(Letters 1-2 omitted)
Dr. Richard Elliott Friedman
University of California
San Diego, California
Dear Dr. Friedman,
I just picked up your book, "Who wrote the Bible?", and would like to offer some comments concerning your chapter on the Tabernacle of Moses.
I appreciate your comment in the book how we sometimes need to make mistakes in order to learn the truth. That is, by correcting mistakes we attain to truth.
I would first like to agree with you that the Tabernacle was essentially moved into the First Temple built by Solomon (to his father's design). There were some modifications to be done to make the fit. I would also heartily agree that the First Temple was precisely Double that of the Tabernacle in its dimensions. There is a line of logic in Biblical Prophesy and Testimony which relates the entire essence of God being accomplished two by two. To the Ark were gathered the animals two by two, except those dedicated for Sacrifice, which were by Seven. The boards of the Tabernacle were suspended by Gold Rings from the bars in the ceiling two by two. It was two men who visited Sodom as God seeing for Himself the goings on down there; and we have many references to Israel being rewarded doubly for their sins, with the capstone of the Double significations being in the same chapter Christ is reported to have read in the Temple, saying, This day these things are fulfilled. Verse 61.7 says, concerning the frequently mentioned shame Israel will experience (because of the murder of God, the Sacrificed Messiah in chapter 53):
Isaiah 53.7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore, in their land they shall possess the Double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
Correlating with this verse is the prophesy (or will of inheritance) of Israel Himself in Genesis:
Genesis 49.10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh come, and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.
We quote this verse, which is one of the earliest prophesies, so to establish the baseline with which we are dealing. And that is there are Two Messiahs or Anointed Ones mentioned in the Bible. Zechariah, chapter 4 and 11, quite clearly states there are Two Anointed Ones of God. Concerning one of them, Beauty, mentioned in chapter 11, we may recall the often times Christian teaching how Judas threw the thirty pieces of silver back into the temple and how the priests threw the blood money into the Potter's Field. We can see quite clearly that the verse of prophesy dealing with this incident relates to the stave named Beauty. The other stave named Bands has a prophesy connected with Him which shows He carries a pretty hefty bite, being certainly one whom few would like to have visit them. So the concept of the Double is firmly entrenched in Biblical prophesy and if we had more time here we could illustrate many more examples. But our concern here is the Tabernacle which carried in it a small chest containing the Ten Commandments and the Testimony, atop which was a thin gold plate whose ends were formed out of Two Cherubim. And God was seen to reside there with the Children of Israel between the Two Cherubim. In the context, we have to ask, as Zechariah did before us, who those Two Cherubim were, because God forbade the creation of images (their worship) in His Religion.
The Ark of the Covenant, its Mercy Seat, a seat of judgment, was carried midst the Children of Israel by means of Two Staves. Since there are no other Two Staves mentioned in the Bible, we can assume for the moment that Beauty and Bands are the Staves by which God's Mercy is carried to Man. It is not too difficult to address this probability, because we know that the final outcome of the Bible's story relates the redemption, or gathering, of the Children of Israel from all the nations whence they had been scattered and sifted, and melted, in Great Mercy. At that time there will be a great outpouring of shame, then grief, and then joy in the knowledge and Glory of God. It has now been two thousand years since the date of the scattering, as prophesied in the Virgin Birth, mentioned in Isaiah 7.14, whose sign of destruction is clearly mentioned in verse 7.23:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
So we see from this prophesy that the Sign of the Virgin is not something Israel would presumably be excited to see. And Christ correlated to this prophesy from the standpoint, when asked whether He had come to gather Israel, He responded, I have come to divide you...and not to bless you with water of the Holy Spirit but Fire. In this context we can see the agreement between Christ's view of Himself and the prophesy of the Virgin Birth.
We have to mention these things because the Virgin Birth and Sacrificed Messiah are anomalies in the prophesy of a King who is like Moses, the great model of the Gatherer. Christ simply was not the Gatherer nor did He view Himself as such, except He did say, I gather that which another had planted, which statement was anomalous to the aforementioned prophesies.
Now Christ referred to Daniel, mentioning as a sign of His Second Coming, the Abomination of Desolation mentioned in Daniel. And after that thing appears, Michael comes, who is, according to Daniel chapter 12, The great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people. In chapter 10 we are told that Michael is one of the chief Princes; and later Daniel asks in verse 17, How can the servant of this my Lord talk with This my Lord?
So Christ acknowledged one of the Chief Princes named Michael. And the sign of Michael is consistent with Latter Day prophesy; i.e., a time of great darkness and trouble:
Daniel 12.1...and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be Delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Thus, Michael is the Sign of the Deliverer, whom we can now refer to by another name, Shiloh, who was first prophesied by Israel (Jacob). And Shiloh is not a Jew, a son of Judah, or David. For the word, Until, in Genesis 49.10 specifically separates Shiloh's lineage from Judah. If I were your superior and told you that you and your children will continue to hold your post at the University of California in San Diego Until I come, you would know precisely what I mean. I have placed a limitation on your post or title and my appearance one day might result in it being taken away from you. Whatever is to happen is clearly left up to Shiloh, him whose right it is. And from this we can see that even Israel (Jacob) recognized Two Anointed Ones of God: one who sets and maintains the scepter in Judah's name and another named Shiloh.
Some Jewish scholars mentioned that Shiloh has died long ago. But this is an anomaly to the prophesies concerning the Gatherer and the Promise that the Righteous King, the Messiah, will be raised up unto David and be a Son of David through lineage. And for Shiloh to have died long ago necessarily means that the Sceptre of the Messianic Promise has long since died before Him. It further does not take into consideration the Promise of the Gatherer, i.e., Michael. And Christ, in his own time, acknowledged that He then was not Michael.
Having briefly sketched the relationship in the Two Anointed Ones of the Lord of the whole earth, we can now ask who the Two Cherubim atop the Mercy Seat were. Their sign was that God Resided between them. In examining the story line of the Bible, concerning the scattering and gathering of Israel, we can easily ascertain that the entire Glorification of God is placed between Two Messianic Events: The Sacrificed Messiah and the Gatherer. For ease or facility we can call them Beauty and Bands, God's Two Staves, because those signs represent Mercy.
As you so suitably pointed out, Solomon installed Two more Cherubim, standing ten cubits (15 feet) high, whose combined wingspan traversed the breadth of the Temple, which was twenty cubits. These were made out of Olive Trees, whereas the Two Mercy Seat Cherubim were probably formed around carved olive branches. For they were hammered and the goldsmith would hammer them around something. What is startling in Biblical Testimony is that no one asked who either of them were! Except Zechariah. We know Zechariah had to be addressing those Two Olive Trees because there simply are no other Two Olive Trees discussed in Biblical Testimony, except The Two Olive Trees placed in the Garden of Eden, one at the East Gate and the other at the West Gate.1 The Tabernacle, we might add, was aligned east and west, with the door on the West. The door to the Temple was to the East, visa versa. And in their orientation we can see that the Temple was doing something different, whose gate looked out onto the field of the dead, Mt. Olives. Modern Jews believe that their Messiah will reenter the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives, waking the dead up first, and proceed through the Golden Gate, which has been long ago sealed up by the Moslems. The Moslems, as you know, believe that planting their cemetery in front of the gate and the rot iron fence in front of it, together with the blocks sealing the gate, will prevent the Jewish Messiah from fulfilling that prophesy. That too is an anomaly because they have gone to such tremendous efforts, and still guard that gate zealously, to stop the entrance of something in which they do not believe or accept exists. It's like God being jealous of other gods who, by his own mouth, do not exist.
If you turn to Exodus 26.25, you will see that on the Eastern side of the Tabernacle there are eight boards, each being 1.5 cubits in width.
In the same chapter, verse 23, we see that each of those two sides, east and west, have two corner boards tied to a center gold ring. Simple addition tells us that the two corner boards on the eastern side, plus the eight boards equals ten boards or 15 cubits.
On the Western side, verse 22, we see that there are six boards, plus their two corner boards, eight boards altogether. The difference between the eastern and the western sides is the fact that the Western side has the door to the Tabernacle, two boards wide. We know the Tabernacle had two doors, because Samuel was sleeping before the doors of the Tabernacle when God first spoke to him.
From this alone we can see that the Tabernacle was 15 cubits wide by 30 cubits long (length being determined by the twenty boards north and south which equal thirty cubits).
The covering or Tent you proposed in your book will not fit over this frame. The small linen covering (28 cubits wide) will not stretch the distance. However, its 40 cubit length will leave 1 and 1/2 curtains over the eastern side as described in Exodus. Actually, 1/2 curtain is described hanging over that side, with the folding of the 10th and 11th curtains unto themselves to form the Porch of the Tabernacle.
The difference between the small linen curtain and the large goat hair curtain is two cubits which reveals across the breadth of the Tabernacle a one cubit difference between the Two Curtains. The larger overlaps the smaller by one cubit on each side, north and south, as described in Exodus. This is another reason why the Tent you proposed will not cover the frame you proposed. You simply will not be able to get the one cubit overlap.
Going back to the placement of the boards, we see that they were suspended two by two from one gold ring which was slipped over the bar of the ceiling. The ceiling determines the number of boards to be used. Five bars are used to suspend the Ten boards on the eastern side and the eight plus two doors on the western side. Simple arithmetic tells us that to hang two boards from one gold ring, with five bars, we need ten boards.
On the sides north and south the same is true. We have twenty boards suspended two by two from each bar: i.e., we need Ten bars. Now the description of the Tabernacle contains this statement concerning the bars of the ceiling: There are 15 plus one center bar. Simply speaking, you are told you need in this parts list 15 bars to suspend the boards. The Center Bar suspends the center gold ring to which the four corner boards are tied top and bottom.
As we can see the dimensions of the Tabernacle are constrained by the Three basic assemblies of the device: The Tent, the Bars, and the Boards. As for the way the boards were arranged, being suspended each two by two from one gold ring slipped over the bar of the ceiling, we know that the boards were laid side by side.
What kept the gold rings, hanging their two boards, from slipping off their bar in the ceiling? It is The weight of the Tent. You are right that the Tabernacle was a heavy burden to carry around the desert. Many wagons were needed; thus the separation of the curtains into individual 4 cubit panels. The burden of the Tabernacle and its court, whose hangings were as high as 20 cubits, is also an anomaly. No practical engineer would design such a burden for desert nomads. On top of this the boards were covered with gold and, because of our design, exposed to the desert wind and sand. Another anomaly.
The key to all this is in the Four Corner Boards. To which side did they face? We know that they were tied towards the center gold ring.2 We also know they make the Corner and the descriptions of the boards begins with those positioned north and south, being twenty cubits each. Then we place the corner and western boards. So you can pick which side to put them on, in parallel: the western or the northern, etc. The Tent will not fit if you place them in line with the north/south boards. It will only fit as I described.
On the bottom of the boards is another anomaly. Two tenons made of gold were inserted in the bottom of each board. And the tenons themselves were inserted in their silver sockets in the ground! Strange, isn't it? The tenons had no structural value. For gold is the weakest metal there is and would bend under the great weight of their boards. So the gold tenons and their silver sockets, which in turn are strange, had another purpose.
Show this to your engineers. What happens when gold tenons are rubbing in their silver sockets in the earth? And what happens when that gold path from the ground leads up through the gold on the boards to their gold rings on to their gold covered bars on to the center gold ring, beneath which is an amazing gold sheet whose ends are formed into Two Cherubim poles? Will not one see light?
I hope I have stimulated your curiosity about this most unusual device. Since Israel is now back on the map again, after two thousand years, I think it is a good time to take another look at the Tabernacle. We know you will be fascinated with it. And I hope you will write me with any comments.
I hope that you will not think me presumptuous. The proof of the Tabernacle is, of course, being able to make all of its strange parts fit together as described in the Bible. The final verification that one has reconstructed the True Tabernacle is that something will appear there on its Mercy Seat.
Now I can prove the design quite easily as an electrical device. It looks like an electron tube or IC--It looks like a computer chip-- something quite familiar these days. But I have no doubts that it is a greater receiver than an electron tube.
Without the gold tenons and their silver sockets, the device has no functions beyond that of a covering from the wind, sun, and rain. But because of the Tenons and their Sockets, the Tabernacle ceases to be a Tent as we would know it.
When you took the path of analyzing it, you made the same mistake others made. You built it from the ground up. This Tent was designed from the Ceiling down. And its most stable form is a Hanging, suspended from the Center Gold Ring. Of course, Moses had no way of suspending it, and it therefore needed stakes and cords like all Tents.
As for raising it, it could be raised in less than a day. All you need do is position the boards and their curtains and coverings and pull up on the center Gold Ring. That's how I would do it. I think your engineers might agree. But ask them if this is true.
I hope you believe in the Bible. And if you believe, you also must believe that the Tabernacle was Promised to be restored at the time Israel is Gathered and restored its Promised Land.
Whilst I can be content in building a copy of it, just to see it in all its glory, as even prophesied in the Odes of Solomon, I am sure there are those who would insist upon finding the original. And I have no doubts that too can be done, for there are texts which describe where it was hidden, but that is not important to me, as I would like to see its double.
Please write me about this. Incidentally, not to confuse the issue, I have written a book which describes these things and more.
One last note concerning the First Temple. The number of the boards had to be altered to fit the twenty cubit breadth of the temple. 1.5 does not divide equally into twenty cubits. Also, the clerestory (it looked like a barn, near to the Roman Basilica) required that the coverings of the Tabernacle be omitted, as they would have blocked the light coming in through the windows. Because the boards had been changed (actually 20 boards on each of three sides), the bars of the ceiling were also changed in number and position. They looked like a true network. So the Temple was not the same thing; besides that, it was built of Hewn Stone, which thing God was never partial to. For we have His admonition to both Abraham and Moses not to build steps up to his altar, lest He sees your nakedness as you walk up the steps. A strange point of view, don't you think? He's down below you looking up under your robes as you walk up the steps. But this is not inconsistent with his thought. For He put Himself between Two Cherubim atop a small chest about knee high. I should think that if one were to build a copy of the Tabernacle and its Ark one might find oneself looking down upon Him. Hopefuly it would be eye to eye. The Tabernacle, anyway, is a small offering to God.
Now you really don't have to search very far to find the Double of the Tabernacle or Temple. It is an easy match to turn the Tabernacle on its side and Double it to get the dimensions of the Temple: 20 cubits, by 30 cubits by 60 cubits. Now the Temple which was destroyed was not the same. It was 60 cubits by 60 cubits by 60 cubits. And that is something no man should want to see built.
Sincerely
Mel West
Dr. Earl Paulk
P.0. Box 7300
Atlanta, Georgia 30357
Dear Dr. Paulk,
I know that many letters, some with money, some without, are sent to your ministry, as with others. And I know that you are only given to read those which are important; and perhaps your ministry may do as others have done, leaving the answer to some letters up to God. But I hope you are different and would endeavor to assist God in the answer. For you asked for Wise Men in your last broadcast and spoke of Fidelity. These are the things rewarded in the end: For in the end I hope that you will be found to be a Wise and Faithful Servant of God. And though I am the least among you, perhaps I may be the first to say, Well done. With this being my hope, let me explain the purpose of my letter.
I listen to most of the television ministry as much as I can bear it. I think if Paul were here today He might be somewhat upset with his church, seeing many perverts disguised as ministers of God and Jesus Christ. If Christ were here Himself, I should think He would be mad as Hell (i.e. Hell is a place of Great Wrath). And the prophets warn us that the day of His visitation is a day of great darkness and incurs the Final Wrath of God.
With this out of the way, we can speak of books which also reflect the will of something other than God. And whether by mouth or word, the perversions of Truth seem to be attacking on all fronts.
It is easy to pick any book out of the occult stores to measure the extent to which these things are working in us. But these show us the obvious: Things we already know are perversions of truth. But there are other things which are not obvious and come to us thoroughly disguised. Their disguise is so fastidious they cannot be distinguished apart from the disguises of the devil and his angels mentioned in the Adam and Eve story in the Apocrypha. I think you can agree with me that if either you or I were Adam we would have been as easily duped in those cases as he.
But being in Christ Jesus, we are Adam. And we can see the Adam and Eve story replayed. For Adam is about to be kicked out of His Garden.
But we do not seem to have the Wisdom of Adam, even; for in the end Adam was able to see through Satan's artful disguises.
We all try to be good vessels of the Lord our God, the Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Sometimes, being duped by Vanity, the principal disguise of the devil, we allow ourselves to become vessels of Satan himself.
How, then, knowing the many ways Vanity tries to pervert us to untruth, can we discern when we have taken the wrong path, being led not by God but by Vanity? The answer to this is quite simple: We measure ourselves unto God, through His Model, Jesus. Ultimately in this measure we can always ask the question, What would Jesus say about this?
Apart from Jesus, as a confirming note, we know we can find the True and Final measure of the Truth residing within us by weighing ourselves by the Word of God. And that is a book called The Bible. And in this measure we can see, as you so aptly observed, there are other works, including many Apocrypha, which coincide perfectly in thought or precept to the Biblical works. Thus, I can mention the Adam and Eve story holding in truth and harmony the same precepts vocalized by Moses and all the prophets up to and including Jesus the Christ.
Having said these preliminaries, I can now ask you to intercede for me. For I have written a book, which this letter is now a part, placed at the end of Book 3, and with determined purpose I have thought to use my book to answer another. And to use it effectively, with Witness, I have thought to send my answer to you. Therefore, I have made you a Witness in a dispute against Vanity. And as a Good Witness, I would hope that you would answer me.
Before you read my book, "Hidden Pavilions", I ask you to read the book by Dr. Richard Elliott Friedman, "Who Wrote the Bible?". And before you answer me, I would hope that you will have read both books at least once. For they are a great contrast one to another. And as you think about them, I would ask you to also answer to yourself who wrote them.
I can forewarn you that Dr. Friedman's book may be easier for you to swallow than my book. Perhaps you have already read it. My book is not an easy thing to confront and, to tell you the truth, after being sent to many in the ministry, from the Pope down, has yet to be answered. And perhaps there has been confusion among the others --I don't know-- as I have lived without answer from them. But I must say this: My book is not written to God but to Man. It does not ask for an answer from God, as it already knows it; it asks for an answer from Man. And at this stage, after many years, any answer would be regarded as a blessing.
If, in your mind, you feel that I am a pervert unto Truth and not Faithful to the Word of God, I would not be upset with you. For we can all err and sometimes it takes another to point out that an error has taken place. But what greater error is there than in one who has erred and no one has bothered to tell him about it? And in my case it has thoroughly been documented that I do not wish to play the part of the Fool and would ask someone to come forward to show me my errors. So far, as you will see in the book, the Ministry have allowed me to be a Fool. And this reflects poorly upon the Ministry, great and small.
To facilitate your way and perhaps ease your pain in entering my book, I would like to briefly mention that it takes up as an issue, focusing upon Truth, Two Precepts in Biblical prophesy: The Tabernacle and the Two Anointed Ones whom Zecheriah saw, chapter 4 and 11. And by measure, the book writes these things the final measure of Truth. For if they are not True, then no other Biblical, prophetic precepts are true. Hence, we come to Dr. Friedman's book and can contrast it with mine.
In Dr. Friedman's book I have but two objections. The first objection deals with his understanding of the structure of the Tabernacle of Moses. A child can show him his dimensions are incorrect. I wrote him on this not long ago and have included that letter in the end of book 3. You will find behind that letter this letter. You are now in my book. If you answer me by letter, I will add that answer behind the others.
The second objection I have to Dr. Friedman's book is that in his endeavor to identify who wrote the Bible I saw no mention of God, other than in an illusory way. And this is why I could not find that credit to God:
Dr. Friedman assumed in his investigation that the Bible was written by men. And its bias in that regard never accredits to God the ability to write things Himself, through the mouths of men, and only takes into consideration the precept of works inspired of God.
Dr. Friedman, in making this assumption, ignored the very baseline of Biblical law: Prophesy. And in that baseline we have the well known precept that through Prophesy God would prove His Existence, His might, His goodwill and love, and His Lordship over mankind. And at the end of His Prophesies He ends with the Promise of Mercy.
At the core of the precepts in Prophesy we have the Promise of God. In effect, God says, You will know Me when you see that all the Promises, both the Curses and the Blessings I have made to mankind, come true.
So at the Crux of the Word of God is His Word: that what He says will come True. And by measuring His Truth against untruth He says that if it does not come true, then He who spoke the prophesy for God is not a prophet of God. And in this we see that God's ability to endorse His Law is vested in the process of Prophesy.
Dr. Friedman's book essentially ignores where the prophesy of the Bible came from. He suggests, in fact, that many prophesies were written after the fact! And to answer this I must begin at the end of them and walk backward, asking him which of them has been prophesied after the fact, i.e.:
That Israel will be scattered and sifted among the nations of the world, burned, even melted until only a few of them are left; and then they will be gathered in Great Mercy and restored unto their land. At that time, a day of Great Darkness, such as has never been seen on earth nor will be seen again, and Great Gloominess, such as has never been seen nor will be seen again, Lebanon shall be burning - such that its animals will not be sufficient for the sacrifice at hand. And now shall I raise myself up, so saith the Lord; and He said, at that time Israel shall be surrounded and I shall take out my wrath against those nations who were against Israel.
I shall restore the Tabernacle at the time I gather Israel.
I shall even rebuild the Temple at the time I gather Israel.
I shall turn their hearts to flesh and turn the eyes of the father to the son and the son to the father, the mother to her daughter, and the daughter to her mother.
And before these we have:
I shall raise up a Virgin who shall give birth to a son. Immanuel shall be His Name. And before He learns to eat Butter and Honey, I shall forsake the Land of Israel, and in that day, where there were a thousand silverlings on a thousand vines it shall be even for briars and thorns.
He shall be known as The Branch. Wonderful, Counselor is His Name. He is God in the flesh.
At the time of the Virgin Birth, I shall number the children of Israel to the sword, the pestilence, and the fire as I did with them in scattering them to Babylon in the seventy year captivity, and as I did with Egypt when I brought my people out of Egypt.
And before these we have:
Blessed is Abraham and his seed which follow him. He will live in the Land of Milk and Honey which I have given Him and all his children after Him. And he will live in that land, and his seed after him, forever and be a sign, a wonder, a testimony, and for the Glory of God. In Abraham, all men on earth, forever and everlasting, shall be Blessed.
Blessed is Judah, for He will have the Scepter and the lawgiver shall be between his feet until Shiloh come.
Blessed are the children of Israel for they shall live in the Land which I have led them, from the desert wilderness and from Egypt, as long as they obey my commandments and continually serve the Lord their God: that they love Him with all their heart and all their soul.
Cursed are the children of Israel if they do not obey my commandments and turn their offerings unto another. If they worship false gods nor obey my commandments I shall put them to the four fiercesome plagues: I will send locusts upon them, I will send disease, I will send fire, and I will send the sword. I will utterly destroy them off their land and toss them to the uttermost parts of the earth, and I will burn them, until but a remnant remain. And then I will gather them in Great Mercy and restore the remnant to the land. And at that time, as I spoke unto Moses, I shall utterly take my wrath out against those who had been against my people Israel.
Now there are many prophesies which correlate, or expand upon, these precepts in prophesy. But if we cannot agree when and by whom these prophesies were made, being by God before the fact, then discussion of all the other prophesies is meaningless. For these are at the Core of Biblical Prophesy. And all else compared to them is but chaff.
I can agree with Dr. Friedman that the Bible was passed down to us through many hands and many hands sought to put their own Two Cents Worth into the message carried in their custody. We can call this interpreting or redacting, whatever one chooses. But we have to keep in mind the essence of The Word, that it will be seen in the end to prove Itself! So it knew beforehand many will attempt to tamper with it and alter it to express one man's or another's Vanities: What man believes and not what God believes. We may recall that God said, I am not like you: I don't think like you!
In the Bible there is a language of God which can be deduced through the core precepts mentioned above. It carries a particular point of view, a determined purpose, and an ideal. And when you understand that personality, as all the prophets have known Him, you can't help but look upon either the Word or its perspective without being in agreement with the others. For one precept is built upon another, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. And when you understand those precepts you will better understand how well Jesus the Christ knew them. He knew them without question better than any man who had walked the earth before Him, or even now, as I write, after Him. And in understanding what Christ said, even off hand, we can only marvel that He said nothing new; for all the precepts He said had been expressed already before Him. Even the substitute of His Body for the Passover Feast had already been established before Him. And in this He was but doing the Will of the Father. And in this case the Will of the Father had already been written before Him.
We mention this because a measure of Prophesy is Christ. He is a Witness to the Testimony and Prophesy which existed before Him. And He acknowledged all the prophets, even all of those back to Moses! And He said not one tittle of the law of Moses or the prophets will go unfulfilled. For He knew He was created by those things which are the Word of God: the law, the Testimony, and the Prophesy. And of these things He knew He was the Manna.
So you cannot pretend to be a Christian and ignore Prophesy or from whence it came. We know it came initially from God, placed in the mouths of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then was made a Law and a Testimony through Moses (and Aaron). Now Moses was a new thing on earth. For God, responding to Moses's question, Who shall I be?, said, You shall be unto the people as I. Who shall Aaron be? Aaron shall be my mouth and your prophet. In the relationship, Moses is God and Aaron is God's Mouth, or prophet. Thus, in those things relating to Moses, we must acknowledge that they came through Aaron from Moses who was as God! And this Precept cannot be altered in the Word of God.
Since Moses, many men were entrusted with the Law and the Testimony. Many generations of scribes and priests handled it and transcribed it onto new scrolls, or books. Like the books of the Dead Sea, the books of the Bible were probably scattered through many, many scrolls. And as the books, or prophesies, grew they required reorganization in one way or another. The reorganizing can be seen on a simple level in Isaiah where He says:
Behold, I and my children are for signs and wonders unto you:
After that verse, you look for those whom He is talking about and see nothing about them! Then, after many chapters He speaks of His Three Witnesses: One who is as God; another who is a son of Judah (Jacob); and another who subscribes with the name of Israel unto the Lord.
So someone has tampered with the prophesy of Isaiah. We don't imply malicious intent; for no harm was done to it.
By comparison, after you read my book, you will be first struck with the impression that it needs to be better organized! For it reads like the Bible. John, a preacher who is mentioned in the book, suggested it read like Jeremiah and was hard to read. But once you understand the precepts with which I am working, you should find it quite easy to read and quite revealing. You might even see yourself in it: I mean, what you really are.
Now if you like the spirit of my book, though he appears perhaps a bit too humble, revealing some weaknesses which perhaps need not have been mentioned, would I be offended if you were to tamper with it? I know what I have written. And you can't tamper with it. You can cut it up in pieces and jumble it up. But you can't alter its point of view! You can't alters its personality, its precepts, and its objectives and how it intends to secure those objectives.
I would prefer that my book be maintained as it is. And hopefully it will reach the hands who can appreciate what it is and maintain it as it was created. For it is a special work and testimony.
Dr. Friedman and his school, and those before him, brought up a good point that one ought to ask: Whose hands wrote the Bible? Who are the men whose hands wrought the work of God? And their technique for tracing these hands is a good start. But they ought to keep in mind that the Bible is written much in the manner as the Illiad, passed down to us from Homer. For it is formed around noun plus epitaph phrases which can be easily remembered and organized into stories. Every noun carries its epitaph.
So the initial base of the Word of God is that which was passed down through memory. The writer of the books of Moses shows us in his work that He writes in the third person, saying, and Moses said... He is quoting Moses and His works. The scribe(s) who recorded these works of Moses wrote them at particular times. Then the books were copied and scattered, recopied and scattered again; and so on. Probably, some of the books may have gotten separated from one another, as in the captivity of Babylon. We know one came back from Babylon carrying all five books of Moses, so we know those books existed before Him. For those Five Books have their own epitaph which describes them: The Five Books. Now they may have been hacked up and scattered midst many duplicated and unduplicated scrolls. The prophet who brought them back from Babylon may have brought back a mess. And it is probable that someone set to cleaning up the books and recopying them at that time. And we see Jeremiah complaining about the priests and scribes who started putting their own interpretations into the books. No doubt there was a desire among a group of them, perhaps it was Jeremiah, who thought to create an orthodox or canonized version of those books. So the need for more cutting and pasting. We can see how the process works in the Dead Sea Scrolls, for there certainly was some cutting and pasting going on there, focused, of course, around the Sons of Zadok, Ezekiel's prophesy. So we know that Ezekiel's prophesy existed before them.
Daniel mentions Jeremiah, so we know that Jeremiah existed before Daniel. So in addition, by the time of Daniel, we know that there were certain other books added to the Bible beyond the Torah or Five Books of Moses. They included certain prophets and chronicles.
Those prophets who are not mentioned specifically by name by verified prophets, such as Jeremiah, we can also verify as preceding one or another by virtue of their use of noun plus epitaph phrases. That is to say, by the use of the epitaphs we can determine upon which prophesy or precepts a particular prophet is built. The first begins with Abraham, then to Israel (Jacob), and then to Moses. From all the Blessings and Curses of Moses were all the other prophesies built. And you can see even the continuity in the use of the epitaphs. To think as Dr. Friedman suggested one man wrote them is absurd. On the basis of Dr. Friedman's theory, one would have to judge that I wrote the Bible. For my use of the epitaphs of the Bible is every bit as thorough and done the same way as Jeremiah and the others. Rather, the Epitaphs belong to the domain of God. If one knows them, one uses them. And what matter is it whether one says, You make your children a prey to this generation and people, as you see in the end of my book, or to another generation? Have I not seen the same thing going on? And seeing it, have I not used the epitaph against it that belongs to it? If you sacrifice your children to your gods, which is your own Vanity, seeking your own pleasure, are you not any different than those who sacrificed their babies to Baal? And if you saw this same generation again on earth would you not make the same pronouncement? Certainly, you would say of these people, You make your own children a prey! And I contrasted us with others whom I have seen in my travels. And I lamented in this, that we could not treat our children the same way as the Turks teach theirs. For the Turkish children were always gracious to foreigners. Never a morning went by or a day passed that a child did not greet me in the street, saying, Good Day, or Hello. But our children, I said in my book, cannot greet foreigners or strangers, for we make our children a prey. Isn't it the truth? And did I have to know that epitaph to make the observation?
Now there are things which I could add to my book which go along with the rest of that epitaph: i.e., what will be done to those who make their children a prey. But I have scattered enough about it in my book that I need not go into it any more here. It is sufficient to know that I knew the real range of that epitaph, its implications, and its fulfillment. And you cannot tamper with my book to alter that foreknowledge.
So I ask you to intercede for me and judge me.
Can Dr. Friedman be true, that so many hands have written the Bible that it is open to interpretation and, extending this hypothesis, meaningless?
Or is it True that the Spirit of Prophesy exists; and He is Christ, and through Him the Purpose of God, The Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven, will be fulfilled?
And if the Spirit of Prophesy exists, can He exist in my book?
I hope that you are not afraid to pursue this question; I hope you are not ambivalent towards it and will approach it as eagerly as I. For to me it was as a race carrying the epitaphs of the Lord. I knew them and I used them. And I did it for one purpose.
After you have gotten into the book, whether you agree with it or not, you must agree that concerning the things of my book which I carried in the race, I won the race. I hope that you can appreciate this, that I got to the finish line first. And for anyone else to run the race I ran, they would have to write the very same book.
For I know where my book came from; I appreciate my source. And I acknowledge I haven't really written anything new. It just seems new. It just seems new for these times.
Judge me. Judge, for instance, The Sealed book or the Book of Remembrance. Judge the Letter that is become a great volume. Judge Lebanon. Judge the Word of God whose name is known [who has a name written and known] only to Himself. Judge those who participate in the First Resurrection. Judge the Bands, the Double, and Shiloh. And Judge the Tabernacle.
I have been waiting for judgment for quite some time. It seems that every time I have asked for judgment I am passed over as if I do not exist. But I do exist and whilst there is an eye upon me will always exist to be answered. And I always wonder how my God can judge me when man, Himself, will not do it. Must I be condemned through eternity as a man without judgment? For have I not been Faithful and True to God?
Let those who would accuse me come forward. Who would oppose me?
In closing I would like to comment about a feature of my book which is personal: my family. I hope you can understand it and the grief I must bear for it. So I ask you not to take the book lightly in this regard. For it lies at the heart of the precepts in the book.
I appreciate your sermon on Fidelity.1 And I would only add to it the statement, If you cannot be faithful to your wedded husband or wife, how can you be faithful to God? How do you think you can be Faithful and True to God if you cannot even show faith and truth to your own wedded spouse?
I mention this so you can appreciate the perspective from which my book was written. For I am not a model of faithfulness. My story is written; is it not in the book?
But I am a man and not God. I am frail, needful of Wisdom and understanding. I seek to know truth wherever I can find it. But Wisdom is like a dove. You don't see it all the time, and often, when it is there, you are not mindful of it. For you are engrossed with your own vanities: The things of this earth which give pleasure to you. But the dove, like a spirit of God, sits quietly in the bush, or in the tree overhead, waiting for you to notice it. Or it hovers quietly overhead with soothing tones of Grace, grace. It is a symbol of Peace on earth, Goodwill towards all men. My book is such a dove. For among the many things it is doing, it reconciles the Christians, the Jews, and the Moslems. It is mindful of all of them, their dreams, and their needs. And the promises which have been made to all of them. So as a dove it whispers to all of them, Peace, peace and accepts them as they are.
It is mindful even of those who have been buried in the desert sands these past two thousand years or more. It salutes the Son's of Zadok and laments they cannot come forward to greet it. He laments and ponders on this, thinking perhaps He will raise up another sons of Zadok. But it is too late. For they cannot be raised up again. At least, with regard to the issue of my book, their time is now past. But there is a New World ahead. And only God can know its time, its place, and its works. And I think this is an appropriate precept to close upon, for that is the basis of my book and the Bible. And if you agree, concerning the prophesies, that only God could have made and fulfilled them; then if these things are signs and wonders to you, then you are somewhat prepared for what is to come. For a New Heaven and a New Earth are being written.
Please answer me.
Sincerely yours,
Mel West
(1) I wonder who the Third Great Minister to fall is?
I did receive an answer from Dr. Paulk which had a short paragraph agreeing upon the precept of how longsuffering God is. I cannot find the letter.
Bishop Earl Paulk
P.0. Box 7300
Atlanta, Georgia 30357
Dear Bishop Paulk,
The voice of television is a wonderful thing when used by the Holy Spirit. As wonderful as it can be, however, it can also be used by the evil one who is Satan. I call him Vanity. And it is unfortunate that I hear in many messages coming across the air the interpolated voice of Vanity. And in this process I hear distortion and outright lies. I hear Beliar. I am not the first to complain about it; nor will I be the last. Last evening an Irish evangelist said the right things in this regard.
There is a particular thing I heard coming out of the mouth of the World Vision Church broadcast last Sunday which I would like you, with your ability, to intercede upon. Someone ought to take the bull by the horns and act soon before the distortion I heard becomes a virus infecting the entire message of God. It is a new virus to me.
In essence, the message said that one of the Two Cherubim placed atop the Mercy Seat of the Tabernacle of Moses was Satan! How could this be? God sharing His Mercy Seat with Satan?
Did you know that Satan has been trying to be elevated to that place ever since he fell out of grace with God? Are we not told that through deception and lying he would one day even place his throne above that of God?
It is enough to not know who the Two Cherubim are, except God created His Image between them. But to speculate as to whom they are, one ought to at least Give God Credit that the image He created is that of Good not evil, His Holy Spirit, not an evil spirit; a Spirit of Mercy not grudging and denial.
If I were Satan I would use that message to the hilt. And you can bet that he will do just that. For he can say, based upon that message, that Jesus is the other Cherub on the Mercy Seat and he is the other, both sharing equal places on the throne of God. We read in many Apocryphal documents, those of the Gnostics in some cases, this same message. These approaches to the Godhead justify evil to know God.
We have seen that God is capable of both good and evil. He not only said it, and went to great lengths through Jeremiah and other prophets to pronounce it; He also did it. We witness what was done to Babylon and Israel, for instance. I think if you were to ask your God concerning this matter, why such evil was laid against them, or even the evil He has pronounced against us, you would receive the answer: I met evil with evil; I turned My Face from them. He removed His Cover and allowed Satan to take his fill of them.
God does not have to call unto Satan, like one would call unto a vicious dog, and sick him upon man. We know from the personality of our God that He sees Satan already in our hearts misguiding us. His view of man is frequently expressed as Himself being caused to live with a whore. But He pronounces that He will redeem that Whore and cause her to be faithful to Him and be obedient unto Him.
The issue of the Tabernacle and its Mercy Seat is not an issue anyone of the Holy Spirit can either ignore or put down. For it is the thing from which your religion was formed. And it is the very thing God said He would restore in the Latter Days. It is the only thing, besides the Messiah, which God created in His Word which would occupy both the Beginning of the Word and the End of the Word. It is the only thing which visibly shows the full cycle of God's Plan. Without it God's Cycle can never be seen completed; so the Ministry would be grossly in error to underestimate it or deny it.
Now Vanity thinks that God's Word is not true, except it uses God's Word to display its own ego. And in that process, even, it says that Christ would not want the Tabernacle restored to fulfill prophesy. But according to the Word of God, Jesus Christ is not fulfilled until the Tabernacle is once again restored on earth.
Vanity argues that the Tabernacle will restore Sacrifice. God made many pronouncements against Sacrifice and even asks (In Isaiah) whether the Sacrifice He makes will be enough. Why does Vanity speak for God and presume that the Tabernacle restored will include Sacrifices at its altar? Hath God no say in this? Rather, would you not allow Him to merely put a small wooden cross on that altar? If I were the Messiah that's what I would do. But I am a man, like you, and if I can see the message in this cannot God also know it? I would use that Mercy Seat for judgment. I would bring men before it one by one, a never ending line, for judgment. Cannot God do this also? Would you prevent Him? And would you allow men to think on that day that the thing that presides over their Judgment and Mercy is also Satan? Let me hear your Wisdom.
I sent you a book on this Matter: Hidden Pavilions. please let me hear your judgment on it.
Sincerely yours,
Mel West.
P.S.
Men focus on evil and call it good. Many call out the evil beasts in Revelation and no one answers concerning those who participate in the First Resurrection. (chapter 19 of Revelation)
It is Vanity for some to call themselves Blessed, endowed for Rapture for heaven, and call those left behind Not Blessed.
While one ought to lay up treasures for Heaven, one ought to remember that that treasure is destined for here. Re: The Lord's Prayer.
Yet there are those whose knowledge is for evil to justify good. And I wonder how it is that Jesus Christ displayed good without evil. Evil, we see, does not have to be present to know Good. God's Goodwill remembers no evil.
But men lay up treasures for this world. And no one considers who can take it away from them. For two tombs laid side by side, loaded with silver and gold, soon are stripped of everything they contain by grave robbers. But those alive in the Holy Spirit cannot be stripped of their possessions. For they will possess everything He possesses.
But to be alive in the Holy Spirit one must know Him. And you cannot know Him if you judge above Him, saying, This part of His Word is no longer with meaning, or, This does not offend Him. For you are stripping God of His treasures. Stealing his possessions is not knowing Him.
This is to the Wise: offend not thy God for He may be watching. It may be He has a sentinel on duty and you may be hit by one of his arrows.
God's Great Treasure, stored to overflow men's greatest treasuries, is seen as the smallest of seeds. And yet no one wonders how this seed itself can live. But they call it also Light, and they wait for it; others claim they have it, yet, I listen and I seek, always hoping I will find a Wise man who knows this Light, that the Wisdom of the Ages, the Righteousness of Time, is far too overflowing and awesome to try to contain.
But if you see such a man who has seen this Light, send him to me. For I should like to meet Him, who knows that Goodwill filled to overflowing remembers no evil. But who could know Him? For He is without Vanity.
Notes:
(1) Two Cherubim were placed there also; it appears that Solomon merged the Two Cherubim into the Two Olive Trees.
(2) Their cords tied top and bottom went to the ring; it seems unlikely one would tie the edge of the boards, top and bottom, to the Center Gold Ring. Raising the Tabernacle could be easily achieved by using the three 20 cubit long pillars making up the Gate as a Tripod erected over the assembly to be erected. Then, hauling on the Center Gold Ring the entire structure could be raised.
Bishop Earl Paulk
Chapel Hill Harvester Church
P.0. Box 371289
Decatur, Georgia 30037-1289
Dear Bishop Paulk,
Last evening I heard you preach on the obligations of a father, ultimately comparing the perfect father to that of David and then Jesus the Christ. I applaud you on these speeches which remind us of the virtue of the family.
When you say the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, I believe you. Not because you say so, but because of what you say. And the time in which you say it. Let me explain.
In drawing your comparison, you were careful to point out the difference between David and Jesus, with Jesus being unto perfection in body and spirit and David perfection unto the spirit. For David was fraught with all the frailties of man. You were prudent to point out that David is one whom man can identify with, being of the same mold as the John Doe in the street. Thankfully, David recorded his thoughts, His Spirit, in the Psalms, and we can see in that spirit that which tries to live in all of us. What separates us from David is that we do not allow ourselves to experience the spirit as He had known it. In Him we can see the constant tug of war that is in all of us as we are tempted towards evil, as in jealousy towards a friend, for instance. Christ, on the contrary, could not be tempted towards these things.
Now Christ did not place a limitation upon us, that we should strive to be perfect as He. Rather, He said that we must be perfect as the Father! In the comparison, He made it clear that the true measure of Good and Perfection is in the Father of All, though He did leave us with the consolation that if we love one another as He loved us we would attain to that perfection.
This is the Gospel of Heaven as it is intended to be in earth. And in the Gospel of Heaven we come to know the Father, to be guided by Him, and become fathers of the children of men unto His Image.
In the Gospel of Heaven it was asked, Whom shall we send? The sending of Truth unto man to serve the Gospel, it was decided, required sending one to be a Father unto the Children of Men, which would be the Image of Our Father in Heaven.
When you spoke, you said that the Perfect Father would be a Father in the Image of Jesus the Christ, saying, he would reflect more the needs of God and man, in effect, than David. And you drew a strong distinction between David and Jesus, as any man knowing of these two can do.
The ultimate display of God's Truth unto man was set in a time called the Latter Days. And in the Gospel of Heaven it was decided that He who would be sent as the Father unto the Children of Men, to rule forever as its King, would be David! We can refer you back to Ezekiel and Isaiah, for instance, to confirm this resolution.
So you can see how your judgment seems to differ from that already determined in Heaven. For it was determined that He who is sent as the Anointed of God in the Latter Days would be like unto David. And men would know, in that day, without a question, that it is David. He has other members assigned unto Him which I have already discussed at great length in my book.
Now this also deals with the Righteousness of Time. And I can sit here asking you why David was chosen as the Anointed of God in the Latter Days and draw upon your own words, making a distinction between Jesus and David, asking you to reconsider the members of Him for whom you watch.
Many ways are there at arriving at Truth. Men can arrive at Truth in the Apocalypse, for instance, and determine that the world was lost without the knowledge of God, that God does not exist nor have any effect upon Man. But in the Righteousness of Time I can sit here writing you and point out that most of the things written by God have been done. Only a few are left to be done. The case of Babylon and Israel is my justification.
When I listen to the Ministry, I hear dogma pretending to be Faith, the knowledge of Truth. That dogma has yet to mention the Righteousness of Time...
Let me give you a little more to eat in this regard.
In the Righteousness of Time there is unequivocal Proof of Jesus! And this Proof does not need to rely upon even the New Testament!
If you refer to Tacitus, a Roman Historian who wrote around 80 A.D., being near to the time of the death of Christ and the Apocalypse of Jerusalem and Israel, Tacitus records:
Tacitus, Annals 15.44: Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.
Perhaps this is the earliest extant recording of the Christ, that He actually lived and suffered the Cross, the extreme penalty of the Romans; and for His sake a multitude also suffered. But Livy also mentions Him as well as other unbiased historians.
Tacitus, we see, was no friend of Christians, but rather faithful to Rome and her gods. It is interesting to point out his perspective of the Christians, that they hated man. Today that message still seems to come across the television set to those who have no knowledge of the Bible; for much of the preaching chastises men and calls them evil, drawing upon them guilt and persecuting them. Yet, mixed in with those same words is the message that God loves you. To an untrained observer it is a confusing message.
But I begin with Tacitus because He is my Proof that Christ lived and died at the Time Israel was put to its dispersion. And in this, one who obviously hated Christians by his own words, reveling at the exquisite tortures put upon them, allows me to be justified in now turning to the Testaments of those who claimed to know Jesus, which expand upon this man whom Tacitus mentions. And these scriptures tell us who He is and what is purposed in Him. And in doing this they tell us that He fulfilled the Prophesy of God concerning an Anointed who would be bruised, scorned, and rejected of men and die; and His death would be for an Atonement of Sin as mentioned in Isaiah. And in this, in our quest for Truth in the Righteousness of time, we now must turn to the Old Testament Prophets to learn what God intended in this man named Jesus. And this is what my book is about.
Here, we see, we must turn for the Evidence to the Old Testament. But few of the Ministry know it; and they who seem to know it are so few in number I am running out of pastors to write.
But I have written you because you have put your mission on preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
When I mentioned the Gospel of Heaven, I really referred to the Gospel of the Kingdom, because that is what the Bible is about: that is its purpose. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom. Not one written by man, but by God.
This brings us ultimately back to David. Any man can measure David's spirit by reading both about Him and His own hand in the psalms. And in that Hand we see Him mentioning the coming of a special servant of God who is both a King like unto David and one who is, as it were, a Suffering Messiah. In Psalm 22 we see this Suffering Messiah asking, My God, My God, why hath thou forsaken me?
Now He who was chosen in the Gospel of Heaven was created in those Psalms through the Hand of David. In a manner of speaking He is David's Son, because it is the Hand of David, through the Holy Spirit of God, who created Him.
But referring to this matter, in the Gospel of Heaven, we have the question, concerning the sending of a father unto the Children of Men, Whom shall we send? And Isaiah replied, Here am I, send me O Lord.
Who is Isaiah? He is a prophet of God. How do we know He is a Prophet of God? We know He is a Prophet of God because what He prophesied came True!
Because, in the Righteousness of Time, we can say Isaiah is a Prophet, we can now ask, In what was He purposed? And in this we can clearly see that He is purposed in expanding upon the signs we must watch for concerning the placement of God's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. And He draws upon David's Psalms as well as the words of Moses. And other succeeding Prophets draw upon Him, such as Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Malachi, Zechariah, and others. And all these help us understand what is meant in Isaiah. Again, we have covered these in sufficient depth in our book that we need not repeat them here. But it is sufficient to say that there are two episodes in the Anointed One of God, who is frequently referred to as the Branch. And each episode carries its own epitaphs and mission requirements, neither of which is like unto the other. One is a Suffering Messiah and the other is one who is called the Deliverer, the Redeemer, or the Gatherer. All of these have different names, one like unto Moses, another like unto David, one like unto Zerubbabel, one like unto Israel, and one who carries the simple name, Peace, whom we know in Israel's Testimony to be Shiloh.
Because we have a strong distinction between these two episodes, or characters, which is as strong as the distinction you made between David and Jesus, we must inquire into the Righteousness of Time to understand how the Two serve the purpose of the Gospel of Heaven which created them.
Most of the Ministry today patronize Jesus without knowing Him or endeavoring to know Him as He is created. And I think if you would step back and view your own films from Jesus's perspective you might agree that you have been lax in bringing knowledge, the Righteousness of Time, into your testimony and rather waxed in the easy similitudes and superlatives of dogma passed down through generations of men. And while the dogma may be true, no less, it carries little understanding and knowledge necessary to commit the hearts of men unto Truth. For men easily fall away from the Church and what is being told them is not strong enough to hold them; nor has it been strong enough to convict Judah that Prophesy has been fulfilled. So my book endeavors, through the Righteousness of Time, to convict them all to this knowledge. And in the conviction we have to refer to David.
Now if I told you that David is the same as Jesus, you would have difficulty believing it. You would perhaps want to believe it, so to Patronize Jesus, which is an expression of loyalty and faith, but so far what I have heard from your mouth does not convict me in the knowledge that they are one and the same. And if you cannot convict me in this knowledge, you cannot convict Judah.
To make the conviction you have to refer to Beauty and Bands. I have discussed them at great length in my book, as they are names for both the Sacrificed Messiah and the Deliverer or Gatherer. But for me to convict you that they are all one and the same we must wait a little while for the Righteousness of Time to show its final hand. Nevertheless, we can all say that we believe they are one and the same: The Same Holy Spirit of God, the Holy One of Israel. So we wait upon the Final Truth.
But the message of the Word of God, concerning the Gospel of the Kingdom, gives us something to serve while we await Him who is called the Redeemer of Men. To understand how we may Serve Him, we can turn to Revelation concerning the character who is called The Word of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is a man whose name is known only to Himself and His appearance is called the First Resurrection. It calls for a man to walk the earth, to eat and drink among men again, in Resurrection. And it calls those who Participate with Him in the First Resurrection Blessed. And in this, because of the signs of these times, that Israel is on the map again, Truth is at our Door, knocking as it were to come in. And He is the Father - God, in the Gospel of Heaven, has assigned unto Men.
So it is, we can all speculate as to whom we might wish to be assigned a Father unto the Children of Men, for God's sake, and not ours, but in the Annals of the Righteousness of Time one known only to Heaven and not men has been assigned. But the day is soon come when you will see Him. And you will know Him and call Him David.
But I am not a prophet and cannot know everything that is in your heart. But I can surely say, as I sit writing here, that you will come to know Him of whom I speak. For I have seen enough done in the Righteousness of Time to know that the little that remains to be done is a small effort in the Hand of God.
You can remember yourself, some of these things, last of which as the Great Sacrifice in your own time, in the fires of Hitler, and in the Gathering of the Children of Israel in the arms and upon the shoulders of the Gentile, restoring them to their Promised Land. Like Josephus you can remember what was done unto the Children of Israel and remind them that it was prophesied beforehand. No one, no not one, can deny it. Such is the Righteousness of Time.
But it has been forty years since Israel was restored. And they ask whether there is no judgment. And I tell you that this generation will not pass without judgment. And because I can write you at this time, to remind you of this Promise, which was made long before me, I must remind you to look deeper into the Word and know it, to do its Will, which is the Will of the Father. It has nothing to do with your will; it has to do with the Will of the Father. You must be perfect in the Will of the Father if you wish to attain to the Kingdom of God.
My credibility with you has no merit, for I am a worm and no man. You do not know me and you can pass me by as if I were a worm. And though I may bless, and though I may chastise, in your estimation I have no authority. But I can tell you my judgment is not without knowledge.
I do not wish to offend you and would rather have you as my friend. If I could feed you with something which is sustaining and forever lasting I would do so. And if I feed you with the Word of God which you do not wish to eat, which is as it were one feeding cattle sorghum mixed with a little molasses, which is done in winter, why would you criticize me for not sending you out into the pasture to graze where you will, where the winter snows have made the grass to be found thin and sparse?
Have I been unfair with the Ministry? I think, by comparison of my book to Piers the Plowman, I have been somewhat more gentle than he. But he wrote in metaphors and parables which indirectly struck at the excesses of the fifteenth century ministry. And whilst I could have created an amusing way of making fun of our ministry's excesses, I have chosen a way which is more direct. For the times require directness, for these times, above all previous times, are feared to lapse without Salvation: That all will soon be lost, through pollution, through disease, and through the sword of the nuclear holocaust. So I would be doing a disservice to these times if I were to either bless or chastise lightly or be taken lightly.
Now Ezekiel reminds us of the obligations of a Watchman. And He says that if a Watchman sees a sign and reports it, he is blessed of God. But if He sees a sign and does not report it, He shall forever be cursed of God and find His soul thrown into purgatory.
In remembrance of this, I am going to take a little liberty with the pen and call you Watchman.
So to the Watchman I say, argue with me. But don't, please, don't, ignore me. For I too suffer the same as you.
Sincerely yours,
Mel West
Bishop Earl Paulk
Chapel Hill Harvester Church
P.0. Box 371289
Decatur, Georgia 30037-1289
Dear Bishop Paulk,
Yesterday I received your answer in the mail; and I cannot tell you how much of a Blessing it has meant to me. For I have awaited with long suffering an answer to my work over these past many years. And you are the first pastor who has thought to write me concerning my work. God bless you.
Though I am small and of no significance in this place, you can be assured that there will always be one who will be standing at the Gates of Mercy singing praise unto you; and though we may not agree I will call you my friend.
I would like to respond to your letter if I may, for it concerns a revelation I can appreciate from you and expand upon. Firstly, let us work backwards and address the fact that God every day must make decisions we cannot understand. Incomprehensible in this is His Long Suffering and pledge of Mercy and Promise of Goodwill to all men.
If we look at all the promises and curses relating to man's destiny, we find that most of the decisions, the major ones, have already been made long ago. And we see the fulfillment of those decisions through another name I have known of our Lord: The Righteousness of Time. That is, all prophesy is geared to be released at particular times in the Time table of God. And in this, just as I have had to wait for your answer, which has been several months, Our Father has long ago committed Himself to await the answers He had set in earth.
His decisions are as a Father to His Son. In our case He anticipated beforehand the works of his sons and daughters and made decisions beforehand in answer to them. We can see in prophesy concerning this, the epitaph, Before they called He answered.
Concerning the decisions of the Father, which are in Righteousness, I shudder at the terribleness that is in many of them. I am a father, even a father of the fatherless like unto Our Father in Heaven, and I find myself wondering how He could make such terrible decisions: such as melting the Children of Israel in the furnaces of Hitler, for instance. Or the prophesy before this concerning the desolation of Jerusalem and its Temple and, as the scattering of the seed of His Vineyard, dispersing the Children of Israel across the globe unto all nations. When I read Josephus, as He walked around the walls of Jerusalem at that time, I cannot but grieve over what was done unto Jerusalem. And I ponder on Josephus's warning to those children who were then throwing their starved, dead, loved ones over the walls of Jerusalem by the hundreds of thousands so they could walk in their streets. The dead were so abundant they were not buried and left lying in the streets, leaving no room to walk without stepping on a corpse! And Josephus said unto them to remember the prophets: Did they not say that at the time Jerusalem and its Temple would be put to the sword, the pestilence, and the fire, a King would be raised up, the Anointed of God, who would reign over all the nations of the earth?1
Josephus did not mention from which prophesies his comment was derived; but we know that among them is the prophesy of the Virgin in Isaiah, and that prophesy is a sign that such a King would be raised and the nation desolated, leaving where there were a thousand silverlings on a thousand vines, nothing but briars and thorns.
We mention this because it refers to the Righteousness of Time. Our Father allowed those events to be played out. It is a statement that no one can escape His Righteousness, whether for Good or for Evil. But He always reminds us that that nation against which He pronounced can always receive His everlasting kindness and Mercy if it repents of its evil ways.
Now this is a parable of the Righteousness of Time, for I can sit here writing you and say unto you that those children in Jerusalem cannot plead ignorance concerning the prophesy Josephus reminded them about as He walked around the walls of Jerusalem, attempting to save the City and its Temple from the devastation ahead of it. Thus, I can say unto Judah, you knew the King would be raised up at that time. And that King you denied. They, their children, and their children in Israel today, cannot plead ignorance on this matter unto me. For I can say, You knew! This is the Parable of the Righteousness of Time. And any man today can say what I have just said. And if we can say it, God as our judge, hath finally received His answer. So we cannot escape from the Righteousness of Time.
I am reminded of a television documentary the other evening concerning a small investigation of a wild dolphin in a bay in France. At first the investigator thought to see how the dolphin would respond to plastic rings and balls, and other man made devices, so to gage her intelligence. She was not interested in man's artful devices. Tiring of this he thought to watch the dolphin and see what the dolphin might try to teach him. The experiment finally led to a game of hide and seek, but the experimenter found this game to be futile because he could not hide his aqua-lung bubbles from the dolphin and was easily found. Then the dolphin began to play her game. She would suddenly disappear and wherever the diver would go he would soon find the dolphin swimming right behind him. He could not escape this fact, that she would position herself behind him no matter how he attempted to evade her. This was her idea of fun.
I mention this because this is yet another parable of the Righteousness of Time. You cannot escape Him. For we are in His Created element, and as the dolphin was more adept and wiser than the diver studying her, so too is our Father wiser than the wisest of men.
As a father, I have trouble, however, in agreeing with some of the measures He has handed out. I don't think I would want to be as unbending as He when He applies the Rod. And though I am not sure I could be as forgiving as Jesus was upon the cross, I often argue with My Father, as Abraham before Sodom, that for the sake of ten even the whole lot ought to be saved. For I can stand today and see the same pronouncement made upon Sodom about to be applied to this generation. And this brings us to the first point of agreement in your letter, concerning the Goodness of God and man. For God is everlasting Goodness and man is created in that image, an image of Goodness, one who's desire is to be of Goodwill unto all things. Most men try to be, are Good.
I was on the island of Rhodes and had joined a table one evening where a lady was sitting. We conversed for awhile and it occurred to me that the lady was most suspicious of people in general, and most particularly men. So I asked whether the multitude of tourists milling around us really meant any harm to her. I told her that most of them have no interest even in that she exists! And anyone who would think to come over to her, to meet her, would not come over to her for harm's sake, or to disadvantage her, but to come bearing Goodwill as a potential friend. They would desire to become friends with her, as I had done. So the odds are that anyone coming in contact with you would come bearing gifts of Goodwill and not evil.
Most of us have at times been on the receiving end of evil, things which bring hurt, suffering and pain. Often things which bring suffering are not intended for evil, but we receive them as evil because of our own self esteem. And we find that a man who has few belongings receives no evil; that is, he has little to lose and carries only what he needs to survive in this world. Some can get by on fewer material things than others. But the more you have to lose, in terms of the material treasures on earth, the more you have to be on your guard that there will be one who may come along and try to take it away from you.
Our Father has concluded something remarkable on this issue: Firstly, He understands that man rejoices in the treasures of the earth; but He tells us that there are greater treasures which are of the nonmaterial, as it is in Heaven. And these things, He says, can even be seen on earth. So when there is conflict in trying to preserve the Blessings of Milk and Honey that he allows us, He reminds us that there are things on earth which are greater than these; and sometimes, to help us see them, when we get to engrossed with our own powers and vanities, He humbles us. And I dare say every man who has been humbled can come out of that long suffering experience saying He is now the wiser for it.
In this day God has written beforehand that every man will be humbled; every knee will bow unto him. So we are due for a change. And we will see it through repentance, acknowledging His Everlasting Truth, or through the Sword.
In this day a vehicle was created long ago by which man may escape the sword, the fire, and the brimstone. And that is a character created out of the pages of the Bible long ago: In Isaiah, and Revelation: He is called The Word. And His mouth is God's Sword. It is through this Sword we may hopefully escape the other sword. So God, in His longsuffering and goodness, has thought to give us something unto which we can gather: and He made that decision in writing long ago.
To understand this decision process we have to put ourselves in the place of the Father. Knowing things of Vanity which continually plague man, what would you write in the Heavens and in the earth to defend man against his vanity? Like a Father you would warn him of the things which would harm him. You would warn him of Sodomy, for instance. And if he plays with Sodomy you would include in the warning a judgment that you would rid him one day of that thing, by fire, the pestilence, and the sword.
We do not have to have the judgment of God to know that Sodomy is harmful to mankind. And I, in the Righteousness of Time, can now sit writing you that the greatest disease ever to face mankind, which is Aids, was, in fact, created by Sodomy! So I can sit here telling you, as a father to a son, See how evil Sodomy is!
Another thing we were warned about long ago was the virtue of the family being undermined. God decided that His Everlasting Goodness would be preserved by the family, and as a sign for it He created a special family on the earth, whose name is Israel, through which we would all come to know His Goodness and Mercy and be preserved in it.
In the model He created His own family: Himself and His Son, whom he called The Branch and by other names. Then, knowing the Vanity in men, He decided to allow men to destroy that Son. And He called that process Redemption, an Atonement for sin. He offered that Son as a Ransom for all men's lives, past and to come.
This decision also involves the Righteousness of Time. For somehow, if the Son is denied, His offering has to be brought to Truth. A judgment has to be conceived. That judgment was given its own time and place, being vested in the Latter Days. We can say, looking from the Father's point of view, that He awaits that judgment.2 For we have not yet seen all of it.. We know, for instance, that we Have not seen that Son stand before Jerusalem and show them that pierced Him that He is the One whom they pierced long ago. There are other things, too many to mention, which go along with this judgment. It includes the final display of the Kingdom and its King, for instance. And in that display there is a terrible realization of Shame and Grief, then joy, for then a Son is born...
Thus, we can see how important God's Prophesy is to us. And if you feel as I that that day has been too long coming, though our life span is but a twinkle in the eye of the Lord, we can only grieve at the Lord's Waiting. I could not bear such waiting. Nevertheless, I wait also on you. Hopefully you will catch up with me.
Waiting is a part of Justice. If we are just men we will not act prematurely and wait upon those around us to see what is in their works. If we suspect them, we still wait. And we show them that we mean to them Goodwill. We wait for a sign that they have received our Goodwill.
Now this waiting is like unto God unfolding a book. And we see in the unfolding that a veil had been over the book, hiding things in it from our eyes. When we see those things we marvel at how blind we were, for the Veil we find was in our own eyes, a cloudiness of vision which prevented us from seeing the Truth before time written by God. And when this Veil is removed we see that our own Vanity superimposed itself above God's Will: His Word.
We all watch for the coming of Jesus the Christ. And everyone in His Body claims to know Him. But how many know Him as a thing already written in Prophesy yet to be revealed? His members are already written in the Book; and I wonder how many are prepared to recognize these members when He comes, when that book is opened?
To assist in this endeavor, that He may be recognized when he comes, I have written my book, Hidden Pavilions. And to understand it, where I am coming from, I would hope that you will read it as if you wrote it yourself.
I have tried in my book to show you compassion. Though my mouth is a bit too sharp towards the Ministry, it is not without compassion. And as an example of building upon the compassion which is in God, our Father in Heaven, I have thought to show my own nakedness to cause you to take compassion on me. For my problems are not unlike the problems Our Father has in being a father to his sons. He is divided from them by a great gulf. And to communicate with them He has to resort to some most unusual tactics. In this He has had to humble Himself before man. It takes a tremendous amount of grief and compassion for one to humble oneself before another that one might be recognized.
Somehow, two thousand years ago, near so, Judah failed to see this; and I wonder whether this generation can see any better than they.
But this generation will not pass without judgment. And I can only offer myself, in my work, to remind you that the Righteousness of Time is ever present and with Judgment. Just as I have raised up to remind Judah of their judgment, that they knew of the time and circumstances for the Raising up of God's Anointed King, because I can point to Josephus in that knowledge, so too can I remind this generation beforehand that one will be raised up to remind it what had already been pronounced to it. I do not have the Wisdom of God, but I think I can say without reservation that one like me can be raised up in the future who will do as I, who can say, Verily, you knew those things at that time and yet you ignored them. I pray such a day never occurs. But I do know this, that it is a small thing for God to resurrect a being, even one whom He prophesied He would resurrect. It is likewise a small thing for Him to send forth an angel, even one whom He had prophesied beforehand. Behold, it is a far greater device to scatter a nation and put it to the sword, the pestilence, and the fire. For I could not make such a decision, more particularly if that nation were my own seed; for it involves a Grief I could not bear. For how could one harm those whom one loves? How could one apply such a terrible rod to one's child as the one pronounced against us? And if it comes, who can escape it? Will there be any ransom given for men's lives to avoid it?
I am not one who asks of His Father in Heaven to escape these things. Rather, I am one who would serve to avoid the Apocalypse pronounced against us all. And I would hope that when my days are over it can be said of me that this man has served, as best he can, in the way that he can, to turn men to look into their hearts, for Goodness and Goodwill, that our many sins may be forgiven and forgotten and a good foundation for the Kingdom placed. And not out of pain and suffering but out of the knowledge of the Goodness and Mercy in God: That we can all love one another as God, Himself, loved you. And I am glad that God's predisposition is towards this end.
But I am growing old and my bones are becoming out of joint. And my days are numbered. And though I may serve from the tomb yet another day, I can take a little consolation in my life if the Apocalypse reserved unto this day is allowed to unfold upon our's or our children's lives. For I know that my dust cannot cry out from the tomb to prevent it as well as I can cry out in this mortal body. For you can say you touched me, even as I stood outside the sheepgate hoping someone might come to me and open the gate that I may enter. I cannot do this from the tomb! Nor can I say, God bless you from the tomb.
Now this is another parable in the Righteousness of Time. For you can say you knew one who was willing to forgo the escape from the Tribulation and live through it, if he must, so to serve His God in mitigating the pain, the suffering, and the grief laid before us all. And those who set their goals to escape the Tribulation, waiting on the station of rapture, will always have me around to remind them that they could have been of better Service to God had they put their minds to serve Him right here. And they can be sure that there is one who will question their reasons for wanting to escape unto Heaven rather than Serve Him and fight for Him here. For the War is here already. And the army of Heaven is here already. Israel is on the map already. And the ensign of His Army has already been raised.
Now then, what does it take to get 12,000 Jews from each tribe of Israel to instantly join this army? What does it take that Two thousand years of ministering could not do?
It is a simple thing which any man can do. For you can do as Josephus and walk around the walls of Jerusalem and remind them what Josephus told them when the two walls were breached. And then you can point out to them that Israel is on the map again and their walls are once again surrounded. And you can ask them whether the Virgin hath come already...
If they deny it and yet await the sign of the Virgin, they acknowledge that the despoiling of Jerusalem as in the days of Jesus the Christ then must come again to fulfill prophesy. Surely they will answer, The sign of the Virgin hath already come!
Now you do not need to wait for Jesus to do this...
I could be in error, however; but I am sure my errors will be pointed out through the Righteousness of Time. And if you know me to be in error, do not be afraid to point it out. I trust that you will be of good courage and answer my book, Hidden Pavilions. And if you do not know what to make of it, say it, as long as you honestly believe that answer. Meanwhile, I wait on the ministry to find my book.
Sincerely yours,
Mel West
Notes:
(1) He told the people in Jerusalem that that Anointed is Vespasian, the Roman Emperor whose son, Titus, was then about to torch Jerusalem! I believe it is Tacitus who latter wrote, not making any connection with Josephus's claim, that he had heard that Vespasian had done some miracles, like healing a sick woman or the like! All Emperors liked to call themselves gods. We recall that Juvenal, himself, was a priest of the god Vespaisian.
(2) In the Latter Days He says He will make a New Covenant with us.(Actually the word is with Them: with Them being something separately identified from Israel). The making of a New Covenant seems to involve, because of the structure of Zechariah, chapter 11, concerning the breaking of the Two Staves, the breaking of the Old Covenant. This involves Judgment.
Letter 8
Dr. Ray and Gloria Blizzard
Yavo
% Praise the Lord Ministries
P.0. Box A
Santa Ana, California
Dear Dr. and Mrs. Blizzard,
Having heard you on Praise the Lord, I thought to pull out the precepts of the Old Testament Prophets concerning the Messiah of the Latter Days, and His times, to see if you agree with me: That a Latter Day Messiah is expected to walk this earth, as a man, on the day when Israel is restored to the map again. And from the descriptions of Him, being of The Word of God, He would be one that men would hardly be excited to see. For he would come filled with the full wrath of God.
As concerning these things, which I know to be true and not subject to one man's or another's interpretation, I was shocked to hear Paul last evening agree with a rabbi that the Messiah, or Anointed One, would come in a cloud and stand on the mount of Olives in these days, according to Zechariah chapter 14. Any man can see that chapter 14 of Zechariah does not describe the Latter Day Messiah coming in a Cloud.
What Paul has done is mixed up the prophesy of the rapture of the New Testament, I Thessalonians, chapter 4.17, which concerns an entirely different event than the event Zechariah and the other prophets reveal, which is an event quite measurable as a man walking and eating and drinking on this earth as you and I.
The event which St. Paul prophesied is one which relates at best, but even then remotely, to the last event in Revelation, where Christ and the New Jerusalem descend from Heaven to the earth. As for the catching away of the faithful, the church, in these terms, to avoid the tribulation to come, there is a basis for it in Isaiah. First he points out, in chapter 56.1, that there are two events to come:
Thus saith the Lord, keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my Salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
In reading Isaiah, we find that God's Salvation is described in terms of a Suffering Messiah who is killed, being refused by those whom He visits.
The next event concerns the Visitation of God's Righteousness. It is a time when God shows man how unwise man is. The display of Righteousness has to include, as a minimum, a display that shows to Judah that they erred in denying their Messiah, the son of the Virgin described in Isaiah. For He can say today, with Israel on the map again after two thousand years, Surely Judah cannot be waiting for that sign today, the sign of the Virgin! Thus we can see that God's Story line has need of a Righteous Servant to come and set things straight, whose time necessarily applies to the Latter Day event, following the event of the Sacrificed Messiah. And this character is described as a King everywhere you see Him in prophesy.
Concerning Paul's statement to the Rabbi, which went out to millions of people, a distortion of prophesy was made. I would prefer to be easy on him, but the fact remains that he told a lie. Further, had he known what he was talking about, he would have mentioned the truth, that Zechariah talks about Two Anointed Ones, whom he also calls His Staves, Beauty and Bands. Bands is not the type of character Paul would like to confront.
As for St. Paul's vision of the rapture, there are two things worthy to mention. First, St. Paul, to my knowledge, has not prophesied anything which has yet come true. He is not yet a prophet in my eyes. But there is some basis for his vision:
Isaiah 57.1: The righteous persisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
When this event, which seems to relate to Paul's concept of the rapture, occurs, I have no idea. Except I do know that a character called The Word, who leads a great army in the Latter Days, must first come. And in deference to Him, we should all hope that we will be among those who can participate with Him in His Day, which in Revelation is called the First Resurrection. Because in Revelation, chapter 20.6, it says: Blessed is He that hath part in the First Resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
As concerning the Second Death, we are taught that man is subject to two deaths: first that of the flesh and secondly, for those who are marked for the lake of fire, death of the Spirit. In my book, "Hidden Pavilions", which was sent to Paul and Jan at the time of Israel's anniversary, I wondered about this thing called the second death. And I thought it to deal with a second resurrection of sorts.
The Old Testament Prophets have all taught that on the Great and Terrible Day of Our Lord there will be a Resurrection, with the saints and patriarches being raised up first. That event is viewed in prophesy with the Messiah standing on the Mount of Olives waking the dead first and then proceeding to the Temple mount. In Isaiah we see that the Tabernacle must also be restored with that event. And we also see the other prophets mentioning this, even that the Tabernacle of David shall be restored as in the days of old. These are the things the Jews have been watching for these past two thousand years since their dispersion: Since they know that their Messiah is also associated with the Gathering of them back to the Holy Land. And in this the date is clearly described: When you see Israel restored to the map again, you will know that what the Lord said is True.
In my book I ask the reader to be that Messiah: Stand in his place and look at the world through his eyes, listen through his ears, and consider that He has to fulfill all the prophesies written about Him. For these things describe His Members, what He is. And the best way, I think, to understand Him and be ready to receive Him, is to stand in his shoes.
If you do this thing, a remarkable thing happens: You begin to sympathize with Him and the difficult task before Him. For you will see Vanity trying to compass him such that He would have difficulty being seen. An example of Vanity can be seen in a great minister who has distorted the truth before millions and not been concerned about correcting it when apprised of it.
Now among those things we see in the Latter Day Messiah is the Teacher of Righteousness. For He is the Lord's Righteousness which Isaiah prophesied is to be revealed. The Essenes also saw this being, separating Him from another who is also a Messiah. Certainly Zechariah saw Two Anointed Ones and Isaiah also. As for the beginning of Prophesy, we see that Jacob, who is Israel, saw the Two Anointed Ones in His Blessing to Judah. Unless the Hebrew says something different than the English rendering, Shiloh, we see, is not necessarily the seed of Judah. For Israel says Judah shall have the Scepter Until Shiloh come. And Shiloh is the Gatherer, the epitaph of the Latter Day Messiah. In Isaiah, in the Gathering sequence, we see that a character emerges among the Gentile who is called the Double. In the English version, the Double is a noun, an object, and I wonder whether the Hebrew also conveys this meaning.
Coupled with the appearance of the Latter Day Messiah is the rebuilding of Jerusalem's Walls in such glory that the walls are viewed in both Isaiah and Revelation as being fashioned out of fine jewels. And the streets are paved with Gold, appearing almost as glass. And in this context the Latter Day Messiah is called Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel, who was born in Babylon in the Captivity, was chartered to rebuild the walls and temple of Jerusalem. So the Messiah seen in the Latter Days will also be seen as another Zerubbabel, perhaps even born in Babylon.
Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would cease to exist, being fit only for the beasts of the desert. He was right. Revelation speaks of another Babylon who is seen as a Great Red Whore. And she is, according to Revelation 18.18, That Great City which reigneth over the kings of the earth. And she is drunken with the blood of the saints and with whom the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk with her fornication with the kings of the earth.
As to who she is, it remains to be seen, and I would be doing my readers a disservice to speculate upon her. But associated with her are seven heads and ten horns, which relate to the Beast in both Daniel and Revelation. As concerning the Seven Heads, we also know in prophesy there are Seven Women who greet the Messiah, begging to be allowed to wear their own apparel but to be called by His Name1 to take away their reproach. In Revelation, the first chapters, seven churches are mentioned, and all but one are found to be faithful to Christ and God. Only Philadelphia is commended among them. So the Prophet anticipates that the Spiritual Body of the Church is going to be chastised for its error.
Can the Church be chastised today? Is it deserving of it?
If you were Christ, what would you see in it?
Let me tell you what I have seen in it.
Firstly, I have written hundreds of ministers concerning these things and not one of them thought to correct me, if I were wrong, or help me come into the Church. Simply stated, I called and not one of them answered. And because I took up issues which I know the Messiah must take up, I told them in my book that because they have denied me, they also will deny Christ. They were told by Jesus the Christ to go after the Lost Sheep and avoid patronizing only those who bless them. This is what Christ saw in the priesthood of his day, along with the distortion of the gift of Tithing. Christ turned over the tables of the money changers and sellers of doves in the temple, we recall; because they were raising extra monies to support themselves in fine homes and great seats in the marketplace.
Would Christ see this today? Verily, these ministry today are worse! For they are robbing God of his tithes and offerings. And rather than teaching the ministry as Christ taught them, to go out carrying no purse and only the clothes on their back, they have rationalized that God wants them to prosper and live again in fine homes and seek great names in the marketplace. In this they are fornicating with the very thing the Prophets, including Jesus the Christ, complained about.
As concerning this, we see Isaiah saying,
Isaiah 57.3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
57.4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? Against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? Are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood?
57.5 Inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
57.6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion: they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou has offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
57.7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.
57.9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
57.10 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
57.11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
57.12 And I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
58.13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the Holy of the Lord, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing thing own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
58.14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
59.2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that He will not hear.
59.3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
59.4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in Vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
We mention these things against Judah, as we can also measure ourselves to them. So let us stand back and measure our Church by them.
My first impression of the Ministry is to ask them who told them it is all right to forsake the Old Testament prophesies, those things in which they do not agree with, and fashion new truths which have little resemblance to the Word of God I have called into remembrance? Who, in fact, told them that it is acceptable to lie to defend God, and who is this God whom they worship who agrees to their lying on his behalf? And who is this God who approves of them muttering perversions and distortions of God's Truth, His Word?
When I watch the Ministry, laughing and joking concerning interpretations of scripture, I wonder if they know that the eyes of the Lord are upon them.
As concerning the Church's effectiveness in preaching the Word of God, we can see that in the past Two Thousand Years, the Jews have been little impacted by them. But Revelation says one day the Jews will suddenly come to the light concerning that which was prophesied to them. And when they see the light the world will suddenly become flooded with the knowledge of the Lord. We see in Revelation 144,000 Jews suddenly joining the Army of God. They are associated with the appearance of the Character called The Word, whose name is known only to Himself.
Now that character, to fulfill prophesy, has to bring the Tabernacle with Him; and the Tabernacle carried, or was, the residence of the Cloud of God. It was such a great display of God that the entire tribes of Israel suddenly witnessed Him and lived with Him, not for a moment, but through the term of the Tabernacle. And we see out of it came the Anointing of the First King of Israel, who is Saul, of Benjamin. Also out of it came your religion.
But behold, of all these truths of which I uphold, there is a Truth which is near to come. For a New Heaven and a New earth are in the making. And as concerning the time of this event, we know that the prophesies remind us of the 6,000 year epoch. The apocryphal Adam and Eve and Enoch stories mention it2 clearly; and we can see, counting the generations of men since Adam, that period is expired. So you can see how easy it is for any man to fulfill prophesy on this day.
Yet, for those scoffers who cannot read the time, does not the prophet (I think it is Hosea) say that after two days He will revive us; and on the third day He will raise us up? Behold, it has been two days since Israel was scattered and their Salvation cometh!
When I watch the Ministry I wonder whether they ever read the Old Testament. And I sense that someone must have told them the New Testament completely replaces the Old, making all things in the Word of God said prior to Christ void, as if God never intended it. And when they preach they put above the prophets Paul. But we know, Heaven knows, that Paul's vision of taking away all the faithful on earth before The Word comes does not leave The Word any faithful to share in his works. And this seems strange to me, because Revelation shows a great army with Him and even blesses them who participate in the First Resurrection with Him. Certainly the Old Testament prophets show the Latter Day Messiah being successful in defeating the armies of Satan and reigning in Jerusalem. So this is a controversy between Paul and the Prophets, no doubt. And we are told that our guides, the Word of God, first come from the prophets; and they are those whose prophesies are fulfilled.
God intended from the beginning that this earth would be inhabited. And He makes it clear that though He puts the earth to tribulation, it will not be like the flood entirely. For He will not take His Wrath out upon the earth, nor its beasts; but it will be upon man and his cities and towers. And of them He will save a remnant for Himself, out of which he will establish the Kingdom He prophesies among all the prophets. And we may recall when Christ was asked what to pray for by the disciples, He answered this prayer:
Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name,
Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done,
In Earth as it is in Heaven.
Here, we see, Christ fully understood the Prophesy of God. And the end of it represented the founding of a Kingdom in earth as it is in Heaven. And He asked you to pray that His Will would be done. Further, concerning those who would attain to that Kingdom, He said, you must know the Will of the Father and do it . Concerning goodness and Perfection, He said, Only the Father is Good; and further, to attain to the Kingdom of God you must be perfect as the Father.
The Latter Day Messiah must measure you unto this perfection. Thus, we see in the Character called The Word that He is known by His Presence as one who is Faithful and True to God. He is a contrast, so to speak, with others, by measure of His Perfection in Faithfulness and Truth to the Word of God. In this He confirms the Will or Word of God. Though He can speak of things new and to come, because a New heaven and a New Earth are being written, He must fulfill all the Old Prophesies before Him.
The prophesies concerning the founding of the Kingdom and restoring the Tabernacle and the City of Jerusalem are easy to fulfill, assuming that some provision in them has been reserved to support Him in the endeavor: i.e., where are His Faithful?
Job knew in chapter 19.23 that his Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the Latter Day upon the earth. We know that Day is the time Israel is Restored. And before that day could come Israel had to be dispersed, as in the case of the Sign of the Virgin and the scattering of the Vineyard, described in Isaiah, among others.
As concerning Job's vision of the Redeemer, we can see in chapter 29 many of His Members, as later reflected in David's Psalms and the prophets. And knowing these things He asks in 31.14:
Job 31.14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when He visiteth, what shall I answer Him?
Job then tells us the things which He fears will not be found in Him by His Redeemer. You know what they are; and Job knew that even if my land cry out against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain, He would be in trouble with His Lord.
The Redeemer, whom we can call The Word of God, is not stupid. If I can see all the land crying out against this generation, certainly He also can see it.
Now Job saw the Redeemer as a Unicorn:3
Job 39.9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
39.10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valley after thee?
39.11 Will thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave thy labour to Him?
39.12 Wilt thou believe Him, that He will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
What do you suppose will happen to Him? Will He be left alone in His Work?
When we read about The Double,4 we see that in His Day there is great confusion and a great controversy. And for the sake of the Confusion the Gentile are glorified. Somehow the Redeemer has to break through the confusion.
If a man comes from a far country to visit you, coming from a place you yourself could not reach, and if He told you of things you had never before considered, though you should have, is He not wiser than you? He knew how to reach you; you did not reach Him. Such is the measure of Wisdom laid before us. And we must all be careful to pay heed to the Words of Job, that we watch not for the things which feed our own vanity, but for the Members of Him whom God has reserved for the Latter Day Visitation.
This Latter Day Anointed is not stupid. He can read as well as you and I. He can see that Zechariah prophesied Two Anointed Ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth; He can also see that the Tabernacle was promised to be restored. He can appreciate what the Tabernacle is, not as a place of Sacrifice, but a very unusual residence in which God took pleasure, residing atop the Mercy Seat between Two Cherubim. Who among us can say that God is displeased with that as a Latter Day Residence?
Perhaps you have considered these things and know that the Anointed must address these things. And if I have done it before Him, have I not put the Ministry to trial? And would I not become a millstone around their necks?
What man would want to be the millstone which caused men to be thrown into the lake of fire?
Would not Heaven grieve for such a being? That He opened the eyes of the blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf? What must such a being be, that He must see through the Vanity of us all such that the wisdom of the wise men perish, and great fear takes hold of the inhabitants of the world, as they toss their idols and their treasures to the moles and the bats? Would you desire to be that thing, that everyone would fear you? Would Heaven not weep for such a thing?
But men tend to make themselves smooth, as the rocks of a stream. They accommodate the interests of the world such that the Word in which they profess faith becomes like empty winds from their lips; and they believe but do not the thing in which they believe. For they have smoothed the Word so much that it loses its identity.
The Anointed One has to look upon the mountains. Today all the tithes, tremendous hordes of money, are being sent up to the mountains. And these mountains are taking pride in their prophesied work of praising God to all the nations. Now He is not stupid. There were more nations praising God a hundred years ago, and before, than there are today. And Kings served Him then, bowing down to His Will. And I hear much crying for money to spread the Gospel to the nations. One Minister from Africa, however, asked why the broadcasts say they are raising money for the heathen in Africa when he reminded them that his nation is Christian. And the other night I heard that the state of Georgia in the Soviet Union is very orthodox Christian, with few heathen in the midst of them.
These things I am not against, but I am against the way people are being manipulated and the strain on tithing they represent, and the houses they are building which are not to feed the hungry, the poor, the orphan and fatherless, and the widow. And I am against the confusion they bring with every Minister teaching what he believes to be true and not adhering to the Word of the Lord. For they ignore prophesy. And prophesy is the basis of God's Law. He invests in His Prophets with the very proof of His Own existence and ability to administer His Law! And I have found none of the Ministry who can be called the Watchman of this law. For what service are they to Him if they ignore His Prophesy? How can they recognize Him when His Anointed Comes?
Christ told them that they would recognize Him by His Word. But they, like doubting Thomas, would prefer to recognize Him by inspecting His Wounds. And rather than measuring Him by the Righteousness that is in Him, and the Members that have been given Him, they watch for one who can show them His Wounds. But there is another whom they must also account to; and to fulfill prophesy the day is soon come that a character who knows Himself as the Bands will say Behold me, behold me, and they will not listen.
Now I did not write the Bible; nor did I ask or prefer that it talk about Two Anointed Ones or restoring the Tabernacle. I am not one who is willing to be counted among those who I have seen who doubt this Word. And I would argue for it, rather than against it. I would receive it and try to understand it, rather than flee from it and ignore it. And if a man were to come doing the things of which my book opens, I would consider the thoughts of Job and do what Job said He would do.
I would wager that such a man can achieve what is intended in Prophesy, concerning the Kingdom, without requiring of anyone a dime. For all He has to do is open a book.
There is one who seems to skip through prophesy who is called the Angel with the Book. And we tend to forget that the Anointed is the Angel of the Lord. Christ said He is the Angel of whom Moses spoke. And there is one angel who opens a book and is associated with marking the tares of the city; He is mentioned in Ezekiel and Revelation. He shows you things you had not before considered nor heard, though, like a Sealed Book, they had been before you all the time. And He carries the Book of Life. He reaches down at the feet of the Cherubim and takes up a coal and scatters it over the city. In this aspect, He is God's Righteous Servant, or, in other terms, The Teacher of Righteousness. So it appears. And He says, in Revelation, as John kneels down to him to call Him Lord, Bow down not to me but to Jesus Christ who is my King and Lord, and I am His Servant.
For Salvation to be known, someone has to Witness to that effect. Both you and God's Servant are His Witness; and God particularly addresses the children in the Latter Days, saying even they shall know and understand Him Perfectly. And I complain in my book that no one really is endeavoring to Witness to that effect: God's Salvation and glory. His Salvation is in Jesus the Christ, but do the Jews know it? Do men really know it though they believe it? After all, we have to ask why God would contrive a plan to glorify Himself by allowing the world to remember Him as Jacob's Husband and Jacob His Widow, that He was denied and killed by Judah? Why would He do such a thing? Why would He humble Himself before us in such a manner? Why would He see that way as an expedient way of bringing His Truth and Salvation to man?
Now when we speak of Salvation, we must always keep in mind that His Word entertains the desire that the earth be inhabited and formed into a Kingdom like unto His Kingdom in Heaven. There is no question about this to be the end of His Desire, to restore Paradise on earth and readmit Adam back into Paradise. In any event, the focus of His Desire certainly is to send everything in Heaven right here.
You are already here at the time in which he contemplated sending His Army from Heaven to form His Kingdom, all being centered around the restoration of Israel. And it may be that we, in this day, are surrounded by angels of the Lord. It may be that you are one of them, or even I may be one of them. I can well imagine what men would think of me, or one who, like me, accepted prophesy as it is and does not quarrel with the precept of Shiloh or the Two Anointed Ones, or, for that matter, the Tabernacle. Rather, if it is to be fulfilled, I would like to witness it and not be one who refused it or ignored it. And if a man came to me saying, Come, let us build the Tabernacle of the Lord, I would help him. And if we did not build it right, I know my Lord would correct it. Such is my faith in God.
But men wait, as for the Unicorn, expecting Him to do all things by Himself. They wait for one to marvel them, and perhaps prophesy greater than they or even do more healing that they. But I don't put much measure in this, not because I doubt God's ability to prophesy through a man or work miracles, through a man, but because I know the members of the Anointed to come. And His adversary is precisely described in Revelation as the thing which is known as a great miracle worker and false prophet. Thus, in contrast to the Antichrist, we can see and understand why the prophet said of the Anointed, I am no prophet, for I was raised as a husbandman and taught to raise cattle from my youth; and why, in the Latter Days, it is said of Him, I judge between cattle and cattle.
I can understand this, because I also was taught to raise cattle from my youth, and I certainly am no prophet. But I recall as I would each day go out to feed the cattle how each one had a different personality and will. Some I came to love and others I simply did not like. But I fed them all equally and did not give any more to those whom I liked than I gave to those whom I did not like. For they were all dependent upon me to feed them well so that the farm could enjoy the fruits of their milk. But in the judgment of cattle, one must from time to time select those destined for the table. And this reminds me of a short poem I wrote concerning the downy duckling who saw a line being formed in the barnyard. Several pigs were being lined up for the slaughter, and not knowing it, the foolish duckling crowded directly to the head of the line, wanting to be in front of the others. He became first for the farmer's repast.
The moral to this story is to inquire as to where the line is headed before you jump in. And in this respect we can see how the Anointed may not deem it useful to jump at the head of the line of those who prophesy and perform miracles. And we recall Christ admonishing us to take the lowest seat in the house that the householder may, seeing us not taking the highest seat in his house, invite us up to share the seats in the upper room. And in this respect we have another bit of prophesy concerning the Anointed; for He knows that there are things reserved unto Him and that when He comes whose right it is it will be given unto Him.
So one should use caution crowding to be first in line: like the Christians now trying to be the Chosen People, for instance.
Now who among us can say it is not The Anointed's right to be given those things already reserved for Him, even as His Members, in prophesy?
Behold, a letter becomes a great volume and that letter lands upon a wheel; many come to look at it and marvel at it; and the wheel takes it up and turns into the dust all those who oppose it. Now when Ezekiel saw God He first saw a great wind infolding itself upon itself coming across the desert near the river Chebar. And the Wind carried Four Cherubim and beside each Cherub was a wheel; and inside each wheel was another wheel; and the Spirit of God was in the wheels. And I watch again for the Wind.
Now these things, among other things, are in my book; and I wonder if you would take time out of your very busy schedule to read it.
I am sorry to take up so many words to speak to you. But the Bible and its associated works do say an awful lot and it is difficult for me, a mere mortal, to communicate it. Often I wonder whether if I were the Bible's writer I could simplify it. But judging from all the paper I have generated, I think not.
But there is now a simple way to approach its Latter Day intent, and I think all we have to do is build the Tabernacle and let God reign.
Thank you for your patience and any reply you may give.
Sincerely yours
Mel West
Notes to Letter 8
(1) Jethro, who took Moses in, in the desert, before He was sent to Egypt to recover the captives, had seven daughters, some of whom were given to Moses in Marriage. There may be a correlation here, but I would hesitate to guess what it might be.
(2) The Book of Enoch mentions the 6,000 year epoch until God descends to Redeem men; the Adam and Eve books mention a 5,500 year epoch. By the Jewish calendar the year at this moment is 5749. Has Israel been restored to the map 251 years too early? But isn't there a prophesy that says after 2 days will He revive us and on the third day raise us up? It has been two days since Israel has been scattered, by Enoch's reckoning, making a thousand years equal one day in the eye of the Lord. By the King James reckoning, Adam lived 4004 B.C., making this day 6000 - 15 and counting; however, in the transition to our current calendar, some say that there is a three or four year discrepancy in the year of Christ's death. So the year could be 6000-11 and counting. By this reckoning it seems that Israel has celebrated their fortieth birthday right on time!
(3) The King James Bible refers to it as a Unicorn; the 1955 New Translation according to the Masoretic Text, by the Jewish Publication Society of America, calls Him a Wild Ox. Clearly, by the context in which the Unicorn is applied, it is an unusual beast, and certainly not just the run of the mill ox. I like the Wild Ox application, since the text is asking you whether you can bind him to the furrows; or, perhaps like the Plowman, harrow the valleys after thee.
(4) The same Jewish Bible above mentioned has a slightly different rendition of the phrase, and they shall have The Double...; for it says, and they shall have Double, which text I can support, as it refers to someone other than Israel having Double, which is the cause of much Joy in them (presumably the Gentile). I wonder whether the use of the word, Double, is as a Noun or in an adverbial context in the original texts. In the introduction to this phrase, we have, speaking to Israel, for your shame you shall have double...; The double here referred to merely repeats what had been said earlier, that they would be punished doubly for their sins. But in contrast we have the reference to having the Double as a source of Joy among the Gentiles. This does not belong in the category of a curse, as in the former case concerning the punishment of Israel doubly for its sins; rather, it belongs in the category of a Blessing, the source of Joy and glory of the Lord. The ultimate form of Blessing would be the Promise of the Messiah. The Double happens to relate perfectly to the Two Anointed Ones and the Teil and the Oak precepts, voiced by Zechariah and Isaiah. Any other rendering of the passage concerning the Gentile makes it unintelligible, meaningless, and without former association in Old Testament Prophesy.
Dr. Ray and Gloria Blizzard
Yavo
% Praise the Lord Ministries
P.0. Box A
Santa Ana, California
Dear Dr. and Mrs. Blizzard,
I was pleased to see you confronting Ben on Praise the Lord
concerning the need to understand the Hebrew version of the Bible.1
After all, the source of which we know anything at all about God
is from the Hebrew. And I am glad of it, that someone is finally
asking the Ministry to consider what they are talking about. Most
of them, from my observation point, seem to make up their minds
what they want to speak concerning the Will of God, then manipulate
it to make due with the position they take. These days that position
seems to bear little resemblance to the Bible, or Will of God,
I have come to know. In fact, in watching you two spar off, so
to speak, it seemed to me that there was little coincidence between
what you were saying and Ben actually believed. And Ben, I think,
reflects the general will of most of the ministry I have seen.
On reflecting upon these things, I think it is, first of all, most useful to look at the issues from the standpoint of Christ, the Anointed of God, as if He were here Himself, now. I mention now because the bulk of prophesy, the Old Testament prophets, unquestionably emphasize that the Anointed One of the Latter Days is supposed to appear, or visit, at the time Israel is gathered. Another marker in that event is that it is a time when Lebanon is hewn down, that it is burning and its animals are not sufficient for the sacrifice at hand. Isaiah clearly says, in this regard, Now will I raise myself up. And based upon Isaiah we know that the time is now.
Before I go any further, I would be happy if you would send me a courtesy copy of your paper, Yavo, and also the book on Jewish Sources...For I know there are things I have been writing about which are confirmed by them, though I have not yet seen them.
Back to my reason for writing you...
I am an archaeologist myself, but in the old context of the term. I have not yet had the opportunity to dig into anything other than the logos. But this is a full time job in itself; and I think you can appreciate this.
Some time ago I wrote a book called Hidden Pavilions. It grew out of an unusual series of circumstances, most significantly being composed around letters I had sent the Ministry, asking them to answer me concerning certain issues of the Bible which were all but unimportant, even an anathema, to them. The response to my letters, and later my book, has been consistent all around: at best I would receive no acknowledgment I had sent them a book; and often I would receive a simple card in the mail asking me to join their club and check off the amount of money I ought to send to them. In the course of these events, over the years, my book became a compiled Testimony against them. It is a Testimony against them, because when I called to them they did not answer.
Now I know that you are sufficiently familiar with the Old Testament to recognize the epitaph that I used. In the Old Testament it would be called a precept. And the precept is that the Anointed One, or Messiah, is a character who is sufficiently ignored that He can say, looking back, When I called you did not answer; I looked for comfort and no one comforted me.
We see in Isaiah that He is one whose Beauty and comeliness is such that no one would desire Him. In this regard, we can say that my book is this kind of Testimony. It wasn't intended that way; it just turned out that way.
Of course, any self respecting Minister would respond to this accusation saying that though they may ignore me, they certainly would never ignore their Messiah for whom they have been waiting and watching. And to account for this, my book took another step into the Logos and drew in itself the Latter Day prophesies concerning the Anointed One who is called The Word. We see Him most conspicuously mentioned in Isaiah (and the Psalms) as well as Revelation chapters 19 and 20. Here we see The Word appearing as a man whose name is known only to Himself, being part of an Event called the First Resurrection. The chapter concludes, concerning those who participated in the First Resurrection, with the Blessing: Blessed are those who participate in the First Resurrection.
You do not know me, nor I you. I accept your credentials concerning your authority on the subject, not necessarily on your degrees and doctorates, but rather upon the words which came out of your mouth. The fact that you have dug up new data and things to be understood is also more weight to your credibility. Your position on the Baptisim reflects this. And you know that a Jew cannot change his habits no more than the Ethiopian his skin or a leopard his spots: Jesus, as you claimed, would have been baptized according to the customary way, probably the way of the Essenes, who focused upon the need for one, at one point or other in his life, to go into the wilderness and purify himself as a Nazarene [I made the same mistake (as I was later to discover, as Matthew): the correct term is, Nazarite, per Numbers 6.1; ed. note]. The way of the Nazarene, as you should know, is quite clearly described in the books of Moses. And in this regard Jesus was a Nazarene in that context.
If I were a Jew living at that time I would call Jesus, by virtue of the habits He acquired unto Himself, a Nazarene. It would have nothing to do with the fact that He came from Nazareth; although, I must say, a precept or epitaph of the Anointed One shows Him coming out of the north country.2
Just as I have judged you according to the issue of your word, so would I ask that I be judged. For nothing could serve my credentials more than the things of which I speak. For in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. My measure, therefore, is in my faithfulness to the Word of the Lord.
Because you know Hebrew and I do not, I wonder if you would take time out to read my book and enquire whether I have been in it faithful to the Word of God. No one, so far, seems to care one way or another. And this is sad, not for my part, nor my soul, but for those who may one day read me.
We inhabit an odd time on earth. It is so odd that any man who takes up the pen and does the things prophesied through it for these times will find himself in an odd situation: for he could be called The Messiah. But who would want to be the one, of whom it is said in Isaiah:
Isaiah 41.28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
Now an easy way to eliminate me from being that thing, a candidate for spiritual frustration, being alone and uncomforted by any man, is for someone, anyone, to answer me concerning my book.
This poor character is further described in Isaiah as one whose pen is unquenched and persistently advances the precepts of the Lord unto an ignorant world:
Isaiah 49.1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from afar; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
49.2 And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath He hid me;
49.3 And said unto me, thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
49.4 Then said I, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
44.1 Yet, now hear, O Jacob, my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
44.2 Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun3 , whom I have chosen.
44.5 One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call Himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
42.1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
42.2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
42.3 A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto Truth.
42.4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His Law.
42.6 I the Lord have called thee in Righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a Covenant of the people, for a Light of the Gentiles.
42.7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sin in darkness out of the prison house.
42.13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; He shall prevail against his enemies.
49.4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
49.5 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his Servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.
49.6 And he said, it is a light thing that thou shoudest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give thee for a Light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
49.7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is Faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
49.8 Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.
49.9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth; to them that are in darkness, shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places
49,10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the head nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them.
49.22 Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
52.13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
52.14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
52..15 So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
53.11 (after describing the suffering Messiah) he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my Righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.
54.4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy Widowhood any more.
54.5 For thy Maker is thine Husband; The Lord of Hosts is His Name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called.
Zechariah
Zech. 4.12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
4.13 And He answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said no, my Lord.
4.14 Then said he, These are the Two Anointed Ones, that stand by the Lord of the Whole earth.
Isaiah
Isaiah 59.15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment.
59.16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto Him; and his righteousness, it sustained Him.
58.18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands He will repay recompense.
58.19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the West, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
59.20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
60.1 Arise, shine; for thy Light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
60.2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
60.3 And the Gentiles shall come to Thy Light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
60.15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
61.1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.
61.6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in Their Glory shall ye boast yourselves.
61.7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: Therefore in their land they shall possess the Double; everlasting joy shall be unto them.
61.8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Zechariah
Zech. 12.2 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.
12.3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
12.8 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.
12.9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem.
12.10 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.
11.1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
11.4 Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of slaughter;
11.14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
11.15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
11.16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
11.17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
Malachi
Malachi 3.1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.
3.2 But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's sope.
3.16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a Book of Remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name.
Isaiah
Isaiah 63.3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.5
63.4 For the Day of Vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of My Redeemed is come.
65.11 But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my Holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
65.12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: Because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
65.15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto My Chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call His Servants by another name.6
65.18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy.
65.24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
4.1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by Thy Name,6 to take away our reproach.
4.2 And in that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them That are escaped of Israel.
4.3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called Holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.
4.4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of Judgment, and by the Spirit of Burning.
4.5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a Cloud and smoke by Day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.
4.6 And there shall be a Tabernacle for a Shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
7.13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
7.14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
7.23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
7.24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
10.3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your glory?
11.0 And there shall come forth a rod7 out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
11.4 But with Righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the Rod of His Mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall He slay the wicked.
11.5 And righteousness shall be the Girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
11.6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
11.9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
11.10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His Rest shall be glorious.
11.11 And it shall come to pass in That Day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people.
11.12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
27.7 Hath he smitten him as He smote those that smote Him? Or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by Him?
28,.9 Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
28.10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
28.11 For with stammering lips and Another tongue will He speak to this people.
28.12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.8
30.27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire.
30.28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
33.8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth; he hath broken the covenant, he that despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
33.9 The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
33.10 Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.
33.17 Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.
33.18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the Scribe?
29.11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a Book that is Sealed.
29.14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
65.17 For, behold, I create New Heavens and a New earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
65.19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
65.25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.
Ezekiel
Ezekiel 28.25 Thus saith the Lord God: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.
28.26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
11.17 Therefore, say, Thus saith the Lord God: I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
11.19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a New Spirit within you: and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.
34.12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the Cloudy and Dark Day.
34.22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
34.24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.
34.25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
36.22 Therefore say unto the House of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O House of Israel, but for mine Holy Name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
36.23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
37.25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
37.26 Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
37.27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
37.28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, When my Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forever more.
39.21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
39.22 So the House of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.
39.23 And the heathen shall know that the House of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies; so fell they all by the sword.
39.27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations:
39.28 Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God.
Amos
Amos 9.11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
9.15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 11.17 For the Lord of Hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the House of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Ba'al.
11.18 And the Lord hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
11.19 But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
23.1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
23.2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people: ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.
23.3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
23.4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.
23.5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
23.6 In his days, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called: The Lord our Righteousness.
Joel
Joel 2.1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand:
2.2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
2.3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
2.4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen so shall they run.
2.11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army.
3.1 For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
3.2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3.13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fasts overlfow; for their wickedness is great.
3.14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision.
3.20 But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
3.21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
Micah
Micah 5.2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
5.3 Therefore will He give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
Genesis
Gen. 49.10 The Scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Habakkuk
Hab. 2.3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
2.4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
3.3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
3.4 His brightness was as the Light; He had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
3.15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.
Zephaniah
Zeph. 1.14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hateth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
1.15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
1.16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
3.8 Therefore, wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
3.9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.
3.20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.
Haggai
Haggai 2.6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; yet once it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
3.7 And I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord.
2.21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth:
2.22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
2.23 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have Chosen thee, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Zechariah
Zech. 4.7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it.
4.8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me saying,
4.9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you.
Revelation
Rev. 14.14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
14.15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in the sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
14.16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
4 Ezra
4 Ezra And it came to pass that after seven days I dreampt a dream at night. There arose a violent wind from the sea and it stirred all its waves. Out of the heart of the seas the wind caused the form of a man to come up. I looked and this man flew with the clouds of heaven. Wherever the voice went out of his mouth, all that heard his voice melted away as wax melts when if feels fire. After this, I saw that from the four winds of heaven was gathered together an innumerable multitude of men to make war against the man who came up out of the sea. But he cut out a great mountain and flew up upon it. I tried to see the region or place from which the mountain had been cut out but I could not. And then I saw all who were gathered together against him to wage war. They were seized with a great fear but they dared to fight. When he saw the assault of the multitude coming near him, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon. But out of his mouth he sent a fiery stream and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks. And these were all mingled together--the fiery stream, the flaming breath, and the storm. It all fell on the assault of the multitude which was preparing to fight and it burned them all up, so that suddenly the innumerable multitude was nothing but dust and ashes and smell of smoke. When I saw this I was amazed. Later I saw the same man come down from the mountain, and call another multitude to him-- which was peaceful. The faces of many men drew near him, some of them glad, some sorrowful. Some were in bonds, some brought others who should be offered in oblation.
These are the interpretations of the vision. Since you saw a man coming up from the heart of the sea, it is he whom the highest one is keeping for many ages (and through whom he will deliver his creation). He will determine the survivors. Since you saw that wind, fire, and storm came out of his mouth, that he held neither spear nor weapon, but destroyed the assaulting multitude who had come to fight against him, here is the interpretation:
Behold, the days come when the Highest One is about to deliver those who are on the earth. And these earth dwellers will be astonished. They will plan to war against each other, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom. And when these things come to pass and the signs happen that I showed you, then will my Son hear my voice, every man will leave his own land and the warfare of one against the other, and an innumerable multitude will be gathered together, as you saw, desiring to come and fight against Him. But he will stand upon the summit of Mount Zion. And Zion will come and will be made manifest to all men, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain cut out without hands. But he, my son, will reprove the nations that have come for their ungodliness, and the rebukes are like a storm and will reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and with tortures with which they are destined to be tortured--like flame. Then he will destroy them without labour by the law, which is like fire...The survivors of your people, even those who are found within my Holy Borders, will be saved. Then he will destroy the multitude of nations gathered together, and will defend the people who remain. And He will show them many wonders.
And I said: O Lord, my Lord, show me this. Why have I seen the man coming up from the heart of the sea? And He said to me, Just as one can neither seek out nor know what is in the deep of the sea, so no one one earth can see my Son or those who are with him but in the time of his day. Such is the interpretation of the dream you have seen.
Notes to Letter 9
(1) I understand, however, the Hebrew Bible is based upon the Septuagint translation of the Bible into Greek by seventy rabbis in Alexandria, Egypt. This Greek translation is apparently the only version of the Holy Bible which has survived through time. So the origin of both Christian and Jewish Translations is from the same Greek Translation. So what we really mean, lacking a True Hebrew Source, is what was the original Greek Version saying on thus and so? Converting the Greek back into Hebrew does not seem to justify the Hebrew version as being the authentic, except perhaps through the usage of Greek to Hebrew there can only be certain conversions.
(2) There is another passage in Isaiah which asks, who is this who comes out of Edom with his clothes and sandals stained from the winepress of the Lord? This epitaph is linked to a precept which says that Edom shall be a place of the Lord's Sacrifice in the Latter Days, focusing the event upon Bozrah. These precepts generally appear after chapter 40 of Isaiah.
(3) Jeshurun means Blessed.
(5) This matches up perfectly with the epitaph of Him who comes from Edom with his garments stained from the winepress of the Lord. Stay with me on this; for the Rabbis claim that we (Rome's Inheritance, i.e., Christianity) are Edom!
(6) We recall that we saw where Isaiah, the Word of God, referred to a character who is God's Redeemer and Servant, whom He called first Jeshurun then Israel, and said that He would bring Judgment to the Gentiles, whom God called His Chosen, among other things..
(7) Since Isaiah is speaking in the future, we know that the Rod out of the stem of Jesse is not King David, since David is antecedent to Isaiah. So the Rod must refer to the Messiah King David, whom we can call Jesus the Christ, for lack of another contender. And a Branch shall grow out of His Roots.
(8) He is modeled after the prophets who were eventually murdered, because Israel resented their prophets.
Bishop Earl Paulk
P0. Box 73300
Atlanta, Georgia 30357
Dear Dr. Paulk,
Last evening I listened to your ministry on the Windows of Heaven. Many years ago, when I saw this, I reacted somewhat as you. But then I realized what the prophet ( I believe it was Isaiah)1 said: If I open the doors and Windows of Heaven unto you there is not enough in you to contain me. Psalm 78 speaks of these things and how God must live in patience knowing that the Vanity of man can permit but an opening of the windows of heaven, little by little, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. But when the windows are opened it is for good, bringing good news with it. The sign of the Virgin was such an opening. But we also see that wheresoever a Blessing was poured out so also was accompanying it a curse.
Such an outpouring is Truth. It separates those who are with the Light and Truth of God from those without. A measure of this can be seen in my book, "Hidden Pavilions", and my letters accompanying it, sent to you long ago.
Most men are afraid of the Truth. I am no different. When I wrote my book I did not want to write it. For it had seen a truth which I knew would isolate me from men.
Now a measure of that Truth can be seen in the issue of the Two Anointed Ones mentioned by God through the mouth of Zechariah (4.14). Another is the Tabernacle, that it will be restored at the time Israel is restored to its land.
We say this is Truth, because it is True that they were clearly prophesied. Any man can say, Verily, Zechariah is a prophet of God and he prophesied Two Anointed Ones. That is Truth and a sample of the thing which can come out of the Windows of Heaven. And through this Truth my book proclaims another Truth: The Vanity of men will refuse it. For they like to manipulate God's Word to glorify themselves and not God. So "Hidden Pavilions" carries a terrible Truth in it; and it is a Truth from which no man can hide, neither you nor other ministers it addresses. And because of what it has called into Remembrance, it will be remembered. And the odds are that this book will be asking men to answer it in heaven as they would not answer it here. It is important that you answer this book.
Mel West
Note to Letter 10:
(1) It was Malachi, where he talks about the Book of Remembrance.
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