Ending&Beginning

      

                                                                  Portrait: Christ's Empty Tomb

     On this Sabbath, we come to the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the feasts of the LORD commanded in His Word. The Feast of Tabernacles lasts seven days. The next day is called Shemini Atzeret. In English, this means "the eighth (day)" + "assembly, solemn gathering, stopping, holding back, store up." It is as if the LORD is saying to His people after the completion of the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, "Stay awhile - There's more." 

     We see the "eighth day" as following the Feast of Tabernacles in 1 Kings 8:65-66, as Solomon held a Tabernacles (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-feast in the seventh month (see 1 Kings 8:2) following the dedication of the newly completed temple in Jerusalem: "On the eighth day he (Solomon) sent (salah - send, stretch out or forth, let loose, let go, set free, appoint, shoot forth, sow, spread, send a messenger) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-people away; and they blessed (*aleph/tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-king, and went to their tents ('ohel/'ahal - tabernacle(s), dwellings, tent(s), covering, sacred tent of Jehovah/to be clear, to shine, to be bright, a vibrating shining appearance) joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant David (meaning the house and son of David because David had already died), and for Israel His people." From the Hebrew meanings, we can see that the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-people were sent out as a messenger is sent out, to be bright, shining tabernacles, filled with joy and gladness, to their own places of dwelling. This is also how Jesus has sent us out as well.

     The number "eight," which is part of the name of this day, has a very wonderful meaning. Some describe it as meaning "a new beginning." However, the number "eight" also has the deep meaning, according to rabbis, of being a step above the perfection and completion of the number "seven," which is the number associated with the Sabbath. This rabbinical understanding of "eight" being a step more or higher falls in with the Hebrew meaning of "eight": robust, plenteous, to shine, of oil." (see also 'ohel/'ahal mentioned above).

     Sunday is considered both the first day of the week and also "the eighth day" since it comes after the seventh day. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, or, we might be able to say, "the eighth day." (see Mt. 28:1-2, Mk. 16:1-4, Lk. 24:1-3, Jn. 20:1). Scripture has many references to events that occurred on "the eighth day." Circumcision (mul - destroy, cut in pieces, remove impure things, cut down and withered, cut off as a branch with the roots drying up, to fade) was to occur eight days after the birth of a son (see Gen. 17:12, Lev. 12:3), as Jesus was also circumcised on the eighth day of His life to fulfill the Law of Moses (see Lk. 2:21). The prophets and Paul wrote that circumcision was to be not just a concept applied to flesh, but more importantly and truly to be of the heart. The impure or corruption is cut away and withered so that the incorruptible remains. Paul wrote of the change or metamorphosis that must occur as the trumpet sounds and we are caught up to meet Christ: "...we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (1 Cor. 15:52-53). Flesh must be changed into Spirit.

     The Father, who is the vinedresser, circumcises the Body of Christ, casting away and withering (see mul above) the unfruitful branches that have not abided in the Vine, His Son, Jesus. (see Jn. 15:1-8). We also have the Word of God (Which is Jesus, and testifying of Jesus) as being "living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword (machaira/mache - large knife used for cutting flesh, knife, war, judicial punishment), piercing even to the division (merismos/merizmo - to cleave asunder or separate, dividing, partition/to separate into parts, cut into pieces, disunite) of soul and spirit, and of joints (harmos/harma - joint/particle of union) and marrow (myelos - marrow, enclosed within, shut), and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4:11-12). 

     The Lord has not abandoned circumcision in its true meaning. It was given as an outward sign that always pointed to a vital inner work of God in us. (see Rom. 2:28-29). Moses, who wrote the law as given by God, also spoke of this greater meaning of circumcision. (see Deut. 10:16-17). We will see the concept of "cutting away" applied later here also.

     These are just a few examples of the greater works of God on "the eighth day." Jesus also said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to be with My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." (Jn. 14:12-14). We may have often wondered, "How can we do greater works than Jesus?" In the context of the "eighth day" abundance, as well as its connection to christ's resurrection, I am able to better understand these greater works.

     Outside of Israel, there is another observance held on the same day as Shemini Atzeret, or "the eighth day." This second observance is called Simchat Torah, meaning "Rejoice with/in the Torah." The Torah is composed of the first five books of the Bible, written by Moses. Inside of Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated on the two successive days after the Feast of Tabernacles ends. This is a day of joyous celebration where the Torah scroll is held in the arms in the synagogue while the people dance and sing with it in a circle. It is said that they are giving the Torah "legs" with which they can dance and celebrate with the Torah. 

     The congregants are not just celebrating the fact that they have completed the Torah Sabbath readings for the year with the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, but they are more celebrating the fact that they are looking forward to begin again a new cycle of Sabbath readings with the Book of Genesis. Because of this, the last chapter of Deuteronomy is read with the immediately following reading of the beginning of Genesis. The year-long Sabbath readings then become an eternal circle of the end and the beginning. This is also the identity of the Messiah/Christ Jesus when He said: "I am the *Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Rev. 1:8, also Rev. 21:5-6, Isa. 41:4). The Lord also said, "I make all things new" in Rev. 21:5.

     Deuteronomy 33 contains the last words of Moses as he spoke a blessing over each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The last chapter of Deuteronomy, chapter 34, reveals the circumstances of the ending of Moses's life and the beginning of the leadership of Joshua over the Israelites as they are about to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land which God has given to them. Again, we have an ending and a beginning.

     However, I would like to consider another ending and beginning found in this celebration of Simchat Torah, which includes the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah.

     This reading for Simchat Torah, "Rejoice in/with the Torah," recording the death of Moses, now immediately swings back to the beginning of scripture, Genesis 1:1-5: "In the beginning (resit/ro's - beginning, firstfruits, first in place-time-order or rank, chief/head, top, beginning, captain, first, ruler, height choicest, excellent) God created (bara'- create, creator, choose, to shape or form, transform, of miracles, of the birth of something, pare a reed for writing or a stick for an arrow, to cut, carve out, separate, break out) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-heavens (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-(and)-the-earth. The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day." In the meaning of "created", which is bara in Hebrew, we see the root idea of cutting or carving and separation applied to the act of creation as we saw above in mul circumcision.

     The creation of God continued as the earth was filled with life.

     The first thing that we notice is that the meaning of "beginning", resit in Hebrew, and its root word ro's, include the idea of firstfruits and also of a person, a captain, a ruler of the greatest importance and height. The head of all things. The creation of the heavens and the earth is by God and has been attached to the name of *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega Messiah/Christ. Many other scriptures declare the fact that the earth and everything in it belongs to the LORD. Colossians 1:16 says: "For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." (see also Ps. 24:1, Ps. 50:10-12, Ex. 19:5, Job 41:11, Gen. 14:19, 1 Chron. 29:11-12, 1 Cor. 10:26).

     Because the Hebrew meanings of the rest of the description of the earth in Genesis 1:1-5 are many, I will paraphrase the description according to these meanings: The earth was without form, in confusion, full of emptiness, lying in waste, a place of chaos, a desolation and buried, hidden and concealed in darkness, misery, without hope, in destruction, death, sorrow, the dark place as of Hades (the place of death), in the darkness that withholds light. This darkness was so deep and thick that it was like an abyss, the depths, the grave. It was full of commotion and agitation, and in an uproar like a multitude making noise. It was destroyed, crushed, broken and consumed or swallowed up by this darkness like the place of death.

     Then the Spirit of God hovered/moved over it, growing soft, fluttering, moving gently, cherishing and soothing as one would soothe a child or as spreading over and cherishing of the body of a dead child as both Elijah and Elisha did before the child was raised from the dead (see 1 Kings 17:17-222 and 2 Kings 4:32-37). The Spirit hovered and caressed as a brooding hen hovers over its young ones.

     Then God spoke the Light of life, who was a Person- the logos spoken Word: Messiah/Christ (see Jn. 1:1-5): the light that severs things previously mixed together and separates out the darkness from the light. Again, we can see mul circumcision in the cutting power of the Word of God.

     The image presented here by the meanings of the Hebrew words of Genesis 1:1-5, as paraphrased above, is the resurrection of the earth that had become shrouded with the darkness of death, but had been created by God as attached to the *aleph-tav name and rank of the Messiah/Christ. This same Name and Person told us: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." (Jn. 11:25).

     Now that's a real Simchat Torah Beginning, and a truly great reason to rejoice, to sing and to dance with the Torah Word of God! If Almighty God is able to resurrect a whole planet from the darkness of death into teeming life, He is well able to resurrect to life all who are called by the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega name of our Savior, Jesus. 

     This is the traditional blessing that is spoken at the end of the Torah reading: "Blessed are You, Adonai (Lord) our God, King of the universe, who gave us the Torah of truth and planted eternal life within us. Blessed are You, Adonai, Giver of the Torah."

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     "Heavenly Father, I thank You and celebrate Your living creative Word, which is Your Son, Jesus. Father, You, and Your Son, the *Aleph-tav, and the Holy Spirit turned darkness and death into resurrection light and life. All praises, honor, power and glory be unto You, the holy Three-in-One. Thank You, Jesus, for placing Your name upon me, my household, and upon all who believe in You, as those who have attained Your gift of salvation and eternal life. Blessed be Your Name in all the heavens and the earth! In the name of Jesus I pray. AMEN."

 *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Foundation

 

                                                                       The LORD speaks from Mount Sinai

     The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Va-etchannan, meaning "And I besought the LORD." This title comes from the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 3:23-24: "Then I pleaded (hanan/hana - have mercy, be gracious, implore favor, be pitied/abide, dwell, encamp, rested, grows to an end) with the LORD at that time, saying: 'O LORD God, You have begun to show (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-Your-servant (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-Your-greatness and (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-Your-mighty-hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?"

     Moses was pleading above with the LORD to allow him to cross over the Jordan River and see the land to which the Israelites would soon enter. The meaning of Moses' pleading indicates that Moses has placed himself or dwells in the mercy and grace of God and knows that the LORD will bring him to a perfect end. The LORD will show Moses mercy and satisfy his plea, but in a way that will be different from what Moses is specifically requesting. The qualities of the LORD that Moses is relying upon, His greatness and His mighty deeds, are connected with the written Hebrew *aleph-tav (see *note below) and are therefore connected to the identity of the Messiah/Christ. The Hebrew scriptures indicate that Moses himself is also connected to Messiah/Christ because of the same *aleph-tav before his name, above.

     The New Testament describes this truth perfectly: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder (one who pays wages, to recompense, give, perform, reward) of those who diligently seek (seek carefully, search for, crave, worship) Him. (Heb. 11:6).

     No one asks the LORD for anything in prayer unless that person is confident that the Lord, in His mercy and favor, will hear that prayer, and has the power to answer that prayer in a manner that brings the situation to a perfect end according to His good and perfect will for us and for others involved.

     Moses also reminded the Israelites of how the LORD spoke His commandments and wrote them on tablets: "These (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice..." (Deut. 5:22). How could His people forget the power and majesty that the LORD displayed by His presence as He delivered the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega Word to His people? We will see that it is sadly an easy thing for God's people to forget even their most principal knowledge of Him.

     The words that the LORD commanded were to live in the hearts of the people: "Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you - a land (land, country, nations, the whole earth) flowing with milk (as abundance and fatness, the richest and choicest part, most excellent) and honey (honey, syrup, concentrated sweetness). Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart." (Deut. 6:3-6).

     The Word of God was never meant to remain simply words on a page. The living Words were meant to be seeds planted in the good soil of our hearts where it can live, thrive, multiply, and bear fruit abundantly. (see Mt. 13:23). The Words of God are to become an inseparable part of our being. As we also know, Jesus is defined as the Word of God become flesh (see Jn. 1:1-2, 14), and He is in the same manner to be part of our innermost being as we are to be in Him.

     Moses pleaded with God's people to understand the vision of God and to walk in it, reminding them how the LORD had delivered them with His great power. 

     From another of this Va-etchannan, "And I besought" Sabbath reading portion, the prophet Isaiah also calls God's people to perceive how immense the LORD truly is: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning (head, chief, beginning, first, captain, ruler, the top, highest, forefront)? Have you not understood from the foundations (the act of laying a foundation, a foundation that remains, founded, established, appointed, sure, ordain) of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes (king, prince, ruler, weighty, commanding) to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless...'To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?' says the Holy One. 'Lift up your eyes on high, and see (see, consider, behold, foresee, perceive, have vision, look intently at) who has created these things, who brings out their host (host, war, army, sun, moon, stars, go out to war, organize for war, appointed time) by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; Not one is missing....Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isa. 40:21-31, excerpt). The beginning and the foundation that Isaiah asks us about not only established the beginning, but also the middle, the end, and all things forever.

     Isaiah is asking God's people several questions above about their knowledge of the LORD. It is a knowledge that they should have already known: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?" Isaiah expected us to know what was revealed from the beginning, and from the foundations of the earth. Have we forgotten it? Is there an effort to keep this knowledge from us? We today must also answer Isaiah's questions. Do we know? Have we not heard? The beginning and the foundation of all creation, including the earth, was built upon one truth, and one substance. Let us look at some verses:

     "In the beginning (beginning, first fruits, first, chief, principal thing, choice part/head, chief, beginning, top, captain, best) God created (create, form, of new conditions and circumstances, of transformation, of birth, of miracles, of something new, choose, carve out, cut) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-heavens (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-and-the-earth." (Gen. 1:1)

     The beginning was not a moment in time, but it was contained in a Person - the Head, the Chief, the Captain. By the Person, God brought forth something new, a birth, a transformation, a miracle, the chosen (see also Eph. 1:4). All that which would be created, which were the heavens and the earth, belonged to the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega Messiah/Christ as designated in the written Hebrew (see also Jn. 1:1-3 and Rom. 11:36). Hebrews 1:1-3 also confirms: "God...has in these last days spoken to us by His Son (Jesus), whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds/ages; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high...". We know that the beginning was Messiah/Christ, and was in and through Messiah/Christ.

     We also read: "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (see "beginning" above) over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." (Col. 1:15-17). There is nothing that was created without Him or outside of Him. Is this truth being robbed from our knowledge by religions, fables and theories of men?

     The foundation (see meaning above) that Isaiah also asked us about above was built, we will read, upon and as the result of something that happened prior to the foundation, as a prerequisite to the foundation. We read in these verses:

     "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver, or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." (1 Pet. 1:18-21). Revelation also tells us of a "...Book of Life of the Lamb (Jesus) who was slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev. 13:8).

     We view the natural foundations of the earth as rock and molten rock, but the eternal spiritual power upon which the foundation was established is not only the Son/Word of God, but more specifically, the foundation was built upon the preceding event in eternity of the sacrificed perfect Lamb of God, Messiah/Christ Jesus, and His redeeming blood.

     Since ancient times and up to today, there has been an effort to erase this knowledge that Isaiah asked us about from mankind, and to erase the resulting faith and hope of mankind.

     Scripture asks the question: "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3). However, the victory is already won. It was won from the beginning. The LORD has already set His eternal and ordained King in place: "Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.' I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession." (Ps. 2:6-8). AMEN!

     If you would like to understand more about the beginning and foundation in Jesus Messiah/Christ, you can join my prayer: "Heavenly Father, how great You are! Though the heathens rage, You have already won and set Your King, our Savior, the Lamb of God over all the ends of the earth. Father, I will declare the holy Beginning and the sacrifice of Your Son upon which You have set the foundation of all creation. I will declare the knowledge so that it is not forgotten or lost. I will declare the hope in God that was established for us before anything made that was made. Your Word says that at the name of Jesus, all that is created must bow their knees before the King of heaven and earth. I ask, Lord, that the memory of this power and truth be restored and revived to all creation. The plans of the wicked to destroy this knowledge from our hearts has already been overcome by Your Son. Help me, Lord, to keep Your Word within my heart as Moses taught. I ask these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Creation

This Sabbath, we go back to the beginning of the Sabbath readings, to the Book of Genesis. This sabbath reading portion is titled B'reshiet, which means "In the beginning", and is also the Hebrew name for this first Book of the Bible. This reading portion specifically covers Genesis chapters 1 through 4. God, Elohim (aleph-tav: same as Alpha and Omega, the title of Christ in Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13), begins to speak His Word in creation. At the opening of Genesis, all that exists, heaven and earth, is shrouded in a thick, deep darkness (hosek/hasak - obscured by darkness, as of Hades, meaning also misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness/surround by darkness, to make darkness). Whatever earth was, it was without form (tou - formless, confusion, waste, nothingness, place of chaos), and void (bou - emptiness). The waste was so great that the darkness extended onto the face (panim - face, presence, location, turn towards, approach) of "the deep" (tehom/hum/hamam - depth, primeval ocean, abyss, grave/make a great noise, destroy, make an uproar, agitate, be in commotion, disturb/destroy, consume, crush, confuse, break). From the meanings of the Hebrew words used, we can see that it was a horror. However, in the middle of this dark void, the Holy Spirit moved upon (rahap - shake, flutter, grow soft, hover, to brood, affected with the feeling of tender love, cherish) the waters (mayim - danger, violence/watersprings, washing, refreshing). Something that was dark and emptied with violence and chaos was going to be transformed into cleansing watersprings of refreshing. (see Gen. 1:1-2). The prophet Jeremiah saw a vision that is similar to the scene we are given in the beginning of Genesis, and his vision can give us a deeper understanding. What he saw in a vision concerned what was coming to the people of God, and caused him to cry out in pain. He wrote: "O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart...Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is plundered....I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light...I beheld, and indeed there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled...the voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; she spreads her hands saying, 'Woe is me now, for my soul is weary because of murderers!" What was the cause of this desolation, so much like the conditions of Gen. 1:1-2? The LORD spoke to Jeremiah, saying: "For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good, they have no knowledge...For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black, because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, nor will I turn back from it." (Jer. 4:19-31, excerpt). This is a terrible thing. Because of this vision from God, Jeremiah cried out to God's people: "O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?...Your ways and your doings have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reaches to your heart." (v. 14, 18). Jeremiah cried that the people of God would be cleansed in their hearts. The righteousness of Jesus Christ has been given for our cleansing. Do we seek and desire it? Christ in us is our only hope of glory (Col. 1:24-29). Can the unrepented sins of God's people really affect creation in such a way? Yes. We read from our Sabbath portion tht when Adam listened to other voices instead of the voice of God and sinned, God told him: "Cursed is the ground for your sake..." (Gen. 3:17). When Cain murdered his brother Abel, the LORD told him: "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you..." (Gen. 4:11-12). The good news, however, from Genesis 1, is that God (Elohim aleph-tav) spoke (amar, amar - speak, answer, command, vow, promised) the words that told the spiritual light (or - bright, clear, flood, light of life, light of face, luminary, glorious, kindle, fire, become light, shine) to be (haya/hava - become, exist/to breathe) (Gen. 1:3). This creation of light marked the first day. A day in Genesis 1, and in Hebrew, does not fade from morning to night, or from light to dark, but the darkness/night becomes light/day. Darkness is ended by the arrival of light. The command for light "to breathe" defined the first (ehad/ahad - first, to unify, to collect/to join oneself together to, ravage with united powers, "sword of three edges") day. It was not a natural light, because the natural light-givers, the sun, the moon, and the stars, were not created until the fourth day (v. 14-19). The good news is that the Light of the World, Jesus the Messiah, came also and brought us out of the kingdom of darkness and into His marvellous light as He saved us from death itself. I want to make note at this point of a special astronomical event called a "ring of fire", a rare kind of solar eclipse, that is occurring around this Sabbath, and pertains to our study of creation. While a "ring of fire" is also associated with the birthing process (see also Rev. 12:1-6, a sign in the heavens: a fiery red dragon seeks to devour a male child who will rule the nations as soon as a woman gives birth to him), in this case, "the ring of fire" refers to the outer ring of light of the sun that is expected to be visible during the rare annular solar eclipse, when the moon completely darkens the sun. At the same time, NASA intends to launch three rockets during the annular eclipse in order to study the effect of the event on the ionosphere. The designer of this NASA study project, Dr. Aroh Barjata, said that he deliberately chose the name APEP for the project, the name of an Egyptian demon god, because this god was an enemy of the Egyptian sun deity. This demon, APEP, was/is a god of darkness and chaos (see Gen. 1 above), that seeks to devour light, order and truth. This Egyptian demon god is depicted as a giant serpent, and was also called Evil Dragon and Lord of Chaos. In mythology, this demon god "was believed to have existed from the beginning of time in the waters of primeval chaos" (see also Gen. 1:2). It was thought that the demon inhabited the underworld as well, and was therefore also called "an Eater of Souls". This NASA study project is flying into the heavens under the name of this demon destroyer of light. Man often chooses and installs darkness and chaos, rather than light and truth. Many might view these Egyptian gods and goddesses as pure mythology, but the LORD does not view them in that way: "For I will pass through the land of Egypt, nd will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD." (Ex. 12:12). So man, by the spiritual authority which God has given him, will, this B'reshiet Sabbath, willfully re-establish the name of this demon god in the heavens through this mission. This is no small matter, and may hold great prophetic significance in the time we are living, in view of the verses from Rev. 12 and the grave prophetic events which are about to break out on the earth. We read in Genesis 1 that God, Elohim aleph-tav, spoke light into the darkness, established an ordered creation out of the chaos that existed, set divisions and boundaries between the elements (Gen. 1:4-5, 6-9), and spoke life into every level of creation: in the air, on the land, and in the seas (Gen. 1:20-25). Eventually He spoke and created man with His hands, whom He created in His own form and image (Gen. 1:26-28). John 1:1-5, also records the role of the spoken Word of God, which is Christ, as light, and life. Man may act as an accessory to the works of this demon of darkness, APEP, but God's Word of light, order, and truth will stand. God's people must do all that God has ordained for them to do in order to be the children of light and day, rather than the children of darkness and night (see 1 Thess. 5:5-6). It is a further injustice, it seems to me, that man named the heavenly bodies, the planets, which God hung in space in perfect gravitational balance and distance from each other, after Roman and Greek (Uranus) gods and goddesses. God, Elohim aleph-tav, also specifically named our planet ehretz in Hebrew (Gen. 1:10), which is translated in our Bibles into the old Anglo-Saxon word, Ertha, or "earth". The Hebrew name for our planet, ehretz, specifically given by God, is very important because of the pictographic meanings of the individual Hebrew letters of the word. The letters aleph, reysh, and tsadde can mean: "the authority of the Lord (Adonai), who is the Highest, pulls towards the desired destination of the harvest of the righteous". We sometimes consider creation a completed work of God from the very distant past, but the work is ongoing, not ended. The other Sabbath reading portions for this week all testify to God's continuing absolute authority over all of creation, from the time and place of its beginning, to the appearance of the new creation to come. God's Word still holds His creation together in the order that He ordained it. Isaiah wrote that this same ultimate and complete authority that we see in creation (Isa. 42:5), is the same authority that will establish other things: "Behold! My Servant...My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him...He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail..." (v. 1-4). "...give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house...I have held My peace a long time...Now I will cry like a woman in labor...I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight..." (v. 6-16, excerpt). The same creative authority sent His Servant, the Messiah, to free man from the darkness. In David's psalm written about God's perfect foreknowledge and creation, both of David and man in general, he says of His God: "If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall fall on me', even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb...I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvellous are Your works...When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth...And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them." (Ps. 139:11-15). The same God of the immense creation, is the same God that wonderfully and miraculously formed each one of us. The same God that called the chaos into order, is the same God who meticulously writes each of our days in His book. His creative power and authority is extended to the most personal, intimate knowledge of, and attention to, each one of us. How humbling, yet how enriching! As we saw from examples above, however, man often fails to view God with the humility that should result from the knowledge of this truth, which David considered too wonderful for him to attain. Even a righteous man (Job 1:8) can fall into the temptation offered to his pride and self-absorption (Job 29:1=25, 30:1). We see this in our next reading portion from this Sabbath, as God confronted an embittered Job with the sovereign power and authority that is seen in His creative work. The LORD asked Job: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?... Who determined its measurements?...Or who shut in the seas with doors?...When I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; When I said...'Here your proud waves must stop!'...And caused the dawn/dayspring (sahar - morning, dawn, light, whence riseth, the end of dark night; seek early, diligently seek for, painstakingly search for, break forth as light; see also Lk. 1:76-79)) to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?...Have you walked in search of the depths? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this." (Job 38, excerpt). When man becomes too proud in their "knowledge" to bow before the Great Creator, we also would do well to consider these questions that the LORD asked His beloved Job. In these days when darkness, terror, and chaos have been embraced and promoted by man, it is more important than ever to learn the lessons of B'reshiet, the beginning work and authority of God, Elohim aleph-tav, and His Aleph-Tav Son: "He (the Son, Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence." (Col. 1:15-18). If you would like to learn more about our Creator and King, you can join in my prayer: "Father of all creation, and Father of my life, I come before You reminded of Your immense knowledge and power, as well as the love by which You brought order to destructive chaos, light into the oppressive darkness, and life and man into the earth by the Word of Your mouth. I exalt and magnify YOU, and Your Son, our Salvation, over all things visible and invisible. What can compare to Your greatness? It is too wonderful for me! You order and care for my life with the same lovingkindness. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, who teaches me about You and Your Son of Light and Truth. I ask for these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN."