Kingdom Come

Jerusalem is God’s embassy on earth from which his appointed ambassadors could minister the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

“Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there…for all the earth is mine.“ (I Kings 11:36, Exodus 19:5)

This is located at the entrance to the garden of Eden which was flooded under the Mediterranean Sea.

“the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden…and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep / guard the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:22-24)

The gateway to the garden is where the Adams would have continued making the blood sacrifice for sin as taught by YHVH. And this activity would be the defining attribute / way / name of this place for all time, as described in the meaning of the name Jerusalem.

In a previous post we reviewed how the noun identifying a person, place, or thing is the conversion of the verb describing the actions associated with that entity. An analysis of the name ‘Jerusalem’ (where the English J is a Y in Hebrew), enlightens our understanding of the function of this city.

The forms ירה (yrh) and ירא (yr’) …reflect an exchange of energy from a higher, dispensing level to a lower, receiving level. It appears that the form ירה (yrh) mostly describes the sending of the energy; either the exchange viewed from the perspective of the dispensing side, or else the shock-free absorption of the energy on the receiving side. The form ירא (yr’) appears to deal mostly with the receiving of the energy; the exchange viewed from the perspective of the receiving side, and that usually with the anticipation of intense alteration.

The general meaning of the graceful verb שלם (shalem) is that of wholeness, completeness or “unbrokenness” (and see for the opposite the verb רעע, ra’a)…

In the Hebrew language it’s quite simple to indicate not only a condition (like shalem), but also the means to get there (to “shalemize”). The usage of this shalemize form in Scriptures is quite revealing. Wholeness is achieved or restored most often by some kind of restitutory payment or covenant…shalem is used when vows are to be paid to the Most High, or when days of mourning are to be completed (Isaiah 60:20), and ties in directly to the Messiah and his salvific work (Joel 2:25).

The derivatives of this verb are:

• The famous masculine noun שלום (shalom), meaning peace (Isaiah 32:17). Peace in the Bible doesn’t just indicate a warless state, but rather a state of completeness and harmony or rather un-dividedness. It also covers completeness (Jeremiah 13:19), prosperity (Genesis 43:27), health and safety (Psalm 38:4).
• The masculine noun שלם (shelem) peace offering or a sacrifice for alliance or friendship (Amos 5:22, Exodus 24:5).
• The denominative verb שלם (shalam), meaning to be in a covenant of peace (Job 22:21, Isaiah 42:19).

Peace and how to make it..

Peace — defined as the absence of conflict or discord — may be achieved in…such a level of understanding of irreconcilable elements that these can be…joined, in…a unified theory or system of definition. This process requires no censoring and demonstrates all elements to be most intimately related to the identity of the whole. The key-word of this process is relationship. That’s what this root means.

In Hebrew, peace-making means whole-making, and not warm-fuzzy-deny-your-concerns-and-stop-being-difficult-making. Hebrew peace-making requires the effortful acquisition of intimate knowledge of one’s opponent, and since in Hebrew love-making is pretty much the same as knowing someone (the verb ידע, yada’, means both to know and to have sex…the command to “love your enemy” (Matthew 5:44) has not a lick to do with placidly suffering abuse and trying to conjure up lofty feelings for the brute who’s mistreating you, and everything with studying your enemy until you know enough about him to either appreciate his motives (and behave in such a compatible way that he stops assaulting you) or else blow him out of the water by being superior.

When Jesus says, “blessed are the peace-makers” (Matthew 5:9), he does not refer to those people who insist we should all assume a state of blissful indifference, but rather those people who grab the bull by the horns and stare deep into his eyes and pick his brain with an axe. Making peace starts with making a relationship with your enemy, and it results in getting to know your enemy (which in turn makes the chance excellent that at some point your enemy will stop being your enemy).

This is where Abel’s blood sacrifice was accepted over Cain’s vegan offering, for obvious reasons. Cain did not shalemize, engage in activities designed to achieve peace, undividedness-unity, alliance with God through respecting his ways. Or, notice, with his brother. Cain was either competing with his brother to be the favorite, or competing to be an equal with God directly. In any case, unity / peace with God requires unity / peace with his family.

“Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.” (Genesis 4:3-5)

How did God show respect to one and not the other? Standard MO is fire from heaven, perhaps in this case from the guardian cherubim pointing their sword at the one chosen.

And Cain said unto the LORD…Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from

• the face / פָנִי of the earth [in juxtaposition to heaven]; and from
• thy face / פָנִי [oversight, protection] shall I be hid…every one that findeth me shall slay me. And Cain went out from
• the presence / פָנִי / access to favor of the LORD. (Genesis 4:13-16)

The Hebrew word “paneh’ / פָנִי ” is translated into multiple English words in the same passage. This dictionary function allows us to grasp the abstract as well as literal meanings. The 2128 uses of of this word variously translated as “face, surface, countenance, presence, before me, in front of, under the oversight of, stand before” can be summed us as expressing a boundary to “this being”.

Throughout history there are multiple references, such as the following.

“the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem…the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain...Then did the cherubims lift up their wings…and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.  (Ezekiel 8:3-4, 11:22)

It is logical to deduce from the activity that this is a hyper dimensional portal to heaven. This clues us in to the motivation by the abomination that taketh desolate (Matthew 24:15) from the sea of outer space to, “as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (II Thessalonians 2:3-4) NASA, the Nazi light shows, even the ancient Indian Mahabarata havn’t got anything on what he’s going to show the world.

Archaeological evidence makes Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world, placing the lowest level of habitation layers between 4500–3500 BCE, i.e. during Adam’s lifetime.

Historical evidence places the city about 2000 BC.

The first mention of Urusalim can be traced to Egyptian Execration Texts [formal magical curses placed on their enemies]. The Early Execration Texts…date to the late 20th and 19th centuries B.C… with the Later Execration Texts dating to the late 19th century B.C. In the earlier texts only a few cities are mentioned in this region of Canaan. Jerusalem, Ashkelon and Rehobin are the chief ones in Palestine. In the later texts, the two principal cities of the region are Shechem and Jerusalem…Indeed this is proof that the cities in the patriarchal narrative were in fact occupied and in existence during the Middle Bronze Age (ca 2000-1550 BC)

In God’s typical sleight of hand way, the Egyptian curses benefit their enemies. These texts support the biblical account that the city was called Jerusalem, the religious center of the Hebrews, during the time frame in which Abram entered the land of Canaan.

The Middle Kingdom Egyptian Execration Texts identify the city, in the Egyptian language, as Rusalimum. The root S-L-M that in the Hebrew name applies to “peace” can be twisted, to Shalim, the god of dusk [evening, works of darkness opposing the God of light] in the Canaanite religion.

The Egyptian execration texts also validates Noah’s curse on his grandson Canaan, who would have personally been subordinate to Shem as he ruled as Melchizedek from Jerusalem.

“And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” (Gen 9:24-26)

Shem then ruled as “Melchisedec, king of [Jeru]Salem, first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.” (Hebrews 7:1-2)

Archaeological excavations indicate that by the 17th century BCE, following the death of Shem and during a lapse of any Hebrew force in the area, the Canaanites had taken control of “Rusalimum” and built massive walls (4 and 5 ton boulders, 26 feet high) on the eastern side of Jerusalem.

This photo of an existing village in Yemen gives a good idea of how the “castle of Zion” / Jerusalem would have looked in the Bronze Age, with a small population crowded together on the highest spot for protection.

Contrary to the Canaanite’s stake in the city and surrounding supportive territory, “the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:19-21)

Jerusalem has been fought over more than any other place. This makes sense since, unlike any other current nation’s capitol, it has been continuously inhabited. And throughout there has been continuous fighting over who will control Jerusalem 

“The Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying…arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them….which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

• From the [Sinai] wilderness [south]
• and this Lebanon [Mountains, north]
• even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites [west]
• and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun [Mediterranean, east] shall be your coast.” (Joshua 1:1-6)

OK, so this map is in German but the best I could find including the topography with the polities.
By following principles and practices of precedence, consistency, and patterns, this is none other than the land “east of Eden.” Not the garden itself but the land closest to that magical land.

This totally makes sense in light of Melchizedek’s territory.

“And the LORD God took ha Adam, and put him into the garden [east] of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)

This territory is bounded by the four rivers listed in Genesis 2: Gihon, Pison, Euphrates, and Hiddekel. For more detail see the post The Last Flood

Today we can’t find one river parting into four separate rivers within the Levant. This would be due to geographical features being altered by massive hydraulic and tectonic forces as the African and Arabian plates settled into each other.

Gihon is no longer a mighty river running down to and encompassing Ethiopia. A spring in Jerusalem is its last vestige.

When Pison lost its headwaters from Gihon it dried up. There is a river bed only discernible by satellite.

Euphrates and Hiddekel / Tigris are straightforward as they were not severe impacted by the rift between the African and Arabian plates.