THE MENORAH - Part 3 of 3

 

Next the Jewish view of the Menorah shall be examined. It was their candelabra that lighted the Temple and similar lampstands that light their religious services in modern times. The exact location of that Lampstand of the Second Temple is unknown but there is an abundance of theories as to its location. The most prevalent that in the mid 400’s AD that the Vandals who sacked Rome took it from there and melted it down for the gold of which is was made. Rather than for its spiritual value, it was for them, its intrinsic value. If so, there is much irony therein because, “the love of money (avarice) is the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6:10). However, look not at gold as “money” but “greed.” To this day many still seek the Menorah for its gold content.

It does have esoteric value to many; that it represents knowledge that is only understood by a few. Jews believe it is their knowledge, Christians their knowledge, and others the knowledge of its value. Perhaps the Lampstand meant the same to Moses and to Jesus. Perhaps the Jews do not understand the full meaning on the Lampstand and neither do Christians.

It represents “wisdom” from the viewpoint of the Jews, and according to Rabbi Isaac from the Talmud, “He who desires to become wise should incline to the south,” facing the south toward the Lampstand. Furthermore, “The seven lamps allude to the branches of human knowledge, represented by the six lamps inclined inwards towards, and symbolically guided by, the light of God represented by the central lamp. The menorah also symbolizes the creation in seven days, with the center light representing the Sabbath.” (Wikipedia; “Menorah). That the Menorah represents creation is probably true. That would make it the symbol of Yahweh, with Him resting in the middle candlestick.

Compare that to the Christian belief — Jesus is holding the “stars” in His hand and hovering over the Menorah, to wit:

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. (Rev 1:12-16)

Of course, the stars in the hands of Jesus, in those passages, represent the seven churches of Asia. But that is symbolism. The “stars” are stars in the same sense as Enoch saw them. John saw the same vision that Enoch saw, but realized that what he saw also represented the seven Churches of the future. Each star in Enoch’s vision surely represents each church in John’s vision. The most obvious is the star (sic) Aries as the church of Laodicia which would be “vomited” out. That happened from the transition from the Law of Moses to the Law of Grace when Jesus was born.

The Church would be prominent, until God had enough again. The transition from Pisces, the Christian era, to Aquarius, the Antichristian era, is perhaps the age right now! All the signs are there, just as in the days of Noah (ca 2300 BC). The dawning of the age of Aries was near that time (Zodiac signs are ambiguous since the width of constellations differ).

Aris is the sign of the ram and perhaps represents animal sacrifice. What was the first thing that Noah did with the termination of the old world the new? He burnt every “clean” beast on and altar that he built to honor “Yahweh saving” them. “Jesus” is theophoric for “Yah saves.” And what did Noah see? A rainbow, and there are seven colors in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

Noah saw the Lampstand of God. The rainbow is a perfect Menorah when seen from one end to the other! Thus, the Menorah represents Jesus, and that it from Hebrew scripture! They should see their Messiah (Christ) in the rainbow, but to be honest, neither do Christians. In the last days, the rainbow means “lust” and the lust of choice in the ante-deluge times was homosexuality, and specifically pedophilia (Book of Enoch). The dawning of the Age of Aquarius was surely in 1978 when the drag queen Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag as their symbol.

Jews get their wisdom from scripture:

And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side (Exod 25:31-32)

That is the design of the Menorah, and more detail followed. What was the Menorah for? “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exod 25:8). Furthermore, “Thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold” as God’s earthly throne, and the sacrifices included, “oil for Light” (Exod 25:6). “Light” is the Light of God, and the Shekinah — the “Divine Presence of God” — would be bright when God was Present on the Mercy Seat. His Divine Light (wisdom) would shine on the Menorah, and both, overcome the light by the oil and fuel the central one eternally! The middle Lamp would hold the same oil but remain lit; so, it was the Eternal Light. “Eternal” is the very Essence of God, and surely the center Lamp in the midst of the six represented Existence (JHWH) — the Light that created all the heavenly lights!

Also, the Jews believe that the Menorah represents the seven-day creation with God resting on the seventh. The central lamp represents God at rest, and most certainly God on His Mercy Seat.

I would suggest that the seven lamps on the lampstand may have more meaning than that. In my book, On the Origin of Man and the Universe, days are ‘warming” and night a “twisting from warming” (Strong’s Dictionary). Perhaps the seven lamps on the Lampstand represent the whole of the creation (the stand) and the lamps each process of the creation. The six days of work would be each lamp lighted in succession, and then put out with the center lamp remaining lit as God rested.

Peter wrote that “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet 3:8). He was speaking of the creation of the heaven and earth (2 Pet 3:7). Where did Peter get that idea? From the inspired Word of God! Who else was revealed the same information from God? (2 Enoch 58), to wit: “In the days of our father Adam… And He Himself inspected all His creatures which He Himself had created in the beginning of the thousand ages and when after all those he had created Adam.”

Peter used the example “days” to “years” or hemera to etos — ages and years. Rewritten then, that is, One age is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one age. Enoch and Peter were both referring to ages of which one day is also an age. But Peter and Enoch were both making a point. Our understanding of “day” is not twenty-four hours, but one “age” or era consisting of one-thousand years. With that understanding the creation was not 24-hour days but one-thousand-year eras that I called “processes” in my book from warming and twisting from the warming.

Thus, creation is represented by the Menorah with each lamp representing one-thousand years. The knowledge of that is Divine Wisdom and leads to the understanding of the Creator God. Jews worship the Creator God, but the Menorah would also represent the coming Messiah. The difference in Judaism and Christianity is that the center Lamp is out in Judaism but burns fervently in the hearts of Christians. The Lamp of the Shekinah of God burns within the Temple of the Holy Spirit in Christians, and the hope is the Messiah for Jews. With their Menorah gone, they walk in the dark even while the Light shines from heaven.

The Menorah for the Creation is six processes coming to rest, or to equilibrium. Each Lamp is fueled by the Oil of God (Power) for the Energy for each “process.” When the oil is used for the six processes, the central lamp still burns. That is from the beginning to Adam as Enoch said, and represents a period of seven-thousand years.

Now back to Christianity for a moment: From the first Adam at rest to the second Adam (Jesus) at rest is 7000 years. I am referring to the Millennial Reign of Jesus after His work is finished dealing with the world. He rests again for one-thousand years before the “re-creation” begins, or a re-genesis of the heaven and the earth, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away” (Rev 21:1).

Christians should see the Menorah in that Light and Jews as well. More on that shortly.

The six outer lamps not only represent the six church ages, but each age of a thousand years. From the time of Adam until now is nearly six-thousand years. Jesus will come the second time at the end of those ages in the seventh “day” or age. The Menorah represents as well, Jesus the Messiah, resting again with each one-thousand-year age symbolized by their respective Lamps. Pisces for a short time will give way to Aquarius just as Aries gave Way to Pisces. The last “day” and the last lamp to burn out is represented, perhaps, by the Laodocian Church that is spewed out with the transition from Pisces to Aquarius.

For Christians, the center Lamp represents hope, and should as well for the Jews, to wit: “I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” that refers to twelve-thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel!

¹² And had a wall (heavenly Jerusalem) great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel (Rev 21:12)… ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ¹¹ Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; ¹² And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel… (Rev 21:10_11)

That is the central Lamp Lighted for the Jews as well! That is what they have been waiting for! That will come about during the seventh age of the Earth counted from the creation of Adam. The date now on the Jewish calendar is 5780 AM. We are in the sixth “day” or sixth Church age, and indeed, their church will return to the Church to which Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets belonged all along! They all rest right now in “Abraham’s Bosom” just as Israel did when Abraham was on his death bed!

I could go on about the Menorah, but to be brief, consider the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden of Eden surrounded by a variety of “trees.” In the Old Testament, types of trees represent people. You research that yourself.

People made up the Churches of Asia, and each Church represents different amounts of spiritual light. Bartimaeus, who had been born blind, when his vision was restored, “saw men; as trees walking” (Mark 8:24). In his dim vision he saw the face of Jesus and saw surely saw Jesus as the Tree of Life. Jews will see Jesus sometime during the sixth day as the Tree of Life! The Revelation of John revealed that! AM 5780 is near the end of the sixth day, and they should be confident that their anxiously awaited day will arrive soon! The Jews are “as trees” and they were created to stand around the Tree of Life. They only await God to restore the Light that He once shined on them.

With that, I believe Menorah of the Second Temple remains extant; that its center Light still shines, perhaps spiritually until Jesus comes to Light it in the Person of God. The Menorah represents not only wisdom but Life itself. It just cannot be put out and melted down. God would not have that!

(picture credit: revleationscriptures.com)