The Son of Man, exploring the Biblical concept

The Messiah Deliverer, The Word, called The Branch, appears to them that are escaped of Israel, to gather them from all the nations of the world. We have to conclude unequivocally that the Branch Deliverer Messiah does not appear before the scattering of Israel nor is He the Suffering Messiah, who is rejected by Israel. Rather He appears beautiful and glorious to those who are escaped of Israel. This confirms again that there are Two Messiahs in question. Again, we might add that though the escaped of Israel appreciate Him the Gentile may not. Yet, to fulfill the prophesy of Benjamin, reviewed above, where it says He shall convict Israel through the Chosen Ones of the Gentile, He must find a way to penetrate the hardened hearts of the Gentile in order to use them in the Conviction of Israel. We have seen Paul take this very course, saying that through the GentileÕs Mercy, as the new Chosen People of God, Israel will receive Mercy. The story of the Latter Day Exodus proves the point as relating to the Mercy coming from the Gentile. As for the Conviction of Israel, convincing them that it is because of their wickedness that the Messiah was bruised by God, this has yet to come. Presumably the Messiah has this chore, as it is said in the Dead Sea Scrolls:

Community Rule He shall measure out all knowledge discovered throughout the ages, together with the Precept of the age.

In chapter 53 of Isaiah the Messiah shall Justify Many. Once again, because Chapter 53 of Isaiah recounts the event of a Suffering Messiah killed because of IsraelÕs iniquity, the death requires an eventual demonstration of the evidence of a crime (the iniquity and its remedy). Since the killing of the Messiah is described as taking place in GodÕs Holy mountain, there is a burden of proof laid eventually on the demonstration that the Messiah was in fact killed in Jerusalem and rejected by the Children of Israel. This, of course, would produce shame. The actual realization of their Shame is so profound we are told that the Children of Israel will loathe themselves:

Ezekiel 36.31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loath yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

In Zechariah the presentation of the Messiah standing on Mount Zion and showing them that pierced him his wounds causes all the people to weep as they would for a lost son. This final demonstration of the Wounded Messiah, then, is a very traumatic experience prophesied yet to come.

We have a model of a rejected Messiah (by the Gentile) in the case of Moses. When Moses was finally convinced to go to the Children of Israel and persuade them, through his brotherÕs mouth, Aaron, to depart from Egypt, Moses was not a popular fellow among the Egyptian household in which he had been raised. After all, he had met God in Sinai, living in the land of Midian, because he had shown sympathy to the Jews in front of his pharaoh, and the pharaoh banished him to Sinai because of it. Actually, the story involves a murder committed by Moses, details too involved to mention here.

At the time the Deliverer Branch appears, there is a great people and a strong who are desolating the earth:

Joel 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.

Here again we have the evidence that in the Latter Days that the earth will be polluted by a people who literally devastate the world. The comparison of the earth before them as the Garden of Eden and a desolate wilderness after them is a good demonstration of what is actually happening today.

God's Latter Day Army

Joel 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.

Like the army of Babylon used to punish Israel, God uses an army to punish the world (which is now like Babylon with its polluting ways). As vile as this army is, it is still described as The LordÕs Army! He fights evil with evil, it would appear.

Revelation 19.11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
19.12 His eyes were as a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
19.13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
19.14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
19.15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
19.16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
19.17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying, to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.
19.18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19.19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
19.20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
19.21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Ezra 4 And it came to pass that after seven days I dreamt 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 he turned his countenance, everything he saw trembled. Wherever the voice went out of his mouth, all that heard his voice melted away as wax melts when it 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.

Daniel 7.9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
7.10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
7.13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
7.14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Book 1, Enoch: I saw angels beyond count,
A thousand thousand, ten thousand times ten thousand,
circling the house.
Michael, and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel,
And holy angels beyond count.
With them the Head of Days,
His Head white and pure as wool,
His raiment indescribable.

Revelation 10.1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.. and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.
1.10 I was in the Spirit on the LordÕs Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
1.11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.
1.12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1.13 And in the midst of the candlesticks, One like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1.14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
1.15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1.16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
1.17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not. I am the first and the last:
1.18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
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.
14.16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

1 Enoch 48 There I saw the fountain of goodness
Which was inexhaustible.
Around it were many fountains of Wisdom
All the thirsty drank from them
And were filled with Wisdom.
And they lived with the good, the Holy, and the Elect.
In that hour in which the Son of Man was named,
In the presence of the Lord of Spirits,
And his name is Head of Days,
Ere the sun and the signs were created,
Ere the stars of heaven were made,
His name was named before the Lord of Spirits.
He will be a staff to the good to stay themselves and not fall,
He will be the light of the Gentiles
And the Hope of those who are troubled of heart.

Zechariah 11.14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

We have mentioned that the Hebrew word for Stave was also used to mean Lawgiver. The Son of Man is described in the book of Enoch as a staff to the good to stay themselves and not fall. Once again, we are justified in reading the characters of Beauty and Bands as the Son of Man.

Ezekiel 1.27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
1.28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face and I heard a voice of one that spake.
2.1 And he said unto me, Son of Man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
2.2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.

It is interesting that the Ancient of Days is equated to be the same as the Son of Man and now it is revealed that the Angel who is clothed with a rainbow about his head who offers the book to be eaten is The Glory of the Lord. What is in fact being described in these various scriptures is one being playing out different characters. It is as if one were viewing a play with twenty characters but only one actor!

Ezekiel 2.9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
2.10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
9.3 And the Glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writerÕs inkhorn by his side;

He is the same character (angel) described in Daniel and Revelation: i.e., the Angel dressed in Linen who, in Daniel is standing on a stream (In Ezra 4 he is viewed coming up out of the sea), whose voice is described as Many Waters; in Ezekiel he declares the secrets of the book (he judges the secrets of men) and spreads coals over the city, in Judgment; in Revelation He declares the secrets of the book as well as proclaiming that all things are now fulfilled, that there shall now be time no longer. In Ezra 4 He determines who the Survivors are and destroys the multitude of the wicked with his fiery breath.

Ezekiel 9.4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
9.5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
9.6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
9.11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
10.2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
10.7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.

Zephaniah 1.8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LordÕs sacrifice that I will punish the princes, and the kingÕs children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
1.12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, the Lord will not do good, neither will do evil.

Interestingly, Revelation begins as a letter to the Seven Churches which are in Asia and representing the seven dominions of the Christian Church. Each church was sent the Book of Revelation under cover of a letter. In the Odes of Solomon, concerning the letter which became a great volume written wholly by the finger of the Lord, a similar instance is envisioned. For it began as a letter which became a great volume. The Light of the Gentile Messiah who writes with a bruised reed upon smoking flax and does not go into the streets, we mentioned earlier, fits this kind of characterization: i.e., one who spends a lot of time writing letters to the ministry. In fact in another prophesy we are told that his Ministry are so few in number a child can write them! Again, to convict Israel through the Chosen Ones of the Gentile, agreeing with the Testament of Benjamin, the Deliverer Messiah would presumably write the churches which would have sprung up from the followers of the Sacrificed Messiah. For Isaiah tells us:

Isaiah 66.19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul...to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
66.21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord.
66.23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
66.24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Here is clearly a ministry to the Gentile which will eventually surface in the realization that all flesh shall worship God. For He shall do this by making the Glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. It flows and nourishes all the earth. Out of all this comes the New Heavens and a New Earth. Again, we must always ask ourselves what the Glory of the Gentiles could possibly be. The answer is that the Deliverer Messiah is given as a Light unto the Gentiles. In the scenario that Light causes all the Gentile to worship God!
It is much easier looking back, of course; but it would appear logical that the death of the Suffering Messiah might become a Sign which put into the Gentile would lead them to worship God. The thing which is most appealing as a source of this light is the fact that the Suffering Messiah had done no wrong. While the Children of Israel, who are described as rejecting Him, may not have appreciated Him, it might follow that those who are among the Gentile watching the experience might be offended that an innocent man is put to death. This, it turns out, becomes the principal message in the Gospel of Jesus.

Revelation 10.5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
10.6 And sware by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.
10.7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the Mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

We may now come to grips with the Messiah Deliverer as judge of all the earth who now becomes, through the Ancient of Days and one like the Son of Man, the Glory of God who is manifested as the character called The Word. This CharacterÕs tongue is a sharp two-edged sword and he had been existing in Isaiah and came to fruition in Daniel, 4 Ezra, and Revelation. He is at the head of a great army and thousands turn to him. In Revelation we are told that suddenly 144,000 Jews begin to follow Him. This agrees with our earlier perception of the Deliverer Messiah as being one whom the Jews see as beautiful, unlike the former Messiah who was rejected by them. We say the Suffering Messiah is the former of the Two Messiahs because the Messiah of the Deliverance is one who reigns in the end. He is a successful king; but in keeping with the characterization made earlier by Isaiah, concerning the Messiah whose voice is not heard in the streets, we see in Revelation that the character called The Word himself is not known to men. That is to say, no one knows His Name and it is known only to Himself. This in turn is another Secret to be revealed about Him. In all the descriptions of The Word people are overwhelmed by what He says. In Ezra 4, once again, He defeats the wicked with the power of His tongue. What is it then, that enables Him To Destroy as well as Save through His tongue? Yet, he does not go into the streets, carries a name known only to Himself, and, though followed, remains a mystery? Ergo, we conclude that He is a Mystery Writer!

In exploring the nature of The Word, we recall that He must say that He is not a prophet and like David (for He is another David, in the Spirit of David) did not go to prophetÕs school but tended cattle. So he is not a recognized Prophet. We have a similar illustration in Ezekiel, who also described Himself as the Son of Man and not a prophet. Jesus, on the other hand, declared that he was a prophet and did prophesy. He did not make the denial of being a prophet, as required of Him by Ezekiel.

The Deliverer Messiah comes at a time which is at the end of prophesy. It is at the end of days. We saw in Revelation how the Angel with the book, who carries the same description of having a rainbow, etc., as the Ancient of Days, declares, there shall be time no longer. In effect he declares to the world that the seven thousand year epoch is up.

ÒTime is up," says the Messiah. How does He know what time it is? Many prophesies attempt to give guidelines, but the most important prophesies break the time line of God into two events: The Scattering and the Gathering. This entire process, according to the prophesy in the book of Adam and Eve, will end 5,500 years after the birth of Adam. In the book of Enoch this date is offered as 6,000 years, comparing the span of GodÕs works in founding His Kingdom to the span of creation of the world and the heavens, which took six days. In the book of Enoch we are reminded that one day to the Lord is as a thousand years. So in explaining the dates in those books, after six thousand years God will rest. We will then have a thousand years of Peace under the Messiah. This begins in chapter 20 of Revelation, which occurs after the appearance of The Word, the casting of Satan into a pit for a thousand years, and the First Resurrection. The First Resurrection ought to include, of course, the Messiah Resurrected and brought to the earth in His Second Coming. The precept of the First Resurrection also suggests that there was no prior resurrection of Christ! That is to say, it puts in question Gospel accounts of JesusÕs resurrection (We have seen Paul even questioning those who claimed the resurrection had already come)!

Again, we witness another prophesy relating to the telling of time where the Messiah is expected to know the exact time of GodÕs wrath and the Ages of time. He, in his judgment, recalls even things old and new in such a historical presentation that he righteously explains the scriptures. Jesus, in the gospels, compares the Messiah to a man who has a treasure box and brings out of the box both things new and old.

The Word is not alone, as He is accompanied by an army of angels. Because, in Revelation, 144,000 Jews come over to him, he must do something which attracts their attention and following. The story of Revelation also ends with an Angel coming down to throw Satan in the pit; that angel carries the keys to hell and has the power to lock Satan away. In Daniel the characterization of Michael shows him in his prior struggle with Satan in Heaven. Then he binds Satan and throws him into the Pit. In Revelation, The Ancient of Days, who carries the keys to the pit, suddenly becomes transformed into an unnamed angel who throws Satan into the pit. In the characterizations some of the angels are described as One like the Son of Man, as Daniel described him. One like the Son of Man turns out to be the reaper, for instance.

Matthew 13.41 The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.

Mark 13.26 And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory..

Ezra 4 And these were all mingled together - the fiery steam, 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 be revealed as the Man you saw ascending. When all nations 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 labor 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, 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 nor know what is in the deep of the sea, so no one on 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.

This series of verses show the Gospel rendition of the Son of Man which fits into the scheme previously identified in the scriptures. Ezra 4 tells us another important thing about the Son of Man, who is The Word, or Branch, Melkizedek, king of Righteousness, etc. His Word defeats the wicked by use of the Torah. He links together verses of the Torah, as expected by the Oral Torah. Here we see the example that this character need not be a prophet, for His appearance is a confirmation of prophesy. And in reminding them in that confirmation He shows them overwhelming evidence of the Truth of GodÕs Word. In the presentation, Revelation shows Him with the nomenclature of Faithful and True. This presumes that everything He says is a confirmation of everything God had said. Though He comes for judgment, his principal mission includes bringing a New Law. We conclude that He could not be called Faithful and True to the Word if He were to scrap the Torah, the Old Law. He in fact must confirm the Torah but may add something to it to create a New Covenant, adding to the Old the New. We say the New Covenant would be an addition since all previous instances of New Covenants given to Israel never abrogated the Old already in place. However the New Law is offered, it must not be seen in the configuration of suggesting that the Old Law is now passed away, void, and never really intended. For God cannot lie and any offerings of a covenant which were not capable of being permanent would undermine GodÕs credibility of being a consistent example of Truth. Paul argues this theory, as we have seen, and asks why the Old Law would be valid when the New Law comes. Should not the New Law replace the Old Law? He uses this argument to justify the presentation of His Gospel which condemns the Old Law and those who obey it. Paul has, in a word, put the prophets and God to the test. So I call upon my Lord to show the truth: who is true, God or Paul?

Luke 22.24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and
shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
22.25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
22.26 MenÕs hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
22.27 And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
22.28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Enoch 44.3 Blessed is the man who does not direct his heart with malice against any man, and helps the injured and condemned, and raises the broken down, and shall do charity to the needy, because on the day of the great Judgment every weight, every measure and every makeweight will be as in the market, that is to say they are hung on scales and stand in the market, and every one shall learn his own measure, and according to his measure shall take his reward.
58.7 And as every soul of man is according to number, similarly beasts will not perish, nor all souls of beasts which the Lord created, till the great judgment, and they will accuse men, if he feed them ill.
66.8 Blessed are the just who shall escape the great judgment, for they shall shine forth more than the sun sevenfold.

Jeremiah 30.6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
30.7 Alas! For that day is great so that none is like it; it is even the time of JacobÕs Trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

Eating the Flesh of the Pleetim

In the configuration of the Judgment all the prophets consistently represented the Deliverer Messiah as coming with Great Wrath. He sets the crooked ways straight. When we consider the descriptions of the people of the Gentile, having a bridle in their mouths, causing them to error, with great confusion, that the day is a day of great darkness and gloominess, that there is a great people and a strong who are laying waste to the earth and the fact that the prophesy concludes even the beasts will accuse man if he does them wrong; when we consider these things as criteria of judgment, as well as other like things mentioned in prophesy, we conclude that the Deliverer Messiah is justifiably someone who ought to be, in this day and age, feared. Thus, we saw in Zechariah the description of the lawgiver Bands who eats the flesh of the fat.

Now Job's (and Enoch's) prophesy thought about the possibility of the beasts accusing mankind when the Redeemer comes to judge the earth. Job tells us what he would do if such an event should occur. It is sound advise. In Psalm 2 we are told to kiss the Son lest we make him wrathful. The consideration of the beasts and the fields, being polluted or harmed, comes from GodÕs basic charge to Adam and his seed: to name the plants and animals and take care of them. This charge is the basic reason why Adam was created, so the story of Genesis tells us. When he fails to fill that responsibility, he becomes vulnerable to being eliminated altogether from the Garden.

Many have discussed the Time of Jacob's Trouble. The trouble which Jacob has seen to date, as it refers to the Children of Israel, never seems to be enough to the watchers of men who watch for signs of God. We should hope that the Holocaust of World War II would adequately answer to this period of time. Though Hitler did do his very best to try to burn every child of Jacob, Jacob was saved out of it.

In Revelation, in the last chapte,r we see Jerusalem descending from heaven, with a New Heaven and a New Earth being described. And the sea is missing in the story. The earth without the sea would become like Mars: a dead planet. The fact that our pollution has now perhaps gone so far that we are on an irreversible course of wasting the planet causes us to wonder how much time we have left, enjoying our garden. If we continue cutting down the forests and polluting our lakes and streams, causing the temperature of the earth to heat up, leaving the waters to evaporate, we will eventually be left with an ocean basin without water in it. So the prophesy of Revelation is not too far off and what would have seemed ridiculous to men two thousand years ago, concerning the drying up of the sea (the Mediterranean Sea dried up several times), is a real possibility today. We say it ought to have appeared ridiculous that the sea could dry up , but we do have the model of the Children crossing the Red Sea on dry land under the lead of Moses! So Latter Day prophesy is built upon earlier events and what was understandable in the case of Moses would become an expectation in the Latter Day Messiah: and with him scorched cities and an affect upon the seas.

Until My Word comes who is My Word

Even considering this New Heaven and a New Earth without a sea causes us to wonder how such a place could be a paradise for man and the plants. For all prophesy stems from an early prophesy to Adam that reassured him that though he had been tossed out of the garden his seed would one day be returned and restored to it: And he would be given a body of light as he once had before being kicked out of the garden.

Book of Adam & Eve: 10.8 But God said unto Adam, I have made thee a promise; when that promise is fulfilled, I will bring thee back into the garden, thee and thy righteous seed.
14.2 But God the Lord said to Adam, Verily I say unto thee, this darkness will pass from thee, every day I have determined for thee, until the fulfillment of My covenant; when I will save thee and bring thee back again into the garden, into the abode of light thou longest for, wherein is no darkness. I will bring thee to it— in the Kingdom of Heaven.
14.3 Again said God unto Adam, All this misery that thou hast been made to take upon thee because of thy transgression, will not free thee from the hand of Satan, and will not save thee.
14.4 But I will. When I shall come down from heaven, and shall become flesh of thy seed, and take upon me the infirmity from which thou sufferest, then the darkness that came upon thee in this cave shall come upon me in the grave, when I am in the flesh of thy seed.
14.5 And I, who am without years, shall be subject to the reckoning of years, of times, of months, and of days, and I shall be reckoned as one of the Sons of Men, in order to save thee.
15.1 Then Adam and Eve wept and sorrowed by reason of God's word to them, that they should not return to the garden until the fulfillment of the days decreed upon them; but mostly because God had told them that he should suffer for their salvation.
21.9 And said to Adam, O Adam, all this misery which thou hast wrought upon thyself, will not avail against My rule, neither will it alter the covenant of the 5,500 years.
24.4 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said unto him, O Adam, as thou hast shed thy blood, so will I shed My own blood when I become flesh of thy seed; and as thou didst die, O Adam, so also will I die. And as thou didst build an altar, so also will I make for thee an altar on the earth; and as thou didst offer thy blood upon it, so also will I offer My blood upon an altar on the earth.
24.5 And as thou didst sue for forgiveness through that blood, so also will I make My blood forgiveness of sins, and blot out transgressions in it.
24.6 And now, behold, I have accepted thy offering, O Adam, about the days of the Covenant, wherein I have bound thee, are not fulfilled. When they are fulfilled, then will I bring thee back into the garden.
26.9 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said unto him, Adam, as for the sun, if I were to take it and bring it to thee, days, hours, years, and months would all come to naught, and the covenant I have made with thee, would never be fulfilled.
26.10 But thou shouldest then be turned and left in a long plague, and no salvation would be left to thee for ever.
26.14 But I cannot alter the covenant that has gone out of My Mouth; else would I have brought thee back into the garden.
26.11 Yea, rather, bear long and calm thy soul while thou abidest night and day; until the fulfillment of the days, and the time of My covenant is come.
26.12 Then shall I come and save thee, O Adam, for I do not wish that thou be afflicted..
26.15 When, however, the covenant is fulfilled, then shall I show thee and thy seed mercy, and bring thee into a land of gladness, where there is neither sorrow nor suffering; but abiding joy and gladness, and light that never fails, and praises that never cease; and a beautiful garden that shall never pass away.
31.1 After these things God said unto Adam, Thou didst ask of me something from the garden, to be comforted therewith, and I have given thee these three tokens as a consolation to thee; that thou trust in Me and in My covenant with thee.
31.2 For I will come and save thee; and kings shall bring me when in the flesh, gold, incense and myrrh; gold as a token of my kingdom; incense as a token of my divinity; and myrrh as a token of my suffering and of my death.
31.11 These three things did God give to Adam, on the third day after he had come out of the garden, in token of the three days the Lord should remain in the heart of the earth.
38.2 O Adam, as to the fruit of the Tree of Life, for which thou askest, I will not give it thee now, but when the 5,500 years are fulfilled. Then will I give thee of the fruit of the Tree of Life, and thou shalt eat, and live for ever, thou, and Eve, and thy righteous seed.
42.2 O Adam, as to what thou sayest, Bring me into a land where there is rest, it is not another land than this, but it is the Kingdom of Heaven where alone is rest.
42.3 But thou canst not make thy entrance into it at present; but only after thy judgment is past and fulfilled.
42.4 Then will I make thee go up into the kingdom of heaven, thee and thy righteous seed; and I will give thee and them the rest thou askest for at present.
42.5 And if thou saidst, give me of the water of Life that I may drink and live, it cannot be this day, but on the day that I shall descend into hell, and break the gates of brass, and bruise in pieces the kingdoms of iron.
42.6 Then will I in mercy save thy soul and the souls of the righteous, to give them rest in my Garden. And that shall be when the end of the world is come.
42.7 And, again, as regards the Water of Life thou seekest, it will not be granted thee this day; but on the day that I shall shed My Blood upon thy head in the land of Golgotha.
42.8 For My Blood shall be the Water of Life unto thee, at that time, and not to thee alone, but unto all those of thy seed who shall believe in Me; that it be unto them for rest forever.
45.9 God said also to Adam, See this fire kindled by Satan around thy cave; see this wonder that surrounds thee; and know that it will encompass about both thee and thy seed, when ye hearken to his behest; that he will plague you with fire; and that ye shall go down into hell after ye are dead.
45.10 Then shall ye see the burning of his fire, that will thus be burning around you and your seed. There shall be no deliverance from it for you, but at My Coming; in like manner as thou canst not now go into thy cave, by reason of the great fire around it; not until My Word shall come that will make a way for thee on the day My Covenant is fulfilled.
45.11 There is no way for thee at present to come from hence to rest, not until My Word comes, who is My Word. Then will He make a way for thee, and thou shalt have rest.
47.7 But Satan, the hater of all good, thought within himself; whereas God has promised salvation to Adam by covenant, and that He would deliver him out of all the hardships that have befallen him — but has not promised me by covenant, and will not deliver me out of my hardships; nay, since He has promised him that He should make him and his seed dwell in the kingdom in which I once was —I will kill Adam.
47.8 The earth shall be rid of him; and shall be left to me alone; so that when he is dead he may not have any seed left to inherit the kingdom that shall remain my own realm; God will then be in want of me, and He will restore me to it with my hosts.
47.1 But when Adam came out and saw his hideous figure, he was afraid of him, and said unto him, Who art thou?
47.2 Then Satan answered and said unto him, It is I, who hid myself within the serpent, and who talked to Eve, and beguiled her until she hearkened to my command. I am he who sent her, through the wiles of my speech, to deceive thee, until thou and she ate of the fruit of the tree, and ye came away from under the command of God.
47.3 But when Adam heard these words from him, he said unto him, Canst thou make me a garden as God made for me? Or canst thou clothe me in the same bright nature in which God had clothed me?
47.4 Where is the divine nature thou didst promise to give me? Where is that fair speech of thine, thou didst hold with us at first, when we were in the garden?
47.5 The Satan said unto Adam, Thinkest thou, that when I have spoken to one about anything, I shall ever bring it to him or fulfill my word? Not so. For I myself have never even thought of obtaining what I asked.
47.6 Therefore did I fall, and did I make you fall by that for which I myself fell; and with you also, whosoever accepts my counsel, falls thereby.
47.7 But now, O Adam, by reason of thy fall thou art under my rule, and I am king over thee; because thou hast hearkened to me, and hast transgressed against thy God. Neither will there be any deliverance from my hands until the day promised thee by thy God.
47.8 Again he said, inasmuch as we do not know the day agreed upon with thee by thy God, nor the hour in which thou shalt be delivered, for that reason will we multiply war and murder upon thee and thy seed after thee.
47.9 This is our will and our good pleasure, that we may not leave one of the sons of Men to inherit our orders in heaven.
68.12 Then God said to Adam and Eve, Since ye have made this oblation and have offered it to Me, I shall make it My Flesh, when I come down upon earth to save you; and I shall cause it to be offered continually upon an altar, for forgiveness and for mercy, unto those who partake of it duly.
68.16 And God said to Adam, This shall be unto you a custom, to do so, when affliction and sorrow come upon you. But your deliverance and your entrance into the garden shall not be until the days are fulfilled, as agreed between you and Me; were it not so, I would, of My mercy and pity for you, bring you back to My garden and to My favour for the sake of the offering you have just made to My name.
69.6 God said further unto Adam, Thus will it also happen to Me, on the earth, when I shall be pierced and blood shall flow blood and water from My Side and run over My body, which is the true offering; and which shall be offered on the altar as a perfect offering.
Book II, 8.12 Then they shall take my body and lay it in the middle of the earth, shortly after they have been saved from the waters of the flood.
8.13 For the place where my body shall be laid, is the middle of the earth; God shall come from thence and shall save all our kindred.
8.19 ...He will rise from the dead, and be exalted above things in the things in the earth; and myrrh, in token that He will drink bitter gall; and feel the pains of hell from Satan.
12.6 ...And then God made a promise to Seth, saying, at the end of the great five days and a half, concerning which I have made a promise to thee and to thy father, I will send My Word and save thee and thy seed.

Enoch 46.4 And when the Lord shall send a great light, then there will be judgment for the just and the unjust...
61.1 And now, my children, keep your hearts from every injustice, which the Lord hates...Just as a man asks for his own soul from God, so let him do to every living soul, because I know all things, how in the great time [to come] are many mansions prepared for men, good for the good, and bad for the bad, without number many.
65.5 When all creation visible and invisible, as the Lord created it, shall end, then every man goest to the great judgment, and then all time shall perish, and the years, and thence forward there will be neither months nor days nor hours, they will be stuck together and will not be counted.
65.6 There will be one aeon, and all the righteous who shall escape the Lord's great judgment, shall be collected in the great aeon, for the righteous the great aeon will begin, and they will live eternally, and then too there will be amongst them neither labour, nor sickness, nor humiliation, nor anxiety, nor need, nor violence, nor night, nor darkness, but great light.
65.7 And they shall have a great indestructible wall, and a paradise bright and incorruptible, for all corruptible things shall pass away, and there will be eternal life.
66.8 Blessed are the just who shall escape the great judgment, for they shall shine forth more than the sun sevenfold.
28.3 And one from out the order of angels, having turned away with the order that was under him, conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to my power.
28.4 And I threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless.
30.4 The devil is the evil spirit of the lower places, as a fugitive he made Sotona from the heavens as his name was Satanail, thus he became different from the angels, but his nature did not change his intelligence as far as his understanding of righteous and sinful things.
30.6 But I cursed ignorance, but what I had blessed previously, those I did not curse. I cursed not man, nor the earth, nor other creatures, but man's evil fruit, and his works.
32.1 I said to him [Adam] Earth thou art, and into the earth whence I took thee thou shalt go, and I will not ruin thee, but send thee whence I took thee.
32.2 Then I can again take thee at My Second Coming.
46.4 And when the Lord shall send a great light, then there will be judgment for the just and the unjust, and there no one shall escape notice.
63.4 Every proud and magniloquent man is hateful to the Lord, and every false speech, clothed in untruth; it will be cut with the blade of the sword of death, and thrown into the fire, and shall burn for all time.
65.5 When all creation visible and invisible, as the Lord created it, shall end, then every man goest to the great judgment, and then all time shall perish, and the years, and thenceforward there will be neither months nor days nor hours, they will be stuck together and not counted.
66.7 Walk, my children, in long-suffering, in meekness, honesty, in provocation, in grief, in faith and in truth, in reliance on promises..loving one another, till you go out from this age of ills, that you become inheritors of endless time.
30.13...And I called his name Adam, and showed him the two ways, the light and the darkness, and I told him:
30.14 This is good, and that bad, that I should learn whether he has love towards me, or hatred, that it be clear which in his race love me.
30.15 For I have seen his nature, but he has not seen his own nature, therefore through not seeing he will sin worse, and I said, After sin what is there but death?
31.3 And he was continuously in paradise, and the devil understood that I wanted to create another world, because Adam was lord on earth, to rule and control it.
32.1 I said to him: Earth thou art, and into the earth whence I took thee thou shalt go, and I will not ruin thee, but send thee whence I took thee.
32.2 Then I can again take thee at My Second Coming.
32.3 And I blessed all my creatures visible and invisible. And Adam was five and one half hours in paradise.
32.4 And I blessed the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, on which he rested from all his works.
33.1 And I appointed the eighth day also, that the eighth day should be the first-created after my work, and that the first seven revolve in the form of the seventh thousand, and that at the beginning of the eighth thousand there should be a time of not-counting, endless, with neither years, nor months, nor weeks nor days nor hours.
33.4 My thought is my counsellor, my wisdom and my word are made, and my eyes observe all things how they stand here and tremble with terror.
33.11 And I will give thee, Enoch, my intercessor, the archistratege Michael, for the handwritings of thy fathers Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahaleleel, and Jared thy father.
34.1 They have rejected my commandments and my yoke, worthless seed has come up, not fearing God, and they would not bow down to me, but have begun to bow down to vain gods, and denied my unity, and have laden the whole earth with untruths, offences, abominable lecheries, namely one with another, and all manner of other unclean wickednesses, which are disgusting to relate.
34.2 And therefore I will bring down a deluge upon the earth and will destroy all men, and the whole earth will crumble together into great darkness.
35.1 Behold from their seed shall arise another generation, much afterwards, but of them many will be very insatiate.
35.2 He who raises that generation shall reveal to them the books of thy handwriting, of thy fathers, to them to whom he must point out the guardianship of the world, to the faithful men and workers of my pleasure, who do not acknowledge my name in vain.
35.3 And they shall tell another generation, and those others having read shall be glorified thereafter, more than the first.
33.5 If I turn away my face, then all things will be destroyed.
50.1 I have put every man's work in writing and none born on earth can remain hidden nor his works remain concealed.
50.2 I see all things.
50.3 Now therefore, my children, in patience and meekness spend the number of your days, that you inherit endless life.
50.4 Endure for the sake of the Lord every wound, every injury, every evil work and attack.
50.5 If il-requitals befall you, return them not either to neighbor or enemy, because the Lord will return them for you and be your avenger on the day of great judgment, that there be no avenging here among men.
50.6 Whoever of you spends gold or silver for his brother's sake, he will receive ample treasure in the world to come.
50.7 Injure not widows nor orphans, or strangers, lest God's wrath come upon you.
51.1 Stretch out your hands to the poor according to your strength.
51.2 Hide not your silver in the earth.
51.4 And every grievous and cruel yoke that come upon you bear all for the sake of the Lord, and thus you will find your reward in the day of judgment.
52.5 Blessed is he who blesses all the Lord's works.
52.6 Cursed is he who brings the Lord's creation into contempt.
53.1 And now, my children, do not say: Our father is standing before God, and is praying for our sins, for there is there no helper of any man who has sinned.
58.6 The Lord will not judge a single soul of beast for man's sake, but adjudges the souls of men to their beasts in this world; for men have a special place.
58.7 And as every soul of man is according to number, similarly beast will not perish, nor all souls of beasts which the Lord created, till the great judgment, and they will accuse man, if he feed them ill.
64.1 When Enoch had spoken these words to his sons, all people far and near heard how the Lord was calling Enoch, and they took counsel together:
64.2 Let us go and kiss Enoch, and two thousand men came together and came to the place Achuzan where Enoch was, and his sons.
64.3 And the elders of the people, the whole assembly, came and bowed down and began to kiss Enoch and said to him:
64.4 Our father Enoch, be thou blessed of the Lord, the eternal ruler, and now bless thy sons and all the people, that we may be glorified today before thy face.
64.5 For thou shalt be glorified before the Lord's face for all time, since the Lord chose thee, rather than all men on earth, and designated thee writer of all his creation, visible and invisible, and redeemer of the sins of man, and helper of thy household.

Much of the Christian theology , no doubt, came from the books of Adam and Eve and Enoch. In all probability these books were all grouped under the one book of Enoch. The book of Enoch is suspected to have been written about the time of the Maccabees, in as much as many of the precepts are described in conventional Greek terms.

The Books of Adam and Eve present a Suffering Messiah, called The Word, who comes down to earth to save mankind through his blood offering upon an altar in the center of the earth. The time that this salvation comes is after 5,500 years. In the book of Enoch we learn what the mystery of the 5,500 years is: it is based upon the time Adam was in paradise. The continuing theme of all prophetic scripture is to simulate the time of the creation.

The Book of Enoch converts salvation into an 6,000 year aeon, afterwards a 1,000 year day of rest, or peace, followed by the eighth day or eight thousandth year, at which time time itself will cease to be. Salvation in the Book of Enoch is described in terms of Enoch Himself and it occurs on God's Second Coming. Enoch is described as the Redeemer of Man.

Although it is not believed that the Adam and Eve books preexisted the Maccabeen period, circa 200 B.C., there are some fundamental precepts between the Adam and Eve books and the book of Enoch which may predate IsaiahÕs precepts.

In Isaiah the time of Redemption is identified with the opening of the books. The most important book by which men are judged is the Book of Life. Enoch is charged with writing 366 books which he bids his children to read and obey. In them are all the deeds of man. They are the books by which man will be judged. Thus we have the precept of the Book of Life, the book in which all men's deeds are recorded. In the book of Enoch we are told that Pravuil, the archangel of the lord, whose wisdom is greater than all the other archangels, recorded them and passed them on to Enoch. In the scenario earlier mentioned of Ezekiel concerning the Angel with the book and that also of Revelation involving the same Angel with the book, we have a continuing tradition of a character like Pravuil:

Enoch 22.10 And the Lord summoned one of his archangels by name Pravuil, whose knowledge was quicker in wisdom than the other archangels, who wrote all the deeds of the Lord; and the Lord said to Pravuil:
22.11 Bring out the books from my store-houses, and a reed of quick-writing, and give it to Enoch, and deliver to him the choice and comforting books out of thy hand.
23.2 And Pravuil told me: All the things that I have told thee, we have written. Sit and write all the souls of mankind, however many of them are born, and the places prepared for them to eternity; for all souls are prepared to eternity, before the formation of the world.
23.3 And all double thirty days and thirty nights, and I wrote out all things exactly, and wrote three hundred and sixty-six books.

It appears that Pravuil is the prototype of the Redeemer mentioned in Isaiah who does not go into the street. Perhaps David reflected on the same prototype when he commented how his tongue is a pen of a ready writer. All of the theses of The Word are based upon the Written Word. Even in the Book of Enoch Enoch urges that his children pass on the handwriting of their fathers, after mentioning their fathers by name. The presumption in the text assumes that mankind had always known how to write. This follows the Book of Remembrance, Malachik 3.16, Deuteronomy 30.1, and Psalm 77.11: I will remember the owrks of the Lord, etc.

In the book of Adam and Eve the theme of the Suffering Messiah being laid in a tomb for three days (because Adam had been accidentally buried by a cave in for three days), the concept of his flesh and blood being the basis of man's salvation, with the flesh being the bread of life and the blood the water of life; the precept of the tokens of gold, incense, and myrrh; the comment of shedding His Blood in the land of Golgotha, when He is pierced with blood and water flowing from his side; the comment that in My Father's house are many mansions and I go to prepare a place for you; no man knoweth the time, the day or hour of the end but only the Father knows, etc., all are important criteria of prophesies fulfilled or commented upon by Jesus in the gospels, particularly in Matthew. In the Gospels Jesus's precepts of Salvation all agree with the Book of Adam and Eve. He views the Kingdom of Heaven as another world yet to come and continuously reminds his disciples to store up treasures not on earth but in heaven. The emphasis in the theology in Jesus is pointed towards Heaven. In the Lord's prayer, however, a clear statement by Jesus reflecting His Perception of the End of Time is the creation of a Kingdom in earth as it is in Heaven. Thus, Jesus called this the Kingdom of Heaven yet to come. When asked by His disciples when the Kingdom would come, Jesus replied it is already here but men do not see it. Then He described several parables showing how it could be recognized. One parable, in the Gospel of Thomas, describes the Kingdom as a woman walking down the road with a jar full of seed. The jar had a crack in it and drained the seed out on the road behind her. When she got home she found the basket empty. In this and other parables the Kingdom is planted but man, like the woman in the parable, has yet to recognize it.

To Jesus the Kingdom was in your heart. Relating Himself to the Father, He said, but you do not know Me because you do not know the Father. Had you known the Father you would have known me (and therefore would know the Kingdom). When He was at trial, responding to being the King, Jesus responded My Kingdom is not of this world, otherwise my disciples would have come to save me. Clearly, then, Jesus's theology was "an otherworld Salvation and Kingdom," being akin to the precept given in the Adam and Eve story where they and their seed are eventually restored to Paradise in Heaven. And in paradise there are no illnesses, nor do people hunger. Rather, like Heaven, people carry bodies of light and live forever. Jesus promised Eternal Life to those who believed in Him. He said He had not come to judge (which is the job of the Redeemer as we have seen above) for there is one that Judges. He then mentions a Second Coming and prophesies concerning it the function of the Son of Man in judgment.

In the writings of Paul and even Barnabas the precepts of a Saviour come to shed his blood in the land of Golgotha follow the Adam and Eve precepts. For these precepts eventually argue that one is saved by Grace and not works. Running contrary to this precept is the precept in the book of Enoch, that man is judged by his works. And not even the patriarches can save you, should they try to argue on your behalf on the day of judgment. This precept is again reflected in the prophets, particularly Isaiah. It is a criteria of judgment in which Paul does not agree, and suggests that the Paulists had not tampered with this gospel.

It seems that every prophesy and scripture prior to the New Testament was written to answer a specific question brought up by an earlier scripture. In Genesis we have the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by Satan and thrown out of the garden. We have the charge that Adam was created to name and be lord over all creatures. But in Genesis it is not explained why Satan beguiled Adam and Eve. The Adam and Eve books then pick up on this question and explain in detail the relationship between Adam and Eve and Satan and how they will get along outside the garden. The original covenant made to man is then stated outside the garden to Adam by God's Word. The covenant is that after 5,500 years God would redeem Adam, but first he must be subjected to the lordship and misery of Satan. Satan would reign as Lord over Adam until the 5,500 years had passed. God reminds Adam that nothing can save Adam from Satan's evil works. Then He adds, But I will. Then the story of the Sacrificed Messiah unfolds. And that character is called The Word, and he bring's Adam's Salvation.

In the Adam and Eve books one gets the impression that the end of the story of Salvation is when God sacrifices his own flesh in the altar upon the earth in the land of Golgotha. The book of Enoch, though hesitating to mention the Sacrificed Messiah, mentions a future Redemption called the Second Coming. And that Redemption is coined through the opening of the books, of which Enoch had been bid to record. Thus, the Second Coming is described in terms of Enoch being the Redeemer. If these books were written or altered by Christians, such concepts in them, as another Redeemer other than Jesus, seem unlikely.

Two men are reported to have never died, per se. They are Elijah and Enoch. Both, according to the Scriptures, simply were taken up to Heaven through a device Paul later uses, called the Rapture. In reading the Adam and Eve books one is left with the impression that the final coming of Paradise on earth could be like Enoch's going up to the lord to reside in Heaven. In the Book of Enoch, on the other hand, the redemption and Salvation of man is coined consistently, in the same terms, as with the other prophets. Revelation also follows the theme of the book of Enoch. But it goes a step further by drawing the character called The Word out of the Books of Adam and Eve and projecting Him into the Future in a character whose name is known only to Himself and who reflects the characteristics mentioned by Daniel, Ezra, Isaiah, etc. previously described.

The Book of Enoch mentions a lot of angels and a lot of keys in a lot of heavens. Of the eleven heavens mentioned which Enoch had been taken up (raptured) into, the third heaven is the place where the Righteous are placed. We are told in the Book of Enoch that God's House has many mansions, some good and some bad. Pray, it says, that you are sent to the good houses. Jesus parroted this precept, saying in My Father's House there are many mansions. This is the only place in scripture I have seen in which the precept of the many mansions occurs. Jesus knew the books of Adam and Eve and the book of Enoch quite well and around them he formulated his theology, merging it with Isaiah and Daniel. From Paul's comments about bodies being raised up incorruptible, it is suggested that he might have been influenced by this book as well.

In the Book of Enoch we have the description of hell descending upon mankind like the release of a chain. The chain must be released slowly, otherwise all things would be destroyed. The precept, of course, is the metering out of evil upon mankind until He finally sees the light and comes to His God. All men will one day bow down to the God of Abraham and call upon Him with One consent. Thus, in the judgment we have the precept of a chain binding the wicked who are presided over by Satan, who himself had been condemned by God to fly over the bottomless pit. The bottomless pit is a parable of death itself. Death has no limits to being satiated. In the time of the redemption, when time is no longer, Death ceases to exist.

In Ezra 4 , the books of Enoch and Revelation we have the character called The Word from whose mouth streams fire. Ezra describes that fire as the fire of the Torah which he spews out upon the wicked. The Ancient of Days in Daniel, whose garment was white as snow and the hair of his head like the pure wool, sat on a chariot, called the Merkabah (which the rabbis say it is forbidden to speak about) whose throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire. This image is reflected in more detail in Ezekiel, concerning the Four Cherubim on the Chariot of God who have burning wheels, under which the Angel in Linen is told to draw coals of fire and spread them over the city. From the Ancient of Days in Daniel a fiery stream came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. He is One Like the Son of Man. In Revelation the Ancient of Days is mentioned again and then merged into the figure of One like the Son of Man who is Christ and appears as the character called The Word of God riding upon a White Horse unto judgment. He is known by the writing on his thigh called Faithful and True.

Daniel 9.25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
9.26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Josephus the Jewish historian, who recorded the sacking of Jerusalem, as he observed it burning from outside its walls under Titus's army, said that the Temple and city were set afire by the Jews themselves who were split into several warring factions. Titus the Roman general did nothing but enforce the siege; the Jews inside the city did all the fighting - all against each other - and eventually the faction on the temple mount set fire to the temple, destroying the city.

DanielÕs prophesy was not too far off the track. For it calls for the people of the Prince which shall come to set fire to the city. Next he says of that Prince:

Daniel 9.27 He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

The prophesy of Daniel also describes the "cutting off" of the Messiah, then the coming of the Prince, who is the prince of the Abomination of Desolation. Jesus, being asked when the Kingdom of God will come, concerning His Second Coming, says when you see the Abomination of Desolation stand where he ought not (or in the sacred place), then you will know that the end is near.

The problem in reconciling Daniel's prophesy is that it presents the Abomination of Desolation appearing to burn the sanctuary,

Daniel 9.26 and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
9.27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, etc.
11.20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
11.21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
11.22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
11.31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
11.36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
11.37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
11.38 But in his estate shall he honor the god of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
11.41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
11.42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
11.43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
11.44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
11.45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
12.1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of they people: 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.
12.2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
12.3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
12.7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the Holy people, all these things shall be finished.

In chapter 53 of Isaiah the Messiah is "cut off" and his death is for the Atonement of Sin. The books of Adam and Eve, we see, have God attempting to explain how His Flesh becomes an Atonement for their sin. The story adds to or answers the question Isaiah does not really answer: i.e., what really can be accomplished by "cutting off" the Messiah?

Daniel 10.21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

Revelation 20.1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
20.2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
20.3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
20.5..This was the First Resurrection.
20.6 Blessed and holy 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 of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

In the story line of Daniel, the Messiah is cut off and the Abomination of Desolation then comes to deceive mankind. In the episode a beast is described having ten horns, etc together with a King who attempts to set himself above God and sit himself upon a throne in the Sanctuary, causing the world to worship him. In the Adam and Eve story Satan explains that the reason he was thrown out of Heaven is because he thought to be equal to God. Though thrown out of heaven he was still of the same intelligence, etc. as the other angels. But he was the angel of light and therefore did carry God's Wisdom with him and being overly zealous in his own wisdom thought to be equal to God. Hence, God threw him out and hated him forever after that. Then Satan saw God making man in God's image and became jealous. He vowed to destroy that man so that God will then look back upon Satan favorably and restore him to his former position over the angels in heaven. The theme of jealousy then is a criteria which hearkens back to the very dispute between Edom and Jacob. Jacob literally robbed Esau (Edom) of his blessing and Edom became jealous over it. Because of his jealousy Edom vowed to destroy Jacob (Israel), thus justifying an eternal fight between the Children of Israel and the Children of Esau. Yet, in the prophesy of Israel himself there is a condition which states that Esau will one day hold the domain and on that day the yoke of Jacob will be taken off his neck. And today people from across the Jordan, even from the territory of Edom, hold the temple mount. We are shown in Daniel that Edom is in the latter days linked to Israel's salvation. It is no longer a nation hated by God for its jealousy over Jacob.

Revelation breaks the time between the cutting off of the Messiah and the destruction of Satan, by Michael, into an aeon ending the six thousandth year and beginning a thousand years of peace, the seven thousandth year. Then, after a thousand years of peace, Satan is released again and shortly disposed of forever. Why he is put in the bottomless pit in chains for only a thousand years is not described. But when he is released, then Gog and his people, whom Ezekiel mentions, including Persia, Ethiopia and Libya, as per Daniel, also are released to come upon Israel:

Ezekiel 20.7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
20.8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
20.9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

The description of the destruction of Gog and the wicked is a replay of what was done to Sodom and Gomorrah. They were destroyed by fire and brimstone; so also are the wicked of Gog and his allies. In the prophesies God is careful to point out that he is not going to take his wrath out against the land or the animals, but only against man and his high towers. As concerning Israel, we have Moses's curse:

Deuteronomy 29.22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it;
29.23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.
29.24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? What meaneth He of this great anger?
29.25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
29.28 And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.
29.29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
30.30 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee.
30.2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
30.3 That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whether the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
30.6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
30.7 And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
30.9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over they fathers:
30.19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

In these passages we have a plain exposition of the scattering of Israel and desolation of its land, and selling the people off into captivity. The exposition is completely in agreement with all the prophesies we have heretofore reviewed. The desolation of Israel is compared to the desolation of Sodom. In the story of Sodom, God, as He argues with Abraham as to the fate of the city, which contained Abraham's nephew and his family, sent down two angels to see for himself the goings on down there, to see if the reports of the city were according to what he heard. He sees through the Two angels that there were not ten worthy people in the city to justify saving it. The Two Angels, already now hated by the populace, were taken in by Lot, AbrahamÕs nephew, and protected from the maddened crowd. Lot offered to exchange his daughters to the crowd in ransom for the safety of the Two Angels. Lot and his family then left the city at the bidding of the two angels. They were told not to look back. LotÕs wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. The moral of the story is if you are told to leave the city, leave, but donÕt look back!

When God restores Israel, according to Moses's prophesy, He then turns against all those who were against His People Israel and leads them into desolation. The desolation envisioned, would then follow the plan of Sodom, involving the raining down of fire and brimstone on the Gentile and Heathen who come up against Israel or were against Israel. Revelation, following Daniel and Ezekiel, recognizes this transfer of God's Wrath from Israel back to the nations, and builds upon it, drawing even upon the Two Angels who were sent to investigate the problem and warn Lot to flee the city.

In Revelation Two Witnesses, functioning like those Two Angels before Sodom, believed by the Christian Ministry to be Elijah and Enoch, are sent before the people to warn them of their impending doom. These Two Witnesses have the power (of the Messiah) to bind and to loose; whatsoever they bind, in heaven will be bound; whatsoever they loose, shall be loosed in heaven. These Two Witnesses, because of the warnings they send upon mankind, will be killed by the wrath of the people. The bodies of the Two Witnesses are left in the street for three days and a half and then are raised up (in rapture, like Enoch ) to heaven.

Revelation 20.10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
20.11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
20.12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
20.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
20.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the Second Death.
20.15 And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Jeremiah 25.33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried: they shall be dung upon the ground.

Daniel 12.2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
12.6 But one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
12.7 ...when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Revelation 21.1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
21.2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
21.3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Isaiah 33.8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth; he hath broken the covenant, he that despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

Zechariah 11.1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
11.2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the forest of the vintage is come down.
11.3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
Isaiah 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?..

Zephaniah 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.

Isaiah 52.6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in That Day that I am he that doth speak: Behold it is I.
52.7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth!

Zechariah 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.

Jeremiah 12.10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
12.13 They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: They have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
12.14 Thus saith the Lord against all mine evil neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit: behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.
12.15 And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.
12.17 And if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord.

Zechariah 12.10 And I will pour upon the House of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirt 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.

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.
63.4 For the day of Vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of My Redeemed is come.
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.

Ezekiel 22.18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
22.19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
22.20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
22.21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
22.22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.

Psalm 79.1 O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
79.2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
79.3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.
79.4 We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derisions to them that are round about us.
79.5 How long Lord? wilt thou be angry forever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

Ezekiel 22.31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

Isaiah 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.

Finally we arrive at the end of the exposition. If we incorporate Revelation into the theme of the Redemption and Judgment (for one cannot be seen without the other), the time is stretched into an eight day period, with the seventh day being a day of peace, ending with the final destruction of Satan and his Antichrist. In asking when this will be, Daniel is told by the angel standing upon the waters (reference the Angel which stands upon both land and the sea, carrying the Book in Revelation) that when the power of the people has been fully scattered then the time will come. The Dead Sea Scrolls, quoting the Torah, confirm this perception:

Dead Sea Scrolls: For I say that they will abandon me, and will choose the abominations of the nations, their horrors and their idols. They will serve false gods which shall be for them a snare and a pitfall. They will sin against the Holy Days and against the Sabbath and the Covenant, and against the commandments which I command you to keep this day.
Therefore I will smite them with a mighty blow in the midst of the land which they cross the Jordan to possess. And when all the curses come upon them and catch up with them to destroy them and blot them out, then shall they know that the truth has been fulfilled with regard to them.

Although these Curses of which Moses speaks have been well discussed through the other prophets, it might do well to quote a few passages from their source, Moses:

Deuteronomy 28.58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord, Thy God;
28.59 Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
28.60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
28.61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
28.62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.
28.63 And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
28.64 And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
28.65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
28.66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
28.67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
28.68 And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee; Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Daniel's perception was in accordance with the basic thesis of prophesy that the Messiah would rise up and be cut off and then Jerusalem and its Sanctuary, the temple, would be destroyed and burned down and the people scattered. Isaiah focuses upon the period of the scattering and the redemption of Israel through the hands of the Gentile. The redemption occurs when the Children are gathered back to their land, at which time the world is in tribulation like it had never seen before. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble. Then, at His Second Coming, God redeems the earth after drawing all those who had been against Israel into the valley of Megiddo and destroying them with fire. As in the case of Sodom, it is God who releases the fire. The children of Israel, like Gideon, stand in the wings watching the affair. There are so many bodies they cannot be buried and are left as dung upon the ground. Before the nations are burned with fire, we note, the Children of Israel are purged through the Spirit of Burning. At the burning of the people, which must be Jacob's Trouble, the stage is set for the holocaust against the nations. For again we recall God's vow to take his wrath out against those who had been against His Children Israel Once more we turn to the Dead Sea Scrolls for confirmation of this fact. The Essenes who were teaching scripture in Jesus's day knew this:

(From the Damascus Rule) But when the glory of God is made manifest to Israel, all those members of the Covenant who have breached the bound of the Law shall be cut off from the midst of the camp, and with them all those who condemned Judah in the days of its trials .

Many believe that early Christianity was formed out of the crucible of the Essene Communities, wheresoever they were scattered, along the Dead Sea or in even Jerusalem and Galilee. Ancient historians such as Josephus and Philo, suggest that the Essene Community went beyond that of the Monastery along the Dead Sea and actually had disciples in the towns and the cities of the land.

Nevertheless, it is easy to see a major difference in approach to the scriptures between the Dead Sea Scrolls and Paul's interpretation of scripture and the modern Christian ethic. While the Dead Sea Scrolls not only demand full obedience to the Law, they also recognize that those who break the Law, or the Torah, will be cut off from the midst of the camp along with all those who condemned Judah in the days of its trials.

When we consider the days of Judah's trials we recognize first-off that the Day of Jacob's Troubles signifies the ultimate view of Judah's trials. This ultimate view is then placed in the Latter Days, during the days when Lebanon is hewn down, a day of great darkness and gloominess, such as has never before been seen nor will ever be again, and a day of fire and brimstone fallen against those who come up against Jerusalem. Again, we recall the thesis that God will lead Gog and his troops and allies, with hooks in their mouths, into the valleys of Israel and rain fire and brimstone upon him in the Last Days. The hooks we had previously compared to Vanity. Their own vanity will bring them there.

As compared to the Scriptures, we are asked in Psalm 2, Why do the Heathen imagine a vain thing? Relevant to the Scriptures it is Vanity for one to imagine that he can alter the Truth of the Scriptures or obedience to the law. The only one authorized to do this is the Messiah himself.

We began this section with Paul's comment upon the Redeemer from Romans 2.16:

2.16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

The first part of Paul's statement is a correct anticipation. It seems to have been influenced by Ecclesiastes:

Ecc. 2.16 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

The latter part of Paul's statement has yet to be proved, and it's proving will demand the patience of both God and men, it would appear. For Paul has set forth in his statement that Judgment will be in accordance with His Gospel. His Gospel condemned the Jewish people and sought to tear them away from obedience to the Law. Paul preached precisely against the very foundations of Moses. The Laws of Moses are, as we have noted, very definitely supported in the Dead Sea Scriptures. Keeping this view in mind, then, the Messiah of the Latter Days, even Paul's Christ, must judge Paul's anomalous behavior to Scripture, for He has asked to be grouped among all those who condemned Judah in the days of its trials.

We have seen in the prophesies that the Messiah will strike down the wicked of the earth in judgment with the Sword of His Mouth. His breath will be like fire and that fire will be the Torah, which is like Fire.

Again, we can see a confirmation of this perception in the Dead Sea Scrolls:

(From the War Rule) Then the High Priest shall draw near, and standing before the formation, he shall strengthen by the power of God their hearts and hands in his battle. Speaking He shall say: ..He will pay their reward with burning fire by the hand of those tested in the crucible. He will sharpen His weapons and will not tire until all the wicked nations are destroyed...Be strong and fear not; for they tend towards chaos and confusions, and they lean on that which is not and shall not be. To the God of Israel belongs all that is and shall be; He knows all the happenings of eternity. This is the day appointed by Him for the defeat and overthrow of the Prince of the Kingdom of Wickedness, and He will send eternal succor to the company of His redeemed by the might of the princely Angel of the kingdom of Michael. With everlasting light he will enlighten with joy the Children of Israel; peace and blessing shall be with the company of God. He will raise up the Kingdom of Michael in the midst of the gods, and the realm of Israel in the midst of all flesh. Righteousness shall rejoice on high, and all the children of His truth shall be jubilant in eternal knowledge.

We shall see that those who lived in Jesus's day had a firm grip on the prophesies of the Latter Days. They knew one of the Messiah's names is Michael, of whom we have seen discussed in Daniel. Michael is One like the Son of Man in Daniel. Michael comes at the time of God's fiery wrath:

Malachi 4.1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
4.2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

First the Son of Righteousness arises; then Israel shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall. In Isaiah Israel is told that the Messiah will appear to those who are weaned and taken from the breast. These images and others in the prophesies all tell of the appearance of the Messiah(s) first before Israel is scattered (before Israel goes forth) and then again among them who are scattered. Where does Israel grow up? Scattered, among the Gentile, in captivity, as calves thrust from their stall.

Malachi 4.5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
4.6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

This perception of the Last Days is confirmed by Isaiah:

Isaiah 9.2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
9.5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
9.6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
9.7 Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth ever for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.
10.3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far?

We have a problem. The gospels were confused over Elijah. All of them seemed to believe that John the Baptist was Elijah resurrected, and they reported that it was John the Baptist, as Elijah, who first acclaimed, or anointed, Jesus as the Son of God and Witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon Him. This "anointing" of Jesus establishes the basis of Jesus's Messiahship in three of the Gospels. Yet, one of the gospels says that John the Baptist, when asked who He was, denied that He was Elijah. Rather, He said that He was that Voice in the Wilderness of whom Isaiah prophesied.

If John the Baptist was not Elijah, then Jesus cannot be the Deliverer Messiah and has no right to the Throne of God's Redeemer. Clearly, before the Messiah comes, according to Malachi, Elijah must first come. Confused over this, the Apostles Peter, James and John asked Jesus upon the mount, after his transfiguration, whether it is true that Elijah must first come. Moments before, according to the gospel, they had witnessed Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah on the mount. This manifestation resulted in a voice saying, "Behold, this is my son. Hear Him," or words to that affect. The incident did not resolve John the Baptist in that scene. To get John the Baptist in the scene, the apostles are reported to have asked whether Elijah must first come. Jesus answered, "Verily He must first come, but I tell you now he is here already." This statement says two things. First that John the Baptist, whom Jesus offers as Elijah, is still at that moment alive (probably in Herod's prison). The other thing it suggests is that at that moment no one connected John the Baptist to being Elijah! In fact in all the gospel testimony most of the inquiries of Jesus seemed to conclude that Jesus, Himself, was Elijah resurrected!
In the Transfiguration scene on a mount ( in Galilee ), there is a clear indication that the Apostles who were closest to Jesus were just arriving at the conclusion that Jesus might be the Messiah and were confused how He could be so because Elijah had not yet come! In the scene established by the Gospels Jesus says:

If you will believe it, John the Baptist is Elijah.

This same scene presents further complications, for three Gospels reported it. At the close of the scene Jesus asks whom the people think He is. The three gospels agree that all the people think that Jesus is a prophet, or Elijah raised up. The three gospels also all agree that Jesus asked Peter, then, whom he thought Jesus is. In Matthew, Peter replies that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Mark disagrees! Peter there says that Jesus is the Christ; thereby not thinking it significant that the Christ is the Son of the Living God! Luke agrees with Mark, recording that Peter said:

The Christ of God

These records tell us that the precept that the Messiah is also the Son of God was not a major concern in the ApostleÕs minds or the writers of Mark and Luke. It further gives rise to suspicion on all accounts in the gospels suggesting that Jesus is the Son of God. The suspicion we here speak about leads us to consider whether the Son of God theme represents tampering with the Gospels by later very zealous and unlearned Christian scribes who probably are following the lead of Paul, PeterÕs arch-rival.

We have already witnessed a profound theological confrontation between Peter and a later self-appointed Apostle of Jesus who is Paul. Peter was a Jew, practicing in the Temple which Paul had condemned. Whereas Peter taught obedience to the Law, Paul taught that the Law was no longer valid. In Paul's letters there is a recognition of the partition between Peter and Paul, for Paul responds to questions from his churches, suggesting that some are followers of Paul, others of Peter (Cephas), and others of Apollonius. The letters were probably asking which of those leaders was True. Paul responded throughout His Letters that His Gospel was the True Gospel. And Peter, were He at all faithful to his own teachings, ought to have been bitterly opposed to Paul's teachings. For apart from all these things Paul had even changed the day of Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, respecting the theme that Jesus had risen from the dead. Peter, worshipping in the Temple in Jerusalem, obeyed the Sabbath Law and worshipped on Saturday. When he went into either the temple or the synagogue he had to have had his head covered with a small cap, as Jews to this day still do. Paul told the people in his letters not to wear a cap over oneÕs head in worshipping God. We shall find that everything Paul taught was antithetical to Judaism.

We mention this because here we have another anomaly. For Matthew, which seems to be surprisingly biased to Paul's point of view, that Jesus is the Son of God, even equal to God, gives full authority for the guidance of the church to Peter, recording:

Matthew 16.18 Upon this rock [Peter, Greek for rock; Cephas, Hebrew for rock] I will build my church..and give thee the keys to the Kingdom..whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.

We note this here because this also becomes a matter of Judgment for the Latter Days, whether the guidance of the Church belonged to Peter, thereby discriminating whether Paul's opposing theology had any basis in truth. The gospels of Mark and Luke seem to be silent on this issue, though we note that they were also silent on the issue of Jesus being identified by Peter as the Son of the Living God and rewarded for that identification. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy to mention that tradition always held Peter as the Head of the Christian Church, though, looking back, it is evident that the Christian Church did not follow him and turned to Paul. Perhaps the reason why this tradition has held, even to this day, is because of Peter's Name: Rock (or pebble). When one is renamed generally there is a story which goes along with the New Name. When Jacob, for instance, found Himself wrestling with an Angel who turned out to be God, God gave Him a new name, calling Him Israel, meaning, Those who prevail with God. Jacob, in this scenario, succeeded in prevailing all night long in a wrestling contest with God. From here we have a lesson relating to prophesy: that by prevailing with God through the Trials set to come upon the Children of Israel the Jews will be restored to their land, in the Days of Darkness, and they will be given a New Name, called Beulah, meaning wedded to God, or Redeemed to God.

The thesis of the prophesy of which we have been addressing shows God scattering the Children of Israel, refining them with fire, and Redeeming them in the Latter Days, setting them back upon the mount of Jerusalem along with their King Messiah, who is like another David. In that process is also mentioned the Sacrifice of a Messiah and the scattering of a Ministry of God to the Gentile. The scattering of the Ministry is part of a mechanism which provides for the claim that all men on earth will bow down to the God of Abraham and call upon His Name with common consent. It follows that such people, the saved through this Ministry, would then hold claim to the name of Israel: i.e, those who prevail with God. Taking this into consideration one might then ask what would become of the Children of Israel, would they not continue to be separated unto God, holding in their separation their own special name? If the world adopts the Name of Israel then the Children of Israel loose their special designation. The prophesy of Isaiah addresses this problem and answers by giving both the land and the people of Israel a New Name. They continue to be Separated unto God.

Thus, we see the significance of New Names being given in prophesy. In Revelation Jesus is seen promising those who are faithful, i.e., Philadelphia, etc. a New Name as a reward for their faithfulness in the Latter Days.

So a man by the name of Simon, a fisherman, was given a New Name which is Peter, meaning a rock. He was also given the Keys to the Kingdom and the power to bind or loose whatsoever He wills. This power, it might be added, is given to the Messiah and Elijah and also, in Revelation, the Two Witnesses of God.

We know that Jesus named Simon as His Rock with the intent of carrying a scriptural significance. The Scriptural significance of Simon Peter's name is the same as Zion is to God. Upon Zion, God's Holy Mount, God built Himself a Sanctuary and a People. That Rock is God's firm foundation. It was the place where Abraham and God consummated their covenant, with the (attempted) sacrifice of Isaac. It was the place where Melkizedek, King of Righteousness, anointed Abraham. It was the place forever willed to Abraham as an eternal Testimony of God of His Might, His Power, and His Goodwill. It is a place where Peace would one day visit the earth — not to pass by — but to stay. And in the Psalms we are told:

Chapter 18 (continued)

God's Latter Day Army

Eating the Flesh of the Pleetim

Until My Word comes who is My Word

Chapter 18
(continued)