Top of Mount Arbel overlooking the Galilee near Tiberias

Footsteps of Messiah:

"This is Truly the Prophet"

Unraveling the mystery of loaves and fishes to find the Feast of Trumpets and Resurrection

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“Your neck is like the tower of David,

Built with rows of stones

On which are hung a thousand shields,

All the round shields of the mighty men. (So 4:4)

Our working text for the Footsteps of Messiah is the Song of Songs. From the above text, we previously connected the shields of a thousand generations with the offspring of Abraham, the righteous remnant in each generation forming the faithful shield of their generation. Not one generation is missing, not one space empty. In the last teaching, we reviewed the psalms sung for each day of the week in the Temple.

• Third Day: Elohim stands in the Divine assembly, in the midst of the judges shall He judge (82:1)

This psalm speaks of judges and was recited on the third day because dry land upon which the judges rendered judgment became visible. Judgment is to render visible that which is concealed, and judgment is a matter of counsel, or etzah. The trees (etzim) were created on the Third Day.” Moses was told he would be a “judge” or elohim to Pharaoh. Moses was drawn out of the water:

• מֹשֶׁה Môsheh, mosheh'; from H4871; drawing out (of the water), i.e. rescued; Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver:—Moses.

Day Three of Creation correlates to the feast of Chag HaMatzah, Unleavened Bread, during the Pesach week (see graphic below). It is symbolic of resurrection, and literally when the first fruits appeared in the earth. From this offering of first fruits of the barley, the count of seven 7s is begun, tying Shavuot to Pesach. Pesach is considered concluded and sealed when the wheat loaves are offered seven weeks later.

The Third Blessing of the Seven Blessings of the Birkat HaMazon (Blessing after Meals) is for Jerusalem. The Fourth Blessing is for the Goodness of Adonai. The Fourth Feast Shavuot commemorates the end of the barley and the beginning of the wheat first fruit. It leads back to the “Tower of David,” a tower of salvations to His king and the righteous shields of the generations.

• “[On weekdays] He Who makes great the salvations of | [Motzei Shabbat, Mussaf] He Who is a tower of salvations to His king and does kindness for His anointed, to David and to his descendants forever. Young lions may want and hunger, but those who seek HASHEM will not lack any good. I was a youth and also have aged, and I have not seen a righteous man forsaken, with his children begging for bread. All the day he is gracious and lends, and his children are a blessing. That which we have eaten shall be for satiety, and that which we have drunk shall be therapeutic, and that which we have left over shall be for a blessing, as is written: ‘He placed it before them, and they ate and left over, as the word of HASHEM. You are blessed of HASHEM, maker of heaven and earth. Blessed is the man who trusts in HASHEM, then HASHEM will be his security. HASHEM will give might to His people; HASHEM will bless His people with peace...” (The Artscroll Sephardic Siddur. (2022) Schottenstein Ed. Mesorah Publications, Ltd.)

Did you catch that? The bread was equated with the Word of Adonai that is eaten, and it completely satisfies the one who eats, yet it is never completely consumed, for there will always be "Word-bread" left over for blessing. Like the woman who was told of Yeshua's water, the Ruach HaKodesh, from which if she would drink, she'd never thirst again, so the Bread of Yeshua will never be reduced to crumbs. The water will never run out, only increase for healing. The bread will never deplete, only grow into more blessings. What an incredible picture: like Moses, the Torah, the "Bread" of the Word is drawn out of the Water of the Ruach HaKodesh! When the Word is ministered with the Ruach, there is fullness, healing, and blessing!

The reference to being full with bread left over is based on the following Scripture about the miracle Elisha performed over bread:

• “Now a man came from Baal-shalishah [Master of the Third] and brought the man of God [Elisha] bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.” His attendant said, “What, will I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.” 2 Ki 4:42-44

The full context of 2 Kings 4 above includes the resurrection of the Shunnemite woman’s son who died when “...the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers.” There is a very good chance this resurrection miracle occurs during the barley harvest reaping.

Now imagine Yeshua's role as the prophetic Third and Fourth Blessing of barley/wheat...

• After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”(Jn 6:1-14)

Why is this such an important sign of The Prophet? Prophecy re-cycles through the generations, yet not in exactly the same way.

• Elisha [Elishua] fed 2000 + 200 with 20 loaves of barley and 2 measures of soft grain

• Yeshua [Yehoshua] fed 5000 with 5 loaves of barley and 2 fish

Yeshua multiplied by 1000 the miracle, placing the blessing into the promise to 1000 generations of the covenant.

Where do we get such a high number of people for Elisha? There are clues to how the Hebrew text was understood from the midrashic sources. The contextual clues understand the question of each loaf to mean that each loaf would feed 100 men. Because the soft grains are listed in a plural, it often is interpreted as two or a minimum of two, or a pair. 

Barley and fish are chiastic (linguistic mirrors), each a resurrection day. In the graphic below, the First Fruits of the Barley commemmorates the Third Day of Creation when the first fruits appeared on the earth with the creation of the fruit-bearing trees and plants, like grass. The Feast of Trumpets commemmorates the Fifth Day of Creation when the birds and fish were created, the first creatures to draw the breath of life. Both of these represent a "resurrection day," joined at their bases on the menorah, springing from the same spiritual source. While Yeshua was resurrected on the Third Day, the resurrection of the greater body of Messiah will occur on the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh HaShanah:

The Midrash to the Song of Songs points to the Prophet by his name, Yeshua (short form of Yehoshua, who led the Israelites across the Jordan, the resurrection river:

• “All the thousands and myriads that crossed the Jordan River and whom I shielded (from the Canaanite kings), I shielded only in the merit of the one who came for a thousand generations, i.e, Yehoshua [Avot 1:1]. And it is not you alone who depended upon the merit of Yehoshua, but all shiltei, the mighty men, for anyone who rises and rules and prevails over his evil inclination, such as Moses in his time, David in his time, and Ezra in his time, their whole generation depends on their merit.” (4§7)

So yes, those who sat on much "Third-day" green grass of resurrection day are right: Yeshua is truly the Prophet of the Word and Resurrection! Every generation depends upon the merit of Yeshua's salvation, but each generation depends as well upon the righteous remnant within Abraham's descendants. It is our call to duty to declare the coming holy days, especially the Feast of Trumpets, as the "Fifth-day" when the righteous dead within the Body of Messiah Yeshua will be raised. While it is thought that the righteous remnant were sealed at Shavuot, there is still grace time for the lukewarm to repent and be counted as sealed when the shofar blows to gather the righteous into the Clouds of Glory. Declare the Footsteps of Messiah to your generation!

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Wars of Kings is a foundation for using the template of the first Exodus to understand the Greater Exodus and the accompanying plagues in the Book of Revelation. Click on Wars of Kings to go to the first segment of the Wars YouTube video. Last week's video explained up to plague five, and this week's video will continue the plagues, providing examples from our time to connect with the texts. Click Siege to join the Wars livestream at 4:00 pm Eastern on Shabbat.

Wars of Kings and the Revelation Siege

Shabbat shalom!

Reading Recommendation for the Week

Uprooted: How 3000 Years of Jewish Civilization in the Arab World Vanished Overnight

by Lyn Julius

Because my grandparents immigrated from Iran, I'm always on the prowl for good fiction or history concerning Persian Jews. I've not finished this one, but I recommend it for those are not aware of the challenges and persecutions of Middle Eastern Jews who are just now beginning to write their history.

Who are the Jews from Arab countries? What made Jews leave countries where they had been settled for thousands of years? Jews lived continuously in the Middle East and North Africa for almost 3,000 years. Yet, in just 50 years, their indigenous communities outside Israel almost totally disappeared as more than 99 percent of the Jewish population fled. Some 650,000 went to Israel. Before the Holocaust, they constituted ten percent of the world's Jewish population, and now over 50 percent of Israel's Jews are refugees from Arab and Muslim countries, or their descendants.

Thank you all for praying and/or donating to the work at LaMalah Children's Home in Kenya. The multi-purpose building will be two levels. The ground level will have a kitchen, laundry, guest rooms, a small office, and class rooms. The second floor will be the meeting hall. Funds have been disbursed to begin the second floor, and Fourth Quarter support was disbursed. Additionally, funds for the Kenyan Torah communities to celebrate Sukkot together are being wired today. We have also received full funds designated for the Hadassah Orphanage in India to complete their dining hall. Baruch HaShem, and thanks to all who contributed toward these large building projects this summer.

Here is Brother Peter Ndungu's update on construction progress at LaMalah:

Shabbat shalom, my sister:

We have most materials to take the hall to the next level: sand, cement, ballast, bricks, etc. We even have welded most of the windows. Just when we thought it's all systems go for concrete slab, rains started falling. We have had rain the last few days, and it's considered a blessing. There has been delay, but we hope to finish this any day. We are just observing the weather, not wanting to risk all those precious materials.

Peter

If you feel led to help with the operating expenses of LaMalah, you can always use the Paypal donate button below, Zelle (use creationgospel@gmail.com), or send a check by snail mail to:

The Creation Gospel

PO Box 846

East Bernstadt, KY 40729

Your continual prayers for the children of LaMalah and our brothers and sisters in Kenya are so much appreciated. If you've never heard the story of how LaMalah was conceived and built, please take a moment to look over the brief description by clicking on the photo above or clicking here.