{new Jerusalem}The New Jerusalem - Art used by permission Duncan Long.

 

“The Creator and the Throne of the God of Israel”

The Oracles of God in Zechariah 9-14 and the Beginning Days of Redemption

Translation by the New King James Version

Commentary by Robert D. Mock MD

robertmock@biblesearchers.com

November, 2002

Reedited September 2005 and July 2008

Zechariah 12, Verse 1

Part One

 

Topics

Creator of the heavens

The Whirlwind, the Four Creatures, the Cosmic Wheels

The Vault, the Firmament, and the Sea of Glass

Blue, the color of Sapphire, the color of the Sea of Glass and

the Firmament of the Heavens

The Foundations of the Earth and the New Earth

The Foundations of the New Jerusalem

 

Creator of the heavens

 

Zechariah 12:1 – The burden of the Word of the Lord for Israel saith the Lord,

Which stretcheth forth the heavens,

And layeth the foundations of the earth,

 

The Burden of the Lord is announced again as HaShem pronounced the second Oracle of God, which was sent to the Prophet Zechariah. This time, the God of Israel identifies Himself. Speaking to the 21st century CE, astrophysicists through the 6th century BCE prophet, Zechariah, He says, “Look through the Hubble telescope, and what do you see?  As the universe rolls out before you like the unfurling of a scroll, remember who I am.   As the stars in the heavens lay like flowers on a carpet of grass, remember who I am.  Remember, I am the Creator of the heavens and I colored the heavens blue like sapphire. Remember when I invited Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders of Israel to meet Me on the Mount Sinai, what did they see?”  Read the words of Moses:

 

Exodus 24:10 (NKJV) – “And they saw the God of IsraelAnd there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very substance of the heavens in its clarity.

 

The whirlwind, the four creatures, the cosmic wheels

 

Look again, says the Lord of Hosts, “Remember the great Prophet, Ezekiel, who with the exiles from the House of http://catholic-resources.org/Images/Long/img49.jpgIsrael along the River Kebar, was taken on a mystical journey while in vision.   Yes, I took him out of this three dimensional existence, for I opened the gates of heaven. (Ezekiel 1:1)  What did he see?”  Yes, there was a whirlwind with a cloud raging in fire and the color of amber radiating from within it’s midst. (Ezekiel 1: 4) Also within the cloud came the appearance of four human like creatures, sparkling like burnished bronze. (Ezekiel 1:5-14) 

 

Ezekiel’s Vision of the “Wheel within a Wheel”

 

Beside each of the four creatures was a cosmic wheel, four in number, the color of beryl, functioning like a wheel within a wheel”. These wheels moved in four directions over the face of the earth.  (Ezekiel 1: 15-17)  What was the cardinal or center point of reference?  Jerusalem. Were these wheels the same as the four horses that ranged over the face of the earth in Zechariah’s first vision?  (Zechariah 1:8-12)  Were these four wheels the same as the four horns in the second vision of Zechariah, which scattered the House of Judah and Jerusalem? (Zechariah 1: 18-19)  Are these four energy forces flowing back and forth, radiating like spokes from the center of Zion, the two mountains like copper or bronze?   Were they the same as Zechariah saw in his vision of four horses and chariots, called thefour spirits (winds) of Heaven who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth?” (Zechariah 6: 1-8) 

 

The rims of the wheels, the hubs, “were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.”  (Ezekiel 1:19, 9:11)  These are cosmic eyes, the eyes of the Lord.  (Zechariah 3:9, 4:10) Remember, the eyes of the Lord are multitude in number and move about over the four cherubim, yet, as John the Revelator witnessed this literal scene, the throne of God, also seen in the spirit or in vision, he witnessed the cherubim as “covered with eyes, in front and behind”(Revelation 4:6) Yes, what he was also seeing were the multitude of eyes and encompassed the wheel within the wheel that went beside or beneath the four cherubim of the Lord.  

 

The direction that these four energy forces, spirits or winds moved included traveling back and forth across the face of the earth. Yet they also were lifted up from the face of the earth and move out of our three-dimensional world into the fourth and the above dimensional worlds of HaShem. (Ezekiel 19-21)  Also the spirit of the four creatures, which stood under the throne of God, also directed the movement of the wheels, for the “spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.”  (Ezekiel 1:21)

 

What are we seeing?  This is none other than the four cherubim who sit beneath the throne of God.

 

Ezekiel 10:1“And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.”

 

Revelation 4:6-10“And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within, And they do not rest day or night, saying;

 

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

 

The Vault, the Firmament, and the Sea of Glass

 

http://www.adoptalamb.com/SeaOfGlass_LG.gif“Above the four creatures was a vault, glittering like a sheet of ice, awe-inspiring as it stretched over their heads.” (Ezekiel 1:22) In the NKJV, the vault is called the “likeness of the firmament”, which was described as “like the color of an awesome crystal, stretching out over their heads.” (Ezekiel 1: 22)  This reminded me of a few years ago; we took a trip to the Canadian Rockies and spent some time climbing in and out of the ice caves in the mountain glacier.  The most gorgeous and awesome blue color irradiated through the purity of the ice transformed these caverns into blue icehousesKeep in mind this color blue.  It is critical to an understanding of heaven and the relationship of heaven to Torah.

 

The Sea of Glass – Artist Bruce Eagle

 

Once again in literal terms, we have the cherubim, residing above or surrounded by wheels with a multitude of eyes.  Their wings were outstretched, touching each other, until a voice came down from above. Then they folded their wings. (Ezekiel 1:24)  In another picture, we again look at the throne of God, and “before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal.” (Revelation 4:6)

 

This sea of glass was first seen by Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders of Israel on Mount Sinai, and there “they saw the God of Israel.  Under his feet there was, as it were, a pavement of sapphire, a clear blue as the very heavens.” (Exodus 24:10 NEB) This sea of glass was again seen sixteen hundred years later by John, when he stated, “Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal.  And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.” (Revelation 4:6) Later John is taken in vision to behold another scene, “And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, (Mark of the Beast) standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.  They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and http://www.graal.co.uk/ezekiel.jpgthe song of the Lamb.”  (Revelation 15: 2-4) This group is called the great multitude, but who are they? 

 

The Throne of God aligning with Ezekiel’s Temple in Jerusalem

 

The great multitude is also accompanying another special group, the 144,000.   In Revelation 7, the 144,000 are given every description of being pure tribal genetic Israelites. Wow, can you imagine the implications of finding an individual whose genealogy can be traced in succession back to the tribe of Joseph, or maybe Naphtali or even Zebulon?  Impossibly you exclaim! Well, maybe so if we have to depend upon the intact genealogical records on this earth.  But what about HaShem, the God of Israel?  He should know.  If He knows the number of the hairs on each of our heads, surely He should know our genealogies.  So where are these people now seen?  That’s right, they are standing on Mount Zion, with the Lamb Yahshua, singing a new song before the throne of God, a song that only they knew and they could learn.  For it says:

 

Revelation 14:3“They sang as if it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earthThese are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virginsThese are the one who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.  These were redeemed from among men, being first-fruits to God and to the Lamb.  And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

 

http://www.adoptalamb.com/breath_largeTD014_350.jpgCan you imagine the synergy of energy as the music of the spheres now sung by redeemed saints will surround the throne of God? The sea of glass has a great multitude with swells of anthems and praising, singing the “Song of Moses in the presence of the throne with Yahshua, the 144,000 are singing aNew Song”, which no one else will be able to learn or sing.

 

Adam created in the Image of God

 

Wait a minute.  These scenes in Revelation 7 and 17 may be many months prior to the blowing of the seventh trumpet and the arrival of the Messiah.   The 144,000 are seen immediately after the Great Earthquake in the 6th Seal of Revelation 6. (Revelation 6:12-17) and also immediately after the only angel recorded in scripture is seen ascending in the east having the Seal of the Living God.” (Revelation 7:2)  This event also follows immediately after the earth beast that was given power so that he might give breath to the image of the  beast”. 

 

As Adam was created by Yahshua, in the sefirotic image of God, so Satan will also create his own “image” and give life and it will be known as the anti-Christ or the anti-Messiah.   As the Eternal One commands us to worship the One who is the express manifestation of Himself, Yahshua, the Creator of our heaven and earth, so also HaSatan, the “Devil” or the anti-God of Israel, will command all men to worship the earth beast system, controlled by the anti-Messiah, who will be created in Satan’s own image.  Was it not one of the 24 elders, who spoke with John, exclaiming;

 

Revelation 7:14-15“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.”

 

When does this marvelous event occur?    Some prophecy scholars suggest that the 144,000 are Jews who accept Yahshua and now are going out to minister to their people during those last few weeks on this earth.  To do so, a scholar would have to cut out this passage and insert it into the text after the beginning of the Seventh Seal, when the Seventh trumpet of the Seventh Seal is blown heralding the second coming of the Messiah. 

 

To keep the proper exegesis of the Revelation text intact, the 144,000 and the great multitude are seen before the throne of God and on the sea of glass after the end of the sixth seal.  The sixth seal occurs with the sealing of God’s people on their foreheads and the placing of the mark of the beast by Satan on the foreheads and their right hands of those in rebellion against HaShem, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

 

The Grand Tetons reflected upon Jackson Lake in the State of Wyoming – Photo by Robert Mock

 

Look upon a crystal clear lake in a mountain valley and what do you see?   Yes, you see the mirror image, the three dimensional world of mountain peaks, towering pines and shimmering clouds are reflected in mirror image on the mirrored surface of a lake. Take away now that inter-dimensional veil that separates or shields us from the other dimensions of heavenMust heaven be 94 million light years in some other galaxy?  Not so, say the quantum physicists and the astrophysicistsOur universe is one of many universesThey are not spread over the unfathomable reaches of million light years away, but spiraling as universes become stacked as parallel universes, next to each other

 

It is correct, when John the Revelator states that the windows of heaven were opened; he was able to see the activity and reality of the other dimensions.  When YHVH God manifested in human flesh as King Yahshua, is ready to mount a white horse and dons upon Himself many crowns and the regalia as the King of kings and the Lord of Lords, John stated that I saw heaven open.” (Revelation 19:11)  When John saw the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony (inner shrine) in heaven, he stated:

 

Revelation 15:5“After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.”

 

The Grand Tetons looking over the rippled (flawed) surface of Jackson Lake – Photo by Robert Mock

 

Then what is real and what is the image of the real?  Is our three-dimensional world real, or is it just a mirror image?  Adam was made in the image of God and that image became marred.  The Garden of Eden (Gans Eden) was but an image of the Heavenly Garden of Eden, and to protect it, Adam and Eve, in their fallen and marred state were driven from its eastern gatesBy tradition, the Garden of Eden was removed from this earth.  The Temple of Solomon was just a reflection of the Heavenly Temple of God.  The Zerubabbel Temple was only a flawed substitute. Tell me again, what is real and what is the reflection of the real? Is that why the Pharisee trained Apostle Paul kept exclaiming, do not cling to this world of flesh, for this too will pass away.  Humble thoughts for those of us who are so depended upon our five senses to tell us what is real, only to realize that we are only a mirror image of the Ultimate Reality.  

 

Blue, the color of Sapphire, the color of the Sea of Glass and

the Firmament of the Heavens

 

Inherent in this whole discussion of the creation of the heavens is the word, sapphire blue, the color of the sky, our firmament and our three dimensional heaven.  This word, Sapphire, describing the foundation of the Throne of God, is a description of a color, sapphire blue.  As the Lord “stretches forth the heavens”, He is actually stretching forth the foundation of the Throne of God.  Do we get the image?  When HaShem made the initial act to create, He also made the initial act to establish His Throne.  Why have a throne if you do not have any subjects to love, relate or to rule over.  In essence the Kingship of God is related directly with His creatorship

 

All the heavenly descriptions in reference to the throne of God use the Hebrew word, kappiyr (Strong’s 5601) coming from the stem root, caphar (Strong’s 5608) which meant to score with a mark as a tally or record, or to inscribe, to celebrate, count, declare, show forth, speak, talk tell or to write. This was in reference that the sapphire was the hardest gem known to mankind (Hardness 9) next to the diamond (Hardness 10).  As such, it was used for inscription and writing. According to the Midrash, HaShem wrote the divine Law, the Torah upon a blue sapphire stone.  This eternal document contained the 613 commandments of Torah living required of His people.  That the Lord would write His Torah, or teachings, upon a sapphire stone gives indication of its worth and its durability.  On the other hand, the sapphire stone was of extreme worth as an instrument to write on other durable goods, such as stone. 

 

On the other hand, all the earthly descriptions in reference to blue, even when they seem to mimic or to be a reflection of the true heavenly reality, a sapphire blue, use a different word, tekhelet, (Strong’s 8504) the color (violet). Strong’s feels this sapphire blue comes from the Cerulean mussel in which the dye was obtained.  This was the color, blue, representing the firmament of the heavens that was used as fabric and curtains to drape the ceiling of the Wilderness TabernacleIt was the Zohar, when it refered to tekeleth, that stateed, “This color had to appear in the Tabernacle for this reason:”

 

Genesis 1:6 – “And God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’” 

 

image006.jpg (37177 bytes)It was this dye, the color sapphire blue that became one of the rarest and most costly of dyes to be obtained in the ancient worldIt was known to come from the gland of a snail in the Mediterranean, which disappeared soon after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, and the process of how to extract it was lost.  Not until 1985, one Sabbatical week of years, was this snail rediscovered in the Mediterranean. Out of it came the royal purple and the royal blue.  It was also this blue dye that was used to dye the blue cord on each tzitzit, which was the hem or fringe of the prayer shawls of the Hebrews as commanded by HaShem.

 

Murex branfaris and Murex trunculus Snails

 

Numbers 15:37 – “HaShem said to Moses saying, Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tzit-tzit on the corners of your garments, and with a blue cord on each tzit-tzit, You will have these tzit-tzit to look at and you will remember all the commands of the Lord, and you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lust of your own hearts and eyes.  Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.’”

 

So looking at this colored blue thread, twisted into a fringe, the tzit-tzit, at the corners of an Israelite’s garment, was to remind the Torah observant Israelite of the 613 commandments of the Lord and the yoke of commitment he was placing in service to his GodHow was this garment with hems and fringes made with the blue dye?  According to an article formerly posted by Jim Long called the “True Color”, we can understand the importance of the tekhelet dye. 

 

The tekhelet dye was made from the gland of a snail found in the MediterraneanOne legend tells us the creatures only surfaced every 70 yearsDue to the vibrant richness of this dye and its colorfast property, it was a rare commodity. Though the Talmud describes the tekhelet, the actual type of snail and the exact process is not detailed.  Eventually the tekhelet was lost for nearly 1300 yearsUntil recently, an observant Jew could not fulfill the directive of gazing upon the blue cord. 

 

A group of researchers based at Kfar Adummin, located between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, rediscovered this ancient process.  In 1991, Dr. Baruch Sterman, Dr. Ari Greenspan, Joel Guberman and Rabbi Eliyahu Tavger founded the Ptil Tekhelet Association pursue the research and restoration of the special blue for use in the tallit and eventually the Third Temple.

 

The team had found that the snail used in the process was a species known as the Murex truncalus.  Their quest had been sparked by the work of Otto Elsner and Ehud Spanier at Haifa UniversityElsner had discovered by accident that the dye extracted from the Murex trunculus exhibited different color characteristics when exposed to cloudy or direct sunlight.

 

Murex TzitzitSpeaking in a videotaped interview with our friend Graham Humberstone last year, Dr. Ari Greenspan noted, “We take the gland out of the snail.  As soon as the gland is exposed to oxygen, the liquid in that gland undergoes a fascinating chemical transformation from a clear liquid to a yellow, to a green, a greenish blue, aquamarine, then blue and ultimately ends up a dark purple.”

 

The Biblical Blue from the Murex Trunculus

 

Greenspan goes on to describe the rest of the process wherein the purple liquid is dried and then ground into a powder.  By exposing this new compound to sunlight, the blue described in the ancient Jewish sources is achieved.

 

Dr. Baruch Sterman, writing in the publication B’Or Ha Torah (Issue #1), Shamir Publication, Israel, revealed one of the most dramatic aspects of the tekhelet.

 

“The molecules of any specific color can be measured in exact wavelengths.  This measurement is read in increments called nanometersWhen the molecules of the blue color called Tekhelet, extracted from the murex trunculus snail are measured, the reading peaks at exactly 613 nanometers. What a marvelous coincidence that this number matches the total number of commandments in the Torah, written by the finger of God in sky-blue sapphire.”

 

Our own efforts, here at Vendyl Jones Research Institutes, were directly influenced by the tekhelet.  It was the reference to a “blue moundin the Copper Scroll that eventually led to the buried spices of the Qetoret.

 

During the 1988 excavation, on the North side of the Cave of the Column complex, Vendyl and dig volunteer Johnny Powell were held awestruck as a shaft of light, penetrating into a deep chamber, projected a sky-blue aura onto the cave floor.  The intensity and hue of the light came from the brilliant sky at Qumran.  Many of our volunteers can attest to the deep vivid blue sky over our dig site on a sunny day.

 

The observant Jew today, cannot fulfill the mitzvah of Numbers 15:37. He can meditate on the “twist of blue” and recall the eternal Torah, hewn from sapphire under the Throne of Glory.  And very soon the non-Jew, who loves God, Torah and Israel, can look forward to the days when;

 

Zechariah 8:23 – “Ten men of all languages and nations will take hold of one Jew by the corner Tzit-tzit of his garment and say, ‘Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you.

 

The Foundations of the Earth and the New Earth

 

 Zechariah 12:1b - He layeth the Foundations of the Earth.

 

Here the Lord of Hosts pronounces Himself as the Creator God, not of just the universe, not the one who created the earth, but the one who laid the foundations of the earth.    Reach into your mind, when most of us think of the creation of this earth, we think of creating birds, flowers, animals and even the stars and the stellar bodies, but this earth, well it was a mass floating into outer space that was “without form and void”. 

 

The Foundations of the New Jerusalem

 

http://www.adoptalamb.com/NewJerusalem_LG.gifIn the New Jerusalem, which will be associated with the New Earth, a large portion of the text is used to describe the foundations of the city(Hebrews 11:10, Revelation 21:14, 19)  These foundations were reported to be twelve in number, a number of significance symbolisms to the Hebrew God.  Was there such care in the formation of the foundations of this earth? Evidently there was, as the Lord of Hosts “marked off its dimension and stretched a measuring line across it, provided (magnetic) footings to set it, and laid its cornerstone.”  Listen to the text.

 

The New Jerusalem – Artist Bruce Eagle

 

Job 38:4 - “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?   Tell me, if you understand.  Who marked of its dimensionsSurely you know!  Who stretched a measuring line across it?  On what were its footings, set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”

 

 Here is a most fascinating passage, Isaiah 54, written right after the entire chapter devoted to the Suffering Servant, the First Messiah, Isaiah 53Here the Messiah of the Lord was described as:

 

Isaiah 53:3, 5, 7-9, parts) - “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with sufferingLike one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not….He was pierced for our transgression, he was crushed for our iniquities….he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter…he was cut from the land of the living.  He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death.” 

 

This was a most beautiful and haunting passage on the ministry of Yahshua ben Yosef, the Nazarene. Then the Lord of Hosts launches in the next verse an ode and exaltation to the future glory of Zion. 

 

Isaiah 54: 1-3, 5-7, 9-13, parts  - “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy….Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.  For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities…For your Maker is your husband, the Lord Almighty is his name, the Holy One of Israel (Yahshua) is your Redeemer, he is called the God of all the earth. 

 

The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit, a wife who married young, only to be rejected,”  (remember the child of Mary and Joseph) says your God.  For a brief moment I abandoned you, (less than two thousand years) but with deep compassion I will bring you back….

 

http://rainbowcastle.org/preciousstones/foundationNewJerusalem.jpgThough the mountains be shaken (Sixth Seal of Revelation) and the hills be removed (Seventh Trumpet of the Seventh Seal), yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed….O afflicted city, (Zion) lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. (Is this the New Jerusalem?) All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace.”

 

The Crystalline Color Schematic of the Twelve Foundations of the New Jerusalem

 

Consider this passage carefully.  The foundation of the Throne of the Almighty God lies upon a crystal sea which is the canopy over the cherubim who in turn form the footings and the cornerstone for the ThroneIs this a real sea of water?  Well, pure water is a sapphire blue, but the great multitude of people is standing on the sea. Is this crystalline sea, large enough to house a great multitude, a giant sapphire, with the hardness next to that of a diamond?  

 

Silicon is the matrix of the core building material of this earthIt appears that at least one archangel or anointed cherub, Lucifer, was made of silicon and gold. (See Ode to the King of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:11-19 and Isaiah 14:12-17) The foundations of the New Jerusalem seem to be encompassed in large part by silicon based stones, and silicon is the number one conductor of energy. So what do we have?  Here resides a vast storehouse of the immense energy of HaShem, the Almighty God.                                                                                                                                 

Let us dig a little deeper.  In Revelation, the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem are described

 

Revelation 21:19 - “The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 

 

When John saw the Holy City descending down out of heaven from YHVH, as described, he stated:

 

Revelation 21:10-12 - “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of GodHer light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystalAnd she had Hope Diamonda great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.”

 

The Hope Diamond in the Smithsonian Institute Hall of Minerals and Gems

 

In my youth, I loved to collect gems and mineralsJasper is a common mineral.  It is a dense burnt orange stone and very opaqueYet there is a crystalline variety of jasper, which is emerald green, very much like the most precious crystal clear green JadeWhen I was about ten years old, I achieved one of my dreams to visit the Hall of Minerals and Gems in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.  Two things I remember from that visit, the priceless Hope Diamond of brilliance blue, and the large slab of green Jade, so transparent you could read a book through it. 

 

According to some scholars, iaspis, (Strong’s Greek 2393) is a brilliant green crystalline structureIn fact, the city itself had every appearance of “a precious jewel, like jasper, clear as a crystal”.  What do we have here?  Are we seeing a traditional foursquare city with foundations settling on a flat surface like the earth?  It does not appear that way. The Greek word, krustallizo, means to be clear or brilliant like a crystal, or having a crystalline matrix like a clear crystal.

 

All our traditional pictures of the New Jerusalem are all modeled after a three-dimensional walled ancient or medieval cityNone of them have any appearances of a crystal, yet the Herodian Jerusalem was proclaimed by the ancient writers to shine with the brilliance of whiteness because of the gleaming polished limestone temple. This still falls far short of an appearance like a crystal.

 

http://www.templeinstitute.org/images/breastplate_stones.jpgLet us first look at the work, Jasper.  Three times this word is used in the Old Testament, two in reference to the Breast Plate of the High Priest (Exodus 28:20, 39:13) and one in reference to the matrix or makeup of Lucifer, the Son of the Dawn, the Cherub who stood in the Garden of Eden(Ezekiel 28:13) There are four references in the New Testament and all are in the Book of Revelation. All references are related to other dimensional realities.  The first being a view of the Throne of God and the latter three in reference to a description of the Holy City, the New JerusalemAny description of the other dimensions of time and how they refer to our three dimensional earth is a struggle for translators much less the mystics who had the privilege to behold these glories.  Let us look at these passages.

 

The Stones in the Breastplate of the High Priest – Temple Institute

 

Revelation 4:3“And there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.  And the One who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian.  A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 

 

Revelation 21:11“It shown with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”

 

Revelation 21:18 – “The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.”

 

Revelation 21: 19 – “The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.  The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire ……”

 

The Hebrew is yashpheh, (Strong’s 3471) coming from an unused root meaning to polishIt is assumed to be a gem from the context of its use, but what type of gem is only assumed by the resemblance of yashpheh with jasper.  Until the Breast Plate of the Hebrew High Priest is recovered, we will still be in mystery.  The Greek word for jasper is iaspis (Strong’s 2393) and is only translated as jasper.  

 

When looking from the exterior surface, the city will look like jasper, yet the foundations of the city are twelve in number, the first and exterior surface being jasper, the second being sapphireBear in mind we are dealing with crystalline structures or minerals.  Each crystal has a crystalline matrix and as such transmits energy in a different way.  Depending on the transmission of light (energy) will depend on the hue of color that is transmitted. 

 

Let us transpose this back to earth as a celestial bodyTo us and to the ancients, the earth was known to be a sphereGemstones in the ancient world, contrary to modern gems set in beautiful settings of jewelry, were not facetedFaceting a stone is a modern trade using patterns found in the microscopic crystalline structures of gems. The ancients polished these gems to resemble the modern cabochon, a smooth highly polished round or oval gem.  The only way to tell a gem as a crystal was by its clarity, as it was not faceted like a crystal.  Some crystals are formed naturally, with great beauty and delicate structural form while most gems are molten and imbedded in a matrix. 

 

When we are discussing the foundations of the earth, we are in reality describing the matrix of the continental plates that surround the surface of this earth.  Our current earth has an iron core with an iron encrusted mantle.  As modern geologists will tell us, most of the mantle on this earth is composed of the working of volcanic activity, or the deposition of limestone coming from the vast deposits of forest in the antediluvian world. 

 

The question is, was the original mantle of the earth actually composed of layers of crystalline stone like the New Jerusalem will be composed?  If such, the mantle that surrounds the earth is actually the foundation.  Therefore the foundation we will be seeing image001surrounding the New Jerusalem is actually a mantle that will surround it.  The outer surface will be composed of jasper, therefore it will be the surface seen from outer space.  The foundation will be built one upon another like layers of a mantle surrounding a sphere. 

 

Crystal Grid:  Double Penta-dodecahedron Crystal Form - Twelve Double Pentacles  Twenty Crown Points based on the Golden Mean Proportion – (Jochman, Joseph, LL.D. Journeys into Meta Creation)

 

Then we see twelve gates, portals or entryways into the cityIn as much as the city is an entire planetary celestial object, we must now envision twelve double pentacle portals or entryways into a penta-dodeca energy grid.  These are guarded by twelve cherubim.  We saw two cherubim at the Garden of Eden and four surrounding the Throne of God.  Are these the guardian angels (Cherubim) for each of the twelve tribes represented by the 144,000? (Revelation 7:4-8)

 

Then we see again cardinal points, but now we have a celestial body as the point of reference, not a geographic point on the mantle of the globe (i.e. Jerusalem)  A magnetic orientation is implied, but not like the geo magnetic forces that surround our present earth but a gyroscopic force field that is internal to the city, the New Jerusalem, as HaShem will dwell within this energy force field.

 

When we study the wilderness camp of Israel in the Negev desert, we see 3 tribes in each of the cardinal points, each with their own standard.  The camp of Israel was oriented clockwise, yet the gates of the New Jerusalem are named counterclockwiseAre we witnessing a different type of an energy force field?

 

http://www.templeinstitute.org/beged/images/rimon-large.jpgThe twelve foundations imply a superstructure, yet it is described as foursquare or cube-like.  Such an organized city, whose length, breadth and height are equal, yet having twelve foundations with twelve gates or energy portals with height (Greek hypsos) which suggests crowns or points on a geo-magnetic structure, we now can begin to envision possibly the real awesome beauty of the New Jerusalem. 

  

 The size of such a city will be 1200 furlong, or about 1500 miles on the ancient human cubit scale. The length and breadth would be 2.25 million square miles, and including the height, or the cubic size, makes this planetary sphere about 3.375 billion cubic miles or about the size of the moon.  It will truly be self-radiating, self-sustaining and truly the center of its solar system or universe, as God Himself will dwell there with His people.

 

Can we suggest that the outer surface of the New Jerusalem will have the same crystalline matrix as the throne of the Almighty One, the One who sits upon the Throne of God.  Why?  Because the outer surface of the New Jerusalem is transmitting the same frequency of energy of the same color and the foundation below the Throne of God.

 

Since the Lord of Hosts is not limited to time and space, can we suggest that the Almighty God actually surrounds the surface of the New Jerusalem?  Or are the foundations of the New Jerusalem surrounding the throne of God? 

 

The Golden Bells on the Blue Tassels of the Golden Garment of the High Priest already complete and Ready for the Dedication of the

New Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem

 

The first foundation is an emerald green crystalline hue like jasper with the Throne of God and the Almighty sitting upon it within its midst.  The second foundation is the brilliant blue of sapphire, the same as the foundation below the throne of God, seen as the sea of glass, clear as crystal.  Maybe what we are seeing as the New Jerusalem is another spherical body that orbits along side the earth during the millennium that will come down and rest upon this planet at the end of a thousand years? 

 

Revelation 21:1-3“Now I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth, for the First Heaven and the First Earth were passed away.  Also there was no more sea.”

 

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

 

Let us now look at one final passage. 

 

Psalms 87:1 – “He (the Lord of Hosts) has set his foundation on the Holy Mountain; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” 

 

This gives additional emphasis to the complete deference of the Lord to Jerusalem and Mount Zion.  It also gives additional textual understanding to the passages in the prophets and especially Revelation in which the cardinal points of the compass are used to define the understanding of the textWhere is the center of the compass?  Jerusalem and Mount Zion This is where the Almighty One will set His Sefirot, the world of the Divine upon this earth and the Shekinah Glory will hallow that spot.  Here is where the Ancient of Days will return to reestablish his throne in the end of days in theNew Heaven and the New Earth.” 

 

Go to Zechariah 12:1 –

The Levels of Creation and the Souls of Man

Commentary on Zechariah 12:1

 

The Spirit of Man

Dust of the Ground + Breath of God = The Soul of Man.

The Five Levels of Reality or Creations

Was Jesus Begotten?

Was Jesus Created?

Is Jesus Divine?

The Sefirot – The Hebrew Model of Creation

The First World of Reality – The Keter or the Unseen Almighty God

The Second World of Reality – The World of the Divine

The Third World of Reality – The Angelic World of Creation

The Fourth World of Reality – The Adamic World of Formation

 The Fifth World of Reality – The Human World of Action

 Five Levels of the Prophecy

Five Levels of the Human Soul

First Level of the Human Soul, the Nefesh, Soul of the Atomic Word

Second Level of the Human Soul – Ruach, Soul of the Spirit

 Third Level of the Human Soul – Neshama, the Breath of God

 Fourth Level of the Human Soul – Chayah, the Mystical Ecstasy

 Fifth Level of the Human Soul – Yehidah, the World of Will

 

Go to Zechariah 12:1-2

Jerusalem, a Cup of Trembling

 

The Burden of the Lord Against Israel

I will Make Jerusalem a Cup of Trembling

The History of Jerusalem in days of Abraham and the Judges

The History of Jerusalem from the days of King David to the 20th Century

The Jews, the Land and the Treaty of Versailles

The Jews, Hitler, the Holocaust and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble

The Woman in Travail giveth Birth - A Nation is Born, Israel

The Origins of the Palestinian Crisis

A Cup of Trembling

The Nations of the World Tremble

 

Index for the Commentary on the Prophecies of Zechariah

 

The Redemption and Restoration of Jerusalem and Israel

Zechariah 1 - God remembers and God blesses at the Appointed Time

Zechariah 2 – God sets His sights to Rebuild Jerusalem

Zechariah 3 – The Priesthood is Re-consecrated for the Temple

Zechariah 4 – God sends Israel His Anointed Ones and His faithful Eyes

Zechariah 5 – The Flying of the Megillah and the Cleansing of the Land

Zechariah 6 – The Four Chariots, Temple is Built and Israel is a Theocracy

Zechariah 7 – Replace Feasts of Fasting with Obedience, Justice and Mercy

Zechariah 8 – Let us Feast with Joy – God returns to Dwell with His People

 

The Oracles and Judgments of the God of Israel

 Zechariah 9 - Part One – The Burden of the Lord on the Fertile Crescent

Zechariah 9 - Part Two – The God of Israel wants Damascus to be One of His Zions

 Zechariah 9 - Part Three – The Prelude to the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War – Global News

Zechariah 9 - Part Four The Israeli-Hezbollah War in the Summer 2006

17 Tammuz to the 9th Av 5766 – Global News

 Zechariah 9 - Part Five – The Oracles of HaShem against the Palestinians

Zechariah 10 – Latter Rain - Restoration of the Houses of Judah & Joseph

Zechariah 11 – The Shepherds and the Staff in the Land of Israel

Zechariah 12:1 – The Creator and the Throne of the God of Israel

Zechariah 12:1 – The Creator, the Worlds of Creation, the Spirit of God, and the Souls of Man

Zechariah 12:1-2 –    Jerusalem, a Cup of Trembling

Zechariah 12:3-14 – Jerusalem, a Burdensome Stone

Zechariah 13 – The Gihon Fountain flows from the Temple of the Lord

Zechariah 14 - I will gather all Nations to battle at Jerusalem
The Lord’s feet will stand on the Mount of Olives

 

Message from BibleSearchers

 

BibleSearchers scans the world for information that has relevance on the time of the end.  It is our prayer that this will allow the believers in the Almighty One of Israel to “watch and be ready”.  Our readiness has nothing to do trying to halt the progression of evil on our planet earth.  In our readiness, we seek to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah of Israel so that goodness and evil will be manifested in its fullest.  Our preparation is a pathway of spiritual readiness for a world of peace.  Our defender is the Lord of hosts. The time of the end suggests that the Eternal One of Israel’s intent is to close out this chapter of earth’s history so that the perpetrators of evil, those that seek power, greed and control, will be eliminated from this planet earth.  The wars of the heavens are being played out on this planet earth and humans will live through it to testify of the might, power, justice and the love of the God of Israel.  In a world of corruption and disinformation, we cannot always know what the historical truth is and who is promoting evil or mis-information.  We cannot guarantee our sources but we will always seek to portray trends that can be validated in the Torah and the testimony of the prophets of the Old and the New Testament.

 

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml