Heaven part five.

We are now looking at the plural of heaven--heavens. Skimming through the references in Strong's concordance, it seems clear that the Ancient Israelites believed in multiple heavens in layers above the earth. Deuteronomy 10:14 says, "To the lord your god belong the heavens, even the highest heavens.." 1 Kings 8:27 says, "the heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain" god. The same is said in 2 Chronicles. Nehemiah 6 says Yahweh made all the heavens, even the highest heavens.

In Psalm 2, the one enthroned in the heavens laughs at the kings of the earth. In Psalm 18, Yahweh parted the heavens and came down, on dark clouds, with smoke pouring from his nostrils and fire from his mouth. "He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind." Hail, thunder, and lightening, announced his presence. Pretty cool imagery. In a few Psalms, god is said to be above the heavens. In 68:4, Yahweh rides on the clouds in the NIV, he rides in the heavens in the KJV. The word translated clouds and heavens here is a totally different word, arabah,that usually refers to a desert, which is wierd. In 68:33, the NIV says Yahweh rides the ancient skies above. The KJV says he rides upon the heaven of heavens. Again, the word translated skies and heavens is the same root word shameh.

There are multiple passages in Psalms where the heavens praise Yahweh. They rejoice and declare his righteousness and glory. Many passages in the Old Testament with the word heavens are redundant. God made the heavens. The heavens are high. They have clouds, dew, rain, stars, birds, etc. Yahweh's right hand spread out the heavens in Isaiah 48:13.

I have come to a very interesting passage in Isaiah 66. It speaks of new heavens and a new earth. There will be no crying there. Infants will not die and people 100 years old will be thought young. They will be blessed and Yahweh will never harm them. This is specifically for the Israelites but Christians tend to co-opt it.

Jeremiah 10:11 tells us that the gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under heaven, but not the god that made the heavens and the earth, Yahweh. (Sorry to break it to Yahweh, but his days are numbered as well.) When Yahweh thunders, the waters in the heavens roar, he brings the wind out from his storehouses.

In Ezekiel 1:1, the heavens opened and Ezekiel saw visions of god. After seeing a few surreal fantasy like creatures, at the end of chapter one Yahweh appears. He is sitting on a throne of sapphire. From the waist up he looks like glowing hot metal. From the waist down he was on fire. A brilliant light surrounded him and looked like a rainbow.  In Joel and Haggai, the heavens are shook. In Zechariah 6, four spirits of heaven, who stand in the presence of the lord of the whole world, look like chariots with horses. They head out to the east, south, north, and west, of course.

That's it for heaven/heavens in the Old Testament. What have we learned? The word/words heaven in the Old Testament are almost exclusively the same root  Hebrew word, shameh. That word is also translated as sky, air, and clouds in the NIV. Yahweh created the heavens/sky. He also lives there. (Where did he live before he created the heavens? ) At times he is said to be above the highest heaven or in the heaven of heavens. He's got a throne in the heavens and the earth is his footstool. From there he speaks, hurls lightening, sends hail, rain, dew, and winds which are stored there. Birds fly and clouds float in the heavens above. There are multitudes of spirit beings in heaven or the heavens which are often represented by the stars or are the stars, depending on which passage you read. One day there will be a new heavens and a new earth for the Israelites. I found nothing about people ever living an eternal life with god in heaven, if they believe in a messiah.

The New Testament is next.

High Priest Joshua, part 4

We continue in Zechariah 6. Zechariah is still with the angel in his vision. Now he sees four chariots with four different color horses, coming from between two mountains of bronze. These horses are sent in the four cardinal directions throughout the earth.

Next, the word of the lord came to Zechariah, telling him to take silver and gold from some of the exiles, make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua. Then, Zechariah is to say, "Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the lord. It is he who will build the temple of the lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two." So here the high priest Joshua is called the branch. The author of Zechariah seems to be saying saying that Joshua is the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Branch, found in Isaiah 4 and Ezekiel 17. Jeremiah 23 and 33 also mention a righteous branch. After this, the crown is to be given back to the exiles, but kept in the temple as a memorial. This is to remind them the temple will be built if they obey the lord.

Since it is clear from this passage that Joshua was the Branch. It seems quite plausible that he could have become a larger than life mythological figure or symbol in Judaism, or among some Jews, representing a man of righteousness and favor with god. After the destruction of the second temple, in the days of Rome, wouldn't the Jews be looking for a second Joshua/Branch to rebuild the temple and be anointed as high priest by Yahweh? It's a compelling thought.

In chapter 7 of Zechariah, we start with a short paragraph written in third person, possibly inserted later. It is now supposed to be the 4th year of Darius, ninth month, 4th day. People of Bethel came to ask the lord a question, through the priests. They wanted to know if they should continue to mourn and fast in the fifth month as they had done for years.

Next, in verse 4, we have first person passage where god asks Zechariah to ask all the people and priests if they had really been fasting for yahweh, or even feasting for yahweh, over the last seventy years. Hadn't the prophets of old asked the same thing when the Jerusalem and the surrounding area were at peace? The appearance of the number seventy usually has some prophetic significance.

In verse 8, we switch back to third person. Verses 8-10 appear to be inserted in the text. They disrupt the continuity of the passage. If they were left out the rest of chapter eight would make more sense, continuing in the vein of what happened when the prophets of old warned the people but they did not listen. Then the lord scattered them among the nations. It's about the past. However, verses 8-10 seem to be trying to connect it with Zechariah's time. It is slightly confusing.

Moving on to chapter 8, we are back in first person. Yahweh tells Zechariah he will return to Jerusalem to live. Once again there will be peace and prosperity. Yahweh will save his people from the east and the west and the will come back to live in Jerusalem. Everyone hearing those words needed to be strong to rebuild the temple. The lord was not going to treat the remnant of his people as he did in the past. (That didn't work out so well, did it?) Crops would grow, rain would fall, and the remnant's inheritance would flourish. Judah and Israel would be a blessing. Yahweh brought disaster upon their ancestors when they angered him, but now he is determined to do good again to Jerusalem. These are the things Yahweh required of them: to speak the truth, be just, and treat their neighbors right.

So, to answer the question from verse four, the mourning fasts are to become festivals of joy. Many people from other lands will come and seek out Yahweh. They will beg to live in the land of the Jews.

More to come.