The Glowing Dawn of Gold

THE HISTORY OF THE MENORAH:

• The word menorah comes from a Semitic root meaning “to shine”. The chemical symbol for gold, Au, is short for the Latin word for gold, aurum, meaning “glowing dawn.”

• The ancient menorah had a tripod base with three legs, symbolic of the Godhead for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, inspired by God. The Hebrew meaning of toe is “fingers of the leg”. See the ancient tile below.

• The “base” is called the loins: Yarik (Base) Stongs #3409 (suggesting sons/seed)
  • For example: Genesis 46:26 “All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants (which came out of his loins ie: his base), not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.”
  • Symbolically, the base indicates that Adam was the son of God in the list of genealogies. Luke 3:38 “Adam, the son of God” connecting God with man.
  • A second symbolism is that the Godhead is the base and the legs are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (who conceived the Son into the flesh).
  • The word for thigh is the loins. Jesus is the thigh.
    See Topic: Jesus as the Thigh

• The instructions God gave for making the “Lampstand” or Menorah: comes from Exodus 25:31-32 “You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered (beaten) work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece. And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side.” (7 branches)
  • (1) Like Jesus, it is Pure Gold: gold is pure, it never rusts or decays (in the grave) and is considered to be eternal. Among metals, it is the most valuable. It is bright and beautiful and is symbolic of absolute authority. It also comes from “the heavens”:

“We all know gold is mined from the ground.
… Surprisingly, gold is most likely from outer space”

• (2) Like Jesus it was Hammered, crushed, and beaten:
  
  • ^{Isaiah 53:5 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds (bruises, stripes) we are healed.}
    
  • ^{Gen 3:15 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush (strike, bruise) your head, and you will strike His heel.”}
    
  • ^{Luke 22:63-65 NIV The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him.}

• (3) Like Jesus, it had to be Of One Piece:Being whole is healthy and functional. A broken or torn item is no longer functional; one example is the veil in the temple torn in two after Jesus was crucified. It no longer remained functional.
  
  • ^{John 19:23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.}
  • ^{Leviticus 21:10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;}
  • ^{When the High Priest tore his clothes in Mark 16:43 he disqualified himself from being high priest.}
  • ^{It was Jesus who took that role being our High Priest: Heb 4:14, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest (bg: like gold who does not decay in the grave) who has passed through the heavens (outer space), Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”}

• (4) The Chief Artisans Named:
  
• In Exodus 31:1-6 and chapters 36 to 39, Bezalel was the chief artisan of the Tabernacle and was in charge of building the Ark of the Covenant, assisted by Aholiab.
  
• Jesus is called “The Branch” (the menorah has branches) and is symbolic of “things to come”.
  
  • ^{The name “Bezalel” means “in the shadow (protection) of God, “The shadow of things to come”.}
    • ^{Zechariah 3:8 “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring My Servant, the Branch.}
    • ^{Isaiah 41:22 “Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come,}
  • ^{Oholiab/Aholiab means “father’s tent (tabernacle)”.}

Together, the names of the Chief Artisans mean
“The tabernacle is the shadow of the things to come”.

^{Daniel 2:29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the Revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.}

^{Isaiah 45:11 “This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?}

• SEVEN Branches

The significance of the number seven is proliferate in scripture.

The root word for the number seven: FH7650 Sheba

From the creation of the seventh day in Genesis to the seven bowls which culminates at Armageddon in Revelation are the first and the last book of the bible. In Revelation it is Jesus who declares that “He” is the beginning and the end.

Seven is the number of perfection and completion: sheba` Strongs h7651 from (H7650) which properly means “to be complete”:

1. to swear, take an oath
2. to swear (of Jehovah by Himself)
3. to curse

^{Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First (the Beginning – #1) and the Last (Completion – #7) .”
Numbers 30:2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
Isaiah 65:16 So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes}.

Seven is a sacred number and the meaning comes from making a covenant, or pact.

The root meaning of the number seven is an oath, a covenant.

Relevant verses concerning “Covenant” and the number seven:

^{Hebrews 6:13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself (He made a covenant with Himself).
Matthew 26:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Romans 11:27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
Galatians 4:24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai (law) which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free (spirit).}

Besides being sacred, seven is perfection. “Nothing can be added to it or taken away from it without marring it.” It is pure unadulterated truth. Seven is true north when it comes to staying on a straight and narrow path. Seven means to be whole in health, creativeness, and satisfaction.

The seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet “Zayin” is a pictograph of a sword: the Word of God is a sword.

^{Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God;
Revelation 1:16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.}

The seven branched lamp stand represents God’s infallible purpose in Christ and His covenant with man. When all sevens are completed everything is made perfect.

• Seven lamp bowls (cups) are the seven eyes of God.

Seven eyes of God (Eyes are almond shaped: the cups are almond shaped)

Compare Zech 2:4-14 with Rev 11:4

^{Zechariah 4:2-4 So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lamp stand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
10 For these seven (cup of lights) rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” (Ref Micah 5:5)}

^{Rev 11:1 “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. …4 These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands (two men who witness) standing before the God of the earth. So he said, “These (the two olive trees) are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
Revelation 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing before the God of the earth.
Revelation 5:6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns (powers: the seven branches) and seven eyes (the lamps), which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.}

• The Seven Spirits of God:
  
  • ^{Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.}
  • ^{John 15:26 The Coming Rejection – “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.}

Wisdom	Understanding	Counsel	Might	Knowledge	Fear of the Lord	Truth
1	2	3	4	5	6	7

The lamps represent light which gives revelation and understanding.

The menorah is not only symbolic, but prophetic of end time events. The Seven Lights & the Seven Jewish Feasts:

The Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are the beginning and end of the ten High Holy Days, also called “The Days of Awe”. The Feast of Trumpets is celebrated at the beginning of the High Holy days for two days. The Day of Atonement is the last day. In between these bookends is a little known Jewish Celebration called “The Seven Days of Affliction”. If a Jew did not participate in the seven days of affliction they were to be cut off (out) of the community. These Seven Days of Affliction represent the Seven Year Tribulation. See below:

Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets: the Rapture) is the 5th lamp while Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement: The Return) is the 6th lamp. In between these two lamps is the seven days of affliction representing the seven year tribulation.

The above is a prophetic pattern of two unfulfilled Jewish Feasts as represented by the forth and fifth branches of the menorah. The last branch is when Jesus sets up His earthly kingdom and reigns for 1,000 years.

• The Oil for the Lamp

Leviticus 24:2 “Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually.

Olive oil is used for anointing priests and kings. They were to use pure oil, not mixed with other liquids or ingredients.

What is the significance of olive oil as a symbol for something sacred?

It foreshadows Jesus’ night in the Garden of Gethsamane as He prayed that the cup of suffering the crucifixion might pass from Him, even though He knew it was what He had been born for:

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

• Mark 8:31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
• Mark 9:9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
• Mark 9:31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”
• Mark 10:33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles;
• John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
• Luke 9:44 “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it;
• Luke 18:31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.

The Accumulation: “For This Purpose I Came to this Hour.” Jesus was the olive crushed by Satan whose heart is as hard as a millstone, until great drops of blood fell from his forehead.

• John 12:27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

• In the Garden of Gethsamane Jesus prayed as great drops of blood fell from his forehead like sweat in agony for what He knew was about to come, and within hours He was arrested.

• Jesus was first anointed for His crucifixion in Bethany:
  Matthew 26:6 “And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.” Jesus replied, “¹² For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.”

• Who else was in the Garden of Gethsamane as Jesus prayed? Symbolically, it was Satan who was pleased to crush the soul of Jesus as though it were an olive while Satan himself was the olive press, a millstone pressing until oil (blood) ran out into a pit (the pit representing the grave) and collected in clay jars (the earth).
• In Job Satan is the king of pride. Job 41:24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. ³³ On earth there is nothing like him, which is made without fear. ³⁴ He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.”
• Gethsemane is an orchard of olive trees which also contained an oil press. The word Gethsemane is derived from two Hebrew words: gat, which means “a place for pressing oil (or wine)” and shemanim, which means “oils.” With God there is no coincidences.

The olive oil represents Jesus’ blood, his soul poured out for the sins of man – sacred for the anointing of kings and priests, of which Jesus was both, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The High Priest who makes propitiation for the sins of the people:

• King of Kings: 1 Timothy 6:15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
• High Priest: Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

• The Light of the Menorah, the Glow of the Dawn (the Morning Star):

Jesus is the Light of the World: The One who reveals Truth and Understanding, the embodiment of wisdom, leading the blind into the healing of their sight.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I AM the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the Light of life.”
Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, … I AM the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

There are so many concepts of light related to Jesus that there are too many to mention, however; one is of particular importance, the constant speed of light. In a universe of relativity, light is a constant. It began when science discovered light was both a particle and a wave which evolved into Einstein’s equation E=mc². It is the equation which converts mass (an atom) to energy (the atomic bomb in splitting the atom).

Einstein once asked himself, “What would a beam of light look like if I traveled alongside it at the speed of light?” The answer was unfathomable. It still looked like a beam of light. Why? Because whether you are standing still or traveling at the speed of light, light will STILL pass you at the same speed. HOW?

This is why we can say light is a constant and never changes.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

• Jesus: the “Middle” Light in the Menorah.

Exodus 25:32 And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lamp stand out of one side, and three branches of the lamp stand out of the other side.

The center light is the stem (vine) of the lamp stand. The other six represent men, the number of man.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666 (a man trying to be the trinity but he is just a 6, a man).

• Candles Replaced the Lamps after the temple no longer existed.

The middle candle is Jesus. On the seven branched lamp stand the middle candle is the same height as the rest of the candles. On the nine branched lamp stand the middle candle is higher than the other candles and is used to light the other candles; it is called the “servant” candle. On the seven branched lamp stand the middle candle represents Jesus as the “Son of Man” who came to earth to undergo all temptations as a man. On the nine branched lamp stand the middle candle is Jesus as the “Son of God”, royalty, lifted up, ruling in the coming millennium (Jesus’ thousand year reign on earth).

• Jesus is the middle light in the menorah of creation. As the Creator Jesus completed the heavens and the earth in seven words AND in seven days.

In the beginning (bre’shiyth) God (‘Elohiym) created (bara’) Untranslated (Eth) the heaven (shamayim) and (Eth) the earth (‘erets)

The untranslated Eth is two Hebrew letters: the Aleph and the Tav or in Greek the Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End connects into a circle of eternality.

Revelation 1:7-8 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (I Am that I Am.)

Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,

Ephesians 3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;

Hebrews 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

I AM that I AM: “My nature cannot be declared in words, cannot be conceived of by human thought. I exist in such a way that my whole inscrutable nature is implied in my existence…an independent and unconditioned existence, from which all other existence is derived, and upon which it is dependent. ” ~ Elliot.

I Am that I Am, I Have Always Been, and I Will Be that which I Have Always Been. My existence requires no proof because the proof is in my existence. I Am the Power that knows itself. The Power that does not need to defend itself.

Conclusion: The menorah represents the Light that has always existed

• The Menorah of the Antichrist in the Seven Year Tribulation: The Mimic of the Authentic.

• The Menorah and the Temple of God

Numbers: The first Temple existed for 410 years, and the second lasted 420 years. During the entire 830 years the Menorah was kindled (lit) every day.

The word “katit” (כתית) — “crushed” — has in it the letters “כ” and “ת”, whose numerical value is 420, and the letters “י” and “ת”, which have a numerical value of 410. The oil was crushed “כתית” — for 830 years of lighting the Menorah.

• What is the Application to Man’s Life?
  
  • God’s plan for man is to have a bright future, something eternal and beyond understanding.
    
    • 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
    • Ephesians 2:6 (He) raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
      
  • Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.