Daily Tidbits 6/24/26 – John the Baptist – MidSummer

June the 24th is the feast day of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Born six months before Christ, near the summer solstice, when the days begin to decrease. The lights in the firmament of the heaven were given for signs (אוֹת ‘oht’) and for seasons (מוֹעֵד ‘moed’). The daily and yearly path of the sun is a macrocosm portraying the Word of the Cross—rising in Spring as birth and resurrection, at its strength in Summer as the lifting up of the Messiah, descending in Autumn, and hidden in Winter as death. John’s birth at midsummer fulfills his own declaration: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” From the Annunciation and the priestly courses, to the two olive trees of Zechariah feeding the menorah, the crucifixion as a tree forming the menorah image, Messiah Himself as the true Israel and Tree of Life, and His body shining as lights in the world—creation declares the coming of the Light.

Topics:

June 24th – the Nativity of John the Baptist, born six months before Christ near the summer solstice
The lights in the firmament given for signs (אוֹת) and seasons (מוֹעֵד)
The sun’s daily and yearly path as a macrocosm of the Word of the Cross
“He must increase, but I must decrease” – John’s birth when the days begin to shorten
The two olive trees of Zechariah feeding the menorah, Messiah as the true Israel and Tree of Life

June the 24th is the feast day of the Nativity of John the Baptist. John was born six month before Christ (December 25th) and three months after the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel telling the Virgin Mary she would conceive by the Holy Spirit bringing forth Jesus.

Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
Luk 1:27 to a virgin who had been betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Luk 1:28 And entering, the angel said to her, Hail, one having received grace! The Lord is with you. You are blessed among women!
Luk 1:29 And seeing this, she was disturbed at his word, and considered what kind of greeting this might be.
Luk 1:30 And the angel said to her, Do not fear, Mary, for you have found favor from God.
Luk 1:31 And behold! You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus.
Luk 1:32 This One will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
Luk 1:33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob to the ages, and of His kingdom there will be no end.
Luk 1:34 But Mary said to the angel, How will this be since I do not know a man?
Luk 1:35 And answering, the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for this reason that Holy One being born of you will be called Son of God.

John the Baptist Six Months Older than our Lord – Kurt Simmons

“Knowing the age of John relative to Jesus, helps us to identify the time of the Savior’s birth.  Luke indicates that Elisabeth concealed her pregnancy five full months (Lk. 1:24).  Luke then reports it was during the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy that Gabriel appeared to Mary with word that she would conceive Christ (Lk. 1:26).  The phrase “in the sixth month” signifies that Elisabeth had completed five months and was fulfilling her sixth month when Gabriel brought tidings of Christ’s coming birth.  We are not told how many weeks into Elisabeth’s sixth month she was when the announcement came or when Mary actually conceived. We only know that sometime during Elisabeth’s sixth month Gabriel made his announcement to Mary.

Next, Luke tells us that Mary, pregnant with the Christ child, visited Elisabeth and abode with her “about three months” and then “returned to her own house” (Lk. 1:56).  The phrase “about” here means “almost” or “just about.”  We see this in relation to Abraham, whom Paul was “about an hundred” when he received the promise of Isaac’s birth, but by consulting Genesis, we find he was actualy only ninety-nine (Rom. 4:19; Gen. 17:17, 24; 21:5).  Thus, Mary’s stay with Elisabeth was just short of three full months.  The scripture then states “Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son” (Lk. 1:57).  Therefore, we have Luke’s express testimony that Elisabeth arrived at full term following Mary’s visit.  Since Mary was pregnant when she first came to visit Elisabeth, stay almost three months, and Elisabeth came to full term just after Mary departed, the natural inference is that there was fully six months difference between John and Jesus.

Based upon a reconstruction of the priestly courses, if Zechariah was serving in the second ministration of the course of Abijah in 3 BC when he received word that Elisabeth would conceive, and if she conceived the first month Zechariah returned home, a 38-week gestation would place John’s birth the week of Tammuz 20-26 (June 20-26), 2 B.C. Six months is 26 weeks.     Twenty-six weeks from John’s birth brings us to Tebet 26-Shebat 3, which answers to the week of December 21-27.”

Signs and Seasons

Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs (אוֹת ‘oht’), and for seasons (מוֹעֵד ‘moed’), and for days, and years:

The Biblical Feasts (מוֹעֵד ‘moed’) occurred around the time of the four seasons. Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits occurred at the time of the Spring equinox, Pentecost at the time of the Summer solstice, the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles occurred at the time of the Fall equinox and the later custom of Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication) occurred at the time of the Winter solstice.

The movement of the sun throughout the year is a ‘macrocosm’ of the daily movement of the sun. In the morning, which corresponds to Spring, the sun rises from the Eastern horizon in which the sky produces a reddish color. The sun is at its greatest strength during “midday” which corresponds with Summer and then descends into the West in which the sky again turns red, corresponding with Autumn. At night, the sun is hidden bringing forth darkness which corresponds with the Winter season.

This daily and yearly movement of the sun portrays the “Word of the Cross” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The morning rising of the sun which corresponds with Spring portrays the birth and re-birth of the Messiah from the dead. The mid-day sun which corresponds with Summer portrays the lifting up of the Messiah on the cross (John 3:14; 12:32) and later His exaltation (Philippians 2:7-9). The setting of the sun corresponds with Autumn in which the light of the world (John 9:4-5; 11:9) fades away into darkness which is displayed by nighttime and Winter portraying the Savior’s death.

The seasons were also signs (אוֹת ‘oht’). This word, אוֹת ‘oht,’ has the meaning of sign, mark, miracle, token but also gives the sense of appearing. The אוֹת ‘oht’ (signs) of the heavenly bodies (seasons) declare the coming of the Lord. The advent/coming of the Lord…

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming (Latin – adventus)? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
Mal_3:2 et quis poterit cogitare diem adventus eius et quis stabit ad videndum eum ipse enim quasi ignis conflans et quasi herba fullonum
Act 13:24 When John had first preached before his coming (Latin -adventus) the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Act_13:24 praedicante Iohanne ante faciem adventus eius baptismum paenitentiae omni populo Israhel

H226
אוֹת
‘ôth
oth
Probably from H225 (in the sense of appearing); a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.: – mark, miracle, (en-) sign, token.

H225
אוּת
‘ûth
ooth
A primitive root; properly to come, that is, (impliedly) to assent: – consent.

John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the appearing (Advent) of Christ (Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23; Luke 1).

Mat 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The Annunciation of Christ (conception of Christ) occurred around the Spring equinox. The conception of John the Baptist occurred six months earlier at the Autumnal equinox. Christ was born on December 25 around the time of the winter solstice. Six months earlier at the Summer Solstice (September 24) John the Baptist was born.

“Christ was born when the days were just beginning to lengthen; John was born when they began to shorten. Thus their very births and deaths testify to the words of John when he says, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’” (St. Augustine of Hippo -Tractates on the Gospel of John; Tractate 14)

“Very many of the Church’s teachers recount… that our Lord was conceived and suffered on the 8th kalends of April [25 March], at the spring equinox, and that he was born at the winter solstice on the 8th kalends of January [25 December]. And again, that the Lord’s blessed precursor and Baptist was conceived at the autumn equinox on the 8th kalends of October [24 September] and born at the summer solstice on the 8th kalends of July [24 June]. To this they add the explanation that it was fitting that the Creator of eternal light should be conceived and born along with the increase of temporal light, and that the herald of penance, who must decrease, should be engendered and born at a time when the light is diminishing.” (The Venerable Bede – De ratione temporum “The Reckoning of Time” – Chapter 30)

Jesus Christ, John the Baptist & the Sun

Jesus and John the Baptist are linked to sun and light imagery.

Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

John the Baptist (Elijah to come) was connected to this prophecy of Christ the Sun
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

After the transfiguration of Christ in which He shone as the sun (Matthew 17:2), He declared John the Baptist was Elijah to come
Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

Jesus likened John to a burning and shining light. He was a lamp pointing the way to the Greater Light, Jesus Christ. Elijah was likened to a lamp as well (Sirach 48:1).

Sir 48:1 Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp.

Joh 5:33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
Joh 5:34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
Joh 5:35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

Joh 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Joh 3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
Joh 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Joh 3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
Joh 3:32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
Joh 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
Joh 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Further connecting John and Jesus to the sun and solstices is John 3:30. John said Christ must increase and I must decrease. After the summer solstice (John’s birth near June 24), daylight hours decrease. After the winter solstice (leading to Jesus’ birth on December 25), daylight hours increase. John’s ministry and light prepare the way and then fade as Christ’s rises.

“John was born today. From today on, the days diminish. Christ was born on the sixth day before the Kalends of January [25 December]; from that day the days grow longer.” (St. Augustine of Hippo – Sermon 287)

Christ is the Light of the world

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.
Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Joh 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Joh 12:46  I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Summer

The word summer traces back to the Hebrew word שמש ‘shemesh’ which means the sun.  This is the time of year when the sun shines in its strength.  The summer solstice connects to this concept of shining as the origin of the word ‘solstice’ is צהל ‘tsahal’ which means to shine (Psalm 104:15).  This points to Messiah as He is depicted shining as the sun in its strength in the book of Revelation.

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

After John saw Messiah in His Glory, Jesus described Himself as the first and the last (Revelation 1:11).  The most common Hebrew word for summer is קיץ ‘qayits’ which literally means the end, as the summer is the end of the spring harvest.  The summer solstice is also connected to this idea as the sun ends its path to the north and begins to return to the south where it will stop at the winter solstice and return again to the north.

In this passage of the book of Revelation, Jesus continues by speaking of His resurrection and holding the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18).  This theme is also connected with ‘summer’ through the word שכם ‘shekem’ which literally means shoulder, but also means to rise early with the sun, placing a load on the shoulders in order to depart on a journey or begin work.  This concept is further seen in the “summer beam” which is used as a weight bearing support in the architecture of a house.

Gen 22:3  And Abraham started up early {שכם ‘shekem’} in the morning and saddled his ass, and he took two of his youths with him, and his son Isaac. And he split wood for a burnt offering, and rose up and went to the place which God had said to him.

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.

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

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.

The English word ‘clavicle’ or ‘collarbone’ comes from the Latin word ‘clavicula’ which means a key.  In the days of Messiah, keys were shaped like the modern day letter F.

F is the 6th letter in the English alphabet corresponding to the Hebrew letter ו ‘vav’. ו ‘vav’ is the nail.

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.

Isa 22:23  And I will drive him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father’s house.

The muscle that hangs off of the clavicle is the deltoid.

The deltoid is called so because it is in the shape of the Greek letter Δ ‘delta’ (triangle).  The Greek letter Δ ’delta’ comes from the Hebrew letter ד ‘dalet’ which means a door.

The clavicle points to the key to the house of David.  דוד ‘david’ in Hebrew is 2 ד ‘dalets’ and 1 ו ‘vav.’  2 ‘deltoids’ (shoulders) and a nail/key (clavicle).

The English word shoulder comes from the Hebrew word סבל ‘saval’ which means to bear a burden.  This too points to Messiah.

Mat 11:29  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am meek and lowly in heart, “and you will find rest to your souls.” Jer. 6:16

Mat 11:30  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

The word for yoke in Matthew 11:29-30 is ζυγός ‘zugos’ which is used to translate multiple words in Hebrew.  One is סבל ‘saval’ mentioned above.  ζυγός ‘zugos’ is also used to translate שכם ‘shekhem’ which means shoulder.  In Matthew 11:29-30, ζυγός is referring to a yoke that a beast of burden carries while plowing a field.  In Hebrew this is the word על  ‘al.’  על ‘al’ also means to rise up, such as in the smoke of a burnt offering (Genesis 22:2).

Yet another Hebrew word which is associated with the summer is עליה ‘alyah’ which means to ascend or an upper room or chamber as the top of the house used to be used in ancient times to escape the hot days of summer.  עליה ‘alyah’ comes from the root word על ‘al.’  Pictographically this word means to “see the shepherd.”

The sun is a shadow picture pointing to Messiah.

The sun, שמש ‘shemesh’, comes from the root word שם ‘shem’ which means ‘name.’  His Name = His Word (Revelation 19:13).  As the sun moves through it courses, it teaches the Gospel.

In the Scriptures, the sun is likened to The LORD Jesus.

Mal 4:2  But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall rise up, and healing will be on His wings. And you shall go out and frisk like calves of the stall.

Psa 84:11  For Jehovah God is a sun and shield; Jehovah will give grace and glory; He will withhold nothing good from those who walk in integrity.

Psa 19:4  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

Psa 19:5  Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

Mat 9:15  And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will have been taken from them, and then they will fast.

Isa 9:2  The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. The ones who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, light has shone on them.

Isa 49:6  And He said, It is too little that You should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You for a light of the nations, that You may be My salvation to the end of the earth.

Isa 60:1  Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah has risen on you!

Isa 60:2  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples. But Jehovah shall rise on you, and His glory shall be seen on you.

Isa 60:3  And nations shall walk to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning.

Joh 8:12  Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, I am the Light of the world. The one following Me will in no way walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.

The sun is the greater light {מאור ‘ma’or’} which rules the day.  Messiah applies this to Himself.

Joh 11:9  Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world.

Joh 12:35  Then Jesus said to them, Yet a little while the Light is with you. Walk while you have the Light, that darkness not overtake you. And the one walking in the darkness does not know where he is going.

Joh 12:36  While you have the Light, believe into the Light, that you may become sons of Light. Jesus spoke these things, and going away He was hidden from them.

Joh 9:4  It behooves Me to work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night comes when no one is able to work.

Joh 9:5  While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.

There are 12 hours in the day (John 11:9) which again points to the body of Messiah, ie the 12 tribes.  The Hebrew word for hour is שעה ‘sha’ah’ which comes from the watching of the arch of the sun to determine the hour.

Interestingly, שעה ‘sh’ah’ (hour) is a cognate of ישועה ‘yeshuah’ (salvation – source of the name Jesus).  Both words come from the root שע ‘sha’ which refers to a shepherd watching over his flock.

The word שע ‘sha’ is referring to the shepherd watching over His flock.  This relates to another Hebrew word ען ‘ahn’:

This is why the sun god is portrayed with an ‘all seeing eye’ as well as being related to the triangle/pyramid, which is in the same shape as the ancient Hebrew letter ד ‘dalet,’ which is the origin of the Greek letter Δ ‘delta’ mentioned earlier.  ד ‘dalet’ has the numerical value of 4 which relates to the 4th dimension of time, of which the sun is intimately connected.  Further connecting to the Messiah, the letter ד ‘dalet’ means a ‘door.’

Joh 10:7  Then Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of the sheep.

The are multiple words for time in Hebrew, the most used is עת ‘et’ which pictographically means to ‘see the cross’, and in ancient Hebrew thinking meant to ‘see the mark.’  What is this ‘mark’?  It is the sun setting (death) and rising (resurrection) above the horizon.

עת ‘et’ corresponds to the Greek word καιρός ‘kairos’ through comparing Daniel 7:25 & Revelation 12:6, 14.

In the Septuagint, καιρός ‘kairos’ is used to translate numerous words but one of which is very interesting.  The word תר ‘tor’ due to its relation to the concept of ‘the mark.’

From this root we get תאר ta’ar and תואר  to’ar.  These words mean form, outline or border.

תואר ‘toar’ is from the same root תר ‘tor’ as תורה ‘torah.’

The connection between the sun and His Name/Image is further seen in the Aaronic Benediction.

Num 6:25  The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
Num 6:26  The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Jesus is the face/presence/countenance of the Father.

Psa 42:5  O my soul, why are you cast down and moan within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet thank Him for the salvation of His presence.

Psa 42:5 (42:6) מה־תשׁתוחחי נפשׁי ותהמי עלי הוחילי לאלהים כי־עוד אודנו ישׁועות פניו׃

Literally “the ישועה ‘yeshuah’ of His Face/Presence”

Psa 44:3  For they did not inherit the land with their own sword; yea, their own arm did not save them. But it was Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your face, because You favored them.

Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

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 gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Col 1:12  giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for a share of the inheritance of the saints in light,
Col 1:13  who delivered us out of the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Col 1:14  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins;
Col 1:15  who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation.
Col 1:16  For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible; whether thrones, or lordships, or rulers, or authorities, all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Col 1:17  And He is before all things, and all things have subsisted in Him.
Col 1:18  And He is the Head of the body, the assembly, who is the Beginning, the First-born out of the dead, that He be preeminent in all things;
Col 1:19  because all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him,
Col 1:20  and through Him making peace by the blood of His cross, to reconcile all things to Himself; through Him, whether the things on the earth, or the things in the heavens.

The shining of God’s face/presence is associated with Him arising (as the sun rises to its highest point at the summer solstice), showing Himself and saving His people.

Psa 94:1  O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew {יפע ‘yâpha‛ – shine} thyself.
Psa 94:2  Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.

Psa_80:1  To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine {יפע ‘yâpha‛} forth.
Psa_80:3  Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine {יפע ‘yâpha‛}; and we shall be saved.
Psa_80:7  Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine {יפע ‘yâpha‛}; and we shall be saved.
Psa_80:19  Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine {יפע ‘yâpha‛}; and we shall be saved.
Psa 50:1  A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
Psa 50:2  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined {יפע ‘yâpha‛}

The word קיץ ‘qayits’ (summer) further connects to the resurrection as קיץ ‘qayits’ comes from the root word קץ ‘qets’ which means a border or extremity as in the horizon.  קץ ‘qets’ also can have the meaning of infinity (Job 22:5), as in the extremity of time.  It is through the resurrection of Messiah, in which we are born again in His image, that believers can enter this state of infinity where they will shine as the sun.

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children 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.

The horizon is associated with the resurrection and being marked with the Name of God.

Rom 1:1  Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated to the gospel of God,
Rom 1:2  which He promised before through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
Rom 1:3  concerning His Son who came of the seed of David according to flesh,
Rom 1:4  who was marked out {ὁρίζω ‘horizō’} the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;

G3724
ὁρίζω
horizō
Thayer Definition:
1) to define
1a) to mark out the boundaries or limits (of any place or thing)
1b1) that which has been determined, acc. to appointment, decree
1b2) to ordain, determine, appoint
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G3725

The meaning of this word corresponds to the Hebrew word תר ‘tor’ mentioned above.  It is only through the resurrection that we will be formed into His image.

1Jn 3:1  See what manner of love the Father has given us, that we may be called children of God. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it was not yet revealed what we shall be. But we know that if He is revealed, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

At the resurrection (twinkling of an eye) we shall be changed into His image.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

MidSummer

Midsummer festivals were celebrated throughout the world in Pre-Christian times. These celebrations were shadow pictures of Gospel of Christ. These pagan Midsummer festivals are now celebrations remembering the birth of John the Baptist. The corrupted shadow was replaced with the truth. God implanted His truth in the hearts of man (Eternity in their Hearts) but this truth was corrupted after the Fall of Adam and later spread after the Tower of Babel. The seed of the Logos was seen in celebrations like Midsummer feasts. The corrupted shadows were allowed by God (Deuteronomy 4:19; Romans 1:25; Jeremiah 31:35; 33:25) until the time of Christ (Acts 17:30-31).

Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

In studying the Shadows of Messiah, we see that Christ the Creator has left His imprint on all creation and human culture, including the customs of the heathen. These distorted but recognizable echoes of truth point to the true Light, yet they are often mixed with counterfeits from the great deceiver. We are not called to syncretize or blend beliefs, but to discern the pure shadows, come out of Babylon’s mixture, and be transformed into the image of Christ.

“We are going to celebrate St John’s Day… with complete chastity, with total sobriety.” (Augustine of Hippo – Sermon 279)

“Let me now refresh the memory of your graces about a Christian day; although it’s impossible that you should have forgotten about it. But I’m impressing it upon you, because the pagans too, and the ungodly, for their own different and now somewhat dated reasons, yes even the pagans consider that they are celebrating this same day, this Christian solemnity. They do it wrongly, wickedly, miserably; but how many there are who need to be liberated from all that, you can see with your own eyes. These things will get out of date; but don’t lend them your assistance, distance yourselves from them, you for your part seek divine celebrations. We are going to celebrate Saint John’s day, John the Baptist, the Lord’s forerunner, the friend of the bridegroom, with complete chastity, with total sobriety. They, when they notice you with surprise diverging from their enjoyments, little by little in that way follow your example; and all that stuff will become dated, and disappear.’ (Augustine of Hippo – Sermon 279)

In studying shadows of Messiah, one sees that Christ is the Creator (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-71). All of creation bears His imprint (types, shadows, parables). This includes all of human culture, including the customs of the heathen.

The whole world is full of shadows of Messiah because He made it and sustains it (Colossians 1). Humanity’s cultures bear distorted but recognizable echoes of the truth of the Word. We are not to syncretize, but to recognize the true Light (John 1:9) and be transformed into His image (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

All of creation and consequently human culture and religion reveals shadows of Messiah. Yet, mixed within some of these customs and beliefs are counterfeits. Images of the counterfeiter Satan, who seeks to be as God/Christ. He seeks to mimic God and deceive man into worship of himself.

“A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord. Wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature, but rejecting superstitious vanities and deploring and avoiding those who ‘though they knew God did not glorify Him as God’.” {Augustine – On Christian Teaching II.75}

For more on Synchretism see: Daily Tidbits 6/29/26 – Syncretism

Maypole

The Maypole pictures the cross of Christ. The custom traces back to the “world tree” which was a corrupted shadow of the tree of life which is the Cross. This evil and good imagery of the Maypole depicts the crucifixion (serpent on a pole).

Sin and death are overcome by Messiah who became the serpent on the tree.  The last enemy is death caused by sin of which we are not to fear for Christ has overcome the world.

Joh 16:33  I have spoken these things to you that you may have peace in Me. You have distress in the world; but be encouraged, I have overcome the world.

Col 2:15  having stripped the rulers and the authorities, He made a show of them in public, triumphing over them in it.

2Co 5:21  For He made the One who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The crucifixion of the Messiah is likened unto the brazen serpent in the wilderness

Joh 3:14 And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

Num 21:7 And the people came in to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah, and against you. Pray to Jehovah, and He shall turn the serpent away from us. And Moses prayed on behalf of the people.
Num 21:8 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Make yourself a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that when anyone is bitten, when he sees it, he shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole; and it happened, if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
Nehushtan
2Ki 18:4 he took away the high places, and broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherah, and beat to bits the bronze serpent that Moses made (for in those days it was that the sons of Israel burned sacrifices to it) and called it Nehushtan. (נחש ‘nachash’=divine תן ‘tan’=dragon, serpent) They called it the divine dragon…the same thing has happened to the image of the cross.  The Messiah being crucified which brought forgiveness, and life has been changed into an image to be worshiped just as the brazen serpent was.

The Cross & 666

Strong’s Concordance #5516 “Chi Xi Stigma [khee xee stig-ma]; 22nd, 14th and obsolete letter (4742 as a cross) of the Greek alphabet (intermediate between the 5th and 6th letters) used as numbers; denoting respectively 600, 60 and 6; 666 as a numeral: -Six hundred three score and six.” [Interestingly, the 22nd, 14th and 6th letters of the Hebrew Alphabet (Tau, Nun, Waw) spell tanu, “his dragon”].

Col 2:15  having stripped the rulers and the authorities, He made a show of them in public, triumphing over them in it (The cross).

The Messiah became sin/the curse in order to deliver mankind (Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Greek alphabet comes from the Phoenician alphabet which, in essence, is the same as Paleo Hebrew.  χξς would be rendered in Phoenician as:

χ = which is a picture of crossed sticks

ξ= which is a picture of a thorn or branch

ς= Stigma means a mark and like the letter ξ was used to represent a coiled serpent.

Hence, the pictograph meaning of the χξς is a serpent on the branch of a tree.  It is the equivalent of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Messiah took upon Himself the punishment of sin which began at the tree of knowledge of good and evil so that mankind might live.  He overcame the beast that dwells in the waters.

The Maypole is a tall pole which is decorated with brightly colored ribbons. Young boys and girls circle the pole with ribbons weaving the ribbons around the pole forming a caduceus {cross} in a fertility ritual which is supposed to represent the union of male and female.

The May Pole depicts the crucifixion (serpent on a pole).

Joh 3:14 And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

Num 21:7 And the people came in to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah, and against you. Pray to Jehovah, and He shall turn the serpent away from us. And Moses prayed on behalf of the people.
Num 21:8 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Make yourself a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that when anyone is bitten, when he sees it, he shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole; and it happened, if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

“The May Pole recalls the ancient religions that worshipped the Goddess in her manifestation as the Tree of Life. The Goddess, the Tree of Life, and the Serpent are common motifs, dating from early Mesopotamia. Cylinder seals from the 2nd millennium BCE show the Goddess as Ishtar with the Tree of Life and the serpent. The Canaanite goddess, Asherah, was symbolized as a stylized tree and worshipped in sacred groves. She was referred to as Lady of the Serpent.” {Beltane: The Goddess Around the Pole}

May Pole – Circumambulation

The May Pole dance also represents the “circumambulation” of the sun through the heavens.

“The dance is done by counter clock-wise and clock-wise movements. The ribbons are twisted, to intertwine around each other.” That is, the boys went round one way and the girls went round the other. The result is a pole wrapped to look like the paths that the sun and planets take as seen from the earth.” {We’re All Dancing in a Ring Around the Sun}

The Circumambulation (walk together in a circle) is seen in the analemma of the sun as well as the four ‘tequfot.’

The sun’s cycle makes an interesting form when it moves throughout the sky during the year.  This phenomenon is known as the ‘analemma.’  If you photographed the sun once a week at the same time of day for an entire year, you would have a photo of the analemma, the sun’s apparent path on the sky over the course of a year, which looks like a figure-eight.

The Covenant

When God cut the covenant with Abraham on Passover, He walked between the pieces of the sacrificed animals as a burning torch.  In ancient times when a covenant was cut, the two covenant partners walked through the halves of the split animal(s) in a ‘figure eight’.  They would lay each half to the side of each other and stand in between the two bloody halves of flesh, with their backs to each other. Then they would walk right through the bloody halves, making a figure eight, and come back to a stop facing each other.

Gen 15:17  And it happened, the sun had gone down, and it was dark. Behold! A smoking furnace and a torch of fire that passed between those pieces!

The word for 8 in Hebrew is:

This comes from the root:

The root of 8 comes from שם ‘shem’ (name/character) which is the same root as sun שמש ‘shemesh.’

Further connecting the sun & the number eight is the word oil.  The Holy Spirit is likened to oil (1Samuel 16:13; Zechariah 4:2-3; Revelation 4:5).  The sun moves upon the spirit/wind (Ecclesiastes 1:5-6)

רח is the root of the word רוח ‘ruach’, the Spirit.

The Hebrew word תקופה ‘tequfah’ comes from the root קף which literally means the ‘sun speaks.’

The Hebrew words used in reference to time further reveal that time is linked to the movement of the heavenly bodies.

עת

עת (et) which pictographically means to ‘see the cross’, and in ancient Hebrew thinking meant to ‘see the mark.’ What is this ‘mark’? It is the sun setting (death) and rising (resurrection) above the horizon.

Gen 1:14  And God said, Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signsand for seasons, and for days and years.

The signs of the heavens are a mark/reminder of the covenant with His people.

Jer 33:25  So says Jehovah, If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of the heavens and earth,
Jer 33:26  then I also will reject the seed of Jacob, and My servant David, not to take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will bring back their captivity and have pity on them.

It is God that created the mazzaroth/constellations

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
Job 38:31  Can you bind the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
Job 38:32  Can you bring out the constellations in their season; or can you guide the Bear with its sons?
Job 38:33  Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

He has numbered & named the stars

Isa 40:26  Lift up your eyes on high and look: Who has created these? Who brings out their host by number? By greatness of vigor, and might of power, He calls them all by names; not one is lacking.

Psa 147:4  He appoints the number** of the stars; He calls to them all by names.
**The Hebrew word for number here is מספר ‘mispar’ from the root ספר ‘saphar’ which means a record/scroll.  Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew dictionary defines מספר ‘mispar’ as a number or tale.  A tale is an account telling a story.  This is what the number of the stars does.  It tells the story of the Gospel.

Rom 10:17  Then faith is of hearing, and hearing through the Word of God.
Rom 10:18  But I say, Did they not hear? Yes, rather, “into all the earth their voice went out, and to the ends of the world their words.”

In Romans 10, Paul is referring back to Psalm 19 which is speaking of the path of the sun and its orbit {תקופה ‘tequfah’}.

Psa 19:1  To the chief musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens are recounting the glory of God, and the expanse proclaiming His handiwork.
Psa 19:2  Day by day they pour forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
Psa 19:3  There is no speech, nor are there words where their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4  Their measuring line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world; in them He has set up a dwelling-place for the sun,
Psa 19:5  and he comes forth like a bridegroom from his canopy. He rejoices like a hero to run a race;
Psa 19:6  his going forth from the end of the heavens, and his orbit to their ends; and nothing is hidden from his heat.

“Albert Churchward, in The Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man, sums up the influence of the zodiac upon religious symbolism in the following words: “The division here [is] in twelve parts, the twelve signs of the Zodiac, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve gates of heaven mentioned in Revelation, and twelve entrances or portals to be passed through in the Great Pyramid, before finally reaching the highest degree, and twelve Apostles in the Christian doctrines, and the twelve original and perfect points in Masonry.”

“The ancients believed that the theory of man’s being made in the image of God was to be understood literally. They maintained that the universe was a great organism not unlike the human body, and that every phase and function of the Universal Body had a correspondence in man. The most precious Key to Wisdom that the priests communicated to the new initiates was what they termed the law of analogy. Therefore, to the ancients, the study of the stars was a sacred science, for they saw in the movements of the celestial bodies the ever-present activity of the Infinite Father.” {Secret Teachings of All Ages 151}

As seen above, the movement of the sun through the skies is like the figure eight.  This has been corrupted into the image of the oroboros.

For more on the Maypole see: Daily Tidbits 5/2 – May Day/Beltane

Dancing Around the Maypole

Dancing around the Maypole was a corrupted shadow pointing to the joy of salvation which comes through the cross.

Jer 31:11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Jer 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Jer 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Mourning turned to joy and dancing through the victory of Christ
Jer 30:3 For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
Jer 31:1 At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:2 Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
Jer 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Jer 31:4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
The family is united through the cross of Christ
Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Isa 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign (נס ‘nes’) for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Christ is our ensign, our banner
There are multiple words in Hebrew which have the meaning of a flag or banner, all of which associate flags with the symbology of a house. The Hebrew word for house is בת ‘bat’ which is a combination of the letter ב ‘bet’ which is a picture of a house and the letter ת ‘tav’ which is a picture of two crossed sticks representing a mark. The Hebrew word תא ‘ta’ further displays this concept as this word literally means the “two crossed sticks in the shape of cross were used to hang the family standard or flag.”

Mankind is restored to the House of God through covenant in the Messiah (Isaiah 53:11; 42:6; 49:8; Zechariah 9:11), who was lifted up like a flag/banner .

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.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

This Scripture is referring back to Numbers 21:8

Num 21:8  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Make yourself a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that when anyone is bitten, when he sees it, he shall live.

The word for pole here is נס ‘nes’ which is also translated as flag/banner.

Scripture speaks of the Messiah as our flag/banner (Isaiah 11:10).

Dancing is strongly connected to circles and joy.

גִּילָה ‘giylah’ is a word which connects spinning in a circle and joy. גִּילָה ‘giylah’ comes from the root גל ‘gal’ which means something round. A dancing in a circle.

Another Hebrew word which displays this circle dance imagery is חג ‘chag’ which has the meaning of gathering together for a feast.

Dancing in redemptive joy
Jer 31:11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Jer 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Jer 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Psa 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Psa 149:2 Let Israel rejoice (שמח ‘samach’) in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful (גיל ‘giyl’ – spin around) in their King.
Psa 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance (מחל ‘machol’ – dance in a circle): let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
Psa 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

Bonfires

“The summer solstice is also called Torch Day. He [John] was the torch of Christ’s light, and took his flame from Christ when he was still in his mother’s womb.” (De Solstitiis et Aequinoctiis written in 4th century)

Bonfires point to John the Baptist the “burning and shining light” (John 5:35). These bonfires began as solstice fires to protect against evil spirits/witches, purification, crop blessing, and celebrating the sun’s peak power. Deep within the heart of man was the desire for salvation and blessing. This desire can only be fulfilled in Christ.

Hag 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

These fires point to the coming of the Lord
Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Mat 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Mat 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

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.

The word Bonfire comes from Middle English bonefire (also spelled banefire or bonfir), literally meaning “a fire of bones.” There is an interesting parable here seen through tradition of the Church. Christ was crucified at Golgatha which means the place of the skull (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). Tradition (Origen, Epiphanius, John Chrysostom) stated that this was the place were the first man, Adam was buried. Christ’s blood flowed down onto Adam’s remains, “re-animating” the father of the human race and reversing the death that began with him (1 Corinthians 15:22 — “as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive”). The Cross (the Tree of Life) was therefore raised directly above the bones/skull of the first Adam.

Ephrem the Syrian wrote that the Tree of Life “grieved” when Adam was driven out of the Garden and “sank down into the virgin ground and was hidden to burst forth and reappear on Golgotha.” In the Syriac Cave of Treasures the cross is called “the true Tree of Life” planted “in the centre of the earth.”

In the medieval “Legend of the Holy Rood” (True Cross) as Adam was dying he sent his son Seth to the gates of Paradise seeking “oil of mercy.” An angel gave him seeds (or a branch) from the Tree of Life and Seth planted them on Adam’s grave. The tree that grew from them was later used for the wood of the Cross. Thus the very wood that sprang from Adam’s burial place returned to stand over his skull on Golgotha.

“I have received a tradition to the effect that the body of Adam, the first man, was buried upon the spot where Christ was crucified… so that ‘just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all are made alive’ [1 Cor 15:22]; so that at that place, which is called the place of Calvary, that is the place of the head, the head of the human race found resurrection with all people through the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour…” (Origen -Commentary on Matthew (Series 126)

“Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on Golgotha, nowhere else than where Adam’s body lay. For after leaving Paradise… he later came and died in this place, I mean Jerusalem, and was buried there, on the site of Golgotha. This is probably the way the place, which means ‘Place of a Skull,’ got its name…” (Epiphanius of Salamis – Panarion)

“And He came to the place of a skull. Some say that Adam died there, and there lieth; and that Jesus in this place where death had reigned, there also set up the trophy. For He went forth bearing the Cross as a trophy over the tyranny of death…” (John Chrysostom – Homilies on the Gospel of John (Homily 85, on John 19:16–18)

“Greatly saddened was the Tree of Life
when it beheld Adam stolen away from it;
it sank down into the virgin ground and was hidden
— to burst forth and reappear on Golgotha;
humanity, like birds that are chased,
took refuge in it
so that it might return them to their proper home.” (Ephrem the Syrian – Hymns on Virginity (XVI.10):

“That Tree of Life that was in the midst of Paradise prefigured the Redeeming Cross, which is the veritable Tree of Life, and this it was that was fixed in the middle of the earth.”

“And when they arrived at Gaghulta [Golgotha], which is the centre of the earth, the Angel of the Lord showed Shem the place [for the body of Adam]. And when Shem had deposited the body of our father Adam upon that place, the four quarters [of the earth] separated themselves from each other, and the earth opened itself in the form of a cross, and Shem and Melchizedek deposited the body of Adam there… And that place was called ‘Karkaphta’ [Skull], because the head of all the children of men was deposited there.” (The Syriac Cave of Treasures)

This concept is seen in Orthodox depictions of the crucifixion with the skull of Adam at the base of the cross.

Further connecting this cross-bonfire imagery are ancient customs, some of which are still practiced today. In Brittany priests would lead a procession and bless the bonfires of St. John’s Feast with crucifix in hand. This procession is declaration that Christ is the power over the bonfire.

In Ireland and elsewhere, people took charcoal or a charred stick from the midsummer fire and used it to mark a cross on dairy doors, churns, and houses for protection against harm. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14), some Eastern Christian communities (especially in the Middle East and Ethiopia) light bonfires. People jump over them “by the power of the Cross,” and there is a tradition that the discovery of the True Cross by St. Helen was announced across the land by a chain of bonfires lit on hilltops.

Procession

Processions hearken back to Israel circling the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6). The procession is understood as the Church following Christ the Victor. The Cross goes first; the people follow, proclaiming that the power of the Cross overcomes the world. The Cross (like the Ark at Jericho) goes before the people, and by faith the “walls” of sin (Isaiah 59:2), death, and evil are overcome (Matthew 16:18).

Origen and other Church Fathers interpreted the circling of Jericho typologically: the city represents the world (or the strongholds of sin), the Ark prefigures Christ or the Cross, the priests and trumpets prefigure the preaching of the Gospel, and the falling walls prefigure the victory of Christ and the Church over the powers of darkness.

“How, therefore, is Jericho captured? The sword is not drawn against it; the battering ram is not arranged, nor is the spear hurled. The priestly trumpets alone are employed, and by these the walls of Jericho are overthrown.”
“Once Jericho was surrounded it had to be stormed. How then was Jericho stormed? No sword was drawn against it, no battering ram was aimed at it, no javelins were hurled. The priests merely sounded their trumpets, and the walls of Jericho collapsed. In the Scriptures Jericho is often represented as an image of the world… Jericho will fall, then; this world will perish… By the sound of trumpets… Then the Lord Jesus will conquer Jericho with trumpets and destroy it…” (Origen’s Homilies on Joshua – Homily 7)

“So the walls of that city, called Jericho, which in the Hebrew tongue is said to mean moon, fell when they had been encircled seven times by the ark of the covenant. What, then, does the announcement of the kingdom of heaven portend—signified by the encircling of the ark—except that all the battlements of mortal life, that is, all the hope of this world, which is opposed to the hope of the world to come, will be destroyed by the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit…” (Augustine of Hippo – City of God 10.17)

Gates of Hell
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.
Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Adam lost dominion to Satan in the beginning. The war began between mankind and Satan (Genesis 3:15). This war was won by Christ. The Messiah came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) which began at the tree of knowledge which was a corruption of God’s creation resulting in death. Christ destroyed these works by openly triumphing over them in it, ie the cross which was a symbol of death and the sun-gods, tracing back to the tree of knowledge. This symbol has now become a symbol of the Lord’s triumph.

John was the voice crying in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1-3; Luke 3:2-6; John 1:23)

Luk 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
Luk 3:3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
Luk 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Luk 3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
Luk 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Luk 3:7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Luk 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Luk 3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Isa 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.
Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Isa 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Isa 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Isa 40:9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Flower Garlands

Another Midsummer custom that has passed onto the St. John’s Eve is the use of flower garlands. Flowers are weaved to make crowns and garlands and wreaths are hung on doors and houses. This flower imagery is connected to the message of John the Baptist (Isaiah 40:2-9).

In the Scriptures, grace is likened to a wreath. Grace is the Word of God (Acts 20:32), the Gospel (Acts 20:24). Grace is God’s Gift (Romans 5:15; Ephesians 2:8), Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17).

Tit_2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
Pro 3:22  So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

Proverbs 3:22 corresponds to Proverbs 1:9 which speaks of an ornament (wreath לויה ‘livyah’) of grace.

Pro 1:9  For they shall be an ornament {לויה ‘livyah’ – wreath, ornament} of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

The Grace of God comes through Jesus
1Co_1:4  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
2Co_13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.

Jesus is the Grace of God that brings salvation to the world
Tit_2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

One of the Hebrew words for wreath is גדיל ‘gediyl’ which is also translated as fringe as in the tassels which were to hang from the garments of believers in Old Testament times. The imagery of tassels is prominent in Malachi’s prophecy of the Advent of Christ speaking of the healing in His wings (כנף ‘kanaph’).

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

The word wings is כנף ‘kanaph’ speaking of the wings of a bird but also the corners of the garment. Christ healed through the corners of His garments (Matthew 9:20-21; 14:36; Luke 8:44)

The woman who had an issue of blood understood this prophecy and grabbed hold of the wings of Christ’s garments to be healed (Mark 5:25-34). These fringes are also called ציצת tsîytsith in the Scriptures. This word comes from the root צוּץ tsûts which means to blossom, flourish, shine and is the root of ציץ ‘tsits’ which means flower.

Further displaying this light connection is the word צפירה ‘tsephiyrah’ which means morning (Ezekiel 7:10) and diadem (crown/wreath).

Isa 28:5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem (צפירה ‘tsephiyrah’ ) of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

The tassels on the four corners of the garments of Old Covenant believers were to be of twisted fibers or in Hebrew גדיל ‘gediyl.’

These tassels are called ציצית ‘tzitziyt.’ ציצית ‘tzitziyt’ comes from ציץ ‘tsits’ which means flower.

Flowers and His Righteousness

Mat 6:28  And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not labor nor do they spin,
Mat 6:29  but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.
Mat 6:30  If God so enrobes the grass of the field (which is today, and is thrown into a furnace tomorrow) will He not much rather you, little-faiths?
Mat 6:31  Then do not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? Or, what may we drink? Or, what may clothe us?
Mat 6:32  For after all these things the nations seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Mat 6:34  Then do not be anxious for tomorrow. For the morrow will be anxious of itself. Sufficient to each day is its own trouble.

What is His Righteousness?
Jer 23:5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Jer 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Isa 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Isa 45:24  Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
Isa 45:25  In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

The Hebrew word for flower is פרח ‘parach’ which is a combination of the words פר ‘par’ which means fruit and רח ‘rach’ which means scent or aroma. The fruit that smells…this describes perfectly the flower. רח ‘rach’ is also the root of the word רוח ‘ruach’ which means wind or spirit in Hebrew. The English word ‘fragrance’ comes from this word פרח ‘parach’ as well. In Hebrew, fragrance or aroma is ריח ‘reyach’ which is also from this root רח ‘rach.’

This aroma is speaking of the fruit פר ‘par’ of the Spirit רח ‘rach’…. or פרח ‘parach.’

2Co 2:14  But thanks be to God, the One always leading us in triumph in Christ, and the One revealing through us the odor of the knowledge of Him in every place.
2Co 2:15  For we are a sweet smell to God because of Christ in those being saved, and in those being lost;
2Co 2:16  to the one, an odor of death unto death, and to the other, an odor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
2Co 2:17  For we are not as the many, peddling the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God. We speak in Christ, in the sight of God.
Eph 5:2  and walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell.

We “smell” like Jesus when we walk in His שם “shem” His name…His Word {Revelation 19:13}…His character

Pro 18:10  The name of Jehovah is a tower of strength, the righteous runs into it and is set on high.

The word for tower here is מגדל ‘migdal’ which is speaking of something of great size as the root word גדל ‘gadol’ means great or magnificent.

This word מגדל ‘migdal’ is also translated as flower in the Bible:

Son 5:13  His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers (מגדל ‘migdal’ ): his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

מגדל ‘migdal’ is also translated as pulpit in the book of Nehemiah.  The pulpit from whence Ezra read the Word.

Neh 8:4  And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
Neh 8:5  And Ezra opened the book to the eyes of all the people, for he was above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up.
Neh 8:6  And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands. And they bowed and worshiped to Jehovah with their noses to the ground.

The people bowed at the Name/Word of God when Ezra stood at the pulpit {מגדל ‘migdal’ tower/flower}….

Php 2:9  Because of this also God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name,
Php 2:10  that at the name of Jesus “every knee should bow,” of heavenly ones, and earthly ones, and ones under the earth,
Php 2:11  and “every tongue should confess” that Jesus Christ is “Lord,” to the glory of God the Father. Isa. 45:23
1Co 1:30  But of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
1Co 1:31  so that even as it has been written, “He that glories, let him glory in” the “Lord.” Jer. 9:24
Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Psa 71:15  My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day; for I do not know the numbers.
1Jn 2:1  My little children, I write these things to you so that you do not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Phi 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

The fruit of the Spirit is in all righteousness

Eph 5:6  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for through these things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience.
Eph 5:7  Then do not become partakers with them;
Eph 5:8  for you then were darkness, but are now 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 pleasing to the Lord.
Php 1:9  And this I pray, that your love may yet abound more and more in full knowledge and all perception,
Php 1:10  for you to distinguish the things that differ, that you may be sincere and without blame for the day of Christ,
Php 1:11  being filled with fruits of righteousness through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Flower – light connection

Notice 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 fruit is seen in פרח ‘parach.’  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.

Psa 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

The Hebrew word for flower is פרח ‘parach’ which is a combination of the words פר ‘par’ which means fruit and רח ‘rach’ which means scent or aroma. The fruit that smells…this describes perfectly the flower. רח ‘rach’ is also the root of the word רוח ‘ruach’ which means wind or spirit in Hebrew. The English word ‘fragrance’ comes from this word פרח ‘parach’ as well. In Hebrew, fragrance or aroma is ריח ‘reyach’ which is also from this root רח ‘rach.’

The English word fruit traces back to the Hebrew word for fruit which is פרות ‘parot’ from the root פר ‘par.’  All fruit comes forth from a flower.  The Hebrew word for flower is פרח ‘parach’ which is a combination of the words פר ‘par’ which means fruit and רח ‘rach’ which means scent or aroma.  The fruit that smells…this describes perfectly the flower.  רח is also the root of the word רוח ‘ruach’ which means wind or spirit in Hebrew.

The fruit is in reality a part of the ovaries of the flower which become seeds after ‘double fertilization’ which then produce fruit.  The Word is likened to seed (Luke 8:11).  The fruit are the actions and words that come forth from man who is born again by the Word (1Peter 1:23; 1John 3:0; James 1:18, 21).

The Fruit of the Spirit

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

There are 9 fruit of the Spirit, which correspond to 9 gifts of the Spirit

1Co 12:6  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
1Co 12:7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
1Co 12:8  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom (1); to another the word of knowledge (2) by the same Spirit;
1Co 12:9  To another faith (3) by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing (4) by the same Spirit;
1Co 12:10  To another the working of miracles (5); to another prophecy (6); to another discerning of spirits (7); to another divers kinds of tongues (8); to another the interpretation of tongues (9):
1Co 12:11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

The Hebrew word for nine is תשע ‘tesha’ which comes from the root שע meaning the shepherd.

This is also the root of the word ישועה ‘yeshuah’ from whence comes the name of our Savior.

John the Baptist and the Solfeggio Scale

The Hymn to John the Baptist, which is the origin of the Solfeggio Scale, is sung in the liturgy for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The solfeggio scale (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti) originated in the early 11th century with the Benedictine monk and music theorist Guido of Arezzo. Guido was frustrated that choir monks took years to learn the vast repertoire of Gregorian chant by rote. He wanted a practical method that would let singers quickly read and internalize new melodies.He found the perfect tool in an existing hymn to St. John the Baptist (Ut Queant Laxis).

Latin:
Ut queant laxis
resonare fibris,
Mira gestorum
famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti
labii reatum,
Sancte Iohannes.

English translation:
So that your servants may, with loosened voices,
Resound the wonders of your deeds,
Cleanse the guilt of our polluted lips,
O Saint John.

The Menorah and the Solfeggio Scale

Identity – You are the Tabernacle of God by John Saba pg 54

Day 1 of creation corresponds to day 4.  Day 2 corresponds to day 5.  Day 3 corresponds to day 6.  The Light of the 1st day connects with the light of the sun on day 4.  The fish in the 5th day and the water of the 2nd day connect.  Man in the 6th day connects with the earth/dust from whence he came.  Using this pattern Mr. Saba found that the menorah shows the original Solfeggio scale Solfeggio Scale .

Left to right
174, 285, 396
Right to left
417, 528, 639
Bottom to right to left
741, 852, 963

1: Ut=396=9
2. Re=417=3
3. Mi=528=6
4. Fa=639=9
5. Sol=741=3
6. La=852=6

By following the above, 174, 285, 396 etc, a spiral movement is seen.  This spiral movement is called the Fibonacci pattern.

“The Fibonacci spiral is a representation of the golden mean proportion that occurs so often in nature… Even the colors of the rainbow are made by different wavelengths that vary in size in a golden mean proportion relative to one another.”

Here we see a connection, via the Menorah, between light and sound. The 7 branches of the Menorah correspond to the 7 notes in the musical scale and the 7 colors in the color spectrum and the 7 wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Music & Color

“The Fibonacci spiral is a representation of the golden mean proportion that occurs so often in nature… Even the colors of the rainbow are made by different wavelengths that vary in size in a golden mean proportion relative to one another.”

“This can be seen in the varying widths of the color bands in a rainbow.  The seven colors correspond to the seven notes of the diatonic music scale, and the mathematical, golden mean relationship between the notes, as they ascend and descend along the scale, matches exactly the relationship between the colors of the rainbow. The fact that colors have musical equivalents is reflected in the twelve-note ‘chromatic’ musical scale.  As described by author Michael S. Schneider in A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe: ‘The chromatic twelve-scale includes the diatonic seven-scale plus five sharps or flats between them, giving the scale shades of musical color.’  This may provide a factual basis for the sensory phenomenon known as ‘synesthesia’, in which certain people naturally see certain colors when they hear certain sounds, and vice-versa. Such people often report seeing the letters of the alphabet in certain associated colors as well.”

The mention here to color is important to note as the Hebrew word for color is צבע ‘tseva’ which is the root word of אצבע ‘etsba’ which is the Hebrew word for finger.

As seen in Messiah in the Torah – Genesis 1:2-5, the word for music in ancient Hebrew {שיר ‘shir’} pictographically means a ‘string’.  Brian Greene in Elegant Universe pg 15 describes everything in the universe as sound…a symphony.

The menorah was of beaten work (מקשה ‘miqshah’). מקשה ‘miqshah’ comes from the same root קש ‘qesh’ as rainbow (קשת ‘qeshet’).

Interestingly, color further connects to Israel in the numbers of 7 and 12. There are 7 colors in the color spectrum which corresponds to the 7 branches of the Menorah. The Menorah is a picture of the body of Messiah (Revelation 1:20; John 15:5). The 7 colors then expand into 12 color hues of the color wheel corresponding with the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles. This has a fascinating connection to the seasons as each season has a corresponding color seen through etymology. Spring is green, Summer is yellow and turns into orange (a mixture of yellow and red). Autumn is red and turns into violet and indigo. Winter is blue. Furthermore, the movement of the sun through the seasons can be plotted out in the divisions of the menorah which connects 7 & 12 together yet again.

Summer portrays the strength of the sun, Autumn is the setting of the sun, Winter is the “death” of the sun leading into a period of cold and darkness which ends when Spring comes and “resurrects” the sun.

Here in this theory the 7 colors of the rainbow are pictured by the menorah. The Hebrew word for rainbow is קשת ‘qeshet’ from the root קש ‘qesh. קש ‘qesh’ literally means gathering of light.

קשת ‘qeshet’ is a combination of קש ‘qesh’ which means gather and ת ‘tav’ means the cross. Gather to the cross.

The Lamb in the midst of the throne (rainbow – Revelation 4:3) has seven eyes (Revelation 4:5) representing the 7 Spirits of God (Revelation 5:6). This corresponds to the Menorah (light) and the Hebrew word for lamb טלה ‘taleh’ which also means colors (Ezekiel 16:16).

Rev 4:2 And at once I became in spirit. And, behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And the One sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone, and a sardius; and a rainbow was around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

His Glory and the Rainbow

Beginning with water, resonating the right sound will produce all the colors of the light spectrum.

The Glory of the Lord is connected with music
Luk 2:32 a Light for revelation to the nations, and the Glory ( δόξα doxa=Praise 1 Peter 4:11) of Your people Israel.
Luk 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Messiah is His Glory…His 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.

Eze 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. And His voice was like the voice of many waters. And the earth shone from His glory.

Christ is the tree of life (Genesis 3:22; John 14:6; 11:26), pictured by the Menorah.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

The Gospel is the message of eternal life in Christ when we partake of His flesh.
Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Wisdom is a tree of life (Proverbs 3:18) revealed in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24).

Earth created by wisdom
Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Messiah is Wisdom
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

The earth was created by His power and wisdom
Jer 51:15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the Creator
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Christians are His branches, called to bear the fruit of the tree of life

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.

Pro 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Pro 12:12 The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.
Pro 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Messiah is the Word made flesh who is the olive tree/tree of life which we can be grafted into through faith.  He is the body, we are members of that body through faith.  He is the Temple, we are the stones of the building by faith.

In Romans 11, the Apostle Paul uses the olive tree to show how wild Gentiles are grafted into the root of Israel through faith in Christ Jesus. The Olive Tree represents the true people of God — nourished by the same root (the patriarchs and ultimately Christ).

Christ Jesus is the Olive tree.  He is the root.  He is the source of life.  The branches of Israel come forth from Him.  If we are not in Him, we are dried up and cast into the fire.

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
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.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Jer 11:16  The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

Jer 11:17  For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

This was the message of John the Baptist
Luk 3:8  Then bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of these stones.
Luk 3:9  And also the axe is already laid to the root of the trees; therefore, every tree not producing good fruit is being cut down and being thrown into the fire.

The message of John the Baptist and Jesus was that ‘race’ or ‘religion’ does not matter. All that matters is what tree you are grafted into (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8; John 8:33-47). The Olive Tree of Israel who is Messiah (Romans 11:16; Isaiah 6:13; 11:1-3; Galatians 3:16; Isaiah 49:3-6; Luke 2:29-32), or the ‘root of the serpent’ (Isaiah 14:29; John 8:44; Matthew 23:33).

Further linking this concept of believers in Jesus as overcoming Israel is the term Nazarene. Jesus was called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23) from the city of Nazareth (John 1:11; 19:19; Matthew 21:11; Acts 2:22). Originally, Christians were called Nazarenes as they were followers of the Nazarene (Acts 24:5). Nazarene derives from the Hebrew word נצר   ‘netsar.’ This word literally means a branch as in the the ‘Branch’ spoken of in Isaiah 11:1, who is the Messiah (Acts 13:22-23), the Root of David who overcomes (Revelation 5:5).

Christians are the branches of this Olive Tree of Israel (John 15:5). They are neither Jew or Gentile but new creatures in Christ (Colossians 3:10-12; Romans 10:12; Galatians 3:26-29).

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.
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.

Fruit comes forth from the tree wherein one resides (Genesis 1:11-12; Luke 6:43-44). Believers bring forth fruit from the Tree of Life who is Jesus (John 15:1-5; Proverbs 11:30). Unbelievers bring forth fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil whose fruit comes from the devil (Ephesians 2:2-3).

Jeremiah says that the Olive tree is Israel.  Who is Israel?

The Messiah is Israel

Isa 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Isa 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
Isa 49:5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

This prophecy is speaking of Messiah.  Messiah is the Servant Israel.
Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore (שוב ‘shub’…lead back in repentance) the preserved (ונצירי ‘v’netsri’-Netsarim=followers of Messiah Acts 24:5) of Israel.I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation (H3444 yeshua) unto the end of the earth.

The Holy Spirit makes it clear that this prophecy is speaking of Jesus our Lord.

Luk 2:29  Now, Master, You will let Your slave go in peace according to Your Word;
Luk 2:30  because my eyes saw Your Salvation,
Luk 2:31  which You prepared before the face of all the peoples;
Luk 2:32  a Light for revelation to the nations, and the Glory of Your people Israel.

2 Olive trees
Zec 4:1  And the angel who was speaking with me returned and awakened me, as a man is awakened out of his sleep.
Zec 4:2  And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I see, and behold, a lampstand, all of it gold, and a bowl on its top, and its seven lamps on it, and seven spouts each to the seven lamps on its top;
Zec 4:3  and two olive trees are beside it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on its left.
Zec 4:4  And I answered and spoke to the angel who was talking with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
Zec 4:5  And the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the Word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of Hosts.
Zec 4:7  Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts: Grace! Grace to it!
Zec 4:8  And the Word of Jehovah was to me, saying,
Zec 4:9  The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it. And you shall know that Jehovah of Hosts has sent me to you.
Zec 4:10  For who has despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet stone in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of Jehovah; they run to and fro through all the earth.
Zec 4:11  And I answered and said to him, What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand, and on its left?
Zec 4:12  And I answered a second time and said to him, What are the two clusters of olive trees beside the two golden pipes, emptying the golden oil from themselves?
Zec 4:13  And he spoke to me, saying, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
Zec 4:14  And he said, These are the two sons of fresh oil who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

This imagery of the two olive trees and the Menorah is beautiful.  The menorah is a picture of the Messiah and His body.  The vine and the branches.  It brings forth the Light of the world.  The source of this Light comes from the crushing of the fruit of the two olive trees.  We are to abide in Christ so that He can bear fruit through us in order to bring forth His Light to the world.

The Menorah/lampstand/candlestick=Light

Exo 35:14  The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,

Lev 24:2  Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.

Num 8:2  Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

God is a light to us

2Sa 22:29  For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

Mic 7:8  Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

Psa 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Isa 60:19  The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

The Messiah is the Light

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Joh 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

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.

The Word is Light

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The word for tribe is שבט ‘shebet.’ One of the meanings of this word is a writing utensil. That which brings for the Word.

Mat 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Mat 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

The law is light

Pro 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

We are to be lights in the world, bringing forth His light:

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, 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.

Phi 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Phi 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Phi 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Phi 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;
2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
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 gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
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 12:31  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luk 12:33  Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
Luk 12:34  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luk 12:35  Let your loins be girded about {Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; }, and your lights burning

We are the branches of the menorah

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches{G2814 κλῆμα klēma a limb or shoot (as if broken off): – branch.} : He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Fruit = Light = Torah

Pro 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Our fruit is a tree of life because our fruit is the Word/Light of God
Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her

The Word is the Tree of Life, the Word is the Seed

Luk 8:11  And this is the parable: The seed is the Word of God.

Luk 8:15  And those in the good ground, these are the ones who in a right and good heart, hearing the Word, they hold it and bear fruit in patience.

Immediately after describing the Seed/Word, Jesus speaks of His people bringing forth Light.  This shows that fruit=works=light.

Luk 8:16  But no one lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel, or puts it underneath a couch, but sets it on a lampstand, that those coming in may see the light.

Fruit of the Olive Tree

Jer 11:16  Jehovah called your name, a green olive tree, fair, with fine (תּאר tô’ar) fruit. With the sound of a great roaring, He has set fire to it, and its branches are worthless.

H8389 תּאר tô’ar
BDB Definition:
1) shape, form, outline, figure, appearance

God beautifies His people with salvation and is conforming us into the image of His Son so that we, and all creation, reflect His glory once more. See Daily Tidbits 7/7/26 – Beauty of the Lord

BRANCHES=NETSARIM
Act 24:5  For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: Jer 31:6  For there shall be a day, that the watchmen{H5341 נצר natsar  נצרים} upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.

The almonds of the Menorah are the Hebrew word שקד ‘shaqad’ which is the same Hebrew word for WATCH…notice the connection to the word Natsar which is translated as branches and watchmen

Exo 25:34  And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.

Jer 31:6  For there shall be a day, that the watchmen {H5341 נצר natsar  נצרים} upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch {H5342 נצר netser} shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 60:21  Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch {H5342 netser} of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
Isa 49:6  And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved {H5341 natsar} of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Mat 2:23  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

We are One Body
Exo 25:31  And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of beaten work; its base and its shaft, its calyxes, its knobs, and its blossoms shall be from it.
Exo 25:36  Their knobs and their branches shall be of it, all of it one beaten work of pure gold.
Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Phi 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
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.
Joh 17:11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
1Co 6:15  Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:14  For the body is not one member, but many.
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Col 3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Isa 11:12  And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Jer 30:3  For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

One Body, One Tree
Eze 34:23  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
Eze 37:16  Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
Eze 37:17  And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

The olive tree abiding under His wings

Hos 14:1  O Israel, return to Jehovah your God, for you have fallen by your sin.
Hos 14:2  Take words with you and return to Jehovah. Say to Him, Lift up all iniquity and receive us well, that we may repay with the calves of our lips.
Hos 14:3  Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses. We shall not say any more to the work of our hands, Our gods! For in You the fatherless finds mercy.
Hos 14:4  I will heal their backslidings; I will love them freely; for My anger has turned away from him.
Hos 14:5  I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily and cast out his roots like Lebanon.
Hos 14:6  His branches shall go out, and his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his scent as Lebanon to him.  (Scent of Lebanon referring to the incense in the Temple.  Another connection to the Body.  We are His house, His Temple.)

Hos 14:7  They who live under his shadow shall return; they shall live like the grain, and blossom like the vine; their memorial shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
Hos 14:8  Ephraim shall say, What is it to me any more with idols? I answered him, and I regarded him. I am as a green cypress tree; your fruit is found from Me.
Hos 14:9  Who is wise and discerns these things? Who is discerning and knows them? For the ways of Jehovah are right, and the righteous shall walk in them; but transgressors shall stumble in them.

Was the crucifixion really an image of the Menorah?

The Scriptures speak of the crucifixion being on a tree
Act 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you seized, hanging Him on a tree.
Act 10:39 And we are witnesses of all things which He did, both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem. They did away with Him, hanging Him on a tree.
Act 13:29 And when they finished all the things having been written concerning Him, taking Him down from the tree, they laid Him in a tomb.
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
1Pe 2:24 who “Himself carried up in His body our sins” onto the tree; that dying to sins, we might live to righteousness, of whom “by His wound you were healed.”

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 verse:

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.

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 stauros (tree).

Ernest Martin

“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).”

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.

We, His body,  are to be lights in the world, shining forth His light:
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, 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.
Phi 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Phi 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Phi 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Phi 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;
2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
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 gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
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 12:31  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luk 12:33  Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
Luk 12:34  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luk 12:35  Let your loins be girded about{Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; }, and your lights burning

The Law and the Word of the Lord will go forth out of Zion
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Zion is a people
Isa 51:15  But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
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.

His disciples have the testimony of Messiah(Light) and keep His commandments/Torah(Light)

Isa 8:16  Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of herseed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus

WE ARE ONE BODY
Exo 25:31  And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of beaten work; its base and its shaft, its calyxes, its knobs, and its blossoms shall be from it.
Exo 25:36  Their knobs and their branches shall be of it, all of it one beaten work of pure gold.
Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

ONE BODY, ONE TREE
Eze 34:23  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
Eze 37:16  Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
Eze 37:17  And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

The Body of Messiah
Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which you saw on My right, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are angels of the seven assemblies, and the seven lampstands you saw are seven assemblies.

WE AS BELIEVERS ARE HIS 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.
WE ARE TO BEAR THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF LIFE
Pro 11:28  He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Pro 12:12  The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.
Pro 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

The Messiah is the Life

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
the Messiah is the resurrection

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Gen 3:22  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

The Word

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 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Psa 33:6  By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

St. John’s Wort

One of the customs of the Feast of John the Baptist is to make “St. John’s bouquets” which included St. John’s Wort. St. John’s Wort was so nmaed because it bloomed around the time of the summer solstice when the Feast of John the Baptist was celebrated. Its five-petaled yellow flowers were said to resemble a halo or the rays of the sun, reinforcing the connection to John as “a burning and shining light” (John 5:35). When the yellow flower buds or petals are crushed, they release a deep red or purple-red oil (hypericin). Many traditions linked the red liquid to the blood of St. John the Baptist, especially because the feast of his beheading falls on August 29, when the plant’s red pigment was sometimes said to be strongest.

The oil of St. John’s Wort was traditionally called “St. John’s blood” or “the blood of Christ” and was used for healing wounds. Medicinally St. John’s Wort is still used for wounds and burns.

The hypericin in St. John’s Wort is activated by certain wavelengths of light (yellow-to-orange/red range – “sun”) which generates oxygen that is used for fighting cancer and destroying bacteria. Because of its healing properties it was called was called fuga daemonum (“flight of demons” or “devil-chaser”).

St. Columba carried St. John’s wort with him because of his devotion to St. John the Baptist. In the Scottish Highlands and Islands the plant is sometimes called achlasan Chaluim Chille (“Columba’s armpit package”) because people carried a sprig of it under the left armpit as a protective charm. A traditional Gaelic blessing associated with finding it goes:“Saint John’s wort, Saint John’s wort,
Without search, without seeking!
Please God and Christ Jesu
This year I shall not die.”

Related Articles:

Olive Tree

Shadows of Messiah – Flowers

St. Columba and Loch Ness Monster

Daily Tidbits 5/2 – May Day/Beltane

Daily Tidbits 6/22/26 – Summer

Daily Tidbits 5/7 – Fibonacci Fingerprint

Daily Tidbits 6/26/26 – Eternity in their Hearts

Daily Tidbits 6/29/26 – Syncretism

Light

Daily Tidbits 3/19 – Tequfah/Equinox

Daily Tidbits 3/22 – Tequfah & the Mark

Daily Tidbits 12/27/11 – The Sun

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