“Proto-Sinaitic,” “Proto-Canaanite,” and “Early Alphabetic” are terms used by people who, while they admit the alphabet is Semitic in origin, won’t say it’s Hebrew. We call the alphabet for what it is – Original Hebrew. And, since the pictographic alphabet is the most ancient form of Hebrew, we also call it Paleo Hebrew. Paleo is a word that means “ancient.”
People often refer to the letters in use at the time of Israel’s kings as Paleo Hebrew. However, since those letters derive from the more ancient pictographs, we call the kings’ alphabet “Later Hebrew.”
Finally, the modern characters used to display the Hebrew language today are actually Aramaic in nature, so we call that alphabet “Modern Aramaic.” The picture below shows the 3 alphabets, with their respective names.
Many aren’t aware that what they call the Proto Sinaiticscript is Hebrew in nature, however the majority of the names of the letters directly correspond to Biblical Hebrew words. As one example, one of the letters is named ayin (ע). Ayin is a Hebrew word that means eye, and the ancient alphabetic symbol for ayin was a picture of an eye.
Another example is the letter named resh (ר). In Hebrew resh means head, and the ancient alphabetic symbol for resh was a picture of a man’s head.
As we show throughout this website and in our Paleo Hebrew Alphabet Video Series, the names and symbols make perfect sense when you realize they’re Hebrew in origin.
Some believe the Original Hebrew script was invented by Israelites in Egypt, however once you learn the alphabet and see how Hebrew letters are used to show the meaning of Hebrew words, you’ll see that it’s impossible for any man to take credit for it.
The Invented-in-Egypt theory states that when Israel was in Egypt, they picked 22 symbols from Egyptian hieroglyphs and used them to represent the sounds of the Hebrew language that they were already speaking.
Here’s the problem with that theory:
Imagine you want to create a new writing system for the English language. And let’s say you start with the word “house.” A house has walls and a door, so you use a picture of a wall for the hou sound and a picture of a door for the se sound.
Now, how would you spell the word shout? You have to include your picture of a wall since that’s what you picked as your symbol for hou.
While the picture of the wall made sense with the word house, it doesn’t make sense with the word shout.
You cannot take an already existing language and make pictures for the sounds of words and have those pictures have logical meanings throughout all the words of the language. Yet, in Hebrew, whenever you see a picture of a wall in a word it has something to do with the meaning of the word!
This is only possible because the Hebrew language and Hebrew alphabet were created at thesame time. And the Creator of the language and alphabet is none other than GOD our Father who possesses unfathomably advanced intelligence, wisdom, and foresight.
It’s written that HE has books in heaven, so we know HE has invented at least one writing system for His own use. For us, it’s no stretch to believe that HE also invented the Hebrew writing system. Israelites didn’t create this alphabet, GOD did. And HE created it to show us things about His words.
No one knows how to pronounce ancient Hebrew. It’s written that one day, Father will restore to us a pure speech, but, until then, what we have is several pronunciation traditions, and many variations within those traditions. Take the word “Sabbath” for example. In one tradition, this word is pronounced sha-BAT, with the emphasis on the 2nd syllable. In another tradition, the word is pronounced SHA-bos, with the emphasis on the 1st syllable, an O sound instead of an A sound, and the last letter pronounced as an S, not a T.
If you’ve studied biblical Hebrew, you’re familiar with these vowel points, called Niqqud:
But, there was a time when this Niqqud wasn’t the only game in town. It was one of three different vowel point systems.
Babylonian Niqqud
Palestinian Niqqud
Tiberian Niqqud
Tiberian Niqqud is the system that prevailed and that is now used and agreed upon by most Hebrew speakers. However, the different traditions disagree on how to actually interpret these symbols. So, today, all around the world, there are different ways of pronouncing the Hebrew letters, differences in how each vowel point is pronounced, and differences in which syllables are emphasized. It all depends on what country or region you learned Hebrew in, and how your variation of biblical Hebrew was influenced by local languages and dialects. And ultimately, it depends on how your Hebrew teacher taught you how to pronounce things.
Until Father teaches us Himself or sends prophets to tell us how to pronounce things, we do not split hairs on pronunciation.
Gematria is not part of the original Hebrew alphabet. In fact, many numbers in the Bible have names and they have no correlation to the alphabet. The number one for example is “echad,” not alef, and the number two is “shenayim,” not bet.
Studying the Hebrew words for “generation” reveals that the Biblical concept of a generation is never a preset number of years – it’s about fathers and sons.
Abraham was one generation, Isaac was the next generation, and Jacob was the following generation as one example.
Biblically speaking, if you have the same father, you are of the same generation. In YASHUA, the Apostles Peter, Paul and John are our brothers because in YASHUA, we all have the same Father.
When YASHUA said “this generation shall not pass away,” HE was talking about the generation of children that HE came to establish as sons and daughters of THE MOST HIGH. Same Father, same generation.
If you read His list of end-of-the-age signs in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, HE talks about events that began in the days of the apostles (persecution in the synagogues), events that have occurred over the past 2,000 years (wars, famines, earthquakes, etc), and events that are still yet to come at the end of the age. And HE said, speaking to the people in front of Him, “this generation shall not pass away until all these things are fulfilled.”
That’s because the generation of Father’s children that started with the disciples who heard His words continues with us today. Amazingly, our generation is nearly 2,000 years old.
“A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to THE LORD for a generation.” (Psalm 22:30)
“Beloved, we are GOD’s children now.” (1 John 3:2)
This understanding of a Biblical generation impacts our view on many different Scriptures and prophecies.
A few examples:
• GOD says HE is the first and the last (Isaiah 44:6). YASHUA likewise says HE is the first and the last (Revelation 22:13). If you look at the genealogy of YASHUA, you will see how GOD is indeed the first and the last generation.
• GOD told Abraham his descendants (Israel) would return to the land of Canaan “in the fourth generation.” This is absolutely true if you look at the men in Messiah’s genealogy. Learn more
• When Moses wrote in Genesis that Noah was “perfect in his generations,” the Hebrew word for perfect is actually “clean.” Moses is confirming that Noah did not mix with the fallen angels and therefore his sons (his generations at the time) were not part-Nephilim, they were clean. Learn more
• The concept of one ongoing generation since the days of YASHUA also explains Enoch’s 70 Generations prophecy and how it’s in perfect alignment with Luke’s genealogy of Messiah in which YASHUA is the 70th generation from Enoch. Learn more
No – the angel Gabriel outlines the purposes of the 70 Weeks in Daniel 9, and until all of those purposes are accomplished, the prophecy is not yet fulfilled.
Gabriel told us that the 70 Weeks are for Israel and Jerusalem (Daniel 9:24). One of the purposes of the 70 Weeks is “to finish the transgression.”
YASHUA came to those in Israel who repented from transgression (Isaiah 59:20) – HE did not stop their transgression. Today, there is transgression around the world, and, most notably, there is still transgression in Jerusalem and among the people of Israel. Those who haven’t repented continue their transgressions to this day, and it will only get worse until the end. In fact, Gabriel tells Daniel that “when the transgressors are come to the full,” the antichrist figure will arise (Daniel 8:23).
In the future, “the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed,” as we read in Isaiah 1:28.
Another purpose of the 70 Weeks is “to make an end of sins.” Some think this speaks of YASHUA dying for our sins, but there is a future end of sins that is still yet to come.
The Hebrew word for “to make an end of” is “chatam,” which means to seal up and close up, like something that cannot be opened. If YASHUA is your LORD and Savior, YASHUA became sin for you and has freed you from your sin, and we glorify His Name for all the work that HE did.
But there is evenmore work regarding sin that HE intends to do. In Matthew 13, YASHUA talks about the end of the world in which His angels remove all causes of sin from the earth, when they throw all the evil and all lawbreakers into a fiery furnace. Matthew 25 tells us that they’ll be thrown into the same fire that’s prepared for the devil and his angels. And in Revelation, we learn that this fiery pit will be shut and sealed for 1000 years, harkening back to the prophecy in Daniel about sins being sealed and closed up (chatam).
For more reasons why the 70 Weeks has not yet been fulfilled, see our 70 Weeks article or video where we discuss each purpose and whether its fulfillment is past or future.
The Scriptures are full of prophecies that were partially fulfilled in the days of the prophet who wrote them down, with the remaining part of those same prophecies being reserved for the time of wrath that is to come. YASHUA showed us one of the many, many examples of this when HE read aloud from the Book of Isaiah about the year of THE LORD’s favor, but stopped when HE got to the part about the coming wrath (Luke 4:16-21). We see this same pattern in Daniel’s 70 Weeks.
For more info on why we believe Daniel’s 70 Weeks have not yet been fulfilled, click here to read a detailed analysis or here to watch our video on the subject.
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.” (Mark 13)
Many take these words to be a reference to the 1948 creation of the nation State of Israel because YASHUA mentioned a fig tree. However, there are three accounts of YASHUA’s words in the Gospels, and Luke tells us that YASHUA didn’t just say the fig tree, HE said:
“Behold the fig tree, and all the trees” (Luke 21)
YASHUA is saying that the same way you can see a tree budding and know that the next season is summer, you can see all the things HE described in His end times signs (Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21) and understand how close we are to the end and His return.
We believe “summer” in YASHUA’s parable is likened to the End because it’s the season when everything is to be gathered in from the fields and many Scriptures about the end-times involve harvesting. For more information, see our article To the Watchmen – Part 3: End Times Prophecies
As a little background, Revelation 20 says that YASHUA will return and rule with His resurrected saints on earth for 1,000 years. During this time, Satan will be bound, but he will be released after the 1,000 years to deceive the nations for a “little season.”
There’s a teaching going around that YASHUA already came back around 70 AD, reigned for 1,000 years, and that evidence of His Millennial reign has been suppressed by the elites in a great conspiracy.
People who believe this teaching say we are in Satan’s Little Season now.
They point to Scriptures like YASHUA saying “there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the SON OF MAN coming in His kingdom” and say these words are proof that HE planned to return during the lifetime of the apostles.
However, when YASHUA taught about not tasting death, HE was referring to the fact that His followers will never die because HE gives us eternal life.
In our full article No, We’re Not in Satan’s Little Season, we take a closer look at this Scripture and examine other verses about His return that are commonly misunderstood.
Also in that article, we point out that one way we can be sure YASHUA has not yet returned and that Millennium has not yet happened is the Bible tells us what is going to happen when those events occur.
For one thing, HE will tell His sheep to enter their inheritance. The inheritance promised to His sheep is the entire earth and once it’s given, it’s written that it will never be taken away – it will last forever! (Matthew 25:34, Psalm 37:11,18)
Besides the inheritance, HE also promised us, among other things, righteous judgment throughout the land under His rule, a reversal of the curses of Eden as HE blesses the work of our hands, the regathering of the 12 tribes of Israel to the Land, and the Apostles raised up as judges over the tribes.
All of these things are yet to come, and when they come, they will not be taken away from Father’s children, not even for a little season.
For more details, please see our full article on the subject.
“Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the SON OF MAN coming in His kingdom.”
Similar statements are found in Mark 9:1 and Luke 9:27.
On the surface, it sounds like YASHUA was telling His disciples they would see Him coming in their lifetime. However, the context is in the verses just before YASHUA talks about not tasting death. If you read just a few verses earlier, you’ll see HE was talking about the two types of life – the physical life we live in the body and the spiritual life in which HE gives us a chance to live forever and never die. That is, if you follow Him, you will never taste death. It was this exact teaching that caused many people to hate Him.
John records:
“The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste death.’” (John 8:52)
The fact that those who believe in Him will never die is found all over the New Testament. A few examples:
YASHUA said “Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25)
“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” (John 6:51)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
With all of that in mind, here are His words about never tasting death, from Matthew 16:
“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For THE SON OF MAN is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then HE will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see THE SON OF MAN coming in His kingdom.”
The word translated as “until” in that last line doesn’t mean that once His disciples see Him coming, they’ll then have to taste death. “Until” is the same word used for “up to.” So for those in YASHUA’s day who believed, HE was telling them they would never die, even up to the day of His coming. HE is, as HE told us, the GOD of the living, not the GOD of the dead (Matthew 22:32).
There are several verses in the Bible that quote YASHUA as saying HE is coming quickly and soon.
But even before YASHUA’s ministry on earth, the Day of THE LORD was described as being near and coming quickly.
Zephaniah 1:14 quotes YHVH as saying: “The great day of THE LORD is near, near and hastening fast.”
The Hebrew word for near is the same as the one used for next door neighbor, so it literally means near.
Isaiah 13:6 says “Wail, for the day of THE LORD is near.”
Isaiah 56:1 quotes YHVH as saying “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon My salvation will come, and My righteousness be revealed.”
His Salvation that was to come and His righteousness that was to be revealed is YASHUA, yet when Isaiah wrote “soon,” it was hundreds of years before YASHUA came to minister on earth.
All of these Scriptures set the precedent for YASHUA saying HE is coming soon and we can see by these verses that this is just the way Father’s Holy Spirit talks. If you have questions on why HE talks this way, you’re in good company. Just as people today question the New Testament mentions of soon, the people in Peter’s day questioned the Old Testament mentions of soon. Addressing this, Peter wrote:
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that ‘with THE LORD one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ THE LORD is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of THE LORD will come like a thief…” (2 Peter 3:8-10)
Yes, and they will be regathered at the end of days.
Long answer:
First, some background –
Israel is the name given to our Father’s servant Jacob, and Jacob had 12 sons who each became a tribe of Israel.
GOD split Israel into two Houses –
Many centuries after Jacob, Father split Israel into two parts (1 Kings 11). The three tribes Judah, Levi and Benjamin became who the Bible calls the House of Judah. The rest of the tribes became who the Bible calls the House of Israel. The tribes of the House of Israel are Ephraim and Manasseh from Jacob’s son Joseph, Gad, Reuben, Issachar, Zebulun, Napthali, Dan, Simeon, and Asher.
The ten House of Israel tribes worshipped other gods, so Father kicked them off of His land in the 8th century BC and scattered them throughout the nations. They became, as the Bible calls them, lost sheep.
Much of the world has forgotten about this part of Israel or they teach that the tribes were never really lost. They celebrate the House of Judah being in the Land today as the return of “the whole House of Israel.”
But GOD hasn’t forgotten His lost sheep.
HE said through His prophet Ezekiel:
“For thus says THE LORD GOD: Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered…” (Ezekiel 34:11-12)
“I will seek the lost…” HE says. (Ezekiel 34:16)
And “they shall know that I am THE LORD their GOD with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, declares THE LORD GOD.” (Ezekiel 34:30)
If GOD says they’re lost, who are we to say they’re not?
No, the Scriptures teach otherwise. In Ezra, we learn that when Israel came back from Babylon in the 6th century BC, all that was left of Israel was the three House of Judah tribes: Judah, Benjamin and Levi (Ezra 1).
Also, in numerous Old Testament prophecies about the end of days, GOD speaks of the two houses of Israel – the House of Israel and the House of Judah – as separate entities (Jeremiah 3:18, Ezekiel 37:15-28, Zechariah 10:6-9, et al).
The Bible describes what the regathering of Israel will be like, and according to the descriptions Father gives us about it, it hasn’t happened yet.
Ezekiel 20 says Father will take anyone who’s from a tribe of Israel out of whatever countries they live in now and into the wilderness.
In Revelation, we read about the woman with 12 stars on her head which is a picture of Israel. And it says this woman (Israel) is nourished in the wilderness at the end of days for a time, times and half a time (Revelation 12).
So Israel has to go to the wilderness first. That hasn’t happened yet, but it will.
Ezekiel 20 also says that when Father regathers Israel and they’re in the wilderness, HE is going to purge them. And as part of that purge, anyone who is a rebel who doesn’t want to follow His ways will not be allowed to enter the land of Israel.
People who don’t follow GOD’s ways entered the Land in 1948 and there are still people there today who don’t follow His ways, so GOD’s purge hasn’t happened yet.
Ezekiel 11:18 says those who do enter the land will be the ones to remove all the abominations from it.
In Israel today you will find idols, amulets, sorceries, and people who commit abominations to GOD. And theultimateabominationis still yet to come at the end of days when the antichrist sets up an idol of himself in Jerusalem. This means the Israel Father is talking about in Ezekiel hasn’t returned yet to remove the abominations.
Note: for these matters, leave the judgment to GOD and His angels at the end-of-days harvest. Among those living in the Land today are some who are righteous in YASHUA and some who are against Him now but who will later repent (Zechariah 12:10). Only HE knows who is who and who HE will save, so our position is to stay out of it, not get in His way, and let Him reserve who HE will reserve for future deliverance.
Micah 7:15 tells us the regathering will be with great miracles like the first Exodus. It says, “According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him [Israel] marvelous things.” And Jeremiah 16:14-15 says that after the regathering, people won’t even talk about the Exodus from Egypt anymore. The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 didn’t come with miraculous signs like Moses parting the Red Sea and GOD sending manna from heaven, and people today still talk about that First Exodus.
To recap –
We don’t have all 12 tribes in the Land;
There has been no purge of the rebels yet;
There has been no regathering with miracles like in the days of the Exodus;
People still talk about the Exodus; and
Abominations have not been removed from the Land.
By all of this, we know the regathering of Israel hasn’t happened yet.
Many say that when the State of Israel was created in May of 1948, it fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of Zion being born in one day. But in Father’s eyes, to be born means you’ve been given life, and life in Father’s eyes is only in YASHUA. Without YASHUA you are not born and you are not alive – Father sees you as dead in your sins.
Here’s the part of Isaiah 66 that they use, and what it really means:
“Before she [Zion] travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.”
The man child in that prophecy is not 1948 Israel, it’s YASHUA who was raised to life from a grave in Zion.
Isaiah continues: “Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”
When YASHUA was raised that day from a grave in Zion, all who believe in Him were raised up with HIM. HE said “because I live, you will live.” If you believe in YASHUA, then you are thenation of children brought forth in one day that Isaiah was talking about. He wasn’t prophesying the secular State of Israel – he was prophesying about children who would be given life by GOD the Father through YASHUA.
It’s worth noting that in the Bible, the word for “nation” is the same as the word for a “people.”
Some of Father’s children and His people are from the House of Israel, some are from the House of Judah, and some are from the nations. In YASHUA, we are all children of Zion because our GOD and Father is married to Zion. Zion delivered a Son and a nation of born again believers all in one day at the Resurrection like Isaiah prophesied.
No, Christians join Israel, they don’t replace it. Spiritually speaking, and when it’s time for the inheritance in Millennium, Israel is all of the righteous who are in YASHUA, whether they’re from the House of Judah, House of Israel, or the nations.
Long answer:
The Apostle Paul told us that regardless of your heritage, “if you are CHRIST’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:29).” So we expect that when Father regathers Israel at the end of days, Israel will consist of those who are genetically from the tribes of Israel and those who are not.
As Isaiah prophesied, “sojourners shall be joined to Israel” (Isaiah 14:1).
Paul also told us that all who are in YASHUA are fellow citizens who, together, form the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2).
Once YASHUA returns to reign, those who are not genetically from a tribe of Israel but who are in YASHUA will be givenequal inheritance as native born children of Israel, in whatever tribe they choose to live with (Ezekiel 47:21-23).
Christians don’t replace Israel – they join Israel, and eventually, as we just read, they’ll literally join a tribe of Israel and get their inheritance as Abraham’s seed. Today’s true Christians will one day be Zebulun, Gad, Manasseh, Judah, and so forth.
The Scriptures teach that Israel is GOD’s holy and chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6), but in order to receive an inheritance in His Kingdom, you need to be more than holy and chosen – you need to be righteous. And righteousness is only through YASHUA. All the righteous in YASHUA are automatically holy and chosen, but not all the holy, chosen people are automatically righteous.
At the end of days, Father’s work will be to gather those who, genetically, are the lost tribes of Israel, in part to separate the righteous from the unrighteous among them in the purge prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 20:38). At the end, the righteous from the tribes and the righteous from the nations will inherit the Land as one people Israel. One flock, with one Shepherd (John 10:16).
No. Based on the Scriptures, this teaching is incorrect.
Long answer:
Some argue that 1948 Israel fulfilled the regathering prophecies because they say Ezekiel teaches Israel will be brought back in unbelief and unrighteousness. By this they mean that Israel will be brought to the land while they’re transgressing, sinning, and denying YASHUA, and then GOD will make them righteous after they’re brought back to the Land.
Here’s the Scripture they use:
Ezekiel 36:24-25: “I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.”
They emphasize the word then in that Scripture and they build their understanding around it. But the word then isn’t even a word in Hebrew. What gets translated as then is the single prefix-letter vav which most simply means “and” and could just as easily be translated as “and.”
And… if you keep reading in Ezekiel, he says “In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.”
That means the cleansing and the dwelling happen at the same time, with the cleansing coming first. And once Israel is cleansed, they’ll live in the ruined cities and start rebuilding. It’s the same as what Ezekiel says earlier in chapter 20 – Israel will be purged in the wilderness so that the ones who get to enter Father’s land are the righteous ones (that is, those in YASHUA).
It’s prophesied that the House of Judah would be in the Land of Israel at the end of days, so we believe that at least some of the people living there today are from the tribe of Judah. Here are a few Scriptures supporting this:
YASHUA says the Tribulation will befall “this people” in the Land of Israel at the end: “There shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people” (Luke 21:23).
Zechariah 14:14, speaking of the final battle at the end of days: “And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem”
Zechariah 12:2 tells us that when the nations surround Jerusalem, Judah is in Jerusalem: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.”
Later in that same chapter of Zechariah we learn that not only are there people from the tribe of Judah in the Land, there are descendants of Levi (one of the three House of Judah tribes), and even descendants of King David:
“THE LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall THE LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as GOD, as the Angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.” (Zechariah 12:7-14)
Much of Judah is still scattered
Much of Judah remains scattered around the world– some by choice and some because they don’t yet know their true heritage.
A few factors contributing to this loss of heritage:
– Most of Judah was scattered from the Land long before the Babylonian captivity (for some staggering numbers on this subject, see the next section).
– Tribal lineage is through the fathers according to the Scriptures, but in Judaism this practice has long been abandoned in favor of tracing lineage through the mothers. (Note: since GOD will cause all the tribes of Israel to inherit the Land of their fathers at His return, we believe HE will make sure men and their families are placed into the right tribes according to the houses of each man’s fathers.)
The Curses in Deuteronomy
A few people have commented on our YouTube videos saying they don’t see how the people living in the Land today could have experienced the curses for Israel’s disobedience outlined in Deuteronomy 28. However, the fulfillment of those curses is recorded for us in the Bible.
At the time of King David in the 11th century BC, Israel had over one million men of fighting age (1 Chronicles 21:5). If you were to include all of the non-fighting men + women + children, that would bring the population of Israel to millions and millions. Centuries later however, instead of the population naturally growing, they fell under Father’s curses for their disobedience, and less than 5,000 people remained in the Land by the 6th century BC (Jeremiah 52:28-30).
That small remnant of Israel was subjugated by the King of Babylon for years. Eventually, he laid siege to their city and as part of that siege, the House of Judah – as the house of Israel before them – fulfilled the words of the curse that they would eat their own children. Judah was taken to Babylon in captivity, and in that captivity we have the ultimate witness that the curses of Deuteronomy had come to pass by that time.
From Daniel 9: “And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of GOD have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against Him. HE has confirmed His words, which HE spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us.”
The Remnant
Looked at as a whole, the Scriptures clearly teach that a remnant of Judah will be in the Land at the end of days – some to experience His wrath and some to experience His salvation. And, separately, all 12 tribes (including the scattered of Judah) are going to be regathered in an event similar to and greater than the Exodus. Our Father has plans to seek out His lost sheep so that the whole house of Israel can be restored at the end of days (Ezekiel 34:11-31, Jeremiah 31, et al.).
No, the Scriptures are clear that the tribes of Israel would be scattered among all the peoples of the earth. (Examples: Amos 9:9; Deuteronomy 4:27, 28:64; Ezekiel 5:12, 12:15, 17:21, 36:19; Zechariah 2:6; Isaiah 11:12.)
Since Israel is scattered among all peoples, there are some from the Lost Tribes living in places like the UK , but no single nation or people can say they are the lost tribe of Gad for example. Gad is scattered everywhere.
Just as an observation, attempts have been made in recent years to search for and identify Lost Tribes, but here’s one problem we see with this: in some cases, they’re identifying “Lost Tribes” based on their observation of rabbinic customs. The problem with this is the tribes were lost long before Judah developed and adopted rabbinic customs – you can’t identify Lost Tribes this way. You can perhaps identify lost sheep from the House of Judah this way, but not lost sheep from the House of Israel. The only shared ancient custom of the House of Israel was their idolatry which is why Father removed them from His land in the first place. Harsh but true and thankfully, HE will have mercy on His lost sheep in these days.
“Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore My bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith THE LORD.”(Jeremiah 31:20)
The Scriptures tell us that GOD Himself will be the One to seek out His lost sheep (Ezekiel 34). To us, that means they’ll be identified through the work of the Holy Spirit. In our own experience, HE sends signs and prophecies that come to pass so men and women will know who they are and believe what HE tells them.
If you’ve studied this topic, you may be familiar with Anna the prophetess from the New Testament Book of Luke. People use Anna’s story to say there’s no such thing as the “lost tribes” since Anna is identified as being from the tribe of Asher. But Anna was no ordinary woman. It’s written in Luke that she was a prophetess who did not depart from the Temple where she worshipped with fasting and prayer day and night. In other words, Anna was full of the Holy Spirit. It was because of this that she was able to recognize who YASHUA was when HE was brought to the Temple as a baby (Luke 2). In the same way, we believe it was in the Spirit that she knew what lost tribe she was from.
The Scriptures teach that in the end of days, Father will seek out His lost with great signs and wonders and it will be obvious to the world. One of those signs for the world will be the battle of Gog Magog (Ezekiel 39:21-29).
This question is discussed in our Bible Timeline article which you can read here.
Some say Israel spent only 215 years in Egypt, others say 400, and yet others say 430. We think every scripture on the subject points to 400 years. We’ll take a look at each of the relevant Scriptures, so I can show you what I mean.
Moses’ 430 year reference
Exodus 12:40 reads: “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was 430 years.”
Moses doesn’t say here that the length of time they spent in Egypt was 430 years, but rather that 430 years was the length of the sojourn of the sons of Israel.
In our view, the sojourn of the sons of Israel began when they became the sons of Israel.
When Jacob and his sons left Laban in Haran and made their way to Canaan, Father changed Jacob’s name to Israel. And, on that day, the sons of Jacob first became the sons of Israel, thus starting the clock on the 430 year sojourn of the sons of Israel that Moses describes.
We believe that year one of the “sojourn of the sons of Israel” is when they first came from Haran to Canaan, and 30 years later, they went to Egypt, where they stayed 400 years. For more details on how this theory matches the Scriptures, see the section at end of this question box called More Info.
Father told Abraham it would be 400 years
The first reference to the amount of time Israel would spend in Egypt is in Genesis, which records these words spoken by Father to Abraham:
“Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” (Genesis 15:13-14)
Those who think the time in Egypt may have been only 215 years have to assume that part of this 400 year prophecy refers to Israel’s time in Canaan, but Father is speaking here of a singular land and singular nation.
A few points to consider:
the land (singular) is one in which Israel will be servants. Israel was indeed servant to Egypt from the moment they arrived in Egypt. In fact, Joseph’s brothers introduced themselves to Pharaoh as Pharoah’s servants (Genesis 47:3). And, within a few years of their arrival, every inhabitant of Egypt had become a servant of Pharaoh due to the famine (Genesis 47:25). Also, after Jacob passed away, Joseph’s brothers came to him saying, “behold we are your servants” (Genesis 50:18).
Servitude connects the land (singular) in the first verse to the nation (singular) in the second verse. Here again are words from Genesis 15:13-14, with added emphasis:
“…thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them… And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge…”
Israel would come out of the nation/land with great substance, and we know that Israel plundered Egypt on the way out. Since servitude connects the nation with the land, and Egypt is the nation, Egypt is also the land.
The nation (singular) is one that Father would judge. If he was speaking about Egypt and Canaan here, he would have said the “nations (plural) who they serve” since Canaan was filled with many nations (Canaanites, Hivites, etc.).
In the 4th generation
The second part of Father’s words to Abraham also lets us know that the 400 year prophecy is entirely about the Israelites’ time in Egypt.
Genesis 15:16 reads: “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
This verse identifies Canaan as the “hither” they would come back to since that is where Abraham was standing when Father spoke with him.
As for the 4th generation, there’s one genealogy that I think matters most when it comes to the biblical timeline and prophecy, and that is the genealogy of YASHUA (THE MESSIAH).
YASHUA comes from the line of Judah, and Moses records that the youngest person from the line of YASHUA to enter into Egypt was Hezron, son of Perez (Genesis 46:8-12). If Hezron was the youngest to enter Egypt, that means his son Ram would have been the first generation born in the land of Egypt.
Here then are the four generations:
Ram, son of Hezron
Amminadab, son of Ram
Nashon, son of Amminadab (Nashon is mentioned as being a leader of the tribe of Judah in the second year after the Exodus, and we know from the Scriptures that everyone in Nashon’s generation died in the wilderness)
Salmon, son of Nashon (Salmon is the one who entered the land with Joshua, married Rahab, and fulfilled the prophecy that “they will come back here in the fourth generation”)
Stephen is a witness to 400 years in Egypt
Some say that when Father told Abraham it would be 400 years, he was giving a round figure, and later that when Moses says 430 years, he’s being more exact having lived through the end of the time prophesied. But thousands of years later, the Spirit of GOD spoke through Stephen and said yet again, 400 years.
“And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.” (Acts 7:6)
Paul is a witness to 400 years in Egypt
Paul confirms that it was 400 years in Acts 13:17-20, where he describes Israel’s time in Egypt + the years in the wilderness + Joshua’s conquest as being “about 450 years.”
The conquest took around 7 years, and Israel was in the wilderness for 40 years, so “about 450” is only correct if the time in Egypt was 400 years.
From Acts 13: “The GOD of the people of Israel chose our fathers. HE made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm HE led them out of that land. HE endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness. And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, HE gave their land to His people as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years.”
Paul’s reference to 430 years
Some (understandably) have trouble reconciling the 400 years in Egypt with the words of Paul in Galatians.
Paul writes: “And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of GOD in CHRIST, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.” (Galatians 3:17)
It’s a difficult verse to understand, but can be more simply rephrased as “the law cannot disannul the covenant that was confirmed 430 years earlier.”
We know what Paul means by the law – he is referring to the law of Moses that was given to Israel in the wilderness, in the first year after they exited Egypt. As for the covenant being confirmed 430 years before that, this entire passage in Galatians is referring to the promise made to Abraham – a promise that was passed down to Isaac, to Jacob, and ultimately to YASHUA.
Here is the promise as given to Jacob in Bethel, when he was on his way to Haran:
“And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD GOD of Abraham thy father, and the GOD of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” (Genesis 28:13-15)
While Jacob was in Haran, Father confirmed the promise, saying:
“I am the GOD of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to ME. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.” (Genesis 31:13)
And just before they left Haran, Father confirmed to Jacob yet again: “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” (Genesis 31:3)
As mentioned earlier, it was when Jacob left Haran that he was renamed Israel, and when we propose that the “sojourn of the sons of Israel” officially started. From the confirmation of the promise as they left Haran to the giving of the law, Paul counts 430 years. If it’s true that Israel left Haran 30 years before they entered Egypt, then this verse serves as another witness to 400 years in Egypt.
Answering a Common Argument for 215 years: Ishmael and Isaac
Those who subscribe to the 215-years in Egypt theory assume that when Father told Abraham his descendants would be afflicted for 400 years, that timeframe started with Isaac being mocked by Ishmael.
In Hebrew, the word used for afflicted is “anah,” which is commonly translated as to be humbled. When Ishmael mocked Isaac, Isaac was not humbled, he was exalted since the end result of Ishmael mocking him was Ishmael being driven away and Isaac being established as the son who would inherit the promise.
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More Info: How our Sojourn of the Sons of Israel theory matches the Scriptures
Moses wrote that on the day of the Exodus, the sojourn of the sons of Israel had been 430 years long (Exodus 12:40). The question is, when did that sojourn begin? The most common view is that it started with Abraham, but Abraham is not a son of Israel– he is Israel’s grandfather. As mentioned above, we believe the sojourn of the sons of Israel started when GOD changed Jacob’s name to Israel and his sons therefore became the sons of Israel. This happened on the journey from Haran to Canaan where we believe they spent 30 years before entering Egypt for 400 years.
Here’s how our theory aligns with the Scriptures:
Genesis 41-45 tells us the following:
Joseph was 30 years old when he became ruler in Egypt;
There were seven years of plenty, then seven years of famine;
All Israel arrived in Egypt in the second year of the famine.
This tells us that Joseph was 38 years old when all Israel arrived in Egypt.
Joseph’s Age
Event
30
Year 1 of plenty
31
Year 2 of plenty
32
Year 3 of plenty
33
Year 4 of plenty
34
Year 5 of plenty
35
Year 6 of plenty
36
Year 7 of plenty
37
Year 1 of the famine
38
Year 2 of the famine
As you can see above, when Joseph was 38, it was the second year of the famine, and, according to our theory, it was also the first year of Israel’s 400 years in Egypt since the Scriptures say they arrived in Egypt in the second year of the famine.
Our theory is that the 430-year sojourn of the sons of Israel started when they left Haran. They spent the first 30 years in Canaan, then 400 years in Egypt. In order for that theory to hold water, if Joseph was 38 in the first year of Israel’s 400 years in Egypt, he must have been eight when they left Haran and became the sons of Israel.
Is it reasonable to assume that Joseph was eight when they left Haran? Yes!
Here’s what the Scriptures say (Genesis 29-31):
Jacob worked for Laban for 20 years: 14 years wherein he received his wives as wages, plus an additional six years wherein he received flocks as wages.
Jacob was unmarried for the first seven years that he worked for Laban.
Joseph was the last of 11 sons born before Jacob started his last six years working for Laban.
This means that Jacob had all his sons in Years 8-14 of working for Laban.
Here are Jacob’s 20 years working for Laban:
Year
Notes
1
Jacob is unmarried; he has no sons
2
Jacob is unmarried; he has no sons
3
Jacob is unmarried; he has no sons
4
Jacob is unmarried; he has no sons
5
Jacob is unmarried; he has no sons
6
Jacob is unmarried; he has no sons
7
Jacob is unmarried; he has no sons
8
Jacob marries Leah & Rachel; Possible childbirth year
9
Possible childbirth year
10
Possible childbirth year
11
Possible childbirth year
12
Possible childbirth year
13
Possible childbirth year (our pick for Joseph’s birth year)
14
Possible childbirth year
15
Jacob starts working for the flocks sometime after Joseph’s birth; he has no sons
16
Jacob works for the flocks; he has no sons
17
Jacob works for the flocks; he has no sons
18
Jacob works for the flocks; he has no sons
19
Jacob works for the flocks; he has no sons
20
Jacob works for the flocks; he has no sons
21
Jacob stops working for Laban; he and his family leave Haran after 20 years
Here’s our logic on why Joseph being eight years old is a reasonable assumption:
The Scriptures tell us Joseph was born before Jacob’s last six years in Haran. So, at the latest, he could have been born in Year 14 which would have made him seven years old when the family left Haran.
The Scriptures also tell us Joseph was born after Lean had her six sons. In order to allow enough time for Leah to have six sons before Joseph, the earliest Joseph could have been born was in Year 13 (the sixth year of Leah’s childbearing). This would have made Joseph eight years old when they left Haran.
As you can see, Joseph could have only been seven or eight years old when they left Haran, so to assume he was eight is perfectly reasonable. And, if he was eight years old when they left and 38 when Israel arrived in Egypt, we think we’ve properly identified the 430 years sojourn of the sons of Israel as being the time from the Haran trip through the Exodus.
There are two major views on this topic. One is that Terah was 70 years old when he had Abraham and the other is that he was 130.
Our view is that based on all of the Scriptures on the subject, Terah could not have been 70 when he had Abraham.
Here’s why –
The Scriptures tell us:
Terah lived a total of 205 years, then he died in Haran (Gen 11:32).
Abraham went to Canaan after Terah’s death (Acts 7:4).
Abraham left Haran and went to Canaan at 75 yrs old (Gen 12:4).
Since Terah lived 205 years and Abraham was 75 when Terah died, Terah would have been in his 131st year when he had Abraham.
So why does Genesis 11:26 say ‘And Terah lived 70 years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran’?
Here we believe the author of Genesis (Moses) is following the same line of thinking that he used when talking about Noah and his sons. Moses wrote “and Noah was 500 years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
We know that Moses was not saying here that Shem was born when Noah was 500 years old since we later read that the flood occurred in Noah’s 600th year and that two years after the flood, Shem was 100 years old (Gen 11:10).
The implication is that the age given by Moses is the age when the patriarch began having the sons in question. Noah was 500 when he started having the three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth, and Terah was 70 when he started having Abraham, Nahor and Haran. It doesn’t mean either set of sons listed are triplets. Also, the first name listed is not necessarily the oldest son. Shem is listed first but he wasn’t the eldest (Genesis 10:21 implies Japheth was the eldest and Genesis 9:24 implies Ham was the youngest, making Shem the middle child).
Moses’ description of the sons of Noah sets a precedent by which we can interpret his description of the sons of Terah. And by acknowledging Abraham’s birth in Terah’s 131st year, all the Scriptures on the subject come into alignment.
In the Old Testament, Father describes the day of Yom Kippur as something to be observed from evening to evening (Leviticus 23). Likewise, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is to be observed from evening to evening (Exodus 12). And the authors of the gospels speak of the Sabbath as approaching in the evening (Luke 23), and a day as beginning before sunrise (John 20). All together these scriptures are telling us that Father’s days start at sunset.
Enoch similarly describes the sun as returning to and rising from the east. That’s a description of night and day, respectively. Enoch also alludes to the sun’s setting in the west as marking the completion of a full day when he says:
“And the sun…sets in the first portal in the west of the heaven…. And the sun has therewith traversed the divisions of his orbit.” (Enoch 72)”
Four Parts to a Day
In our understanding of the Scriptures, there are four parts to a day: evening, nighttime, morning, and daytime. All together those four parts make up a day.
In the Bible, “daytime” is called “yom” and a full day with all four parts is also called “yom.” Here’s an illustration from our Mystery of the Last Supper video where we discuss this topic:
The number of a day (its date) is assigned to its daytime. It’s written that Yom Kippur for example is the 10th day of the month and it’s observed from the evening of the 9th to the evening of the 10th. Father says start your observation on the evening of the 9th. To us, this is Him telling us the one foolproof way of ensuring that you are in place to capture the full day of the 10th, as shown in the image below. That is – you start your observation a bit early the day before so that when the new day starts, you’re doing what HE said to do.
The entire day of Yom Kippur is called the 10th because it’s the 10th daytime of the month, which tells us that a day is named for its daytime number.
Isn’t Yom Kippur the exception the rule?
We disagree with the exception to the rule argument. As shown from the Scriptures above, Yom Kippur, Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Sabbath are all celebrated from evening to evening. Yom Kippur is 1 day. Passover and Unleavened Bread are 8 days, and all the Sabbaths in a year equal 52 days. If we add that all up, that’s 16% of the year that’s described in the Bible as starting in the evening. For us, that is far too high of a percentage for any of those days to be considered an exception to the rule.
What about Creation Week?
As discussed in our Creation Week series, on Day One of creation, there was no sun yet, so the first evening (ereb) was called evening because of the creation itself. This is easiest to see if you look at the Paleo Hebrew as we do here in this article and video, but to summarize:
On day one,
There was ereb (in the original Hebrew script, the word ereb is a picture of Father observing the beginning of His creation)
And there was boqer (in the original script, boqer is a picture of creation’s light beginning).
Later, after the sun was created:
There is evening (the prior day comes to a close and the next day begins),
Then there is nighttime which is the first part of the new day,
Then there is morning (the start of the second part of the new day),
Then there’s daytime.
Since the day number (its date) is assigned to the daytime, the way HE puts it in the Creation Week account in Genesis 1 is:
There was evening, (night is implied), and there was morning, Day 2,
There was evening, (night is implied), and there was morning, Day 3,
and so forth.
For example, if you read from left to right in the image below, you’ll see what I mean.
Ruth Gleaning
Someone brought up in our YouTube comment section that Ruth “gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up, and went into the city. And her mother in law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out and gave to her that she had left over after she was satisfied. Then her mother in law asked her, ‘Where have you gleaned today?’…”
The viewer then said that Naomi’s question to Ruth “Where have you gleaned today” makes no sense if they observed a day as being from evening to evening since it says Ruth gleaned “until evening.”
The answer to this is that erev (evening) is a period of time when men and women head home, and it is before sunset. There’s a quote in the Bible about the shadows of the erev growing long (Jer 6:4), meaning the sun is still out when it’s evening. We doubt Ruth or anyone living at the time would have made it a practice to walk home in the dark, meaning it would make perfect sense if the sun hadn’t set yet by the time she got home and there was still time in the day (before sunset) for Naomi to ask that question.
Jonah and the Gourd
Someone pointed out this passage from Jonah 4 as a possible indication that a day starts in the morning:
“And THE LORD GOD prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But GOD prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.”
The thought here is that since it says when morning rose the next day, a day must begin in the morning. However the next day when Jonah’s plant withered could have started any time after Jonah was given shade in the daytime of the previous day, so nothing in that passage contradicts the full yom (day) starting after the sunset.
Tradition has it as occurring on the “9th of Av” which is the 9th day of the 5th month. However, the Scriptures don’t specifically mention the 9th day of the month.
There are two Scriptures on the subject, and both have dates attached.
1) 2 Kings 25:8-10 says that the Captain of the Guard for the King of Babylon came to Jerusalem on day 7 of the 5th month, and he burned the Temple, the palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem.
2) Jeremiah 52:12-13 says that the Captain of the Guard for the King of Babylon came to Jerusalem on day 10 of the 5th month, and he burned the Temple, the palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem.
The way those verses are written in Hebrew, the Temple could have been burnt any time after his arrival. It doesn’t say he came to burn the Temple on either date, just that he came and he burned the Temple and all the houses, identifying him as the one who would ultimately cause the fires to be started. We believe both verses are true and there is no contradiction.
Simply put, our view is that he came on the 7th then came back on the 10th. The actual date of the burning could be any time after his initial arrival on the 7th.
Our guess would be that the burning occurred on the 10th since both 2 Kings and Jeremiah record that the Temple was thoroughly pillaged first. Among the items removed from the Temple were pillars that were 18 cubits tall and 12 cubits thick, and other items had to be broken up in order to be carried away to Babylon. This would have taken some time.
It’s possible that the captain of the Guard came on the 7th to give orders on what items to break up and take out of the Temple and city before it was all burned, and on the 10th he came back to give the order to burn the Temple, the palace and all the houses of Jerusalem.
Had he given the order to burn everything on the 9th, it may not have been safe to go back on the 10th and we know for sure he was in the city on the 10th since that’s what Jeremiah said.
The Book of Enoch was written over 5,000 years ago by Adam’s great-great-great-great-grandson Enoch. Moses described him as someone who walked with GOD (Genesis 5:22), and the apostles described him as a prophet (Jude 1:14).
The Book contains prophecies about YASHUA that are so elaborate and in line with our Savior’s ministry, scholars were once convinced that the book must have been written by Christians after YASHUA’s crucifixion. That theory has now been debunked since copies of the Book of Enoch were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls and it’s obvious to everyone that those copies were made long before the coming of CHRIST or the advent of Christianity.
It’s common knowledge these days that the Book of Enoch was in wide circulation at the time of YASHUA and the apostles, and that the apostles’ writings were influenced by Enoch’s writings. And, we have plenty of evidence that the Book of Enoch was treated as Scripture by many of the early “church fathers” and by the ancient Jewish scribes whose work is preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
However, these truths have not stopped the attacks on the Book of Enoch.
In order to diminish his work (which Enoch prophesied would happen), many scholars claim it wasn’t the Enoch of the Bible who wrote the Book of Enoch. But in the same way that we can know Moses wrote the Torah – because YASHUA said so (John 5:46, John 7:19, et al.) – we can know that Enoch wrote the Book of Enoch because Jude said so. Jude quotes from Enoch’s book and attributes that quote to Enoch himself (Jude 1:14-15).
The Book of Enoch that we study is also known as “1 Enoch.” It’s an unfortunate nickname since it implies that Enoch wrote another book, which he did not. The books known as “2 Enoch” and “3 Enoch” are falsely attributed to the patriarch Enoch. “2 Enoch” was written after the time of YASHUA and we can be assured it’s not authentic since it contradicts both the Book of Enoch and the Bible. “3 Enoch” is likewise not a true book of Enoch since it was authored by a rabbi named Ishmael who was very up front about the fact that he was not the biblical patriarch.
Based on all of that, the only Book of Enoch we study is the one known as 1 Enoch. You can read it for free with no ads here on the website.
20 years ago, Father gave me and my friends a word to let us know that the Book of Enoch is true Scripture, and since then we have learned for ourselves that everything in the book aligns with the words of the Old Testament prophets, the apostles, and YASHUA our Messiah.
If HE hasn’t spoken to you about it and you’re wondering if you should read the book, why not ask Him? Our Father is living and HE speaks to His children, and HE sent His Spirit to guide us in all things.
On this topic, all we can do for now is speculate.
It’s worth noting that what we call the Old Testament today was a list of books selected by Jewish leaders decades after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70AD. Prior to this, Israel didn’t have a defined list of which books were considered to be Scripture. We believe simply that since the rabbis who produced the Old Testament list didn’t include the Book of Enoch, and the Protestant church later adopted the exact same rabbinical list, Enoch was therefore excluded from the Bible.
But why the rabbis excluded it is up for debate.
Some say it was excluded because the men who determined the list only considered writings that were in Hebrew, and we haven’t yet found a Hebrew copy of the Book of Enoch. Many Aramaic-language fragments of the book have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the book is fully preserved in Ge’ez, the ancient Semitic language of the Ethiopians, but as of yet, there is no Hebrew scroll available for public viewing.
The Book of Enoch, 16th Century Ge’ez Manuscript. Ge’ez is a Semitic writing system derived from the original Hebrew script.
Another view held by a prominent Jewish scholar is that Enoch was left out because of the calendar it contains.
Enoch speaks of a 364-day-year and evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls (and the Bible) shows that the 364-day year calendar had been in use by Levitical priests in the tabernacle and the temple of GOD since the days of Moses. However, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70AD, the rabbis felt the need to reinvent any parts of their religion that had to do with temple life.
Part of this well-known reinvention of Judaism involved creating a new calendar that they had more control over. For example, the modern Jewish calendar is often adjusted so that certain days never fall on a Sabbath. In the ancient 364-day calendar however, dates for feasts are set forever and never change, according to the command of THE LORD.
For our video on Enoch’s calendar, click here. For our article on the calendar, click here.
Since the modern Jewish calendar is very much at odds with the calendar described in the Book of Enoch, the rabbis excluded the Book of Enoch from their list, as the theory goes.
Those are just a few of the theories out there on why Enoch was excluded, but no matter the reason, it’s fair to say that since the day the rabbis excluded it, Enoch has suffered nearly 2,000 years of bad press. Today, a lot of people who have never actually read the book nevertheless make videos upon videos about why others should not read it either. However well-meaning they may be, they’re telling lies about a prophet of GOD, which is not a place we would want to be in.
In any case, Enoch prophesied this would happen.
He wrote:
“And now, I know this mystery; that many sinners will alter and distort the words of truth, and speak evil words, and lie, and concoct great fabrications, and write books in their own words.
But, when they write out all my words exactly, in their languages, and do not alter or omit anything from my words, but write out everything exactly, everything which I testified about them before, then I know another mystery: That books will be given to the righteous and wise, which will be a source of joy, and truth, and much wisdom.
And books will be given to them, and they will believe in them and rejoice over them, and all the righteous, who have learnt from them all the ways of truth, will be glad.”
– 1 Enoch, chapter 104
We believe the books that will be given to the righteous which Enoch mentions here are books of understanding. Because if you’ve studied Enoch in detail, your house no doubt has at least a few notes on the understanding you’ve gained from it. And we, His children who HE declares in His mercy to be righteous, we rejoice over the knowledge our Father has given us – over knowing things like GOD has a SON and that HE made it so clear for us, and that even if they removed those words from our Bibles, His sheep hear His voice, and we know the truth when we hear it.
20 years ago when Father told us the Book of Enoch was true, we were in a very narrow minority of believers who considered Enoch to be Scripture. But thankfully, more of our Shepherd’s sheep are now tuning in. As just one example of Enoch’s message becoming more widespread and well-received, an audio version of the Book of Enoch that was recently posted to Youtube, read by the well-known Bible narrator Alexander Scourby, received over 1.5 million hits in the last 15 months.
No, Enoch never says that. His book specifically says, “sin has not been sent upon the earth, but man of himself has created it.” What Enoch does say is that Father ascribed the sins of man to the angel named Azazel. HE ascribed man’s sin to Azazel because it was through the teachings of Azazel that violence became widespread on the earth. Azazel taught men how to make weapons, how to value money, and how to beautify themselves, and it was through these things that Father said the earth was ruined.
The act of ascribing man’s sins to Azazel explains the origins of a ritual that Father commanded Israel to perform on Yom Kippur. Moses tells us that on Yom Kippur, the priest was to put the sins of Israel onto an animal called the “scapegoat.” The word for scapegoat in Hebrew is actually Azazel. Father used this ritual as a sign for Israel to remember His mercy, and as a sign to Himself that HE would judge the angel, and forgive those who love Him, even though we sin.
YASHUA said angels in heavendon’t marry. Jude explains in the New Testament that the lawless and rebellious angels who fell before the Flood are not considered “angels in heaven” – they are those who left their estate in heaven. Father’s holy angels who listen to Him do not marry. The sinful ones who left heaven did marry.
In our video “Angels (in Heaven) Don’t Marry” we discuss how YASHUA’s words actually prove Enoch is Scripture. You can watch it commercial-free by clicking here.
No, that’s not true. “Son of man” is a term used for the sons of Adam. Father called Ezekiel “son of man” many times, and like Ezekiel, Enoch was a son of man, but not THE SON OF MAN who is to sit on the throne of His glory and judge the world. The SON OF MAN is YASHUA and Enoch speaks of Him numerous times as being someone completely separate from himself.
On the one occasion where Enoch is called “son of man” by the angels, the angels tell him that Father’s righteousness will never leave him, that all the righteous will walk according to his ways, and that the lot (inheritance) of the righteous will be with Enoch. This is true of all the righteous sons of Adam. We all walk according to the same Way, Father’s righteousness will never leave us, and we will all live together forever with GOD our Father and share in the inheritance that HE promised (eternal life in the City of GOD).
As YASHUA said, one day we will sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom. Enoch will be there as well. Praise GOD.
Neither Enoch nor the Bible are in conflict with modern science on the subject of cosmology.
It’s true in the Scriptures and according to science that the sun moves (it travels a course around the center of the galaxy).
It’s also true that the sun appears to move throughout our visible sky each day. These daytime movements are perfectly described by Enoch in his description of the sun’s “portals” (portals simply means “gates”).
Throughout the year, the sun changes the place (gate) from which it rises and sets according to the seasons.
As shown in the images below, in the spring and summer months, the sun makes a wider arc in the sky, hence daytimes are longer and the days are warmer. In fall and winter months, the sun makes a smaller arc, hence daytimes are shorter and colder.
It’s from Enoch’s descriptions of the sun’s movements that we know his vantage point for when he was shown these things – he was here on earth.
It is only from the vantage point of an observer on land that he could also make the statement that the moon and sun are the same size. Solar eclipses, after all, are only possible because our Creator made it so that from our view here on earth, the circumference of the sun and moon appear to be equal.
In Enoch’s 10 Weeks Prophecy, the 8th week is described in this way:
“And after this there will be another week; the eighth, that of righteousness, and a sword will be given to it so that the Righteous Judgment may be executed on those who do wrong, and the sinners will be handed over into the hands of the righteous. And, at its end, they will acquire Houses because of their righteousness, and a House will be built for the Great King in Glory, forever.”– 1 Enoch 91
Many assume that this time period is referring to the return from Babylon through YASHUA’s coming, and that when Enoch talks about the righteous being given a sword to overcome sinners, he’s referring to the Maccabees. The Maccabees are well known in Jewish history for having made war against Hellenized Jews and Greeks who were preventing observant Jews from following the laws of Moses.
But while the Maccabees represent a time of great national victory in the land, this time period is by no means a week of righteousness in the eyes of our Father.
In his parable of the animals, Enoch describes the return from Babylon and the rebuilding of the temple and says “they began again to build as before, and they reared up that tower, and it was named the high tower; and they began again to place a table before the tower, but all the bread on it was polluted and not pure.”
These words are a description of how Father viewed the people of the land during the entire Second Temple period. Malachi similarly describes the people of this period as having departed from the way.
In fact, by the time of YASHUA and the apostles, the people were so off-path and steeped in their own traditions, they missed MESSIAH.
“And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” – Luke 19:44
It’s true that Manasseh committed a great number of heinous sins in the land of Israel. However, Father spoke through the prophet Ezekiel to let us know that if the wicked turns from his sin he shall surely live and not die (Ezekiel 33). The Scriptures make it clear that Manasseh repented and that GOD was intreated of him and that HE heard him. That’s enough to get Manasseh’s name into the Book of Life and therefore onto the list of righteous generations in the line of MESSIAH.
As another testimony in favor of Manasseh, it’s written that his son who did evil after him was condemned for not humbling himself like Manasseh did.
Every now and then we get comments on YouTube telling us we should not use the terms LORD or GOD for our Creator, and that we should only address Him by His Hebrew Names, and that we should pronounce those Names a certain way.
However, in the days of YASHUA, they called Him Rabbi (the Hebrew equivalent of Teacher at the time), and in earlier days, they called Him Adonai (the Hebrew equivalent of our English terms Master and Lord). Rabbi and Adonai are titles, not names, and they were spoken by righteous people who HE heard and taught and loved and who HE did not correct or condemn for addressing Him this way.
HE did not say “call Me by My Name in Hebrew!” or “pronounce it this way!”
In my own walk, when I have called Him LORD and GOD, HE has answered my prayers. When I called on Him “JESUS!” when I was in trouble, HE saved me.
To all of Father’s children – peace to you on this topic of names. Don’t let anyone condemn you for what you call your Father. HE looks at the heart and HE loves it when His children call on Him by any of His names, in any language they use.
To those who teach others to call Him by a certain Name and you do it in love because you’re looking to the ancient ways, peace to you as well. Just remember that no one knows how ancient Hebrew was pronounced, so unless you’ve heard Him speak His own Name to you, you’re just going with your best understanding – don’t condemn others for what you yourself cannot be sure of.
And to those who use His Name as a weapon to condemn others when they call on their Father for guidance and salvation using a Name you don’t like but by which HE will answer them – guard yourselves! His heart is the heart of a Father and HE does not take kindly to people attacking His children.
Before YASHUA came to this earth, the spirits of everyone who died went to a place called Sheol. Within Sheol, there were places for unrepentant sinners and a place for the righteous. (Genesis 37:35, Luke 16:19-31, et al.).
Although the good part of Sheol was described by YASHUA as being a place of comfort (Luke 16), Father nevertheless promised us through Hosea and the Psalms that HE would take the righteous out of Sheol (Hosea 13:14, Psalm 49:15, Psalm 16:10).
Some Scriptures indicate this may have happened just after YASHUA’s crucifixion, but we can’t say for sure when it occurred. What we do know is the righteous no longer go to Sheol when they die – they go to heaven to be with GOD.
Here are a few examples of the Scriptures teaching this:
Paul says, talking about death, that “in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling” and “We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from THE LORD” and we would “rather to be absent from the bodyand to be present with THE LORD.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-8). “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me,” he said, but his desire was “to depart and be with CHRIST.” (Philippians 1:22-23)
All of those words from Paul imply that to leave the body is to be with THE LORD in heaven.
The Book of Revelation provides another witness to this.
In Revelation 7, we see that those who come out of the Tribulation are in heaven. It says they are “before the throne of GOD and serve Him day and night in His temple.” Revelation 6:9-11 likewise says that John “saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.”
In addition to teaching that our spirits go to heaven when we die, the Scriptures also say our physical bodies which sleep in the dust will be raised at His return (Daniel 12:2, John 5:29, Isaiah 26:19, Job 19:25-27).
How exactly these two truths work together, we don’t know, but we’re looking forward to finding out when HE comes.
In the KJV, it says: “When THE MOST HIGH divided to the nations their inheritance, when HE separated the sons of Adam, HE set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.”
Some take issue with this translation since when Father “separated the sons of Adam,” it was shortly after the Flood and Babel, and long before Jacob (Israel) was even born. The question is why would Moses refer to land boundaries being set according to Israel at a time when Israel didn’t even exist?
Other translations of that verse have “sons of GOD” instead of “children of Israel,” implying that the nations were given their lands according to the jurisdictions of angels/principalities.
However, for us it’s clear that “children of Israel” is the correct interpretation since the very next verse in Deuteronomy 32 says “For THE LORD’S portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.” Moses is making it clear that the context is indeed the children of Israel, not the angels.
GOD’s plan all along has been to one day dwell among the people of Israel in His Holy District in Millennium as we see in the last few chapters of Ezekiel, so not only were the people of Israel on His mind before they even existed, but His future home here on earth was on His mind too.
This question came up from a few viewers in response to our Why Enoch Was Taken video since in that video we discuss how Enoch similarly mentions the “land of Dan” long before the tribe of Dan even existed.
YHVH, also known as THE LORD, EL SHADDAI, GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Father, and many other names, is GOD.
You can read 1000 books and understand nothing until HE speaks to you. Paul was a great example of this, and this is why he said don’t abandon the Spirit for the letter of the law. Him being expert in the law led him to persecute Father’s kids.
The church will be restored in its entirety before His return – not in any building or under any incorporation or nonprofit organization, but wherever His people gather, there will be gifts of the Spirit and people will move in prophecy, interpretations, healings, etc. This will happen in many groups, around the world. We will not all agree on everything, but we can love one another since we pray to the same GOD and hope in the same future.
Our views on Sabbath and the Law – Our brother John wrote that The Spirit dwelling in you is the evidence that you are following His commands. The apostles saw His Spirit poured into people who never kept Sabbath or followed the Law of Moses, so they didn’t require those things of them. Neither can we say those things are required of anybody today.
His Spirit within you makes it so you can do the things which please Him. And you’ll know you have the Spirit because the fruits and gifts of the Spirit are familiar to you and are part of your life and your walk with Him.
Many today have it in their hearts to do things like “remember the Sabbath.” And so, in different ways, and on different days, people choose to remember it. If it’s in your heart to remember it, peace. And if it’s not, peace.
There’s a day coming soon when His prophets will direct us all in these matters. If HE is in you, you’ll hear His voice in them.
We don’t believe in “replacement theology” which teaches that the church has replaced the physical, genetic descendants of Jacob. We know from the prophets that the tribes of Israel are of every race, tongue and nation, scattered throughout every nation, and that GOD will regather them in the end of days and cause them to inherit the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We don’t believe the prophesied regathering of all 12 tribes has happened yet, but we believe it’s coming soon. As for those in YASHUA who are not genetic descendants of Jacob, it’s written that they’re part of the commonwealth of Israel. At His return, the Christian heirs of Abraham in Christ will join the tribes of Israel and be given equal inheritance in the Land, as native-born children of Israel, in whatever tribe they choose to reside in (Ezekiel 47).
We believe we’ll be here on earth and protected by GOD through the Tribulation at the end of days. As the wickedness on this planet increases, so does the outpouring of His Spirit – it’s been promised to us. So, we ask for and expect extra strength, understanding, miracles, signs and wonders in these days.
We are confident and assured that our Father will guide us, protect us, and be with us through the end of the age in the same way HE was with Israel in the wilderness. And, that at the end of it all, HE will cause us to inherit the earth and HE will live among us and execute His good justice throughout the land, forever. That’s the good news.
YASHUA is the peace (shalom) we pray for when we say shalom unto Jerusalem.
Our team has a varied background in business and the arts. What we all have in common is we love Father’s words. We produce videos and create free resources about the Paleo Hebrew alphabet, Bible prophecy, and the Book of Enoch in our spare time for fun. As much as possible, we dedicate any original work we create to the Public Domain so that Father’s children have free and easy access to studying His word. We’re not monetized and we don’t ask for or accept donations. You can find us on YouTube under the name Original Hebrew.
The questions on this page are a mix of questions we’ve gotten from our YouTube viewers, topics we’ve studied over the past 20+ years, and topics from our videos and writings. If you have a question, feel free to ask by leaving a comment on any video on our YouTube channel. We also make Q&A videos on a variety of topics.
