SHALOM!

(More Information to be added….)

THE MENORAH a.k.a The GOLDEN LAMPSTAND

The following song is very much related to this teaching and it is lovely:

 

 

Also check out the teaching on the FIRE OF YAH by clicking here.

 

QUESTIONS TO PONDER UPON

Why is the Menorah / Golden Lampstand made the way it is?

Why does it have seven branches?

Why does it have to be made out of one piece of hammered work?

Why is it golden?

What is its significance?

Genesis 1:3-5 Names of God Bible (NOG)

The Creation

 

³ Then Elohim said, “Let there be light!” So there was light. ⁴ Elohimsaw the light was good. So Elohim separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ Elohim named the light day, and the darkness he named night. There was evening, then morning—the first day.

 

The very first thing YAH/ELOHIM (a.k.a GOD THE HOLY TRINITY) ever created was LIGHT. Note that Darness had already existed before that. This creation event happened on the very first day of the week which in today’s terms is Sunday.

Why is LIGHT so important to YAH?

Note that even in John 1, it  does not take long before LIGHT is mentioned or talked about.

John 1:1-4 Names of God Bible (NOG)

The Word Becomes Human

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was already with God in the beginning.

³ Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.

⁴ He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.

⁵ The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.^[a]

In the 4th verse of this Chapter we see the mention of LIGHT just like we do in the 4th verse of Genesis 1.

The LIGHT OF YAH is extremely crucial! As a result of the darkness seen in Genesis 1, the world was formless or full of chaos. This implies that where there is YAH’S LIGHT, there is no chaos!!!

Perhaps this is why the very first thing which YAH created was LIGHT so as to diffuse the chaos. Interestingly enough YAH sends babies to earth with a purpose. HIS purpose is to fight against the spiritual darkness that has taken over the world through Satan. Mankind allowed this darkness to come into the world by agreeing with Satan to sin against YAH. Notice that there is so much chaos in this world. Mankind is always blaming YAH/ELOHIM (a.k.a GOD) for all the chaos (like accidents, suffering, pain, poverty, murder, etc) with the lack of understanding that it is not YAH’S fault at all but rather mankind’s. The door has been opened for darkness to be the prince of this world, that is to say Satan. We have been empowered by YAH to overcome that darkness with HIS help!!! The darkness can not totally be rid of for now but it will be rid of after the Great Tribulation. In the meantime, we have work to do as YAHUSHUA’S Ambassadors. YAHUSHUA suffered at the and of the darkness. We too are suffer just like HE did. We can not avoid it completely as long as we are still in this world at present.

 

Psalm 119:105 Names of God Bible (NOG)

(S: iii) ³¹ “You are to make a menorah of pure gold. It is to be made of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, ring of outer leaves and petals are to be of one piece with it.

compare the two versions:

 

Exodus 25:31 Names of God Bible (NOG)

The Lamp Stand

³¹ “Make a lamp stand out of pure gold. The lamp stand, its base, and its shaft, as well as the flower cups, buds, and petals must be hammered out of one piece of gold.

 

The three main symbolisms of the MENORAH are as follows:

• SEVEN SPIRITS OF YAH (Isaiah 11)

 

• TREE OF LIFE (Genesis 3; John 14:6; Revelation 22)

John 14:6-7 Names of God Bible (NOG)

⁶ Yeshua answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you know him through me and have seen him in me.”

• LIGHT (John 1; John 8)

John 8:12 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jesus Speaks with the Pharisees about His Father

¹² Yeshua spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have a life filled with light and will never live in the dark.”

 

• THE VINE (John 15)

John 15:5 Names of God Bible (NOG)

⁵ “I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me.

Note that YAHUSHUA is The TREE OF LIFE, LIGHT and VINE!

 

The following video is highly recommended for watching so as to hear some deeper insights into the implications of this Feast as well as the symbols associated with it:

 

 

 

The MENORAH has a great SIGNIFICANCE IN THE KINGDOM OF YAH!!! It is important for every Believer in and Follower of YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH to learn about the importance and great significance of YAH’S MENORAH because with a SPIRITUAL MENORAH, we are unable to see where we are going and/or coming from. See the following Holy Scripture.

 

Read:

Revelation 2:1-7 Names of God Bible (NOG)

A Letter to the Church in Ephesus

 

compare the two versions:

Revelation 2:1-7 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

2 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Ephesus, write: ‘Here is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven gold menorahs: ² “I know what you have been doing, how hard you have worked, how you have persevered, and how you can’t stand wicked people; so you tested those who call themselves emissaries but aren’t — and you found them to be liars. ³ You are persevering, and you have suffered for my sake without growing weary. ⁴ But I have this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. ⁵ Therefore, remember where you were before you fell, turn from this sin, and do what you used to do before. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your menorah from its place — if you don’t turn from your sin! ⁶ But you have this in your favor: you hate what the Nicolaitans do — I hate it too. ⁷ Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. To him winning the victory I will give the right to eat from the Tree of Life which is in God’s Gan-‘Eden.”’

 

If YAHUSHUA took their MENORAHS / GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS away, they would be left in darkness hence being spiritually blind. They would be exposed to Satan’s evil and will most likely not be able to enter the HEAVENS again.

 

In Psalm 119:105, we see the word MENORAH appear again as seen below:

Psalm 119:105 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

נ (Nun)

 

THE LAMP GUIDES THE FEET while the LIGHT EXPOSES THE FOOTPATH (AHEAD OF US).

THE LAMP = YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH = THE TORAH / YAH’S WORD

THE LIGHT = YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH = THE TORAH / YAH’S WORD

 

The Menorah =

(symbolic of ) YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH

The LAMP & LIGHT OF THE WORLD

The LAMP THAT GUIDES OUR FEET ONTO THE RIGHT PATH

(Psalm 119:105; Matthew 25:1-13; John 1:7-9; John 8:12)

 

YAHUSHUA IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!!!

John 8:12 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

¹² Yeshua (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.”

 

WE ARE LITTLE AMBASSADORS OF YAH IN THIS WORLD!

YAH HAS GIVEN US SOMETHING SPECIAL TO DWELL INSIDE OF US THAT REPRESENTS HIM AS BELIEVERS IN AND FOLLOWERS OF YAHUSHUA TO SPEAK OF HIM TO NON-BELIEVERS:

Matthew 5:14-16 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

¹⁴ “You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

 

YAHUSHUA = THE WORD OF YAH = THE TRUE LIGHT WHICH GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE ENTERING THE WORLD

John 1:1-17 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 In the beginning was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.
²     He was with God in the beginning.

³ All things came to be through him,
    and without him nothing made had being.

⁴ In him was life,
    and the life was the light of mankind.

⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not suppressed it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was Yochanan. ⁷ He came to be a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light; so that through him, everyone might put his trust in God and be faithful to him. ⁸ He himself was not that light; no, he came to bear witness concerning the light.

⁹ This was the true light,
    which gives light to everyone entering the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world — the world came to be through him —
    yet the world did not know him.

¹¹ He came to his own homeland,
    yet his own people did not receive him.

¹² But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ not because of bloodline, physical impulse or human intention, but because of God.

¹⁴ The Word became a human being and lived with us,
    and we saw his Sh’khinah,
the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son,
    full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ Yochanan witnessed concerning him when he cried out, “This is the man I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”

¹⁶ We have all received from his fullness,
    yes, grace upon grace.

Note that LAMPS, LIGHT AND OIL GOT TOGETHER!

We therefore can’t talk about one without talking about the other.

 

WITHOUT OIL,  WE CAN’T HAVE LIGHT!!!

EVERY LAMP NEEDS OIL.

WHAT IS OIL A SYMBOL OF?

Exodus 27:20-21 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Oil for the Lamps

 ²⁰ You shall command the Israelites to bring you clear OIL of crushed olives, to be used for the LIGHT, so that you may keep LAMPS burning always. ²¹ From evening to morning Aaron and his sons shall maintain them before the Lord in the tent of meeting, outside the veil which hangs in front of the covenant. This shall be a perpetual statute for the Israelites throughout their generations.

This scripture can be compared to:

 

Matthew 25:1-13 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

THE PARABLE OF THE TEN BRIDES / VIRGINS

25 “The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN at that time will be like ten bridesmaids who took their LAMPS (MENORAHS which represent YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) and went out to meet the GROOM (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH). ² Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. ³ The foolish ones took LAMPS (MENORAHS in Hebrew. They represent YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) with them but no OIL, ⁴ whereas the others took flasks of OIL (OIL FROM THE RUACH HA KODESH / HOLY SPIRIT) with their LAMPS (MENORAHS which represent YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH). ⁵ Now the BRIDEGROOM (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) was late, so they all went to sleep. ⁶ It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, ‘The BRIDEGROOM (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) is here! Go out to meet him!’ ⁷ The girls all woke up and prepared their LAMPS (MENORAHS) for lighting. ⁸ The FOOLISH ONES (Some Bride of YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) said to the SENSIBLE ONES (Some BRIDE OF YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH), ‘Give us some of your OIL (OIL OF THE RUACH HA KODESH / HOLY SPIRIT), because our LAMPS (MENORAHS which represent YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) are going out.’ ⁹ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both you and us. Go to the OIL dealers (RUACH HA KODESH / HOLY SPIRIT) and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ But as they were going off to buy, the BRIDGEGROOM (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACHY) came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later, the other BRIDESMAIDS (BRIDE OF YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH) came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they cried, ‘Let us in!’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Indeed! I tell you, I don’t know you!’ ¹³ So stay alert, because you know neither the day nor the hour.

 

The TWO WITNESSES are symbolised as The TWO GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS (a.k.a MENORAH) before the The THRONE OF YAH in the Heavens!

 

Revelation 11:3-4 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

The Two Witnesses

³ “Also I will give power to my two witnesses; and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two menorahs standing before the Lord of the earth.

 

The Two Witnesses are depicted a little differently in Zechariah 4 but roughly the same thing is seen and that is MENORAH / GOLDEN LAMPSTAND and TWO OLIVE TREES.

Why are they referred to as MENORAHS before YAHUVEH / YAHWEH GOD in the Heavens?

 

Zechariah 4 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

4 Then the angel that had been speaking with me returned and roused me, as if he were waking someone up from being asleep, ² and asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I’ve been looking at a menorah; it’s all of gold, with a bowl at its top, seven lamps on it, and seven tubes leading to the lamps at its top. ³ Next to it are two olive trees, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left.” ⁴ I then asked the angel speaking with me, “What are these, my Lord?” The angel speaking with me said, ⁵ “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my Lord.” ⁶ Then he answered me, “This is the word of Adonai to Z’rubavel: ‘Not by force, and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot. ⁷ ‘What are you, you big mountain? Before Z’rubavel you will become a plain; and he will put the capstone in place, as everyone shouts, “It’s beautiful! Beautiful!”’ ⁸ This message from Adonai came to me: ⁹ ‘The hands of Z’rubavel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will also finish it.’ Then you will know that Adonai-Tzva’ot sent me to you. ¹⁰ For even someone who doesn’t think much of a day when such minor events take place will rejoice at seeing the plumbline in the hand of Z’rubavel. So these seven are the eyes of Adonai that range about over all the earth.”

¹¹ I replied by asking him, “What are those two olive trees on the right and left sides of the menorah?” ¹² Then I asked the question again: “What are those two olive branches discharging gold[-colored oil] through the two gold spouts?” ¹³ He replied, “Don’t you know what they are?” I answered, “No, my Lord.” ¹⁴ He said, “Those are the two who have been anointed with oil; they are standing with the Lord of all the land.”

 

Furthermore, the MIRACLE OF OIL FOR THE MENORAH PROVISION IN THE TEMPLE OF YAH (GOD) during the Feast of Hannukah/Dedication/Lights. In the story of the Maccabees (1st & 2nd Books of the Maccabees), we see The Maccabees RE-DEDICATE YAH’S (GOD’S) TEMPLE to HIM. One of the things they did was to light the MENORAH however, they lacked enough oil to keep the MENORAH lit. Remember that in the Book of Exodus, YAH commanded them never to allow / let the light of the MENORAH to be put out completely after YAH lit it for them for the very first time! Sadly, the Jewish Israelites only had OIL enough for one day. During the time of the Maccabees, they had been fighting against the invasion of Antiochus, the Assyrian Greek King who had taken over their land and forced them to worship idols plus eat food sacrificed to idols. They were not in a position to produce OIL from ALMOND BUDS as usual. Interestingly enough, YAH kept the MENORAH LIGHT LIT for 8 more days. 

This shows how important the MENORAH was to YAH. It was the ONLY LIGHT AVAILABLE IN THE TABERNACLE AND THE TEMPLE OF YAH.

Remember that in the Book of Revelation, YAH says that in HEAVEN, YAH will be OUR LIGHT! There will be no sun or moon or stars and no need for them either because YAH’S LIGHT AND GLORY WILL BE SUFFICIENT!

The LIGHT emitted by the MENORAH is YAHUSHUA who is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD as seen in John 8. Additionally, YAHUSHUA is also the MENORAH! The OIL that was constantly added by the PRIESTS (LEVITES) was representative of RUACH HA KODESH (a.k.a HOLY SPIRIT).

We need both the LAMP, THE OIL AND THE LIGHT in order to see our way in this very spiritually dark world / wilderness.

WE CAN NOT EMIT YAH’S LIGHT OUTSIDE OF YAHUSHUA who is also OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST. He says in John 14 that HE is THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, no-one can come to the FATHER except through HIM. If we ABIDE IN YAHUSHUA, then we can emit the same LIGHT OF YAH and be able to dwell in YAH’S PRESENCE FOR ETERNITY.

YAH cannot stand darkness and darkness cannot stand YAH and HIS LIGHT!!!

Read the scriptures below as they back what I have just said:

 

John 15:5-8 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

⁵ “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. ⁶ Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.

⁷ “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. ⁸ This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.

 

Some more useful information…

The following is a Teaching Pastor Jim Staley. I found it to be very useful so I just copied and pasted it onto this page:

When we think of light, we often think of light bulbs, turning on the light, no darkness, et cetera. Our western minds quickly go to the most familiar part of what light is to us. But if you lived in the first century, the word “light” brought a single word to mind….fire. Fire was the origin of light in their world; the two words were almost synonymous. Fire is the origin and light is simply the result of the fire’s existence. In this article I would like to share a little of the power of this word and make a few connections to not only the scriptures but also to how it can apply to our lives.

Light, or fire, is the central focus of the story during the Festival of Lights, better known as Hanukkah, the time when the Messiah was conceived. This focus hones in on the cleansing of the temple following the Greek occupation and bringing back the golden menorah to once again light it. As believers, we all need to kick the enemy out of our lives and do our best to keep our temples clean and the light of God shining bright. That’s what causes us to emanate light to all those around us. It’s the “fire of God.” So let’s take a look at this fire and see if we can’t track it through scripture.

The first place I’d like to go is Exodus chapter 3, the infamous burning bush. When this scene takes place, the people of God had been without any communication from Him since they’d gotten to Egypt over four hundred years earlier. They’d forgotten who He was and even forgot His name. God decided to reintroduce Himself to His people through Moses at this burning bush. Let’s take a look.

Exodus 3:2

“And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.”

QUESTION: Why did Yahweh decide to introduce Himself through a burning bush? What was the point of the fire? Would it not have still completely flipped Moses’ lid if He would have started talking through a rock or even one of the sheep? Or even just the bush itself? Why the fire? What is He saying by choosing these symbols? We know He’s a great teacher and is constantly using creation to teach us things, so what is He trying to teach us here?

In this passage, Yahweh is connecting His “holy ground” and His very presence to two items: fire and a certain kind of bush or tree. And this is not the first time that God personifies Himself as fire. In Genesis 15, when He makes the covenant with Abraham, He passes through the midst of the pieces of the covenant as a smoking oven and a burning torch. Smoke and fire. Then He introduces himself to Moses in the same way. Then the first time He introduces Himself to the children of Israel it is again through fire and smoke. His very presence is connected to spiritual fire that produces spiritual light. He’s telling us that the presence of God is found in the fire of God, which, in turn, produces the light of God. Incredibly, we even know when this light first entered our space-time continuum.

 

Genesis 1:3

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.”

We know that the sun, moon and stars do not get created until the fourth day. So what is this light that is created on the first day? The sages say that it is none other than the light of the Mashiach. This was the moment that the Light of God, the “Word” of John 1:1, was brought into our earth realm. It would be that “Light,” that celestial fire of God, that would begin to tabernacle among men in the form of fire and the Angel of the LORD, and it would be that same fire that would eventually take on a different form. It would not be fire, but flesh. The fire of the living God would now walk among us and teach us how to be the light of the world. It would be His fire that would light our temples for all the world to see.

 

THE PARABLE OF THE TREES

Let’s move on over to Judges and see if we can’t discover a connection between how God reveals Himself to Moses in the burning bush and this parable about the trees. In it, the setting is the city of Shechem. This could not be more fitting as Shechem, meaning “between the shoulders,” is rich with historical significance. It is the very first place that Abraham set up an altar to the Lord when he came into the Promised Land. It was in Shechem that Jacob purchased some land that his sons used to feed the flock. Jacob also built an altar there. Joseph was buried here. And this is the very place where half the tribes of Israel stood on Mt. Gerezim and the other half on Mt. Ebal (the two shoulders) while Joshua charged them with the covenant of Yahweh when they entered the Land. This spot is THE place where the covenant was made and reaffirmed. The valley between the two shoulders (mountains) was the very heart of Shechem. And it is from this place, this Messianic prophecy of the future reign of the Messiah, that the parable of the trees is told. Let’s read it.

Judges 9:7-15

The Parable of the Trees

Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them:

“Listen to me, you men of Shechem,

That God may listen to you!

“The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’

But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I cease giving my oil, with which they honor God and men, and go to sway over trees?’

“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us!’

But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over trees?’

“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us!’

But the vine said to them, ‘Should I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men,

And go to sway over trees?’

“Then all the trees said to the bramble,

‘You come and reign over us!’

And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come and take shelter in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon!’

 

As most of you know, trees represent people in scripture. So none of the trees (people) wanted to be king over the rest. They each had their own selfish agendas and reasons for not wanting that position. But the bramble only asked that they take shelter in its shade, for if they did not, the FIRE would come out of it and consume them. Ladies and gentleman, it is not by accident that fire is referenced here and that it’s coming out of the bramble tree.

If you go to Israel, what you will discover is that the bramble tree is not a very big tree at all. Actually, most trees in Israel are what we in America would refer to as oversized bushes. The bramble tree is about 10-12 feet tall and its limbs come down almost to the ground. You have to know this for the story to really come to life.

QUESTION: If the bramble is the king of all the trees, it has to be treated like one. And what do you do when you come into the presence of a king?

You prostrate yourself. And if you’re going to get under the shade of the bramble tree and its branches reach almost to the ground, what do you have to do? You have to get on your hands and knees and crawl under them. He who chooses not to humble himself before the king of the trees will be consumed by its fire. It’s also interesting that the natural leaves of this tree are fiery red when at full bloom. It will also further interest you to discover that THIS is the tree the Romans used to create a crown of thorns for Yeshua’s head! It was branches from the bramble tree that were placed on the head of our Messiah to crown Him King of the rest of the trees! But what’s truly incredible is how all this relates to our original story of the burning “bush.”

But why did that fire have to come out of the bramble? Because fire is the presence of God, and anyone who does not come to the King and bow in humble submission to Him will be consumed by Him. Remember the two sons of Aaron who were destroyed by fire because they came before the King profanely? Our God is an all-consuming fire. His spiritual fire consumes all that stands before Him that is unholy. This is why Moses had to take his sandals off when standing before the burning bush.

Exodus 3:2 says that the Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses through the “burning bush.” But was it really just any old bush that God chose to speak through or was He very careful in which kind He chose? A deeper look into the Hebrew shows us exactly what kind of tree it actually was. And knowing that will tell us exactly why He chose that tree to begin with.

The Hebrew word for “bush” in Exodus 3:2 is “seneh.” Even the Strong’s Concordance states that a seneh is literally a bramble bush, a thorny bush. This is amazing to me as the burning bush was, in fact, the very bramble tree from Judges, the tree that rules over the entire earth as Messiah! The Angel of the LORD was not speaking from just any old tree. We can track it to be the very Word of Yahweh that comes in human form as Yeshua. God was actually choosing this tree because prophetically, it is this tree that will be used to cover the brow of the King of kings, who is prophesied to be the ruler of the whole earth, making the physical bramble tree the most important tree that has ever lived. The fire of the living God would come from an unloved, thorny bush that was mainly used for kindling. Kindling is used to start fires. And what a fire was started when the King rose from the grave so many years ago!

Now that we know that the fire of God is His very presence which purifies, protects, and judges, we can now make sense of many more familiar scriptures such as the pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the Wilderness. That spiritual fire that surrounded the Most High was none other than the presence or, in Hebrew, the paneem (face) of God. It was His presence that would guide them through the difficult Wilderness journey. It helps us understand what really happened on Mt. Carmel when the fire of God came down and consumed the sacrifice and the water around it for Elijah. It was the glory and presence of His very nature that came and purified, protected, and brought power to the situation. It explains for us why the chariot that took Elijah up in a whirlwind was a chariot of fire; the presence of Yahweh had fully consumed him. The flaming swords that protected the Tree of Life in the Garden? Why fire? They were yielding the very presence of God in the form of swords. It was the essence of the Creator in the swords that gave them authority and power. And it is on this last note that I would like to expand a bit as we travel this subject into the Brit Hadahshah, the New Testament.

The significance of this topic finds its gravity in the third chapter of Luke.

 

Luke 3:16

John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Have you ever wondered why “fire”? It’s the same fire from the first day of Creation that reintroduces Himself at the burning bramble bush, with the chariot of fire…all the way until here in Luke where John, who understands this fire completely, tells us that the blazing sword of the Garden has come. Where John immersed people in water, Yeshua would immerse those who would call on His name with the very presence that comes from the inner chambers of the temple in the heavens. The very “face” of God would no longer be found on the outside, like a pillar to be followed, but would now reside on the inside of this newly-resurrected temple, giving us direction from the inside. A fire that no one can quench but the person themselves. This new temple is beautifully exemplified for us in Acts chapter 2. The disciples are in the famous upper room on Shavuot/Pentecost and the Holy Spirit comes in like a rushing wind and fills the room.

 

Acts 2:3

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Sprit gave them utterance.

And there’s the fire again! The same fire that hovered over the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, declaring the legitimacy of the habitation, is now hovering over the originally-intended tabernacle of the actual person, declaring once and for all that this is where the Holy One desires to live. The sign of His presence was once and for all given to all those who believed.

My friends, the parallels, examples, and connections could go on and on, so I will just leave you with one more that I believe might be the most important:

 

Ephesians 6:16-17

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This scripture comes right after verse 12 and tells us that we do not fight against flesh and blood but against the evil ruler in high places. And what does it tell us that we need to use to fight against them? The shield of faith and the sword of the Word of God. The sword of the Spirit is the very same fiery sword that was given to the angels in the Garden of Eden to protect the Tree of Life! The sword of the Spirit is the tongues of fire that baptized the disciples in the upper room. It is the word of the Living God! It is the TRUTH, which brings the presence of God into the earth realm so that it can purify, protect, and give power to all it comes into contact with. When we know the Word, we have, in effect, more of the fire. When we know His heart, we are given the authority to actually use the fiery sword. A person that knows the truth but does not know the heart of God behind it is playing with “fire” and is very dangerous.

In conclusion, to “be on fire for God” is to be in His presence and to yield to the Holy refinement that comes with His presence. Whether He is choosing to refine you from a well-furnished penthouse in Manhattan or from within the walls of a prison, if you seek His face, you are seeking His presence. If you are seeking His presence, you are asking for His fire. If you are seeking His fire, then you should not think it strange when you begin to feel uncomfortable. For those that choose to come close to the very face of God might get pricked by the bramble thorns that are against his brow.

Be a light to your world. Let the power and the love of His fire penetrate you to the core and may His presence draw all those around you to bow before the Tree of trees.

 

Shalom,
Jim Staley