The name YshV is extremely important in Messianic history. Three of the Meshiachot were named YshV -- Joshua bar Nun, Jeshua ha Cohen, and Jeshua ha Nazara. The name means literally "G-d's Salvation. Each of these three bore the incarnation of the Archangel in particular ways related to their name.
Joshua son of Nun was the Aide-de-Camp of Moses. Moses was denied the right to enter into the Chosen Land because of striking the rock twice. Aaron and Meryiam died before the Hebrew people arrived at the River Jordan. It was left to Joshua to finish the task of leading the people into the Chosen Land.
The Archangel had personally led the people for it says in Exodus 13:29 that the Column of Smoke and the Column of Fire first appeared at the City of Sukkoth. Also see Exodus 23:20. He led the people all the way through the 40 years until they reached the River Jordan, but at the River Jordan the Archangel's power and spirit descended into a new body, that of Joshua bar Nun. The first act of the Divine Presence and of the certainty that the Name rested upon Joshua was the crossing when the waters of the Jordan flowed backwards so the huge host could cross the River. At this time the Jordan flowed much deeper than now. The Archangel commanded that his Footstool would proceed him into the land that He had claimed among all the lands of Earth. Thus the Ark of the Covenant proceeded the Archangel Joshua into the Chosen Land. Joshua 3:11.
The Archangel Joshua understood that he must defeat the city of Jericho in order to be safe in the Land. Jericho is the oldest city on earth at 7,500 years of habitation and so it represented everything hateful to G-d who was a migrant with no fixed home. He commanded that the city come over to him, but when it would not the Archangel Joshua commanded that his Footstool be carried around the city again and again until finally the Divine Will destroyed the walls of the city and put it to the sword. Psalm 99:5; Psalm 110:1. Thus the Archangel Joshua was the Divine Will incarnate.
The Archangel Joshua then proceeded to capture the land of Cana'an and make it into the Holy Land of the Lord. Everywhere that he went the enemy fell for as G-d had promised He was with the Hebrews in the very person of the Archangel Joshua. Joshua 1:5.
The mighty Archangel was fighting the Amorite Kings at Gibeon and even the High Priest Adonizedek of Jerusalem was with them. The Amorite kings and their hosts were defeated not only by the forces under the Archangel Joshua but also he commanded that hailstones would fall from the sky (Joshua 10:11) and that the sun and moon would not move until he had completed his defeat of the cities of the Amorites. (Joshua 10:13). The Book of Joshua goes further when it says: "Never before or since was there a day like this, when YHVH obeyed the Voice of a Man; for YHVH fought for Israel." Joshua 10:14. The reason that the Sun and Moon stood still was in fact that YHVH was present in the Man Joshua with the fullness of His authority present in the Man for He was the Archangel of the Presence incarnated again.
Lastly, the Archangel Joshua made the Hebrew children into Israelites by circumcising them and commanding them to obey the Law of Moses. Joshua was truly G-d's Salvation for the Children of Israel were led on the Path to the Promised Land by the Archangel incarnate.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Messiahs: Melchizedek
Melchizedek, we are taught in the Hebrew Enoch (3 Enoch) ,was the nephew of Noach. He was born already two years in age in bodily stature. Shortly after his birth, he was taken back to heaven where he waited 1,000 years for his appearance on Earth. When he returned to Earth, this remarkable person, was already an adult in size and wisdom. He was the third incarnation of the Archangel of the Presence, alternately called Metatron or YHVH.
Melchizedek's name means Righteous King and in fact he was the Righteous King of Salem, the town that eventually became Jerusalem. He was also the High Priest of the G-d El known in Salem as Elyon, the Most High. Among his congregants was Abraham, Yitzak, and Ya'akov, the biblical Patriarchs.
The Christian writing, the Epistle to the Hebrews, glorifies Melchizedek as the perfect High Priest, who was a antetype of the Messiah Yeshua, but the Nasoreans had a considerably more exalted view of this Priest-King. In the book called The Coming of Melchizedek (11Q13), the Nasoreans say that the provisions of Leviticus 25:13 proclaiming the year of Jubilee speaks of the remission of all claims against one's neighbor. They say that also means that G-d will remit his claims for sins against each of us. They claim that the passage so often spoken of in Isaiah 61:1 which promises a Jubilee to captives really refers to the return of Melchizedek "who will return them to what is rightfully theirs. He will proclaim to them the Jubilee, thereby releasing them from the debt of all their sins." Isaiah calls the person who makes this proclamation, Messiah, and so we know that a Messiah will perform this act. The book goes on to say that Messiah Melchizedek will establish a righteous kingdom on earth quoting Psalm 82 where it says: "YHVH will arise in the Council of the Elohim; in the midst of the Angelic Council he holds judgment." Again the Psalms say: "Over it, YHVH, take your seat in the Highest Heaven; YHVH will judge the peoples." Psalm 7:7-8. It is clear from the book that Melchizedek and YHVH are equated as being the same person. The book describes Melchizedek as a warring angel prosecuting vengeance against the rebel angels and freeing the captives of Satan, herein called Belial, from his grasp.
The book further says that Isaiah 52:7 applies to Melchizedek's return in which the Angel of G-d will proclaim peace, bring good news, announce salvation, and say to Zion that in his return YHVH reigns on Earth.
The Nasoreans had another book referring to the Messiah Melchizedek. It is called the Messianic Apocryphon (4Q521). This book says of Melchizedek: "the heavens and the earth will listen to His Messiah, and none therein will stray from the commandments of the Angels. Seekers of the Lord, strengthen yourselves in His service! All you hopeful in (your) heart, will you find the Lord in this? For the Lord will consider the Hasidim and call the Tzaddikkim by name. Over the Ebion His Spirit will hover and will renew the faithful with His Power. And he will glorify the pious on the Throne of the Eternal Kingdom. He will liberate the Captives, restore Sight to the Blind, straighten the crippled... He will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor." Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scolls, pg. 391-392.
So we see that Melchizedek who came from no where and returned to no where, with no father and no mother, was in fact the incarnation of the Archangel Metatron. When Yeshua went into the desert after the death of John the Baptist, the Archangel Gavriel spoke to him and convinced him that he was the Priest-King Melchizedek returned and that he would do these things. One half of the Nasoreans believed in his message and the other half followed the successors of John the Baptist into exile in Mesopotamia where they still are and are called the Mandaeans.
Melchizedek's name means Righteous King and in fact he was the Righteous King of Salem, the town that eventually became Jerusalem. He was also the High Priest of the G-d El known in Salem as Elyon, the Most High. Among his congregants was Abraham, Yitzak, and Ya'akov, the biblical Patriarchs.
The Christian writing, the Epistle to the Hebrews, glorifies Melchizedek as the perfect High Priest, who was a antetype of the Messiah Yeshua, but the Nasoreans had a considerably more exalted view of this Priest-King. In the book called The Coming of Melchizedek (11Q13), the Nasoreans say that the provisions of Leviticus 25:13 proclaiming the year of Jubilee speaks of the remission of all claims against one's neighbor. They say that also means that G-d will remit his claims for sins against each of us. They claim that the passage so often spoken of in Isaiah 61:1 which promises a Jubilee to captives really refers to the return of Melchizedek "who will return them to what is rightfully theirs. He will proclaim to them the Jubilee, thereby releasing them from the debt of all their sins." Isaiah calls the person who makes this proclamation, Messiah, and so we know that a Messiah will perform this act. The book goes on to say that Messiah Melchizedek will establish a righteous kingdom on earth quoting Psalm 82 where it says: "YHVH will arise in the Council of the Elohim; in the midst of the Angelic Council he holds judgment." Again the Psalms say: "Over it, YHVH, take your seat in the Highest Heaven; YHVH will judge the peoples." Psalm 7:7-8. It is clear from the book that Melchizedek and YHVH are equated as being the same person. The book describes Melchizedek as a warring angel prosecuting vengeance against the rebel angels and freeing the captives of Satan, herein called Belial, from his grasp.
The book further says that Isaiah 52:7 applies to Melchizedek's return in which the Angel of G-d will proclaim peace, bring good news, announce salvation, and say to Zion that in his return YHVH reigns on Earth.
The Nasoreans had another book referring to the Messiah Melchizedek. It is called the Messianic Apocryphon (4Q521). This book says of Melchizedek: "the heavens and the earth will listen to His Messiah, and none therein will stray from the commandments of the Angels. Seekers of the Lord, strengthen yourselves in His service! All you hopeful in (your) heart, will you find the Lord in this? For the Lord will consider the Hasidim and call the Tzaddikkim by name. Over the Ebion His Spirit will hover and will renew the faithful with His Power. And he will glorify the pious on the Throne of the Eternal Kingdom. He will liberate the Captives, restore Sight to the Blind, straighten the crippled... He will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor." Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scolls, pg. 391-392.
So we see that Melchizedek who came from no where and returned to no where, with no father and no mother, was in fact the incarnation of the Archangel Metatron. When Yeshua went into the desert after the death of John the Baptist, the Archangel Gavriel spoke to him and convinced him that he was the Priest-King Melchizedek returned and that he would do these things. One half of the Nasoreans believed in his message and the other half followed the successors of John the Baptist into exile in Mesopotamia where they still are and are called the Mandaeans.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Messiahs: Noach
Noah was born 334 years after Enoch. He was Enoch's great-grandson. We are told in the first book of Enoch that the Archangel warned Enoch that the world would be destroyed in a flood. He therefore forewarned his great grandson of this event sometime before he was translated.
Noah was chosen to be the savior of the human race. He was a Tzaddik according to the Hebrew scriptures. Genesis 6:9. Now the Tzaddikkim are by their nature the conduits of the Light on Earth, but he was chosen specifically to be a public tzaddik and to do a specific mission. As a result, it was important that Noach have sons to carry on the human race. A Tzaddik by his nature has many sons and Noah had three: Ham, Shem and Japheth.
The Ark of Noah is symbolic of the salvation that he provided. He did not literally save everyone on Earth as there is no physical way that water can cover the earth to the depth of five miles which would be required to cover the earth as the Hebrew scriptures say. What happened was a tsunami so great that it covered all the inhabited lands around the fertile crescent. It took over forty days for the waters to recede, so great was this wave. The Ark had three decks: representative of the natures of the G-dhead. The first deck represented the Holy Spirit. The second deck represented the Archangel of the Presence, the True Son of G-d. The third and highest deck represented the True G-d, El. The Ark had an opening for the descent of Light in its top which is symbolic of Kether, the Crown, which represents the Archangel. It is through this hole that Light descends to Earth along the Tree of Life. The Ark had a door in its side for the admission of the animals. This door is symbolic of the Sefirah Chesed or Mercy for it was by the Mercy of G-d that mankind was saved. The Ark was covered with pitch which was symbolic of the grace of the mikveh which protects us from the stain of sin. Noah was the captain of the ship which is symbolic of the nature of the Tzaddikkim who are the captains of our salvation on earth.
Noah is the father of modern humans. After the flood, there were no more homo neanderthalis on earth, only cro-magnon man was left.
The Archangels, the sons of the Archangel of the Presence, that is, Michael, Raphael, Gavriel, Uriel, Hallel, Baalzebul, and Ashmodai, made a covenant with Noah after the flood. The scripture specifically says that the covenant was with the Elohim or G-ds who are the Archangels. The symbol of this covenant is said to be the Rainbow. The Rainbow is made up of seven primary color sections which Newton named as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. How could this Tzaddik make a covenant with the Angelic Council led by the Archangel of the Presence? The Angelic Council made this covenant with Noah as the incarnation of the Archangel, the second in number, thus they were really making the covenant with Enoch-Metatron-YHVH who was embodied in Noah. This covenant guarantees that the Angelic Council which brought the flood through their interaction with the earth would not use this method of destruction again.
The Zohar tells us that those born of the side of Metatron will have seven incarnations and Noah was the second incarnation of the Archangel on Earth, the one just after Enoch.
The whole issue of why the flood took place is set forth in Genesis 6 but is further expanded in the First Book of Enoch. The 200 rebel angels had taught technology to the children of man. With the rise of technology came the rise of cities. Urban life is despised by the earliest writers because it brought a decrease in the law of hospitality which was the essence of giving or good. The Angelic Council called this technological life depraved. How to strike a balance between technology and urban life and the ideals of loving our neighbor as ourselves is the problem of becoming holy. It is the constant battle of learning to help others without intruding in their lives that presents the most difficult challenges in urban life. Noah learned how to do that, but we must learn to do it now in a world far more depraved than the one in which Noah lived.
Noah was chosen to be the savior of the human race. He was a Tzaddik according to the Hebrew scriptures. Genesis 6:9. Now the Tzaddikkim are by their nature the conduits of the Light on Earth, but he was chosen specifically to be a public tzaddik and to do a specific mission. As a result, it was important that Noach have sons to carry on the human race. A Tzaddik by his nature has many sons and Noah had three: Ham, Shem and Japheth.
The Ark of Noah is symbolic of the salvation that he provided. He did not literally save everyone on Earth as there is no physical way that water can cover the earth to the depth of five miles which would be required to cover the earth as the Hebrew scriptures say. What happened was a tsunami so great that it covered all the inhabited lands around the fertile crescent. It took over forty days for the waters to recede, so great was this wave. The Ark had three decks: representative of the natures of the G-dhead. The first deck represented the Holy Spirit. The second deck represented the Archangel of the Presence, the True Son of G-d. The third and highest deck represented the True G-d, El. The Ark had an opening for the descent of Light in its top which is symbolic of Kether, the Crown, which represents the Archangel. It is through this hole that Light descends to Earth along the Tree of Life. The Ark had a door in its side for the admission of the animals. This door is symbolic of the Sefirah Chesed or Mercy for it was by the Mercy of G-d that mankind was saved. The Ark was covered with pitch which was symbolic of the grace of the mikveh which protects us from the stain of sin. Noah was the captain of the ship which is symbolic of the nature of the Tzaddikkim who are the captains of our salvation on earth.
Noah is the father of modern humans. After the flood, there were no more homo neanderthalis on earth, only cro-magnon man was left.
The Archangels, the sons of the Archangel of the Presence, that is, Michael, Raphael, Gavriel, Uriel, Hallel, Baalzebul, and Ashmodai, made a covenant with Noah after the flood. The scripture specifically says that the covenant was with the Elohim or G-ds who are the Archangels. The symbol of this covenant is said to be the Rainbow. The Rainbow is made up of seven primary color sections which Newton named as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. How could this Tzaddik make a covenant with the Angelic Council led by the Archangel of the Presence? The Angelic Council made this covenant with Noah as the incarnation of the Archangel, the second in number, thus they were really making the covenant with Enoch-Metatron-YHVH who was embodied in Noah. This covenant guarantees that the Angelic Council which brought the flood through their interaction with the earth would not use this method of destruction again.
The Zohar tells us that those born of the side of Metatron will have seven incarnations and Noah was the second incarnation of the Archangel on Earth, the one just after Enoch.
The whole issue of why the flood took place is set forth in Genesis 6 but is further expanded in the First Book of Enoch. The 200 rebel angels had taught technology to the children of man. With the rise of technology came the rise of cities. Urban life is despised by the earliest writers because it brought a decrease in the law of hospitality which was the essence of giving or good. The Angelic Council called this technological life depraved. How to strike a balance between technology and urban life and the ideals of loving our neighbor as ourselves is the problem of becoming holy. It is the constant battle of learning to help others without intruding in their lives that presents the most difficult challenges in urban life. Noah learned how to do that, but we must learn to do it now in a world far more depraved than the one in which Noah lived.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Messiahs: Enoch
The word Meshiach or in English, Messiah, means anointed. In ancient times, the High Priest and the King were anointed with oil and that act consecrated them to the YHVH. However, when people use the term Messiah, they do not mean a consecrated person; they mean a savior who seems divine in the use of the gifts that he or she has received. In this blog, I want to talk about some persons we know for sure were Messiahs.
Genesis describes the first Messiah in these words: "When Jared was one hundred and sixty two years old, he became the father of Enoch.... When Enoch was sixty-five years old he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch lived three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Enoch was three hundred and sixty five years. Then Enoch walked with G-d and he was no longer here for G-d took him." 5:18,21-23. It is the Messiah Enoch that becomes the central ancient figure of the Essenes, far above Moses, and he is the source of their inspiration. Because the Nasorean Sect which eventually became the Jerusalem Church came from the Essenes, it is only reasonable to assume that Enoch had a great influence on the original followers of Jesus.
Rabbi Morris B. Margolies in his book A Gathering of Angels says:
The angel Metatron plays a very important role in the Pseudepigrapha, the Talmud, and, especially, the Zohar, masterwork of the Kabbalah. In the Hebrew Book of Enoch, Enoch becomes Metatron as soon as he, Enoch, is translated live into heaven. In that work, Enoch describes the transformation of his earthly body into a fiery flame.
Shortly after Enoch-Metatron's arrival in heaven he is assigned one of the central roles within the gathering of angels. His tasks are varied: he ministers to the Throne of Glory where G-d Himself is ensconced; he is the High Priest of the heavenly Temple; he is in charge of the guardian angels assigned to the metaphorical "seventy peoples of the world"; he is the minister of wisdom who also holds the keys to the mysteries of all matters divine....
Ironically, in a later Zoharic work, the Tikkunei Zohar, Metatron is identified as the biblical "tree of knowledge of good and bad." There the idea is developed that in Metatron are combined both human and angelic perfection. This unique situation renders Metatron supremely qualified to mediate between the human and divine...." pg. 81-82.
Thus we learn that Enoch-Metatron is the Archangel of the Presence. Now Exodus describes this Archangel in the following way: "See, I am sending an Angel before you, to guard you on the Way and bring you to the Place I have prepared. Be attentive to Him and heed His Voice. Do not rebel against Him, for He will not forgive your sin. My Name resides in Him." Exodus 23:20-21. We know that the Name is the very power of G-d. Thus this Archangel, part Man and part Angel, is the Viceroy of G-d in this Multiverse with the full power of G-d Himself. We learn that he can forgive sins. He has a Voice that we can hear. Very literally, Enoch was the Son of the Most High, a Savior of Mankind, the living Tree of Good and Evil. When it says in scripture, G-d's hand did this, G-d's wrath went out, G-d did anything, it really means that Enoch-Metatron did it. Now, Zohar goes further. It tells us that Enoch-Metatron is in fact YHVH.
This truth clarifies a number of great problems that the Judaeo-Christian-Muslim theology have had to deal with. First, G-d is not here. He is elsewhere. He has a Viceroy. That Viceroy has the fullness of authority upon him. He can forgive and he can exalt. G-d who is infinite spirit has a viceroy that acts in this Multiverse, who is not all powerful, not all good, not all knowing, but He is One, the G-d of the Hebrews. Evil exists because the world is not yet perfected. Evil exists because we have the wrong definition of life and of evil.
Enoch united the spark of the Divine with Humanity. Humanity needs is to give. The Archangel must be a giver. He provides the Divine Light to this Multiverse through his Mediatorial role. As the unique Son of the Most High, He represents the fullness of the Divine on Earth. He has been incarnated seven times. In the case of one of the additional Messiahs, the last, He Enoch-Metatron, the Archangel of the Presence, deigned to produce in a normal way. He descended and overshadowed a young woman named Merriam and they had a child and his name embodies the Highest of Ideals, YHVH Saves, Yeshua. He literally was Emmanuel, for the Divine Nature was again incarnated into a Man of extraordinary Holiness.
I will continue this series of blogs with the remaining six Messiahs over the next few days.
Genesis describes the first Messiah in these words: "When Jared was one hundred and sixty two years old, he became the father of Enoch.... When Enoch was sixty-five years old he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch lived three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Enoch was three hundred and sixty five years. Then Enoch walked with G-d and he was no longer here for G-d took him." 5:18,21-23. It is the Messiah Enoch that becomes the central ancient figure of the Essenes, far above Moses, and he is the source of their inspiration. Because the Nasorean Sect which eventually became the Jerusalem Church came from the Essenes, it is only reasonable to assume that Enoch had a great influence on the original followers of Jesus.
Rabbi Morris B. Margolies in his book A Gathering of Angels says:
The angel Metatron plays a very important role in the Pseudepigrapha, the Talmud, and, especially, the Zohar, masterwork of the Kabbalah. In the Hebrew Book of Enoch, Enoch becomes Metatron as soon as he, Enoch, is translated live into heaven. In that work, Enoch describes the transformation of his earthly body into a fiery flame.
Shortly after Enoch-Metatron's arrival in heaven he is assigned one of the central roles within the gathering of angels. His tasks are varied: he ministers to the Throne of Glory where G-d Himself is ensconced; he is the High Priest of the heavenly Temple; he is in charge of the guardian angels assigned to the metaphorical "seventy peoples of the world"; he is the minister of wisdom who also holds the keys to the mysteries of all matters divine....
Ironically, in a later Zoharic work, the Tikkunei Zohar, Metatron is identified as the biblical "tree of knowledge of good and bad." There the idea is developed that in Metatron are combined both human and angelic perfection. This unique situation renders Metatron supremely qualified to mediate between the human and divine...." pg. 81-82.
Thus we learn that Enoch-Metatron is the Archangel of the Presence. Now Exodus describes this Archangel in the following way: "See, I am sending an Angel before you, to guard you on the Way and bring you to the Place I have prepared. Be attentive to Him and heed His Voice. Do not rebel against Him, for He will not forgive your sin. My Name resides in Him." Exodus 23:20-21. We know that the Name is the very power of G-d. Thus this Archangel, part Man and part Angel, is the Viceroy of G-d in this Multiverse with the full power of G-d Himself. We learn that he can forgive sins. He has a Voice that we can hear. Very literally, Enoch was the Son of the Most High, a Savior of Mankind, the living Tree of Good and Evil. When it says in scripture, G-d's hand did this, G-d's wrath went out, G-d did anything, it really means that Enoch-Metatron did it. Now, Zohar goes further. It tells us that Enoch-Metatron is in fact YHVH.
This truth clarifies a number of great problems that the Judaeo-Christian-Muslim theology have had to deal with. First, G-d is not here. He is elsewhere. He has a Viceroy. That Viceroy has the fullness of authority upon him. He can forgive and he can exalt. G-d who is infinite spirit has a viceroy that acts in this Multiverse, who is not all powerful, not all good, not all knowing, but He is One, the G-d of the Hebrews. Evil exists because the world is not yet perfected. Evil exists because we have the wrong definition of life and of evil.
Enoch united the spark of the Divine with Humanity. Humanity needs is to give. The Archangel must be a giver. He provides the Divine Light to this Multiverse through his Mediatorial role. As the unique Son of the Most High, He represents the fullness of the Divine on Earth. He has been incarnated seven times. In the case of one of the additional Messiahs, the last, He Enoch-Metatron, the Archangel of the Presence, deigned to produce in a normal way. He descended and overshadowed a young woman named Merriam and they had a child and his name embodies the Highest of Ideals, YHVH Saves, Yeshua. He literally was Emmanuel, for the Divine Nature was again incarnated into a Man of extraordinary Holiness.
I will continue this series of blogs with the remaining six Messiahs over the next few days.
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