Isaiah 5:7 “for the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel”.
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Glimpses of Israel
The Shuk Mahane Yehudah Market, Jerusalem 2 The Possible Nonconformists • 6 Israeli Salve for Sick Buildings • 8 Israeli Device Harnesses Electromagnetic Healing • 10 Messiah Anticipated • 14 The Panoramic Nexus Published by David House Fellowship Inc.
The Vineyard December 2012
The Possible Nonconformists my friends! A prophesied invasion of restored Israel “in the latter days” has been the absorbing subject arresting our attention in preceding messages in this series and we have gained our prophetic light from the illuminating chapters of the sacred Scriptures of Ezekiel. This great prophet of Israel provided us with thirteen names of nations or places involved in this predicted drama and we have been fishing in the tenth chapter of genesis in our effort to clothe those ancient nations with their modern names. The fish we pulled out of that pristine pool proved highly interesting specimens; Gog, Magog, Rosh, Meshech and Tubal all
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appeared to be branded with the hammer and sickle, whilst Gog’s partisans Paras, Cush, Put, Gomer and Togarmah were presented as a regular Mohammedan PanIslamic Arabic Confederacy which included satellite Germany. Now these, by the way, were not our dogmatisms, merely our deductions. You will remember that, won’t you? Well, there remain to us yet three more fish in that illuminating lake: Sheba and Dedan are named in the Scriptures as the sons of Raamah, grandsons of Cush, the son of Ham. The term is kosher, by the way. The descendants of Ham are likely to be those who settled in the countries south of Edom near the Red Sea.
as merchant peoples whose merchandise includes incense and wearing apparel. I am of the opinion that Northern and Southern Arabia will most likely discover these ethnic groups. Now, what of “the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof” (Ezekiel 38:13). To what nation or nations, as they exist today, can we attach this ancient designation of Tarshish? It would be very gratifying if we could hazard a satisfactory deduction as to the possible identity of Tarshish because Tarshish appears to lead in a role different from that of Gog and his hordes.
I think I can suggest a method which will appeal to you. Let us together draw out of the fabric of the Scriptures each single characteristic thread descriptive of ancient Tarshish and from those single threads let us weave a Tarshish garments. Then, when our Tarshish garment is complete, let us see if it will fit any national entities of this present day. Are you ready to join me in this fascinating experiment? Good! Observe, then, that there are some twenty-eight places in the Holy Scriptures where the word “Tarshish” occurs; these are the threads from which we will hope to weave our Tarshish garment.
It is interesting to note, by the way, that the names of Sheba and Dedan were also names bestowed upon two children of Abraham by his other wife Keturah.
As we have seen in previous messages, Tarshish leads the way in what is either the launching of a protest against Gog or the initiating of a parley with him.
No less than nine of these threads display the blue-green splendour of the oceans as they all refer to the “ships” and the “navy” of Tarshish. So, then here’s a start. Since ancient Tarshish was a Maritime Nation, our garment must fit a Maritime Nation today.
Where these names apply to peoples and not individuals, we find them described
Be it protest or parley, it would be most interesting to attempt an identification and
The activities of Tarshish as well as the express declarations of Ezekiel (27:12 and 38:13)
November December 2012
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disclose that Tarshish is a Merchant Nation. Thus we have merchant threads to weave into our maritime threads. Again, Ezekiel’s phrase in chapter 38 and verse 13 “the merchants of Tarshish and all the young lions thereof” is a very interesting thread of evidence because it reveals that Tarshish is a Manifold Nation, and not a single nation but a group of nations. Observe, however, that the “young lions” are “thereof.” What nation today, do you suppose, could be depicted as an old lion standing with her offspring around her? The offspring are “young lions,” mark you, not cubs. Cubs are dependent upon their mother; young lions are independent entities! That was rather an interesting thread we drew out, now wasn’t it? And here are others, for we find that this maritime merchant, manifold nation is also a Mineral Nation. Examine this thread in Ezekiel, chapter 27 and verse 12 — “Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.” Our threads are beginning to weave quite a distinctive garment, do you not think so? And here is still another highly colourful and informative thread. Listen carefully. Those same ships of Tarshish carried ivory, apes and peacocks (I Kings 10:22 and II Chronicles 9:21) and in the Hebrew Bible those words translated ivory, apes
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and peacocks are not Hebrew words at all, but belong to the Tamil dialect, one of the Dravidian languages of India! Tarshish, then, has had contact with India. Threads drawn from the Book of Jonah and II Chronicles (20:36, 37) disclose that to get to Tarshish from the Promised Land it was necessary to take a ship. Of course, a ship was a good means of conveyance to Tarsessus in Spain but a ship would be a necessary conveyance in those days if Tarshish were completely surrounded by water. Now, I do not say that it was so — I am merely examining threads to weave a characteristic garment, that’s all. However, it does remind me that there exists a land completely surrounded by water and once known as the Barratanic Islands from whence came the name Brittania and finally Britain. By the way, “Barrantanic Islands” means “Tin Islands” and the tin mines of Cornwall are rather famous, aren’t they? How remarkable! We do not seem to have carried our Tarshish garment around looking for a possible fit. It rather seems that as we held the garment in our hands it filled out with the ethnic groups before our very eyes! Surely the maritime, merchant, mineral, manifold Tarshish garment was leonine in shape. Did it fit an old British lion? Was it also large enough to fit the “young lions thereof,” the now independent nations once reared in the old lion’s lair? U.S.A.,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, possibly India and perhaps others? Rather a fascinating garment we’ve made. Just to finish it off, there are a few threads that relate to individuals, to men bearing the personal names “Tarshish.” These nomenclatural threads are equally revealing because they disclose that the origin of the Tarshish peoples is Japhetic. (Genesis 10:4; I Chronicles 1:7)
This article is an extract from the very popular radio series, “Treasures From Tenach”, which are also transcribed. Both audio (click MP3 tab, then “021possiblenonconformists.mp3”, and transcriptions are available for free download at www.thevineyard.org.au .
Yet another thread found in Isaiah, chapter 66 and verse 19, expressly states that Tarshish is a Gentile nation. Why do I mention this? These important threads are sufficient to choke the wild, unscriptural, unhistorical, anti-Semitic and fantastic so-called “British-Israel” theories, for Israel is Shemitic not Japhetic, and Tarshish is Japhetic. Well, my friends, our Scripture threads have woven an interesting garment and if our method of manufacture has been reasonable and valid then we can understand why, either in parley or in protest, Britain, U.S.A., and our allies should ask of Gog, “Art thou come to take a spoil?” when Russian, satellite Germany and the Arabic confederacy launch the “latter day” invasion of Israel and touch off a drama in which Gog doesn’t figure as the prominent actor but God, He will be the Principal Actor. Dr Lawrence Duff-Forbes (1900–1964) Founding Director of David House Fellowship Inc.
December 2012
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Israeli Device Harnesses Electromagnetic Healing Could MDwave represent the trend of the future for treating everything from ADHD to heart disease without drugs? The same Israeli inventor who brought the world pre-paid phone cards and voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) also had an idea for a portable medical device that could confer the healing properties of low electromagnetic frequencies. Nearly a decade after its conception, MDwave is now inching closer to the marketplace. Based on technology developed by Israel Defense Prize winner Tzvi Kamil, the late head of the Israeli Nuclear Safety Commission, the device is made by the Holon-based company Aerotel. Aerotel’s chief scientist Mickey Scheinowitz tells ISRAEL21c that the small, user-friendly device can treat acute and chronic health conditions including heart disease, migraines, joint pain, gastrointestinal problems and muscle pain by producing a delicate electromagnetic field that restores balanced function to abnormal body cells. “Magnetic fields have been used for more than 20 years in medicine, such as for skin lesions, and were shown to improve the healing of bone fractures,” he and colleagues wrote in a scholarly article on the topic in Annals of Biomedical Engineering. The device is driven by proprietary computer software that can generate a range of frequencies depending on the indication, he says. “We have two concepts — one to be used by therapists in a clinical setting, and another for patients to use at home that’s preprogrammed by a therapist for a specific indication.”
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Balancing input and output The principle that external electromagnetic frequencies can have a healing effect on human cells is at least a century old, says Scheinowitz, but its mechanisms have never been fully understood. Research indicates that the frequencies alter the passages through which substances enter and exit cells. Two clinical trials are now underway in an Israeli hospital. One is an experiment to see if the device is effective against chronic musculoskeletal pain. The other involves patients who suffer from chest pain as a result of too little oxygen reaching the heart through blocked blood vessels. “We know from our research in cell cultures, animals and human volunteers that a 16Hz frequency opens potassium ion channels of cell membranes. Opening these channels reduces the influx of calcium ions, which reduces the need for oxygen – and that is very important for patients with cardiac disease,” says Scheinowitz, an associate professor of physiology in the biomedical engineering program at Tel Aviv University. “Reducing calcium also causes the smooth muscle layer of blood vessels to relax so more blood is being pumped to the heart.” The well-established connection between calcium and heart disease is the reason many cardiac patients take medicines called calcium channel blockers. But pharmaceuticals taken by mouth get distributed systemically and get stored in body tissues, sometimes leading to adverse side effects. MDwave would deliver the desired results in a targeted and transient fashion.
MDwave package.
MDwave therapist unit and PC.
Hope for ADHD? Scheinowitz is also overseeing research on how MDwave could benefit children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “We don’t know the mechanism, but we do know that reducing calcium in the brain may positively affect the neurotransmitters associated with attention deficits,” he says. “We’re now in the process of getting approval in Israel to test this hypothesis on children who are not being treated by Ritalin.” The proposed six-week trial would involve placing MDwave under the child’s head for 20 minutes while he sleeps, and evaluating differences in behavior afterward. Putting to rest fears about the safety of electromagnetic fields, Scheinowitz says, “Our MDwave device generates a field about 1,000 times weaker than that of a cell phone, and is weaker than the geomagnetic field of the earth.” A few more studies must be completed before MDwave could be commercialized. Another round of clinical testing will soon take place in Germany. However, Scheinowitz is
optimistic that the device will become available to cardiac patients by mid-2013. Aerotel Medical Systems, a daughter company of Aerotel founded in 1998, provides solutions for telemedicine, telehealth and telecare applications as well as communication, medical and therapeutic devices. The parent company was founded by Kamil and Eli Nhaissi in 1985. After inventing technology for VOIP and prepaid phone cards, as well as pioneering Israel’s nuclear program, Kamil became interested in frequency medicine. He died suddenly in July 2010, but Nhaissi and Scheinowitz continued perfecting and researching the MDwave device Kamil had spent eight years developing. “This is a promising product from a company that’s already produced interesting and successful products,” sums up Shai Aizin, global director of business development. Abigail Klein Leichman (23 September 2012) Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.mfa.gov.il)
December 2012
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glimpses of ISRAEL glimpses of ISRAEL glimpses of ISRAEL glimpses of ISRAEL
The Shuk
Mahane Yehudah Market, Jerusalem
Top Right: A busy market aisle Centre Right: Dried fruit vendor Above: Deli for Halva, Tahini and Nougat Right: Fresh bread
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Right: Fresh fruit stall Main Image: Herbs and spices
December 2012
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Messiah Antici pated My friends, a Jewish mother was at once amused and amazed when her little son lifted contemplative eyes and remarked “Mama, musn’t God’s feet be beautiful!” When pressed gently to advance his reason for such a conclusion the reply was faultlessly logical — “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings that announces peace, the harbinger of good tidings, that announces salvation.” (Isaiah 52:7) In my dictionary the messenger of the good tidings of salvation is called an evangelist and in previous messages we made the comforting discovery that God Himself was the First Evangelist, the First Missionary, announcing the good tidings of salvation through the Seed of the Woman to our first parents in Eden’s fateful Garden. I refer you to the third chapter of Genesis for the details. In tracing the Biblical line of this promised Seed we made the interesting discovery that all four of Israel’s famous Matriarchs — Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel — were sterile and each was therefore the subject of Divine biological miracle and intervention. The Messianic Tribe of Judah owed its very existence to Birth by Divine Miracle. If the aura of Miracle hangs over the Messianic Tribe how much more should that same feature be expected when that Tribe itself gives birth to the Messiah Himself, the real and promised Seed of the Woman. My friends, one of our modern Jewish philosophers has well written — and here I quote him — “...a distinction must be made between man in his essential nature and man in his ‘fallen’ existential condition, and if this distinction is but for a moment lost sight of, everything is in danger of collapsing into utter confusion.” (Judaism and Modern Man” p. 252, 253, Will Herberg)
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And what of Eve herself? What was the impression First Mother? Well, frankly, I doubt if any of my gracious listeners will be prepa First Mother? Well, frankly, I doubt if any of my amazing reaction the unadorned Scriptures disclose. Allow me to read you the amazing reaction the unadorned Scriptures disclo Genesis 4 verse 1 and follow it with an equally unadorned English translation: Genesis 4 verse 1 and follow it with an equally unad
את־יהוה איש קניתיEdenic והאדם ידע את־חוה אשתו ותהר ותלד את־קין ותאמר How true are the words I have quoted and the conviction that the original therefore how consoling the Divine Edenic ותלד את־קין ותאמר קניתי איש את־יהוה promise of the Seed of the Woman promise of redemption. We shall find that hadman become widely even diffusedHavvah among all his wife; "And the knew and she conceived bore “And the man knew even Havvahand his wife; the gradual unfolding of the mystery of nations. Such diffusion doubtless reflected "And the man knew even Havvah his wife; a and she conceived and bore even Cain, redemption will also be accompanied by and shethe said, "Iyearning have of gotten me a man, even Jehovah.'" innate fallen mankind and she said, “I have gotten me a man, a gradual unveiling of the mystery of the and she "I have gotten me a man, even J longing for harmonious communion with said,even Jehovah.’” Godhead, for it is God Himself Who is revealed a personal God. as “the Redeemer of the World.” These are startling and tremendous words; so It is refreshing to turn away from the startling that mere human comprehension has How will this redemption be accomplished? humid atmosphere of mythology, for “’Tis found it impossible to let the words of Havvah I feel convinced that the pristine Edenic promise an unweeded garden, that grows to seed; have their full grammatical force and meaning, of the Seed of the Woman was interpreted in things rank and gross in nature possess it hence some translations supply words not remote times as involving in some manner a merely.” (Hamlet 1,ii,135) Once again we fill in the original Hebrew; such, for instance, union of Deity with humanity. For a moment our lungs with the pellucid and fragrant air as “I have gotten a man FROM the Lord” or let us leave the God-planted Garden of Eden of Eden from whence the Divine promise “I have gotten a man WITH THE HELP OF the where every form of fruit and foliage fell first sprang. Lord.” The words I have emphasized are not from the hands of God, and let us enter the found in the original text and in my opinion are Shall we seek to ascertain what our first hallucinated hothouse of uncorrected human not justified any more than if the whole verse Parents who received the precious pledge traditions where the original Divine redemptive were translated; thought of it? With the doom of death — promise has suffered such perversion. death spiritual, and its fruit, death physical “And the man knew with the help of In the weird arboretum of mythology, let — now passed upon the fallen pair, what was Havvah his wife and she conceived and us pluck some of the bizarre and grotesque the reaction of Adam to the promise of the bore with the help of Cain and she said fruits which dangle awkwardly from the Seed? Well, obviously he knew that so surely I have gotten me a man with the help trees of unenlightened human imaginings; as DEATH had been in his transgression, so of Jehovah.” although they may differ in colour and shape, surely was LIFE in God’s guarantee for — yet if we extract their juices, we shall find Permit me, therefore, humbly to submit to you after the promise — we read of Adam: “And the same essential flavour — the concept of that this Scripture, unadorned, conveys to the the man called his wife’s name HAVVAH the union of Deity with humanity; a union mind that the words of Havvah clearly imply (EVE); because she was the mother of all achieved either by the apotheosis of man that she thought Cain was God become man LIFES” (Genesis 3:20). ascending to godhood, or by the theanthropy to achieve the redemptive promise which she In Hebrew the word translated Eve in English of a god descending to manhood. Such had received at first hand from God Himself. indicates LIFE and Adam’s eyes of hope were are the juices of the fruits of mythology I believe that which I have suggested was turned towards the right sex when he looked retained largely by the strange fibres of Havvah’s interpretation of the pledge is worthy for LIFE and redemption through the Seed of metempsychosis and transmigration. of our sober respect. Of course she was the Woman. The Hindu mythology included Krishna, Deity mistaken as to identity; but was she mistaken And what of Eve herself? What was the become man crushing the head of the serpent, regarding the means whereby the Eternal impression the promise produced upon while the serpent strikes his heel. So also the would implement His promise? the mind of the First Mother? Well, frankly, mythology of Mexico contributes the concept If I have assessed correctly Havvah’s I doubt if any of my gracious listeners will of the highest god become incarnate through expectations in the Edenic promise, then be prepared for the amazing reaction the a human mother. I invite you to observe that this was no mere unadorned Scriptures disclose. Allow me When we reduce the wild vagaries and theophany she was expecting — no mere to read you the Hebrew of Genesis 4 verse fantasies of heathendom down to their appearance of God as He had appeared later 1 and follow it with an equally unadorned essential suggestion we are forced to to Abraham at Mamre, to Jacob at Peniel, to English translation: December 2012
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Moses at Sinai, to Joshua near Jericho, to Isaiah in the Temple, or to Manoah and his wife. No, she was not expecting theophany. She was expecting Incarnation — Deity enveloped in pure humanity via human birth! In my Message No. 29 I quoted the Jerusalem Targum on the Messianic import of the amazing Scripture, Genesis 3:15. Allow me to quote the Targum once again: “... but there shall be a remedy for the children of the woman, but for thee, O serpent, there shall be no remedy for hereafter they shall to each other perform a healing in the heel in the latter end of the days, in the days of King Messiah.” Havvah sees Deity Incarnate; our early Jewish commentators see the same promise as ‘relating to the Chosen Person, the Messiah; and our early Rabbinical writings make much use of the typical relationship Adam to the promised Messiah: “Quemadmodum homo primus fuit primus in peccato, sic Messias erit ultimus ad auferendum peccatum penitus. And Adamus postremus est Messias.” Such is the quotation which could be translated: “In what manner the first man was first in transgression, so Messiah will be last in bearing away transgression innerward. And the Last Adam is Messiah.” Yes, my friends, this is undoubtedly the early Jewish concept of the Edenic promise of redemption through the Seed of the Woman. The Seed of the Woman is the Messiah. But does this necessarily imply Deity incarnate? Dr Lawrence Duff-Forbes (1900–1964) Founding Director of David House Fellowship Inc. This article is an extract from the very popular radio series, “Treasures From Tenach”, which are also transcribed. Both audio (click MP3 tab, then “037messiahanticipated.mp3”, and transcriptions are available for free download at www.thevineyard.org.au .
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Better Air’s BioZone system boosts a building’s immunity to bacteria, mold and dust mites. Photo: Courtesy Israel21C (www.israel21c.org).
Israeli salve for sick buildings The Better Air system infuses indoor air with probiotics, leaving no room for germs and allergens to cause illness and body odor. House mold, smelly armpits, dust mites, “sick building syndrome” and hospitalborne bacterial infections now face tough competition: Israeli startup Better Air has developed a novel air filtration system that uses millions of “good” bacteria called probiotics to overtake the “bad” bacteria and their associated contaminants infiltrating indoor living, healing and workspaces. Like the probiotics we ingest to promote good gut health, Better Air’s BioZone system uses a similar good bacteria to keep out the unwanted bacteria and related allergens that can cause sickness, infection and foul odor in homes, offices, hospitals – and even on bodies. Better Air co-founder Yuli Horesh became interested in the field of bacteria, when his grandmother died as a result of a rare hospital-borne bacterial infection. Horesh was determined to do something about the rising incidence of fatal hospitalacquired infections, and the effects of sick buildings. The technology he adopted, based on research at Ghent University in Belgium, can be a paradigm shifter.
Instead of trying to kill all bacteria – a losing and even counterproductive battle – BioZone promote good bacteria in indoor spaces, leaving no room for the bad ones to grow and flourish. “We took the concept of using probiotics to take over a space and applied it to one of the major problems today: sick building syndrome. People are sitting in buildings with mixed bacteria where all the mechanized systems are bringing the outside in, and mixing it with humidity and dirt. What we get basically is a laboratory growing inside the air-conditioning ducts,” Horesh tells ISRAEL21c. “For the past four years we’ve been testing various combinations and applications and came up with the best technology that actually takes over the microbiological growth in the ducts and defines the area [in a new way],” he explains.
An under-the-arm solution Better Air is working in two directions to promote its technology. One is customized solutions for hospitals and large office buildings. BioZone is already installed in Israeli hospitals and in the Dizengoff Center mall in Tel Aviv. The company is helping to rehab a notorious “sick” building in Jerusalem previously occupied by the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Better Air has also signed on with partners to open subsidiaries in various countries. In another direction, the company is building small home-based plug-and-play purifiers that sit near the air intake of heating or
air-conditioning systems. These units should be available for sale by the end of the year. BioZone works with food-grade probiotics purchased from the United States, suspended in a gas so they can be dispersed in areas where unhealthful bacteria are growing. The system must be replenished every month to six months, depending on usage and the size of the building. Horesh explains, “Our trick is this: Bacteria have a language called ‘quorum sensing.’ This means in a certain amount of space, let’s say ‘x,’ there will always be a ‘y’ amount of bacteria — never more.” BioZone quantifies the area and disperses exactly the right amount of probiotics necessary. In essence, the good bacteria forces out the bad. And the loss of negative bacteria also indirectly puts a lid on the growth of mites and other house-borne pathogens such as mold. Horesh says that BioZone also helps banish body odor in enclosed spaces, because the odor is caused by bad bacteria. Better Air, based in Tel Aviv, employs 14 people. The company was founded in 2011 by Horesh, Mike Hoffman and Shai Kutner with about $2 million in private funding, and is seeking an investment of up to $5 million. Karin Kloosterman September 13, 2012 Courtesy Israel21C (www.israel21c.org)
December 2012
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The
Panoramic
Nexus
my dear friends, in immediate past messages we have spent many enlightening hours together in mutual exploration of the wonderful prophecies of Ezekiel in that book in Tenach — the Old Testament — bearing the great prophet’s name. Because we are now about to penetrate into new areas in search of further treasures from Tenach, it seems to me that this is the very place to spread out before us, in this one single message, the treasures we have accumulated in the preceding discoverative discourses. What has been revealed to us so far? 1. Well, we found that there is such a phenomenon as Divine predictive prophecy, and we both illustrated and demonstrated this fact by placing side by side the Scriptures of Israel and the history of Israel. 2. Another arresting discovery we made was that a restoration of the people of Israel to the land of Israel is clearly within the content of that Divine predictive prophecy, and through the eyes of Ezekiel we viewed the restored people dwelling at rest in the restored land. 3. Then you will remember, I hope, there was disclosed to us a cheering and delightful treasure. The hope of the predicted restoration of Israel was not founded upon Moses and the Torah but upon a Divine promise given to our father Abraham when he was yet in uncircumcision. This was such an unexpected revelation that we were granted the very assurance of our great Moses himself to aid us in its acceptance and we therefore gazed at his words in Vayikra (Leviticus), chapter twenty-six, with no small measure of astonishment.
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4. A fourth treasure we unearthed was one over which there had accumulated so many layers of the dross of sophistication, scepticism and spuriousness that it came near to being overlooked entirely; it was the treasure of the Divine promise to Israel of a Shepherd Prince bearing the imperishable and illustrious name David. This Being we identified as the promised, personal Messiah of Israel. This great Being is linked with Israel’s restoration “in the latter days,” and His Person and relationship to Israel and, indeed, to all humanity is of such paramount importance that, in future messages, I shall seek to restore to our possession this treasure so exceedingly valuable. 5. Then the prophet Ezekiel caused us to lift our eyes from restored Israel and to give our attention instead to an evil anti-theocratic monster lurking threateningly in regions north of the Holy Land. This monstrous monument of menace to Israel, and indeed to the whole world, is known scripturally as Gog. Gathering around him nations which included Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Togarmah, Paras, Cush and Put, like some loathsome and repulsive spider, Gog begins to weave an encircling web of menace around the restored and unprotected little nation of Israel. 6. Other ethnic groups known as Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish either protest against this unfolding and enfolding web or inquire regarding it. 7. Suddenly the northern spider springs towards its prey only to be crushed and destroyed under the iron heel of a Divine intervention so obviously supernatural in manifestation that even a sceptical world is convinced that there is a God Who rules and overrules in the affairs of men and nations. 8. Such, my friends, were the Treasures from Tenach we discovered in our past messages and which rang down the curtain on the Divine drama of predictive prophecy in the sphere in which we were investigating it. Now very naturally our interest became excited as we viewed a prophetic spectacle which could
and would have challenged the combined technical and creative resources of the modern motion picture industry to portray it.
of Gog and his partisans as modern Soviet Russia, satellite Germany and a Pan-Islamic Arabic Confederacy encircling restored Israel.
But more. We were stabbed into intense inquiry when, silhouetted against the spectacular and colourful horizon of Divine predictive prophecy, we saw the State of Israel, Medinat Yisrael, as it exists today.
Further deductions prompted us to consider Sheba, Dedan and Tarshish as Arabian countries in sympathetic association with the British Commonwealth of Nations and U.S.A. who either parley or protest in the situation. In advancing this suggestion, we were very careful to point out, and divorce ourselves entirely from, the perils of the unscriptural, unhistorical, anti-Semitic, so-called “BritishIsrael” theories with which we are in the most hearty disagreement.
Was there a possible or potential relationship between the prophecies and the present? After all, Israel was back in the land and north of him was a great, godless, anti-theocratic power menacing not only Israel but, as I said, all the world. Realising the importance of our inquiries, you will recall that it was right here — right at this point — we broke our subject into two distinct sections just as clearly as splitting an apple into two halves. The first section had been restricted to setting forth what the Divine Scriptures actually declared; the second section was marked off as an area in which we felt at liberty to express our fallible human opinions provided, of course, we acknowledged them to be such. In the first section we dogmatised perhaps just a little; in the second section we deduced a lot.
Thus we sought to identify the seat and circumstance of restored Israel’s menace and we feel we have produced for your careful consideration a total presentation which will commend itself to you as being worthy of your calm and intelligent and perhaps unemotional regard.
Within the luminous circumference of express Scripture revelation we may roam through spiritual parklands of positive perspectives, distinct and definite enough, not only to satisfy the most galvanic dogmatist, but also to justify his explosive positivism within its vast and assuring precincts.
I am encouraged to feel I have kept this promise because of the warmth and approval you have so graciously expressed in your letters to me.
When, however, we lift the latch of this area and pass beyond Divine revelation into the lesser realms of human opinion and deduction — realms quite desirable and legitimate, again, where recognised as such — certainty must cease; positivism must pause; fanaticism must fade, and dogmatism must curl up on its mat and doze.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.”
Recognising the region of human speculation into which we had emerged, we ventured to suggest — just suggest — to you lines of deduction which pointed to the possible identity
When I began this adventure into the Ezekiel prophecies I solicited the privilege of your company by promising you I would endeavour to avoid unwarranted sensationalism and unworthy extravagance and seek to lead your thoughts along sober and trustworthy highways.
“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
Dr Lawrence Duff-Forbes (1900–1964) Founding Director of David House Fellowship Inc. This article is an extract from the very popular radio series, “Treasures From Tenach”, which are also transcribed. Both audio (click MP3 tab, then “022panoramicnexus.mp3”, and transcriptions are available for free download at www.thevineyard.org.au .
December 2012
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The Vineyard Vol 54, No 11 December 2012
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6 All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Readers please note we do not publish a January edition.