apparently... because on that occasion something happened that many people lose sight of: Moses reminded the One-who-Is that the promise of the “great nation” had been given to Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and that the miracle of Israel’s exodus from Egypt, on the basis of that promise, was not in vain. Then and there, apparently, the One-who-Is was indulged by Moses, when in fact the «Love» had longed for a mediator. Thus, “the One-who-Is changed His mind about the evil He had said He would do to His people.”
Down from the mountain, Moses threw down the tablets of the law before the people, and he crushed them at the base of the mountain in front of the golden calf; he burned the calf in the fire, and made ashes of it, he sprinkled the ashes in the water, and gave it to the people to drink. The sweet wine and merriment had turned to mourning and bitter drink... but, much worse, on that occasion something was lost that even in ages was not recovered.
What did Israel lose on that occasion, besides the death of more than “nearly three thousand” of Abraham's sons and daughters? First, they lost the One-who-Is in His manifestations of God and got instead an “Angel”, the same One-who-Is, but hidden in the Tent of Meeting. He lost the priesthood of the firstborn of every tribe and got a priesthood of Levi. He missed the chance to enter the Promised Land at that time and ended up dead in the wilderness... there was mercy and justice mixed up… But the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Israel were about a people that mankind would see much later. Although Israel is the people who entered the Promised Land, Israel was not the «people» that «Love» had dreamed of from eternity, it was a “lesser” Israel in glory, as is the difference between a God and an angel; Israel was the people of a God hidden in the Tent of Meeting... That is why the miracle performed at the time of the coming out of Egypt has remained as a landmark of the glory and power of the One-who-Is throughout the ages. Although Israel could have been left with the saying: “The «Love» that brought you to the Promised Land”, for the miracles of entering Canaan would have been far greater than the fall of the walls of Jericho... instead, the saying has remained through the ages: “«Love» that brought you out of the land of Egypt.” ... but not forever!... oh, no!... but until an appointed time when it will no longer be said “As the One-who-Is lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt”.
Coming back to what happened on the 9th of Av, the Scriptures bring forward the following fact: on the next day, the 10th of Av, Moses said to the people, “You have committed a very great sin. I will now go up to the One-who-Is, perhaps I will receive forgiveness for your sin.” And after a while, Moses returns with the verdict of the «Love»: “I will send an Angel before you”, “I will not come up among you, lest I destroy you”, “but for a moment if I come up among you, My presence will destroy you; but cast off your ornaments, and I will see what mercy I will show you.”
On that day, the 10th of Av, “Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, at some distance, and called it the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp [...] when Moses entered the Tent, the pillar of cloud came down and stood at the door of the Tent, and the One-who-Is [the “Angel”] spoke to Moses [...] all the people got up and fell on their faces at the door of their tent. The One-who-Is [the “Angel”] spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”
What does, or how can it be explained that Moses met with the One-who-Is and they spoke face to face even though at that time the Tent of Meeting had not yet been built and Moses was not a priest? How come Moses didn’t die, and how come Joshua could stand without fear in the Tent of Meeting... the Shechinah was manifesting, and they still weren’t dying. Why?
Perhaps one of the answers is found in the statement “I have mercy on whom I want to have mercy and I have pity on whom I want to have pity”; words that mirror in their echo the choice of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel... and yet, why did Moses and Joshua not die in the presence of the One-who-Is?
Perhaps the answer is found in the book of the Covenant, which was not torn up along with the tablets of the Law that were shattered. At the moment when Moses moved his tent out of the camp and put it away, Moses had the words of the Covenant with him, provisions that had in view the priesthood, that eternal priesthood that the One-who-Is had in view from the beginning, in the words, “You will be My chosen treasure among all peoples [...], you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” “Set apart to Me as holy every firstborn, every firstborn among the children of Israel [...], to consecrate [set apart] to the One-who-Is every firstborn.” … somehow Moses and Joshua stood before the One-who-Is on behalf of the firstborn... firstborn by choice or setting apart... for Moses was chosen in priority to Aaron, just as Jacob was chosen in detriment to Esau.
When on the 10th of Av (the day of Tent) Moses comes down from the One-who-Is, he comes down with something new, something that had not been stipulated before: the redemption of the firstborn. In choosing the tribe of Levi as priests, as a result of the idolatry into which Israel had fallen the day before, the One-who-Is found himself constrained to demand a redemption price for the firstborn of Israel, and this redemption of the firstborn was to last for ages until the priesthood should be restored to its original plan: a priesthood of the firstborn of all the tribes of Israel, a kingly priesthood, reflected in the choice of Abraham, Isaac and Israel... a hidden priesthood in the typology of «David»... in the typology of the «Messiah», the one “anointed and chosen one”... a «Moses»... something hidden in the words, “I will raise up a prophet like you from among their brethren, and I will put my words in his mouth, and tell them everything I command.”
Beginning with the 10th of Av, the God of Mount Sinai descended into the Tent of Meeting, appointing daily and annual ceremonial services, according to the “commandments given for their teaching”, as the words written in the book of the Covenant. Thus, the One-who-Is descended among Israel teaching them about salvation in the daily continual services, but also in the annual continual services that were depicted in the seven feasts appointed for worship: day by day (on the one hand), and year by year (on the other hand), throughout the ages.
Both the daily and annual ceremonies (the feasts) were and will eternally be an integral part of the Covenant between the One-who-Is and Abraham, Isaac, and Israel... these Covenant acts in their essence were to be messianic... pointing toward the forever deliverance of the chosen people from all forms of captivity, both spiritual and physical... both individually and as a nation. In essence, the ceremonies around the Tent of Meeting and all the prophecies given through the prophets said the same thing: the One-who-Is has chosen His people to be the firstborn of all the nations of the earth, the eternal heir of the World.
Although there is no Tent of Meeting today, the prophecies point to the day when once again all of Israel will be gathered around the ceremonies and feasts of the Covenant... although today there are many voices saying that this will never happen, which is – from the point of view of sacred ceremonies and from the point of view of all messianic prophecies – false... totally false!
What happened on the 10th of Av is a guarantee and a prophecy that the One-who-Is has not forgotten His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel... the fact that «Love» hid Himself in the Tent of Meeting is a guarantee that God will manifest Himself again as at Sinai and on the occasion of the exodus from Egypt... these intentions of the One-who-Is are found in the essence of all messianic prophecies: “The days are coming, when it shall no more be said: as the One-who-Is lives, who brought forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt... but it shall be said: as the One-who-Is lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of the north [Babylon], and out of all the countries whither he had driven them.”
In the feasts of Israel, those ordained by the «Love», was hidden this redemption in the end of the age. Although it is generally believed that these feasts do not (any longer) have any prophetic significance in relation to Israel, history and reality show us that they are related especially – not to say “only!” – with Israel.
Firstly, these feasts were part of the Covenant between the One-who-Is with Israel; secondly, they are essentially messianic, meaning that they can only be fulfilled over the ages in correlation with the «Messiah»... and I will explain why in a moment.
First of all, it must be clarified what is meant in the Scriptures by “Messiah”. Firstly, this word has the connotation of “anointed” or “set apart”. In this sense Abraham was a “Messiah” by being chosen by the One-who-Is... Isaac was a “Messiah” ... Israel, both as Jacob and as a people, was a "Messiah"... in essence the words “Touch not My anointed ones.” are synonymous with “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” ... My chosen one among all the nations of the earth.
“Christians” see in Yeshua (HaMashiach) the fulfillment of the first feast: the Pesach (Passover), “the day on which the lamb was sacrificed for the redemption of the World”. They also see the following two feasts – the feast of unleavened bread and the feast of the first fruits – they see them fulfilled at the cross, in those days; and Shavuot (Pentecost) they see it fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.
I don’t want to focus on these feasts, fulfilled or not. Even their fulfillment is essentially messianic: a man chosen to die for the world, disciples chosen and brought face to face with the disappointment: “We were hoping that he was the one who would redeem Israel”; disciples chosen to receive that power to make them “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Although the “Christians” see and understand that these feasts were fulfilled around Jerusalem with – essentially – some Jews, they hope that the next (“final” – they say) feasts will be fulfilled with them in a way in which the “messiah” is excluded, which from a scriptural point of view is impossible and false. Why? Because the commandments that were “given for their teaching” are rooted in the Covenant with the Jews... and can only be fulfilled in relationship with them.
“Christians” expect to be “secretly raptured” on one of these “final” feasts, but they do not understand that contrary to their interpretations – generally in relation to this “secret rapture” – the blessing of any of these feasts is about the Jews and can only be fulfilled in a messianic context.
There is a major misunderstanding about the feasts, and the key to the decipherment or clarification is found in the way the requirements regarding the keeping of the Sabbath were formulated. Regardless of people’s opinions, the One-who-Is’ chosen kept the Sabbath from sunset to sunset, and they learned this for forty years in the wilderness at breakfast (and dinner) when five days a week they received a one-day portion of manna, on the sixth day they received a double portion (for both that day and the Sabbath), and on the Sabbath they received nothing. This is the only principle by which the Sabbath is kept: from sunset on the sixth day until sunset on the Sabbath (seventh day), without any other “artifice” in the Sun, Moon, or stars. And because the “Christians” have strayed and wandered from keeping the Sabbath in this way, they have no idea how to interpret the Covenant feasts, because they were given on the same principle: evening-morning-evening.
The years and annual feasts are related to the two agricultural seasons and to the rains set aside for each of these seasons. Israel’s year begins in autumn with the early (“evening”) rain and ends in autumn (“evening”); the spring (“morning”) with its late rains was only a transition to autumn (“evening”) – the New Year (Rosh HaShanah).
At a superficial glance, it might seem that the spring feasts are of major importance, when in fact the opposite is true. The autumn feasts were the major feasts, and the spring feasts were more the landmark of all feasts. This is why the prophet cries saying: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are still not delivered.”
It is important to understand this aspect of the “evening”, because it is linked to several major prophecies... unfulfilled until the appointed time... the “evening” between days, years, and ages.
When we look through the prism of “evening” at the 10th Av, the day of the Tent, a day hidden just as the One-who-Is hid Himself in the Tabernacle, we see what is not normally seen, that the day of 1st Tishrei is anchored in the 10th Av (day of the Tent) as Shavuot (Pentecost) is anchored in the Pesach (Passover). This aspect gives to the feast of the New Year (Rosh HaShanah) connotations of the Pesach (the first feast of spring) as well as making the feast of the New Year (Rosh HaShanah) a second Shavuot (Pentecost). Here is the key that opens the door to the true meaning of the 1st Tishrei, the New Year, Rosh HaShanah, the Day of Trumpets (shofars).
From the point of view of the eternal priesthood of the firstborn, Rosh HaShanah is and will be the most important holiday, a day called Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets); a day with the sound of war... a day of redemption, but also a day of vengeance... a «messianic» day – as Jews understand this word.
“Christians” expect the “rapture”, but it’s more than likely that things and events will surprise them. Those targeted for damnation may actually be blessed, and those targeted for glory may be put on the run... and not for the first time. The events surrounding Mordecai (the feast of Purim) were similar: a gallows had been prepared for the Jew, but instead he got the king's (white) horse and the king's (white) clothes.
Mankind has never understood what it means that the One-who-Is has chosen Israel... an Israel that have done much sin, but who has received from the hand of the One-who-Is twice as much as his due punishment. This is where mankind has fallen into the trap, and I am referring to the “Christians” in general... they laughed at who was not supposed to laugh... but Israel have done his punishment. “Give good news to Jerusalem and cry to her that her slavery is ended, for her iniquity has been atoned, for she has received from the hand of the One-who-Is twice as much as all her sins.” “Instead of your shame, you shall have a doubled honor; instead of humiliation, they shall rejoice on their part of the inheritance, for they shall rule doubly in their own land and have everlasting joy”... this is truly a messianic understanding of what the «Love» will do for Israel... “a year of mercy from the One-who-Is and a day of vengeance from our «Love»”, “a royal crown”, “an anointing of joy”, “a garment of praise”... a new purpose: servants to His glory... a holy priesthood... “but you shall be called priests of the One-who-Is, and shall be called servants of the «Love»; you shall eat the riches of the nations and in their glory you will shine.”
You may ask yourself: how is this possible?... simple: the One-who-Is set a trap for the nations, and the nations fell into it... How did this happen?... simple: “I set a trap for you, and you were caught, Babylon, without expecting it. You got caught, trapped, because you fought against the One-who-Is.”
A correct understanding of what Babylon means in relation to the chosen people we can only find three meanings, no more. First, by (a) Babylon is meant the nation that in ancient times on the 9th of Av was responsible for the destruction of the first Temple (Tent of Meeting) and taking Israel into physical captivity. Then, when we read (b) Babylon we see the golden image built by the king of Babylon, an image which according to the dream interpreted by Daniel represented four kingdoms that were to appear on the firmament of history until the end of the age, and the first of them was Babylon, the most significant of the kingdoms. Finally, when we read in the prophecy about (c) Babylon, we understand a “spiritual” kingdom which by its own teachings originating in Babylon made itself ruler over the whole earth... a kingdom opposed to the chosen people, a “Babylon” present over the whole earth, a place from which all the elects were to be gathered at the end of the age.
This Babylon spread its influence (and teachings) also over the other kingdoms that followed later, the last of them being Rome, that Rome which on the 9th of Av in the year 70 was to destroy once again the Temple (the Tent of Meeting), and which, even more, through one of the ten kings derived from it was to “change the times and the Law”... action which refers to a single operation of change in relation to the Law and the time or season of worship... a kingdom originating in Rome which was to change the day of rest from Sabbath to Sunday... a kingdom which became “Papal Rome”, “Christianity”... in a word, “Babylon”.
Strangely, this “Christianity” (“Rome”) not only changed the time for worship specified in the Law, but it also has assumed the Levitical attributes, distorting the “commandments given for their teaching” and making from the Church an idolatrous copy ("icon") of the Tent of Meeting, thus taking full advantage of Rome’s destruction of the Temple... in this context the words of the prophet are even clearer: “I set a trap for you, and you were caught, Babylon, without expecting it. You got caught, trapped, because you fought against the One-who-Is.”
“Rome”, the spiritual Babylon, is essentially a counter (anti!) invention to all that is spiritually authentic. For a while she tried to keep the Scriptures under lock and key, because the Scriptures were identifying her as being the Antichrist; was indeed and is anti-Messianic, anti-Semitic, anti-Sabbatical, anti-Levitical. So, in order to “exonerate” herself and to further appear to be the savior of the whole earth, a universal “authentic” spiritual institution, she invented all sorts of doctrines, and finally, in her bowl of lying abominations, she invented the doctrine of the “secret rapture”, which says that there will be seven years at the end, and while the Church will be raptured to God in Heaven, in Jerusalem will be installed exactly the “antichrist”... and to top it off, all of “Christianity” believes her... as they have swallowed other lizard babies... uncleanness, Serpent teachings, demons and lies... until one day... until the day when Babylon will fall: “And there shall no more be heard in you the sound of harps, nor songs of instruments, nor singers of whistles, nor singers of trumpets […] the light of the lamp shall no more shine in you, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall no more be heard in you, because your merchants were the rulers of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your witchcraft, and because there was found the blood of the prophets and of the saints and of all the [good] that were slain in the earth.”
Returning to the 10th of Av, the day of the Tent of Meeting, and the day to which its «Pentecost» pointed, Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShanah), we could say that in this day is hidden the Day of Deliverance... a day similar to the exodus from Egypt, but on a much larger, universal scale. This is one of the reasons why by what the One-who-Is will do this time, He will make the exodus from Egypt to be eclipsed, because this time Egypt (“Babylon”) is the whole earth, a “Babylon” from which all those chosen of «Love» will be delivered and redeemed. In other words, Passover (Pesach), and Pentecost (Shavuot) will be reissued, and this time the one who will eat bitter herbs will be “Babylon” ... “Rome”.
“Christians” say that on Shavuot (Pentecost) was fulfilled the prophecy that says: “Suddenly, I will pour out My Spirit on the whole of the world; your sons and daughters will prophesy, your elders will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. Even upon my servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”, turning this Jewish feast into the founding day of Christianity. But they are missing something important. There are two aspects that “Christians” miss: (a) Peter put this prophecy in an eschatological context, saying “In the last days.” and (b) this prophecy was strictly about Israel and Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets): “Sound the trumpet in Zion”, “proclaim a fast”, “assemble a feast”, “gather the people”, “assemble a holy meeting”, “the bridegroom shall come out from his bedroom and the bride from the house of her bridal chamber”, “let the priests, the servants of the One-who-Is, weep between the Porch and the altar”... “and you will know that I am in the midst of Israel”, “and my people will never again be a shame”, “I will cause wonders to be seen in heaven and on earth”, “the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood”, “then, whosoever shall call on the name of the One-who-Is shall be saved. For salvation will be on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the One-who-Is promised, and among the remnant who will be called ["chosen"] by the One-who-Is. For behold, in those days and at those times when I will bring back [from "Rome"] the captives of Judah and Jerusalem [the twelve tribes together], I will gather all the nations [...]. There I will judge with them for My people, for Israel, My inheritance, which they have scattered among the nations, dividing among them My land."
“Christians” are expecting the “rapture” from the great tribulation, in return they will receive a judgment... Yom Kippur... a year of vengeance of the One-who-Is... a fulfillment of all eschatological prophecies, which are essentially messianic... “At that time, the «branch» of the One-who-Is shall be full of majesty and glory, and the fruit of the land shall be full of brightness and beauty for the delivered of Israel. And whoever is remaining [one will be taken] in Son, whoever is left [another will be left] in Jerusalem, will be called «holy», whoever is written among the living in Jerusalem [...]. The One-who-Is will set over all the whole length of Mount Zion and over its gathering places a cloud of smoke by day and bright fires by night [His tabernacle; Sukkot].” “A «branch» shall come forth from the stem of Jesse [David], and a «shoot» shall spring from his roots. The Spirit of the One-who-Is shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the One-who-Is. His delight shall be the fear of the One-who-Is; he shall not judge according to his appearance, nor decide according to what he has heard, but shall judge the poor with righteousness, and shall decide with impartiality over the oppressed of the land; he shall shake the earth with the word of his mouth [(a) authority; prophet], and with the word of his lips he shall put an end to wickedness [(b) judgment; king]. Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins [(c) sanctification; priest] and faithfulness the girdle of his middle [(a, b, c); «Messiah»].” “In the age to come, Jacob will take root, Israel will flourish and branch out and fill the world with its fruit.” “There shall be nothing but righteous men among your people; they shall possess the land forever as a branch planted by Me, the work of My hands, to serve to My glory. The least shall become a thousand, and the least a mighty nation.” “Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up to David a righteous «branch». He shall reign, he shall work with wisdom, and he shall execute justice and judgment in the land. In his days, Judah shall be delivered, and Israel shall have peace in his dwelling place; and this is the name they will give to the One-who-Is: our Righteousness [why?].”
When you truly understand eschatological prophecies, you cannot sneak into them a doctrine like the “rapture” ... because there’s no such thing anywhere. «Raptured» indeed will be the chosen ones of «Love» from “Babylon”, gathered and brought home to the land promised to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Israel... this is the only correct interpretation of the «rapture» that overlaps with the separation of wheat from tares, of sheep from goats, of good from evil, of wise virgins from unwise... “let them both grow together until the harvest; and at the time of harvest [end of the age; evening; autumn], I will say to the harvesters [the angels]: First pluck the tares, and bind them in bundles, that we may burn them; and my wheat gather them into my barn.” “I have also other sheep, which are not from this stable; and I must bring them too. They shall obey My voice, and they will be a flock and a «shepherd» [«David»].” “I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David: he shall feed them, he shall be their shepherd.” “They shall be Mine; they shall be a special treasure to Me in the day that I prepare; I will have mercy on them as a man has mercy on his son who serves him.... and then you will see again the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves the One-who-Is and the one who does not.”
“In the last days [end of the age; evening], the mountain of the house of the One-who-Is shall be established as the highest mountain, and shall be exalted above the hills, and the peoples shall come flocking to it. The nations will flock to it and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the One-who-Is, to the House of Jacob’s «Love», that He may teach us His ways [the commandments given for their teaching] to walk in His paths.... For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and out of Jerusalem the word of the One-who-Is... He [the king] shall judge between many nations, he shall decide between the mighty nations that are far off. And they shall make their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles; no nation shall draw sword against another, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
I attempted to be as succinct as possible, I didn’t succeed... the truth is simple and doesn’t need a lot of explanation. The truth about the feasts and ceremonial acts correlated with the Tent of Meeting, seen through the lens of all the eschatological prophets is clear, unitary, and secure: Israel was and is forever the apple of the eye of the One-who-Is «Love», who chose him from the beginning. Although he has fallen and has had many slippages in relation to the Law and the commandments that he has received from the One-who-Is, and although not once he has been punished and seemingly abandoned, Israel will forever remain the chosen son. With him are fulfilled and will be fulfilled eternally the words of David, who says: The «Lord» is my Shepherd: I shall not want. He leads me into green pastures and leads me to resting waters; He refreshes my soul and guides me in right paths for His name’s sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou spread my table before mine enemies, Thou anoint my head with oil, and my cup is full of it. Yes, happiness and mercy will accompany me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the One-who-Is until the end of my [eternal] days.”
Israel has always known that it’s a matter of days, years, or ages... and they waited... which will be considered «righteousness»... I repeat: one of the most common themes of the Scriptures is the waiting; a waiting related to seeking, but especially to the fulfillment of a certain time or promise... at the appointed time.
At the appointed time... in the evening... the One-who-Is will turn his face towards the people who not only once lost him, but... there is a “but”! ... the One-who-Is will return... and all the earth will see again Who is the «Love» but also the «Avenger» of the people He has chosen. “In the evening, the lord of the vineyard said to his «steward»: call the workers and give them their wages, from the last [second Pentecost?] to the first [...]. Likewise, the last shall be first, and the «first» shall be last [the ancient Israel]; for many are called, but few [Abraham, Isaac, and Israel] are chosen.”
“Behold, the voice of your watchmen sounds; they lift up their voice and all shout for joy, for they see with their eyes how the One-who-Is is returning to Zion. All of you shout for joy, o you ruins of Jerusalem! For the One-who-Is comforts His people and redeems Jerusalem. The One-who-Is reveals His holy arm before all nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our «Elohim».”
“Blessed be the One-who-Is the «Love» of Israel, the only one who works miracles! Blessed be His eternally glorified name! Let all the earth be filled with His glory! Amen! Amen!”
There is a delay! There is a waiting in relation to the delay that was even prophesied in “the commandments which I have written for their teaching”. In the commandments concerning the keeping of the feasts, a waiting was introduced in relation to the time when “evening” was to come later on some special years. While normally in regular years “evening” can be identified with “New Year” (Rosh HaShanah), there is an exception where “evening” (Rosh HaShanah) and “New Year” are moved to “midnight”, right on Yom Kippur. In the Jubilee years that took place once every fifty years (a kind of Shavuot over the years) the time when the trumpets are supposed to sound and announce the beginning of the Jubilee is not Rosh HaShanah (“evening”), but Yom Kippur (“midnight”), located ten (10) days later.
This ten-day delay is also found in the parable (prophecy) about the ten (10) virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom. And because the bridegroom was delayed, and because their waiting was extended, these virgins, who were expecting the bridegroom to come “in the evening”, fell asleep... but “at midnight” the cry was heard (with the sound of a trumpet), “Behold the bridegroom [the shepherd, the king], come out to meet him.” ... at midnight (Yom Kippur)! ... it was a Jubilee!
The prophecy continues on the theme of the separation of the wheat from the tares, the separation of the wise virgins (learned to wait) from the unwise (unlearned to wait). The wise entered with the bridegroom into the wedding chamber [stall, barn; Sukkot], while the others had the door slammed in front of them with the words of judgment, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you!”. This theme of the closed door is also found in the parable (prophecy) of the separation of the sheep from the goats. “Then the king [the shepherd] will say to the on his right hand [wise sheep]: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”... there is a separation: on the one hand, the good and wise will “go into eternal life” in the Kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world; on the other hand, the wicked and unwise will “go into punishment” with eternal consequences.
This theme of delay, awakening and separation in relation to the Kingdom of saints is also found in the book of Daniel. Daniel says, “blessed is he who will wait and reaches” a certain time, which from the prophecy appears to be the very “midnight” ... when “shall arise the great prince Michael [Who-is-like-Him], the Protector [“Angel”] of the children of thy people [Israel].” An occasion on which an «awakening» will take place, “when your people [Israel] will be delivered”. “Many of those who are «lying» in the dust of the face of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life and some to everlasting reproach and shame. The wise will shine like the brightness of Heaven, and those who teach many to walk in righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.” “Many will be cleansed, made white and enlightened; the wicked will do wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.” ... Is the exact same theme as in the parable about the separation of the ten virgins. Five were taken into the wedding chamber, five were left out, and because this event has to do with the Tent of Meeting and the commandments about it, it is implied who are represented by the wise virgins who were in the habit of waiting... the people of waiting.
The theme of waiting (delay) is in most of the eschatological prophecies that have in view the final ascension (awakening) of the chosen people. I will immediately bring to your attention just a few of these prophecies that fit the theme of the words, “The One-who-Is will not do justice to His chosen ones, who cry day and night to Him, even as He delays toward them?” ... surely!
“Hear, the One-who-Are! Forgive, the One-who-Are! Take heed, the One-who-Are! Work and do not delay, for Your own sake, my «Love»! For Your name is called upon Your city and Your people.”
“I bring near My righteousness: it is not far away; and My deliverance shall not delay. I will put My salvation in Zion, and My glory upon Israel.” “Behold, what the One-who-Is proclaims to the ends of the earth, say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your deliverer is coming; behold, the reward is with him, and the rewards go before him.’ They shall be called «holy people», «redeemed of the One-who-Is», and you shall be called «City sought for and not forsaken».”
“For the love of Zion, I will not keep silence, for the love of Jerusalem, I will not stop, till her salvation be revealed as the light of the sun, and her redemption as a flaming lamp. Then the nations shall see your redemption, and all kings your glory, and shall call you by a new name, which the mouth of the One-who-Is shall decide: you shall be a bright crown in the hand of the One-who-Is, a kingly diadem in the hand of your «Love».”
“I have been silent for a long time – says the One-who-is – I have been silent and refrained Myself. But now I will cry out like a woman in birth pains, I will gasp and pant. I will desolate the mountains [of “wisdom”] and the hills [of “knowledge”], I will dry up all their [apparent] greenness; I will make the rivers [of “knowledge”] into islands, and the ponds [of “wisdom”] I will dry up. I will lead the blind on a way unknown to them, I will guide them by paths unknown to them; I will make darkness light before them, rocky places into smooth; this I will do, and I will not forsake them.”
“And whoever is remaining in Son, whoever is left in Jerusalem, will be called «holy», whoever is written among the living in Jerusalem [...]. The One-who-Is will set over all the whole length of Mount Zion and over its gathering places a cloud of smoke by day and bright fires by night. Yea, over all the glory shall be a shelter, a tent [Sukkot], for a shade from the heat of the day, and for a place of refuge and protection from the storm and the rain [time of trouble].”
“Yea, there will come a «deliverer» [shepherd and king] for Zion, for those of Jacob who turn from their sins, – says the One-who-Is. And this is My covenant with «him»: My Spirit, which rests upon you, and My words, which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your children, nor out of the mouth of your children's children, from this time forth and for evermore, – says the One-who-Is.”
“Those delivered from the Lord will return and go to Zion with songs of victory. Everlasting joy shall crown their heads, joy and gladness shall take hold of them, and sorrow and groaning shall flee away!”
Why?... thanks to the Jubilee!
