Daily Tidbits 6/23/26 – Fireflies – Little Guy in the Eye

Fireflies offer a beautiful biblical shadow of Christ and His people. Just as these tiny insects produce a gentle “cold light” from within to shine in the darkness, believers are called to let the light of Christ shine through them — fueled not by their own power, but by the Holy Spirit.

This tidbit explores the remarkable science of bioluminescence (luciferin + luciferase), the Greek and Latin roots that literally mean “light-bearer,” and how fireflies beautifully illustrate Scripture’s teaching on true light versus false light, the vine and the branches, the glorious bride of Christ, the menorah, and our calling to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation.

Fireflies shine from within — just as Christians are called to let their light shine before men (Matthew 5:14-16). Their scientific name Lampyridae comes from the Greek word for “to shine.”

Bioluminescence = “cold light” — produced by luciferin (the light-bearer substrate) + luciferase (the enzyme) + oxygen. This mirrors the burning bush that was not consumed and the Holy Spirit as the true source of light and life.

Luciferin points to Christ — the word literally means “light-bearer” (phosphoros in Greek). Jesus is the true Light and the genuine “day star” that arises in our hearts (2 Peter 1:19).

Believers are the lamps, the Holy Spirit is the oil — we are the luchnos (candles/lamps) that hold the fuel. Without abiding in the Vine we can do nothing (John 15:5).

The Church as Christ’s glorious bride — fireflies use their light to attract mates; likewise the bride is made “glorious” (endoxos — full of glory from within) by the washing of the Word (Ephesians 5:25-27).

True light vs. counterfeit light — some firefly species mimic others to prey on them. This pictures Satan’s false light and the warning to discern the true Light of the World.

Glowworms & the scarlet worm — the larvae (glowworms) connect to the Hebrew tola (scarlet worm) of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 1:18 — a powerful picture of Christ’s atonement and our cleansing.

7 rhythms & the menorah — fireflies often flash in patterns of seven, echoing the 7-branched menorah, the 7 spirits of God, and the 7 churches in Revelation.

Pentecost & lightning bugs — their sudden appearance in summer and connection to “fire” tie beautifully to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Shavuot/Pentecost.

Fireflies are a beautiful shadow of Messiah that display the light of God that shines in believers and warns of the false light of the adversary. Fireflies shine their lights from within into the darkness just as Christians are called to do.

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle (λύχνος ‘luchnos’), and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The Greek word for candle in Matthew 5:15 is λύχνος ‘luchnos’ which also means a lamp. The scientific name for fireflies is Lampyridae from the Greek λαμπυρίς ‘lampyris’ which comes from λάμπω ‘lampo’ meaning to shine or give light. λύχνος ‘luchnos’ is the carrier, the candle, lantern or torch holding the fuel (oil) from whence comes the light, the λάμπω ‘lampo.’

Christians are the candles, the Holy Spirit is the fuel/oil which causes their lights to shine (Zechariah 4:2-6; Matthew 3:11).

The LORD Jesus, the Word made flesh is THE Lamp.

2Sa_22:29 For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.
Psa_119:105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Pro_6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Isa_62:1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth (בָּעַר ‘ba`ar’).
Isa 62:2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

The word for salvation in Isaiah 62:1 is ישועה ‘yeshua’ the source of the name Jesus. Through Him, believers are called by a new name…Christians (The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians chapter X).

The word for burneth in Isaiah 62:1 is בָּעַר ‘ba`ar’ which means to consume by fire or by eating. Fireflies are beetles. Beetle comes from the word ‘bitel’ which means biters (consumers).

Joh 1:9 That was the true Light (φῶς ‘phos’), which lighteth (φωτίζω ‘phōtizō’) every man that cometh into the world.

Christ is the Light, the φῶς ‘phos’ of God. He enlightens every man.

G5461
φωτίζω
phōtizō
Thayer Definition:
1) to give light, to shine
2) to enlighten, light up, illumine
3) to bring to light, render evident
3a) to cause something to exist and thus come to light and become clear to all
4) to enlighten, spiritually, imbue with saving knowledge
4a) to instruct, to inform, teach
4b) to give understanding to

λύχνος ‘luchnos’ (lamp, candle) is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word נִיר ‘niyr.’ נִיר ‘niyr’ is the root of the word מנורה ‘menorah.’ The menorah/candlestick in the Tabernacle/Temple pictures Christ and His body. The middle shaft was יָרֵךְ ‘yarekh’ which means the body with 6 branches. He is the vine, we are the branches.

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Christians are to shine forth His Light in the darkness
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Php 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Fireflies shine their lights to attract mates. Believers are the bride of Christ, shining His light to the world calling people to join His body.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious (ἔνδοξος ‘endoxos’) church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

ἔνδοξος ‘endoxos’ is a combination of the word εν ‘en’ which mean in or within and δόξα ‘doxa’ which means glory, splendor, brightness.

2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Luk 2:30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Luk 2:31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
Luk 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory (δόξα ‘doxa’) of thy people Israel.

The adversary seeks to blind man from this Light

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious (δόξα ‘doxa’) gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

δόξα ‘doxa’ comes from δοκέω ‘dokeo’ which means to think, to judge, to reason. More on this later.

In Ephesians 5:25–27 we read Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

In Revelation 19:7–9 we read “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

In Revelation 21:9–11, 23 we read The New Jerusalem (the Bride) is shown as a city “having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” The city “had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”

Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Rev 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26 And they shall bring (φέρω ‘phero’) the glory (δόξα ‘doxa’) and honour of the nations into it.

They shall bring (φέρω ‘phero’) the glory (δόξα ‘doxa’ – light). This is the parable of the light of the firefly. The warning is in the next verse of Revelation.

Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Sparkle

“Let your light shine before men” (Matthew 5:16). Fireflies flashing in the night echo the call to shine as lights in a crooked generation (Philippians 2:15). The “sparkle” (a group of fireflies) evokes collective shining together in harmony, as the Body of Messiah (Ephesians 5:31-32).

In Hebrew, one of the words for spark is נץ ‘nets’ which describes the sparkling colors coming off of metal when struck and the petals of a flower. It gives the idea of quarreling as well.

Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

In Ephesians 5:8 that the children of light bear forth the fruit of righteousness. Both light and fruit are linked to the flower. The light is seen in the words נוץ ‘nootz’ & ניץ ‘niytz’ both which are translated as flower, as in blossoming. The root of these words is נץ which is speaking of the sparkling colors or light.

For more on the flower see: Daily Tidbits 4/23 – Flowers

Many firefly species, especially in the genus Photinus, produce patterns involving groups of flashes. Some patterns repeat in sets of 7 or have 7 distinct elements in their display. This 7 rhythm ties into the 7 branches of the menorah (Exodus 25), the 7 candlesticks of the 7 churches (Revelation 1:12-20) and the 7 spirits of God (Revelation 4:5; 5:6; Isaiah 11:2). The 7 second interval is seen in the Big Dipper firefly (Photinus pyralis) which occurs every 5-7 seconds.

Bioluminescence

Fireflies or Lampyridae are given their name from the light that comes forth from within. This is called bioluminescence. The light-producing compound in fireflies is luciferin (the substrate) + luciferase (the enzyme). Luciferin is a phosphorus-containing molecule. The reaction involves ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which donates phosphorus groups to energize the light emission. The energy from breaking phosphate bonds powers the luciferin-luciferase reaction that produces “cold light.” Cold light is “fire” that doesn’t consume like God appearing to Moses in a flame of fire that did not consume the bush (Exodus 3:2; Acts 7:30)

Luciferin is the substrate or the “fuel.” It is the molecule that makes light when oxidized. Luceriferase is the “catalyst” or “fire” that speeds up the reaction. Oxygen is the key reactant. Luciferin brings the luciferase and oxygen together to create the light.

At first glance this may appear to be a negative “shadow” in light of the Bible as Lucifer is the name of the devil. However, as one digs into the shadow of this bug it can be seen that the “lucifer” of the firefly actually points to Christ and His people. This will be explained as this parable progresses.

Oxygen comes from ‘oxys’ which means sharp or piercing pointing to the Holy Spirit & the Word of God.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Oxygen is necessary for man’s life, without which death occurs within minutes. It points to the Holy Spirit, the “breath” of God (Genesis 2:7; Isaiah 42:5; Job 33:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; Psalm 33:6). Oxygen also drives oxidation reactions (rust, burning, metabolism) pointing to the refinement and purification of the Spirit (Malachi 3:2-3; John 16:8; Hebrews 12:29).

Phosphorus (Luciferin/Luciferase)

Phosphorus is essential for life. It is the key component in in DNA, RNA and ATP (energy) in cell membranes.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light (φῶς ‘phos’) of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light (φῶς ‘phos’) shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Joh 1:9 That was the true Light (φῶς ‘phos’), which lighteth (φωτίζω ‘phōtizō’) every man that cometh into the world.

φωσφόρος ‘phosphoros’ is a combination of the Greek words φῶς ‘phos’ meaning light and φόρος ‘phoros’ meaning bearer, carrier, bringer from φέρω ‘phero’ meaning to bear, to carry or to bring. Lucifer is the Latin equivalent. Lucifer is a combination of the Latin words ‘lux’ meaning light and ‘ferre’ meaning to bear, to carry or to bring.

The word in Hebrew that carries the same meaning is נשא ‘nasa’ or נסה ‘nasa’

H5375
נסה / נשׂא
nâśâ’ / nâsâh
BDB Definition:
1) to lift, bear up, carry, take
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to lift, lift up
1a2) to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure
1a3) to take, take away, carry off, forgive
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be lifted up, be exalted
1b2) to lift oneself up, rise up
1b3) to be borne, be carried
1b4) to be taken away, be carried off, be swept away
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to lift up, exalt, support, aid, assist
1c2) to desire, long (figuratively)
1c3) to carry, bear continuously
1c4) to take, take away
1d) (Hithpael) to lift oneself up, exalt oneself
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to cause one to bear (iniquity)
1e2) to cause to bring, have brought
Part of Speech: verb

This word נשא ‘nasa’ is seen in Genesis 22 (which pictures the crucifixion of Christ – Hebrews 11:16-19) when Abraham “lifted up” his eyes to see the ram caught in a thicket as a replacement sacrifice for Isaac.

Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up (נשא ‘nasa’ ) his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Scripture declares this promise was fulfilled in Jesus (John 1:29-36).

For more on this see:

Prophecies of Messiah – Genesis 22:8: The Lamb of God promised

Prophecies of Messiah – Genesis 22:14: Abraham saw His day

Genesis 22 is mentioned as it connects to the serpent on a pole raised up by Moses which Christ applied to Himself.

Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole (נס ‘nes’), and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

The word for pole in Numbers 21:9 is נס ‘nes’ which is the root of נסה ‘nasa’ as it has the meaning a flag hung on a horizontal pole (cross) lifted up high for all to see.

Further connecting this word to the crucifixion is Isaiah 53.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne (נשא ‘nasa’) our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

The Menorah may have in fact been a picture of the Cross. The Scriptures speak of the crucifixion being on a tree (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus was crucified in the midst of two thieves

Joh 19:18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on this side and on that side, and Jesus in the middle.

Traditionally this is the image that is portrayed of the crucifixion.

But if this were the case the following Scripture would make no sense.

Joh 19:31 Then, since it was Preparation, that the bodies not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for great was the day of that sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and they be taken away.
Joh 19:32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other crucified with Him.
Joh 19:33 But on coming to Jesus, when they saw He was dead already, they did not break His legs.

Why would the soldiers break the legs of the 1st and 3rd person and then go to Jesus last? If they were all crucified on one tree this would make perfect sense as they would make a circle starting from the 1st thief and working around to the Messiah. If Messiah and the two thieves were crucified on a single tree then the image that would have been formed would have been a menorah.

Another hint of this is seen in the following verses:

Joh 19:18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on this side and on that side, and Jesus in the middle.

Notice it says bodies (plural) should not remain on the cross (singular). The text seems to indicate that all 3 bodies were on a single ‘cross’ which in Greek would be σταυρός ‘stauros’ (tree).

“Since we are told by the apostle John (who was an eyewitness to the crucifixion) that all three were crucified on ONE stauros (i.e. a single tree), it is easy to see how the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the robber in the Messiah’s right side (who had his back to the Messiah and was located on the northeast side of him) and then they broke the legs of the robber on the Messiah’s left side (who also had his back to the Messiah but was located on the southeast side of him). So, proceeding from the northeast side of the tree of crucifixion, the soldiers killed the first robber, went to the southeast side and killed the second robber, but they then came to the Messiah who was facing (let us say) westward towards his Father’s Temple. When they reached Yeshua they found him dead already.” (Secrets of Golgotha, pp. 176-177 – Ernest Martin).

Tree of Life

The verses that speak of Messiah being crucified on a tree use the word ξύλον ‘xulon’ for tree. This is the same word used for tree of life in the New Testament.

Rev 22:2 In the midst of its street and of the river, from here and from there, was a tree of life producing twelve fruits: according to one month each yielding its fruit. And the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations.

Rev 22:14 Blessed are the ones doing His commands, that their authority will be over the Tree of Life, and by the gates they may enter into the city.

The Menorah is a picture of the tree of Life whose fruit is for the healing of the nations (Isaiah 53:5). The Menorah = Light (Exodus 35:14; Leviticus 24:2; Numbers 8:2). The Word is Light (Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 6:23) The Messiah is Light (John 1:9; 8:12; 9:5; Isaiah 9:2). We, His body, are to be lights in the world, shining forth His light (Matthew 5:14-16; Philippians 2:12-15; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Luke 12:31-35). The Torah and the Word of God will go forth out of Zion (Isaiah 2:3; 51:15-16). We are the branches of His body/menorah (John 15:1). We are one body (Exodus 25:31, 36; Romans 12:5; Galatians 3:28). One body, one Tree (Exodus 34:23; 37:16-17; Revelation 1:20).

Jesus connects the crucifixion with light

Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

Day Star

2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star (φωσφόρος ‘phōsphoros’) arise in your hearts:

In the Latin Vulgate φωσφόρος ‘phōsphoros’ (day star) is translated as lucifer.
2Pe 1:19 et habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem cui bene facitis adtendentes quasi lucernae lucenti in caliginoso loco donec dies inlucescat et lucifer oriatur in cordibus vestris

This verse shows Jesus is the True Lucifer. The true lucifer/light versus the false lucifer will be discussed in more detail later.

In the Aramaic Peshitta this word was translated as ְשִׁמְשָׁא ‘shimsha’ which means the sun.
Murdock Translation
2Pe 1:19 And we have moreover a sure word of prophecy; and ye will do well, if ye look to it as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day shall dawn, and the sun shall arise in your hearts;

וְאִית לַן דְּשַׁרִירָא אַף מִלְּתָא דְּנְבִיּוּתָא הִי דְּשַׁפִּיר עָבְדִין אַנְתּוּן כַּד בָּהּ חָיְרִין אַנְתּוּן אַיִךְ דְּבַשְׁרָגָא דְּמַנְהַר בַּאֲתְרָא עֲמוּטָא עַדמָא דְּאִימָמָא נַנְהַר וְשִׁמְשָׁא נְדְנַח בְּלִבְּוָתְכוֹן׃

דְּבַשְׁרָגָא lamp
דְּמַנְהַר that shines
בַּאֲתְרָא in a place
עֲמוּטָא dark obscure
עַדמָא until
דְּאִימָמָא the day
נַנְהַר dawns
וְשִׁמְשָׁא and the sun
נְדְנַח rises
בְּלִבְּוָתְכוֹן in your hearts

The Peshitta translators chose the straightforward word for “sun” rather than a direct equivalent of “phosphoros” (light-bearer). This conveys the idea of the bright morning light rising, paralleling the “morning star” or “day star” imagery in Greek and English translations.

Scripture speaks of the appearance of Messiah to the sun.
Rev 1:14 And the hairs of His head were white as white wool, as snow, and His eyes as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15 and His feet like burnished brass having been fired in a furnace; and His voice as a sound of many waters;
Rev 1:16 and having in His right hand seven stars; and a sharp, two-edged sword proceeding out of His mouth, and His face shining as the sun in its power.

This likening of the brightness of the sun is also spoken of as lightning.
Dan 10:6 His body was also like the beryl, and his face looked like lightning. And his eyes were like torches of fire; and his arms and his feet in color like polished bronze; and the sound of his words were as the noise of a multitude.

Glowworms

Fireflies spend their first 1-2 years as larvae in the soil and leaf litter before they emerge as adults. During this stage they are known as “glowworms.”

Scripture refers to Christ and His people as worms. The worm mentioned in Scripture is not the same as the glowworm firefly but the connection here is to interesting to skip.

Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of mankind, and despised by the people.

The Hebrew word for ‘worm’ is תולע ‘tola’ speaking of a crimson/scarlet colored worm.

Biblical Basis for Modern Science page 73
“When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she could never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to leave and enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commerical scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted.

It is interesting to note that three days after the tola worm dies, the red spot on the tree dries out and turns white as snow.

Isa 1:18 Come now and let us reason together, says Jehovah: Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as the crimson {תולע}, they shall be like wool.

The Hebrew word תלה ‘tola’ is a homophone of תולע ‘tola.’ תלה means to hang, as in the Messiah on the tree.

Deu 21:23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree; but burying you shall bury him the same day. For he that is hanged is a reproach to God. And you shall not defile your land which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance.
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us; for it has been written, “Cursed is everyone having been hung on a tree;” Deut. 21:23

תלה comes from the root תל which is speaking of a rope made of twisted cords used for suspending something. This is linked to the תלוע ‘tola’ worm as the Hebrew word for תולעה is speaking of a caterpillar or thread spinning worm which suspends itself from a tree.

For more on the Tola worm see: Daily Tidbits 4/9 – Scarlet Worm

Israel is likened to a worm as well

Isa 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Isa 41:14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 41:15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Isa 41:16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Christ rose on the third day, Israel will as well. Glowworms are “raised” after two years…

Hos 6:2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

In “The Firefly’s Secret,” Fr. Jeremy (Orthodox Road) describes how fireflies spend most of their lives as larvae underground (in “death”/dormancy), then emerge in glory to glow. This mirrors our earthly life, burial, and resurrection in Christ: “We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The firefly’s secret is the Paschal mystery—resurrection life in Jesus.

Pentecost

The fire, lightning imagery of the firefly/lightning bug is connected to Mt. Sinai

Heb 12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

At Sinai, the law was written in stone. In Christ, the law is written in our hearts as they burn from the Spirit.

Luk 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2Co 3:7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

2Co 3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory (δόξα ‘doxa’), much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory (δόξα ‘doxa’).

Oxygen and luciferase both point to the Holy Spirit in the firefly parable. Wind and fire…producing light which unites (Ephesians 4:3-4).

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire (πῦρ ‘pur’), and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The word for fire in Acts 2:3 is πῦρ ‘pur’ which means fire but specifically lightning. Fireflies are commonly called lightning bugs.

G4442
πῦρ
pur
poor
A primary word; “fire” (literally or figuratively, specifically lightning): – fiery, fire.

This lightning imagery was seen at Mt. Sinai at the first Pentecost

Exo 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
Exo 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Pentecost/Shavuot occurs 50 days after Passover/Easter, placing it at the end of spring to early summer in the Northern Hemisphere. It typically falls between mid-May and mid-June. Fireflies (lightning bugs) emerge as adults in late spring through early/mid-summer, with peak activity often in June and July.

Christians are the people of God, called out of darkness to shine their lights

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Isa 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Mat 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
Mat 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Mat 4:14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
Mat 4:15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
Mat 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Luk 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
Luk 1:77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
Luk 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring (ἀνατολή ‘anatole’) from on high hath visited us,
Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

The word dayspring in Luke 1:78 is ἀνατολή ‘anatole’ which means the dawn or east.

ἀνατολή ‘anatolē’ is also used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew words מזרח ‘mizrach’ and קדם ‘qedem’ which mean the rising sun in the East as well as נגה ‘nogah’ which means shining and also is the Hebrew word for Venus. Interestingly, ἀνατολή ‘anatole’ is also used to translate the Hebrew word צמח ‘tsemach’ which means a branch, used specifically in reference to Messiah.

צמח ‘tsemach,’ the BRANCH, is used 5 times in Scripture {Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16; Zechariah 3:8-10; 6:12-13}. Venus is linked to the number five as its rotation through the skies makes a pentagon shape. From a fixed location over an eight year period (8 is the number of resurrection), the planet Venus travels a unique celestial pathway that exactly portrays a pentagram.

The Gospel is connected with flesh. The word gospel in the Bible comes from the Hebrew word בשר ‘basar’ which means good news but also flesh as when good news is brought a feast with meat is prepared.

Where is the first reference to flesh? The union of Adam and Eve…a picture of Jesus and His Bride becoming one is the fulfillment of the Good News.

Gen 2:21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh underneath.
Gen 2:22 And Jehovah God formed the rib which He had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man.
Gen 2:23 And the man said, This now at last is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh. For this shall be called Woman, because this has been taken out of man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh

Eph 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.
Eph 5:31 “For this, a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh.” Gen. 2:24

Eph 5:32 The mystery is great, but I speak as to Christ and as to the assembly.

The rib of Adam from whence his bride came out is linked to the number 5 which connects to the 5th day of creation and life.

חמשׁ ‘chamesh’ is used to translate multiple terms in Hebrew. It is used for the number five/fifty, the hand, to be armed and the side of the body (fifth rib).

The ‘fifth rib’
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חמשׁ
chômesh

This word is used in the following verses: 2Samuel 2:23; 3:27; 4:6; 20:10

According to tradition, Messiah was wounded in the side (‘the fifth rib’), the Shroud of Turin also shows the wound from the spear in the fifth rib.

Joh 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance, and at once blood and water came out.

Adam’s bride came forth from his rib/side (Genesis 2:22) which is a picture of Messiah’s bride ‘coming forth’ when He offered Himself as an atonement to bring us back to God. Interestingly, the year of Jubilee, which occurs every 50 (חמשים ‘chamashim’) years (Leviticus 25:10-13) began on the Day of Atonement. The great trumpet (Isaiah 27:13) will be blown and those resurrected in the 1st resurrection will receive their inheritance in the land. This is interesting because the shofar is in the Fibonacci sequence which the pattern the Most High uses in His creation of life. The Fibonacci sequence is encoded with the number 5. Pentecost occurs on the 50th day after Firstfruits/Easter.

True Light vs. False Light

Jesus is the true light (lucifer). Satan is Lucifer the counterfeiter, his is a false light.

The coming of Christ is associated with lightning.

Luk 17:24 For as the lightning lighting up out of one part under heaven to one part under heaven shines, so also will the Son of Man be in His day.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Zec 9:14 Then Jehovah will be seen over them, and His arrow shall go out as lightning; and the Lord Jehovah shall blow the ram’s horn and shall go forth with the windstorms of the south.

The Hebrew word ברק ‘baraq’ means bright and shining as lightning or the glistening of a sword.

Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

His appearance is associated with lamps of fire and lightning

Dan 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
Dan 10:6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

Lightning causes thunder which is likened unto His Voice.

The voice of God is likened unto this roaring of a lion and thunder from heaven. One of the Hebrew words for thunder is קול ‘qol’ which literally means the voice of the Shepherd.

Amo 1:2 And he said: Jehovah will roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem. And the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
Joe 3:16 And Jehovah roars from Zion, and He gives His voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth quake. But Jehovah is a refuge for His people and a fortress to the sons of Israel.

Jer 25:30 And now you prophesy against them all these Words, and say to them, Jehovah shall roar from on high and give forth His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar over His dwelling place. He answers with a shout, like those who tread out the grapes, against all those living in the earth.
Jer 25:31 A noise {שׁאון ‘shâ’ôn’} shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

The word שׁאון ‘shâ’ôn’ pictures a thunderstorm or the sound of many waters.

Jer 25:32 So says Jehovah of Hosts, Behold, evil is going from nation to nation, and a great tempest {סערה ‘se`arah’ – storm} shall be stirred up from the corners of the earth.
Jer 25:33 And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be mourned, nor gathered, nor buried; they shall be as dung on the face of the earth.
Jer 25:34 Howl, O shepherds, and cry, and roll in ashes, O leaders of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and of your scatterings are fulfilled, and you shall fall like a desirable vessel.
Jer 25:35 And refuge has perished from the shepherds, and escape from the leaders of the flock.
Jer 25:36 The sound of the cry of the shepherds, and the howling from the leaders of the flock will be heard. For Jehovah is spoiling their pasture.
Jer 25:37 And the peaceful pastures are devastated, because of the glow of the anger of Jehovah.
Jer 25:38 Like the young lion, He has left His den; for their land is a waste because of the glow of the oppressor, and because of His flowing anger.

Lightning is associated with His Word. The fear/awe of the Lord is seen in the Hebrew word יר ‘yar.’

יָרָה ‘yarah’ is a cognate of the Hebrew word תורה ‘torah’ which is usually translated as law but literally means the direction one is to take.

The Torah is an interesting word in that it comes from two roots. The other root word for תורה ‘torah’ is תר ‘tar’ which means an image or outline.

The word תורה ‘torah’ also comes from the root word תר ‘tar’ which means an image or outline. The Torah/Word is the Image of God (Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15). Jesus is THE image of God (Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Colossians 1:15-16) who is love (1 John 4:8). He revealed God’s name/character to mankind (John 17:6).

It is interesting to note that the Greek word μορφή ‘morphe’ is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word תואר ‘to’ar’ which means image, that comes from the same root תר as תורה ‘torah.’ μορφή ‘morphe’ is also used to translate the Hebrew word צלם ‘tselem’ which means shadow.

μορφή ‘morphē’ is also used to translate the word תמונה ‘temunah’ which means image and תּבנית ‘tabnı̂yth’ which is translated as pattern, likeness, form and similitude.

Php 2:6 who subsisting in the form (μορφή ‘morphe’) of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,

Jesus is THE image of God (Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Colossians 1:15-16) who is love (1 John 4:8).

The spirit that works in the children of disobedience forms them into the image of Satan.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Eph 5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him…

Isa 57:4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Wheat and tares

Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, but the darnel are the sons of the wicked one,
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Lucifer is the counterfeiter. He is associated in Scripture with lightning (Luke 10:18), light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and the lion (1 Peter 5:8) just as Christ Jesus.

Satan appears as an angel of light

2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Satan fell from heaven as lightning.

Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

The false lucifer, the false day star
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Septuagint

Isa 14:12 How has Lucifer, that rose of the morning, fallen from heaven! He that sent orders to all the nations is crushed to the earth.

Isa 14:12 πῶς ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων; συνετρίβη εἰς τὴν γῆν ὁ ἀποστέλλων πρὸς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.

ἑωσφόρος ‘heosphoros’ comes from ἑώς ‘eos’ meaning dawn, morning, early light and φόρος ‘phoros’ meaning bearer or carrier. Morning light bringer. This is Venus mentioned above.

Venus is a fascinating shadow of Messiah. The Hebrew word for Venus is נגה ‘nagah ‘which means to shine and is the source of the Latin word ‘ignis’ which means to ignite or fire, which connects to the East. The word ‘East’ comes from the Hebrew word אש ‘esh’ which means fire. Venus is known as the morning star from its appearing in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

Each day when the sun rises it is a picture of the resurrection (Malachi 4:2). In Hebrew the word for dawn is שחר ‘shachar’ from the root שח ‘shach’ which means the pit. When the sun sets it is a picture of death/going into the pit, when it arises it is a picture of resurrection.

Who is the true bright and morning star? Jesus.

Rev 22:16 I, Jesus, sent My angel to testify these things to you over the assemblies. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the bright and morning Star.

The Greek word for morning is ὀρθρινός ‘orthrinos’ which is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word שכם ‘shakam’ which means the shoulder, but also to arise early (Genesis 22:3). This word is also linked to the resurrection.

Isa 22:22 And the key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder, so that he opens, and no one shuts; and he shuts, and no one opens.
Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia, write: These things says the Holy One, the True One, the One having “the key of David,” “the One opening, and no one shuts; and shuts, and no one opens:” Isa. 22:22
Luk 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luk 1:80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

In Luke 1:78 the dayspring/daystar is translated from the Greek word ἀνατολή ‘anatolē’which also is translated as East (Matthew 2:1-2,9; 8:11; 24:24; Luke 13:29; Revelation 7:2; 21:12-13)

Morning is a time of praise (הלל ‘halel’). This is interesting to note as Scripture speaks of Venus as Helel {הילל ‘Heylel’} the “son of the morning” {שחר ‘shachar’}.

This word הילל ‘Heylel’ is translated as Lucifer in the Latin Vulgate. The only other place Lucifer is seen in the Vulgate is in 2 Peter 1:19, speaking of the day star, the Messiah. Lucifer/satan is a counterfeiter which is seen in the Mystery religion symbology of the planet Venus and pentagram symbol.

Ancient Israel fell into idolatrous worship of the Queen of Heaven, whose origins trace back to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This mother goddess worship is interweaved throughout all religions and cultures.

The ‘queen of heaven’ is mentioned 5 times in Scripture which is interesting to note as the mother goddess is linked to the image of the pentagram, a counterfeit of the BRANCH. More on this below.

Jer_7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Jer_44:17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
Jer_44:18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
Jer_44:19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
Jer_44:25 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.

Spica is the star in the hand of the constellation Bethulah (Virgo) and corresponds to the Hebrew word צמח ‘tsemach’ (the BRANCH Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5,6; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). צמח ‘tsemach’ has the meaning of a sprouting plant.

The constellation of Virgo (the Virgin) is a picture of the prophecy of the virgin who shall give birth to Emmanuel:

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Mat 1:23 “Behold! The virgin will conceive in her womb and will bear a son, and they will call His name Emmanuel” (which translated is, God with us).

She holds in her hand an ear of corn, with 5 stars which represents the 5 mentions of THE BRANCH in the Scriptures (Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15; Zechariah 6:12).

The Branch = the Son
Psa 80:15 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch (בן ‘ben’ = son) that thou madest strong for thyself.
Psa 80:17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

The Branch is Yahweh our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15). In Zechariah 3:8, the Branch is Servant from whence iniquity removed in one day. This is speaking of the Servant of Isaiah 53. In Zechariah 6:12 the name of the BRANCH is Jesus who shall be a king & priest (Psalm 110).

Isa 4:2 In that day the Branch of Jehovah will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth for pride and for glory for the survivors of Israel.
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and act wisely, and He shall do justice and righteousness in the earth.
Jer 23:6 In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His name by which He shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness.
Jer 33:15 In those days, and at that time, I will cause a Branch of Righteousness to grow up to David. And He shall do judgment and righteousness in the land.
Jer 33:16 In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety. And this is the name that shall be called on her: Jehovah OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Zec 3:9 For, behold, I will bring forth My Servant, the BRANCH. For behold, the stone which I have given before Joshua, on the one stone are seven eyes. I will engrave its engraving, says Jehovah of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

The New Testament further links the BRANCH (צמח ‘tsemach’) to the heavenly bodies.

Luk 1:78 through the tender heart of mercy of our God, in which the Dayspring from on high will visit us,

Dayspring is from the Greek word ἀνατολη ‘anatolē’ which is the same word used for BRANCH/צמח in the Septuagint.

Al Mureddin, another star in Virgo, has the meaning of ‘the branch that cometh.’

The first ‘decan’ constellation of Virgo is Coma which is a picture of a woman with a child on her lap. The name coma means the ‘desire of all nations’ (Haggai 2:7).

Hag 2:7 And I will shake all the nations; and the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house with glory, says Jehovah of Hosts.

Albumazer, an Arabic astronomer of the 8th century, said that the Persians, Chaldeans and Egyptians said this was a young woman, which is the same as saying virgin in Hebrew (עלמה ‘alma’) nourishing an infant boy which has a Hebrew name ‘Ihesu” which in Greek is called Christos.

The next decan constellation is the Centaur which is half man and half horse, said to indicate the two natures of Messiah. In Hebrew the name is ‘beza’ which means the despised.

Isa 53:3 He is despised (בזה ‘beza’) and abandoned of men, a Man of pains, and acquainted with sickness. And as it were hiding our faces from Him, He being despised, and we did not value Him.

Here in the Temple of Denderah a picture of a human with the head of a calf and tail is seen. The tail represents the one ‘cometh’ and the head of the calf or lamb of sacrifice. In Egyptian the name was ‘knemu’ which meant the one appointed to die or be bruised.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

Herein lies the source of mother goddess worship. The promise of the Seed of the woman (the virgin) who would come to save mankind from the serpent was promised from the beginning.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Birth of the Seed of the woman

Mic 5:1 Now gather yourself together, daughter of a troop; one sets a siege against us. They shall strike the Judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
Mic 5:2 And you, Bethlehem Ephratah, being least among the thousands of Judah, out of you He shall come forth to Me to become One ruling in Israel; and His goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.
Mic 5:3 So He will give them over until the time the one giving birth has given birth. Then the rest of His brothers shall return to the sons of Israel.
Mic 5:4 And He shall stand and feed in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah His God. And they shall sit, for now He is great to the ends of the earth.
Mic 5:5 And this One shall be peace. When Assyria shall come into our land, and when he shall walk in our palaces, then we shall raise against him seven shepherds and eight anointed ones of man.

Isa 7:14 So, The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold! The virgin will conceive and will bring forth a son; and she shall call His name Immanuel.

In Genesis 3, when God is speaking of the war between the two seeds, He is speaking of the Seed of the woman (Eve) when she was yet a virgin. This is the first reference to the virgin birth.

The Promised Seed is Immanuel (God with us).

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Adam & Eve understood this as Eve believed that Cain was the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Gen 4:1 And the man knew his wife Eve. And she conceived and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah.

The phrase ‘with the help of’ is not in the Hebrew text. Literally, the Hebrew says ‘I have gotten a man, Yahweh.’

In Revelation 12, the Messiah is born of Zion which in the natural is the virgin Mary. Zion is likened unto a virgin in Scripture (2Kings 19:21; Isaiah 37:22; Lamentations 2:13).

Rev 12:1 And a great sign was seen in the heavens, a woman having been clothed with the sun, and the moon was underneath her feet; and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
Rev 12:2 and having a babe in womb. She cries, being in labor, and having been distressed to bear.
Rev 12:3 And another sign was seen in the heavens. And, behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns! And on his heads were seven diadems,
Rev 12:4 and his tail drew the third part of the stars of the heaven, and he throws them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman being about to bear, so that when she bears he might devour her child.
Rev 12:5 And she bore a son, a male, who is going to shepherd all the nations with an iron staff. And her child was caught away to God, and to His throne.

Jer 31:22 Until when will you turn to and fro, O faithless daughter? For Jehovah has created a new thing in the land: a woman shall enclose a man.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

“A woman: נקבה תסובב גבר [Strong’s H5347], literally “A female (‘one who is only a woman, not a wife, namely a virgin,’ says Cocceius) shall encompass a man,” or a male child. Comp. Job_3:3. Which, together with the addition of a new creation, may well be understood to denote the miraculous conception. Hence the Jews have applied it determinately to the Messiah. In Berashith Rabba (Parash 89) it is said, that as God punished Israel in a virgin, so would he also heal; and in Midrash Tillim, on Psa_2:1-12, R. Huna, in the name of R. Idi, speaking of the sufferings of the Messiah, says, that when his hour is come, God shall say, “I must create him with a new creation; and so he saith, This day I have begotten thee.” Gen_3:15; Isa_7:14; Mat_1:21; Luk_1:34-35; Gal_4:4″

When Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth, Jews believed that the prophecy of the Seed of the woman was speaking of the Messiah who would be born of a virgin.

John Gill commentary on Jeremiah 31:22

So the Targum, “for, behold, the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth and the people of the house of Israel have given themselves up to the law.”

some of the Jewish doctors themselves have acknowledged, that the Messiah is here intended. In an ancient book of theirs {Zohar in Gen. tom. 13. 4.}, on mention of these words, it is added,

“this shall be in the time of the Messiah, which will be on the sixth day;”

that is, the sixth millennium And elsewhere {In Abarbinel. Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 37. 4.} “a woman shall compass a man”; says R. Hona, in the name of R. Ame, this is the King Messiah. So says R. Joshua ben Levi {Apud Moses Hadarsan in Gen. c. 41. Vid. Galatin. de Arcanis Cath. Ver. l. 7. c. 14. p. 52, 526.},

“he, that is, God, heals with the same he wounds; so will you find in Israel, they sinned by a virgin, and were punished in virgins, Eze_23:1; so he comforts them by a virgin, according to Jer_31:21; “turn again, O virgin of Israel”, &c. “a woman shall compass a man”. R Huna, in the name of R. Idi and R. Joshua, said, that this man is the King Messiah, of whom it is said, Psa_2:7, “this day have I begotten thee”.”

Going back to Isaiah and Lucifer

Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

The Targum is,

“how art thou fallen from on high, who was shining among the sons of men, as the star Venus among the stars.”

כֵּיצַד נָפַלְתָּ מִן שְׁמַיָּא, אַתָּה שָׁקַק בְּבֵין בְּנֵי אֱנָשָׁא כְּכוֹכַב נָגַהּ בֵּין כּוֹכְבַיָּא! אַתָּה נִטַּלְתָּ לְאַרְעָא, הַקּוֹטֵל עַמִּין.

Keil & Delitzsch commentary on Isaiah 14:12:

(Note: It is singular, however, that among the Semitic nations the morning star is not personified as a male (Heōsphoros or Phōsphoros), but as a female (Astarte, see at Isa_17:8), and that it is called Nâghâh, Ashtoreth, Zuhara, but never by a name derived from hâlal; whilst the moon is regarded as a male deity (Sin), and in Arabic hilâl signifies the new moon, which might be called ben- shacar (son of the dawn), from the fact that, from the time when it passes out of the invisibility of its first phase, it is seen at sunrise, and is as it were born out of the dawn.)

For more on this subject see: Daily Tidbits 5/16 – The Queen of Heaven – Counterfeit Virgin & the True Branch

Counterfeit Fireflies

Gal 5:12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Gal 5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

In nature there is a counterfeit firefly (Photuris “femme fatales”) that masqerades as a female firefly to lure males into attempting to mate. Instead she pounces, kills and eats him. She brings forth “strange fire” (Leviticus 10:1; Deuteronomy 4:2).

The name Φωτουρίς ‘Photouris’ means light from the tail. The counterfeit fireflies are known to especially hunt fireflies known as ‘Photinus’ the common Big Dipper firefly.

Photinus comes from φῶς ‘phos’ meaning light and εινός ‘einos’ which means pertaining to or characterized by. Literally, the one characterized by light. This points to Christians. The Big Dipper firefly gets its nickname because of its J shaped flash which looks like the Big Dipper in the sky.

Job 38:32 Can you bring out the constellations in their season; or can you guide the Bear with its sons?

The Big Dipper and Little Dipper picture the sheep folds of Christ.

Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

URSA MINOR. The little Bear = the lesser sheep—fold. The brightest star of Ursa Minor is Dubheh = a herd. Arabic Dubah means cattle. Hebrew Dober = a fold, from dobe’ = rest or security, rendered “strength” in. (#De 33:25) See Revised Version margin. All points to this, compare. (#Jud 5:16) The Hebrew Dob = a bear. So Arabic Dub, and Persian Deeb or Dob. Hence the mistake. The brightest star is Al riccaba = the turned or ridden on, denoting it as the Polar star. The Greeks called it Kunosoura = Cynosure, but this word is Accadian. An—nas—sur—ra = high in rising; or high in heavenly position. The next bright star is Kochab = waiting Him Who cometh.

URSA MAJOR. The great Bear = the Fold and the Flock (Ob 17—19). In (#Job 9:9) and (#Job 38:31,32) it is called ‘Ash and her offspring. Authorized Version = Arcturus and her sons. R. V. = Bear and his train (margin, sons). Arabs still call it Al Naish or Annaish = the assembled together as in a fold. The brightest star in Dubhe = a flock, which gives its name to the two constellations. The next Merach = the flock (Arabic = purchased). The next is Phaeda or Pharda = numbered or guarded. (#Ps 147:4) Another is called Benet Naish = daughters of the assembly. Another, Al Kaid = the assembled. Many other cognate names. Compare. (#Eze 34:12-16)

The shadow picture of the bear has fascinating connections to this parable of the firefly, not least of which is the aspect of hibernation…

In the heavens, Draco the dragon surrounds the Big Dipper with its tail. Recall, the counterfeit Photuris means “light from the tail.” Satan seeks to destroy the flock of God with his false light…

The constellation Draco (which is the Latin word for dragon) is seen in the North pole surrounding Ursa Major and Ursa Minor which represent the two sheepfolds of the Good Shepherd.

Draco, the dragon coiled around the pole of the heavens, is the ancient enemy — the twisting serpent (nachash bariah) that Scripture identifies as Leviathan and the great red dragon of Revelation 12. Positioned near the two sheepfolds (Ursa Major & Minor), its head is crushed under the foot of Hercules (a picture of Messiah).

The constellation Draco (which is the Latin word for dragon) is seen in the North pole surrounding Ursa Major and Ursa Minor which represent the two sheepfolds of the Good Shepherd. As seen in the above picture, the foot of Hercules (who is a picture of Messiah) is located directly above the head of Draco.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

In ancient times the North pole was likened unto a tree, the ‘tree of Summit.’ Depending upon the story this can be pointing to the Tree of Life or the tree of knowledge, both of which were in the midst of the Garden. All of human history traces back to these two trees. To the left in this picture is Cepheus which is a picture of the King on the throne. Ursa Major is not seen in the picture but would be to the right hand side of the tail of the serpent showing how the serpent infiltrates the flock of the Good Shepherd and keeps it divided. This is the story of Scripture. Messiah comes to destroy the works of the devil which has divided mankind from their Creator and themselves (Ephesians 2:14; Romans 5:1).

Scripture refers to this constellation specifically in Job 26:13 & Isaiah 27:1 calling it the ‘crooked or piercing serpent.’

Job 26:13 By His Spirit the heavens were beautiful; His hand pierced the fleeing snake.
Isa 27:1 In that day Jehovah shall visit the sea monster, the darting serpent, with His great and fierce and strong sword; even on the sea monster, the twisting serpent; and He shall slay the monster that is in the sea.

The phrase ‘crooked or piercing serpent’ comes from the Hebrew נחשׁ בריח ‘nachash beriyach.’ בריח ‘beriyach’ literally means bars which a fugitive flees from. This is the word used for the bars in the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:26-29).

Psalm 107:16 speaks of God delivering man from these bars. Psalm 107 has amazing imagery of the Lord delivering mankind from the hand of the enemy…draco.

Psa 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

{Satan is the enemy of mankind, in Hebrew שטן ‘satan’ literally means enemy or the one who opposes}

The war between good and evil is displayed in this constellation.
Rev 12:1 And a great sign was seen in the heavens, a woman having been clothed with the sun, and the moon was underneath her feet; and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
Rev 12:2 and having a babe in womb. She cries, being in labor, and having been distressed to bear.
Rev 12:3 And another sign was seen in the heavens. And, behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns! And on his heads were seven diadems,
Rev 12:4 and his tail drew the third part of the stars of the heaven, and he throws them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman being about to bear, so that when she bears he might devour her child.
Rev 12:5 And she bore a son, a male, who is going to shepherd all the nations with an iron staff. And her child was caught away to God, and to His throne.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place, it having been prepared from God, that there they might nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days.
Rev 12:7 And war occurred in Heaven, Michael and his angels making war against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels made war,
Rev 12:8 but they did not have strength, nor yet was place found for them in Heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent being called devil, and, Satan; he deceiving the whole habitable world was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a great voice saying in Heaven, Now has come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ, because the accuser of our brothers is thrown down, the one accusing them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the Word of their testimony. And they did not love their soul even until death.

Baal

This true Lucifer versus false Lucifer dichotomy is seen in the Old Testament in Baal.

The false god Baal was the god of thunder and storm. He was depicted ridings on the clouds, wielding lightning bolts and his voice as thunder. The Lord declares Himself in this same imagery in the book of Psalms which displays He is the True God.

Psa 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
Psa 29:7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
Psa 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Psa 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psa 18:8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
Psa 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
Psa 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
Psa 18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
Psa 18:12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
Psa 18:15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

For more on the Bible and Ancient Near East parallels see:
https://intertextual.bible/group/ancient-near-east

Yahweh is the true Baal. He is the true Master/Lord, the true husband.

Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband (בעל ba`al’); the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married (בעל ba`al’) unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband (בעל ba`al’) unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Hos 2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
Hos 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Zion the bride – people, land, covenant

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

The married land will be called Beulah (from בעל ba`al’)

Isa 62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah (בעל baal'): for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married (בעל baal’).

Heb 12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
Heb 12:19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
Heb 12:20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
Heb 12:21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Heb 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Heb 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Messiah & the Land

Isa 7:14 So, The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold! The virgin will conceive and will bring forth a son; and she shall call His name Immanuel.
Isa 8:8 And he shall pass through Judah. He shall overflow and go over. He shall reach to the neck; and his wings will be stretching out, filling the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.
Isa 8:9 O peoples, suffer evil, and be broken! And listen, all from the far places of the earth; gird yourselves, and be broken. Gird yourselves and be broken!
Isa 8:10 Counsel a counsel, and it is frustrated; speak a word, and it shall not rise; for God is with us.

The body of Messiah & the land

Deu 32:43 Rejoice, O nations, of His people; for He shall avenge the blood of His servants, and shall render vengeance to His foes, and shall have mercy on His land and His people.

His land and His people is literally ‘His land, His people’

Zion = a land & a people

Isa 51:16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
Isa 60:14 Also the sons of ones afflicting you shall come bowing to you. And all who despised you shall fall at the soles of your feet. And they shall call you, The City of Jehovah, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 62:11 Behold, Jehovah has made it to be heard to the end of the earth; Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold! Your salvation comes! Behold! His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.
Isa 62:12 And they shall call them, The Holy People, the Redeemed of Jehovah. And to you it shall be called, Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

Mat 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city situated on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the grain measure, but on the lampstand; and it shines for all those in the house.
Mat 5:16 So let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father in Heaven.
Rev 21:9 And one of the seven angels came to me, he having the seven bowls being filled with the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
Rev 21:10 And he carried me in spirit onto a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God,
Rev 21:11 having the glory of God. And its light was like a very precious stone, as a jasper stone, being clear as crystal,
Rev 21:12 and having a great and high wall, having twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates and names having been inscribed, which are of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.

The people, the land, & the Covenant are linked

Lev 26:42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
His Name

1Ki 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

The land is linked with the Temple

1Ki 9:3 And Jehovah said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication with which you have made supplication before Me; I have sanctified this house that you have built to put My name there forever; and My eyes and My heart shall be there forever.

Deu 12:5 But unto the place {מקום ‘maqom’} which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation (שכן ‘shakhan’) shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:

מקום ‘maqom’ is linked with His name, the Temple & ‘seeing’ God

The numerical value of יהוה ‘Yahweh’ is 26 which corresponds to the three space dimensions: length, width and depth which contain 6 surfaces, 12 lines and 8 points (26).

The Yoke

בעל ba`al’ comes from the root על ‘al’ which literally means to “see the shepherd’s staff.”

Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

We choose either the Good Shepherd (John 10) or the idol shepherd (Zechariah 11:7).

Heaven or Mammon

The light we shine depends upon the treasure we seek. Christ or Lucifer/Satan. Who do we fix our eyes upon?

Heb 12:2 Looking unto (ἀφοράω ‘aphoraō’) Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

G872
ἀφοράω
aphoraō
Thayer Definition:
1) to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G575 and G3708

Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

This good light/evil light imagery that Christ uses in reference to treasures and Mammon is fascinating in light of this study. The word mammon was left as is by the early English translators as well as by Jerome in the Vulgate. Mammon comes from the Aramaic מָמוֹנָא ‘mamona’ which was used in the Aramaic Targums to refer to wealth, riches, profit or gain. It can be used in a “good” or bad sense. The sense that Christ is using is the negative.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

In Targum Jonathan Isaiah 33:15 the firefly parable is seen.
15 The prophet said: “The just will live in it [Zion/Jerusalem], everyone who walks in righteousness and speaks honest things, who keeps himself far from the mammon of iniquity, who keeps himself from oppressions, who restrains his hands from holding a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of the shedding of innocent blood, and who shuts his eyes from looking at the workers of iniquity.”

Mammon of iniquity in the Targum is מִמָּמוֹן דִּשְׁקַר ‘mimamon dishqar’ translating the Hebrew בְּבֶצַע מַעֲשַׁקּוֹת ‘bebetsar ma’ashqar.’ בֶצַע ‘betsa’ means to cut as in to cut off one to take something through greed. Recall the meaning of oxygen (part of the bioluminescence of the firefly) has the meaning to cut.

מַעֲשַׁקָּה ‘ma‛ăshaqqâh’ has the meaning of oppression through pressing from the root אש ‘esh’ which means fire.

Believers are called to shine their light, to help the oppressed, to expose the darkness (false light).
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Eph 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Eph 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed (חמוץ ‘chamots’) judge the fatherless, plead for the widow

Oppressors (in Hebrew חמוץ ‘chamotz’ which means leaven) had infiltrated and taken over. It is the job of righteous God-fearing men to stand up against this corruption. The word relieve is אשר ‘asher’ which means to straighten, to set right.

Php 2:15 that you may be blameless and harmless, children of God, without fault in the midst of a crooked generation, even having been perverted, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world,
Php 2:16 holding up the Word of Life, for a boast to me in the day of Christ, that I ran not in vain, nor labored in vain.

The parables of leaven given by Christ display this imagery. Both the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of satan are like leaven.

Mat 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Mar 8:15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Mat 16:5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
Mat 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Mat 16:7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
Mat 16:8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Mat 16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Mat 16:10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Mat 16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
Mat 16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Another word for leaven (שאר ‘seor’) comes from the root word שר ‘sar.’ The word means to turn something to another direction as a ruler does his people, and a teacher or parent his student or son. It is connected to binding, as in a yoke put to the neck of oxen to drive then in the direction which you wish them to go. Leaven in the Scripture is a picture of teaching and doctrine. It is used to drive men in the direction to which the doctrine teaches. Being a disciple is being yoked (taught) of your Lord. It is being a “pupil.” The lord you learn from depends upon what face you are seeking, what eye you are looking into.

See: Disciple

Wisdom from above

Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

This wisdom from above is without hypocrisy (leaven of Pharisees). This word in Greek is linked to unfeigned love of the brethren. The words which one speaks come forth from the heart which reveals what spirit is guiding them. The Holy Spirit which brings forth His Word, His character, which is love or the spirit of the wicked one which brings forth accusation, hate and condemnation.

Unity comes only through Messiah and the New Covenant in Him (Psalm 50:5; Isaiah 49:3-9; Hebrews 13:20-21; Jeremiah 50:5; Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 1:20; 2:1-11) and walking with Him (1John 1:3-7).

Division comes as a result of man’s carnal nature inherited from the first Adam when he partook of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam was given dominion over the earth, or headship (Genesis 1:26) but when he allowed the serpent to creep into the garden and partook of the fruit of which he was commanded not to, he forfeited this dominion (Luke 4:6). Christ Jesus overcame the dominion of the enemy (Colossians 2:15; Acts 2:23-36) and is now the only Head on this earth (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23; Psalm 18:43). Today we see division amongst men because they put other men as their heads. Jesus alone is our head and we are all brethren (Matthew 23:8) called to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13).

What is the hypocrisy (leaven) of the Pharisees?
Mat 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
Mat 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

1Co 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

The word for “envying” in 1 Corinthians 3:3 is ζῆλος ‘zēlos’ which also means zealousness. Zealousness for God’s truth is great (Revelation 3:19; Titus 2:14), but we must be careful that this zealousness does not turn into carnal envy. Although we have been given God’s Spirit, we still have sin dwelling in our carnal flesh (Romans 7:11, 17-18). Carnality is carnality whether or not it is disguised as religion or not. Sadly, many times our zealousness for God can be used by satan to lead us into persecution of one another in the guise of religious zeal (Acts 22:3-4; Philippians 3:6; Romans 10:2-4).

In Greek, the word for leaven is ζυμόω ‘zumoō’ which comes from the root word ζέω ‘zeo’ which means to boil with heat, fervency in the spirit or zeal.

Zeal can be good or bad depending upon the source, God or the carnal flesh. Messiah offered Himself for us that we might be zealous for good works.

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying {ζῆλος ‘zēlos’} and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Love envies not
1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Knowledge puffs us up and leads to division. Love does not puff us up, love edifies (1 Corinthians 4:4-7; 13:4; Colossians 2:18-19)

1Co 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
1Co 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
1Co 8:3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.

Eph 6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

The word for leaven {שאר ‘se`ar’} comes from the root word סר ‘sar.’ The word means to turn something to another direction as a ruler does his people, and a teacher or parent his student or son. It is connected to binding, as in a yoke put to the neck of oxen to drive then in the direction which you wish them to go. Leaven in the Scripture is a picture of teaching and doctrine. It is used to drive men in the direction to which the doctrine teaches.

The Kingdom of Heaven is to be kneaded into the hearts of men leading them to turn into the right direction and be yoked with Messiah.

Mat 13:33 He spoke another parable to them: The kingdom of Heaven is compared to leaven, which taking, a woman hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened.

Some religious leaders, by their doctrine, yoke men to themselves and attempt to lead them to their ways…usually away from the Kingdom.

Mat 16:6 And Jesus said to them, Watch and take heed from the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Mat 16:7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, Because we did not take loaves.
Mat 16:8 And knowing, Jesus said to them, Why do you reason among yourselves because you took no loaves, little-faiths?
Mat 16:9 Do you not perceive nor recall the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many hand baskets you took up?
Mat 16:10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many lunch baskets you took up?
Mat 16:11 How do you not perceive that it was not about loaves that I said to you to take heed from the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?
Mat 16:12 Then they knew that He did not say to take heed from the leaven of bread, but from the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Luk 12:1 At which time the myriads of the crowd being gathered together, so as to trample on one another, He began to say to His disciples first, Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Mat 23:4 For they bind heavy and hard to bear burdens, and lay them on the shoulders of men, but they do not desire to move them with their finger.

Luk 11:52 Woe to you, lawyers! Because you took the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you kept out the ones entering.

Gal 5:7 You were running well; who held you back that you do not obey the truth?
Gal 5:8 The persuasion is not from Him calling you.
Gal 5:9 A little leaven leavens all the lump.

Believers are to be without the leaven of the religious and worldly systems.

1Co 5:6 Your boast is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens all the lump?
1Co 5:7 Then purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us.
1Co 5:8 So let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of malice and of evil, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

This is what the New Covenant is all about. Being born again (new lump), with God’s Word written in your heart where He can work through you as you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Heb 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Heb 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Christ Jesus is the Authority of His covenant people (1 Corinthians 11:3; 15:24-28; Ephesians 4:15; 5:23; Colossians 1:18-19). He guides them through His Spirit (John 14:16, 24-26; 15:26; 16:13; 1 Peter 1:2; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26-28; 1 John 2:20, 27)….this is the “leaven” doctrine of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:33).

The Hebrew word סר ‘sar,’ (the root of שאר ‘se`ar’} also means one who is in authority. Israel (Christians) are those who rule {סרה ‘sarah’} with God….They are born again, a new lump, “leavened” with the Holy Spirit/Word of God/Kingdom.

This is the ‘leaven’ that is ‘baked’ into the two wave loaves offered on Shavuot/Pentecost.

Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven {חמץ ‘chamets’}; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Our Thoughts

Recall that the church is being washed by the water of His Word that they might be made glorious (ἔνδοξος ‘endoxos’). ἔνδοξος ‘endoxos’ is a combination of the word εν ‘en’ which mean in or within and δόξα which means glory, splendor, brightness. δόξα ‘doxa’ comes from δοκέω ‘dokeo’ which means to think, to judge, to reason.

Recall that Christ speaks of the light of the body being the eye.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

What enters our eyes, enters our minds and affects our judgments and decisions. Judgment in Hebrew is שָׁפַט ‘shaphat’ which conveys the meaning of consuming information as food and containing it within. We judge based on what we consume and contain within. The “doors” we pass through are based upon the information we’ve previously taken in. The ש ‘shin’ in שָׁפַט ‘shaphat’ pictures the breaking down and devouring of food (information) the פ ‘peh’ is the mouth, the gateway where the food (information enters) and the ט ‘tet’ is the picture of a container where that food (information) is stored.

The ט ‘tet’ is interesting as it was a picture in ancient times of either a snake in a basket or a cross within a circle (container). Our judgment is based upon the information we receive from the serpent (tree of knowledge) or from Christ/the cross (The tree of Life). The light we bear (lucifer) can either be the Light of Christ or the false light of the adversary which is in reality darkness.

To judge comes from the Hebrew word דן ‘dan.’ ד ‘dalet’ is a picture of a door or tent flap conveying an entrance or pathway. נ ‘nun’ is the picture of a seed conveying life, continuation or movement forward. Our judgments lead to decisions which lead us to move forward through “doors” or paths.

Related studies:

Light

Life

Musings – Author & Finisher of Our Faith

Image of God

Yin Yang & Oroboros

Daily Tidbits 1/24 – Draco

Daily Tidbits 3/12 – The Bear

Daily Tidbits 3/13 – Arcturus

Daily Tidbits 6/12/26 – Awe

Daily Tidbits 1/11/12 – 7 Stars

Daily Tidbits 6/7/26 – The Feast of the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin