Basis for our Studies this Year:
The Bible tells us that the “End (of the world) is declared from the “beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). Certainly, this means that the early Biblical record of human history bears End-time prophetic significance. But, it’s actually even more specific than that. The original Hebrew word translated as “beginning” in Isaiah 46:10 is תישאר (rê’shı̂yth). This is the root of Bereshith, which is the Hebrew name of the first Book of the Bible, “Genesis”. In other words, prophecies of the End of the World are found in the Book of Genesis.
The Torah is one of the five keys for unlocking End-time Prophecy… Prophecy is unlocked through the Statutes!
The Foods Yahweh has Given Mankind to Eat (in Torah) all Reveal Powerful Spiritual Truths...
The first diet was fruit (by definition, fruit contains seed)
Genesis 1:29 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
· Meat is merely “food”
· Originally, people were given fruit from the trees and fruits from the herbs (plants)
Fruits - the original diet - all signify Torah obedience... Thus, in the first diet, we see our spiritual starting point - and foundational Truth: We are nourished and sustained in Torah. And full Torah-keeping is what we're being restored to, in the End - as the original Eden diet (fruits) is what is consumed in the New Earth...
Notably, there is a connection between Torah and Fruits of the Spirit. The Fruits of the Spirit are keeping Torah:
Book Recommendation
Thank you, Lydia for sharing the following book recommendation with us, for this topic:
Spiritual
Meaning of Pomegranates – Spiritual abundance found in keeping the Statutes (represented by the
seeds), fruitful obedience, priestly holiness.
· In Hebraic thought, the pomegranate
is said to have 613 seeds… Each portion of fruit with its seed within the
pomegranate signifies one of the 613 Statutes in Torah.
· Why are pomegranates (in symbol) on
the fringe of the high priest’s robe? He walks in obedience to the Torah.
Yahshua as our Heavenly and ultimate High Priest was fully Torah-obedient… Sin
is transgression of the Law, and He was sinless.
· The pomegranate is the tzitzit of the
fruits.
· The high priest also wore a golden
mitre on his head, which circles the temples of the body… The Temples are
likened to pomegranate… which is
“holiness to Yahweh” – which is Torah obedience
o Song of Solomon 4:3 “Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks (obedience to the 613 Statutes of Torah, signified in the pomegranate).”
In the negative, Israel complained that Yahweh had
not provided what He had promised… What had He promised? The Promised Land
possessing “seed”, “figs”, “vines (grapes)” and “pomegranates… These fruits represent the ultimate Promised
Land… In the Ultimate Promised Land (New
Earth) everyone will be Torah keeping… which is why the land is good and sweet
and worth having
· Numbers 20:5
“And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto
this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of
pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.”
Pomegranates symbolize, Yahweh’s provision and
abundance… Fruitful obedience (to all 613 Statutes), Priestly holiness (Exodus
28:33-34) – that every direction we step would be Torah-obedient, following the
Pattern of our Heavenly High Priest (Yahshua).
· Because of this rich Torah-observant
meaning, pomegranates were carved into the Temple decorations (1 Kings 7:18)
· The High priest’s robe was trimmed
with golden bells (the tinkling represented continual praise to Yahweh) and the
pomegranates signified Torah-obedience --- and the walk of the priest
represents our walk… Our life-pattern…
defined by bells and pomegranates…
praise and Torah-obedience at all times.
· Exodus 28:33-34
And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of
blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof;
and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a
pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round
about.”
Spiritual
Meaning of Olives – Spiritual
inheritance (Israel), Peace and Covenant, Holy Spirit Anointing
·
Olive branch/leaf = restoration of peace and good Judgment
o Genesis 8:11 – the
dove (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) brings an olive leaf to Noah after the Flood
– and he knows that the waters (of Judgment) are abated… Peace is restored.
· Israel – the Saved people of Yahweh – are represented as the olive tree
– and Yahshua Himself is the Trunk/Roots into which we are grafted… “If ye are baptized and put on Christ, then
are ye Abraham’s Seed and heirs according to the Promise.”
o Romans 11:17-24
· Psalm 128:3 – the olive tree represents prosperity and fruitfulness
o
Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of
the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. But his delight is in the Law of Yahweh; and in his
Law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
· Deuteronomy 6:11 – Life, blessing, and prosperity are gifts from
Yahweh… Just as Israel took possession
of the shadow-picture promised land which was all existing (vineyards, houses,
wells, etc…) and they did nothing to provide it, so also, the Saved will be
given everything and we did nothing to provide it… Israel renders praise to Yahweh with joy.
· Haggai 2:19 – Olive trees /fruit are symbols of the blessing and
provision of Yahweh
Olives
symbolize the Fruit of the Spirit – Olive Oil symbolizes the Spirit of Yahweh.
· Olives were beaten from the branches with sticks – the shaking of the
tree is a part of harvesting the olives – Deuteronomy 24:20
o Yahweh shakes and
disciplines His people – gathering in the mature
§ Testing, humbling,
gathering the harvest of good character
§ Hebrews 12:11 - “Now no
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are
exercised thereby.”
§ Psalm 118:18 – “Yahweh hath chastened me sore: but he hath
not given me over unto death.”
§ Proverbs 15:10 – “Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the Way: and
he that hateth reproof shall die.”
§ Hebrews 12:5-6 – “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when
thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth
not?”
o The Hebrew for olive
press is “gat”… Where did Yahshua pray?
The Garden of Gethsemane – literally means the “olive press”.
§ Isaiah 53:5 – “But He was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was
upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
§ The crushing of the olive represents suffering, sacrifice, and pressure producing something holy.