ECCLESIASTES = “THE ONE WHO ASSEMBLED”

The writer of this book arrives at these observations by exercising wisdom of their own experience or others who came before him. The wisdom is understood to have YHVH as the ultimate source. Topics covered in Ecclesiastes:

1. Cycles of the natural order.

2. Amassing of wealth in property and other forms.

3. The opposing forces that govern life.

4. Friendship – mostly as an antidote to life’s innumerable uncertainties.

5. Virtues and difficulties of human authority.

6. The nature of folly and the possibilities and limitations of wisdom

7. The enjoyment of one’s toils.

8. The terrors of old age.

Behind these topics are certain fundamental themes. The first is expressed by the term “futility” (hevel, ch 1:2). This being the inability of humans to make sense of the world around them, to see a coherent pattern, a plan to their lives and to nature, in the sense of moving toward lasting goals.

The writer appears to believe there may be coherent patterns of activity for humans as he uses the word ma’aseh (deed, work, action) for these (ch 8) indicating they seem to be folded into the larger ma’aseh of YHVH.

Our ability to discern what these patterns are is frustrated as the traditional reward/punishment for the good/wicked does not appear to always work in this life. In this regard, it appears the writer is arguing against the eternal truths in Deuteronomy and Proverbs.

One thing clear to the writer is death. It is the final point in each person’s deeds, works, actions, and life. It is going to happen to everyone. The writer does not take into account the doctrine of resurrection from the dead, which we who believe in Yeshua certainly do. The writer of Ecclesiastes conclusion is to enjoy life while you have it. In his view reward/punishment is cancelled out by death, but he leaves us feeling uneasy about that conclusion—is that all there is?

The writer seems to believe that wisdom does not deny that YHVH is in control and that He has a pattern of activity that will eventually bring every creature to future account. Therefore, he concludes, it makes sense not to tempt the anger of YHVH (ch 4.17-5.5).

The topics and themes in Ecclesiastes are not developed in a systematic way—they are scattered and revisited throughout the book—just in the way humans think! New perspectives and ideas often build on what the writer thought previously—or contradict it completely! At times this seems confusing, but actually corresponds to how humans really think about many things (ch 8; 9.1-12, ch 10).

Key words in the book:

Futility, vanities = hevel; 1892 Strong’s = breath; by extension something with no substance, meaninglessness, worthlessness, vanity, emptiness, futility; idol, altogether vain.

“Set my heart to seek” = to probe, explore, investigate, seek out by myself.

The writer, we see, is engaged in a leisurely, self-conscious, ruminative, process in which he is considering these issues from one angel to another.

Traditionally this book is attributed to King Solomon whose wisdom was world renowned. Later in life he turned from YHVH to the idols of his hundreds of wives. This would explain the dark moods of Ecclesiastes.

In Jewish tradition this book is read on Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) which celebrates the completion of the fall fruit harvest (including grapes). It is a celebration of the completion of the meaningful work of harvesting. Sukkot is called “The season of our Joy” and this rejoicing resounds with themes of enjoying the fruit of our labors found in the book.

For believers in Yeshua the feast of Sukkot is a reminder of our resurrection into new life in the coming Millennial Kingdom. It follows five days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement which is the day the wicked are judged and crushed like grapes. The Day of Atonement is also the day the redeemed are saved and enjoy the new wine of crushed grapes. Ecclesiastes fits this time of year nicely.

Paul the Apostle said, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” 1Thess 5.9-10

The fact that Ecclesiastes exhibits contradictions along with unorthodox views that don’t necessarily go along with the rest of the Bible reflects the uncertainly a person who has little faith in God would exhibit. We all, at one time or another, question our existence and the existence of God.

When a person comes to faith in God through Jesus Christ (Yeshua) His Son they get a new perspective on the meaning of life. This is what Yeshua was referring to when He told Nicodemus (John 3) that he must be “reborn” before he could see the Kingdom of God. Only then, with serious study of scripture, can we even begin to understand the ways of our God.

A Source of information: The Jewish Study Bible, Jewish Publication Society

Messianic End Times – A Christian and Jewish Perspective - by Ludwig Schneider, Israel Today

Jews and Christians both believe that we are living in the Messianic End Times. Jews were already predicting the End Times some 800 years ago, right around the time Christian End Times eschatology really got going.

One of the most important rabbis in connection with this theme of the End Times is Judah Ben Samuel, also known as Judah he-Hasid (Judah the Pious).  He lived and worked from the end of the 12^th century until the beginning of the 13^th century in Regensburg, Germany and authored a number of books. I would like to single out two of his works: “The Book of the Pious – Sefer Hasidim” and the “Book of Calculations – Sefer Gematriyot,” which deals with biblical numerology and astrology.

Following the Christian crusades to the Holy Land (1096-1270) a regular correspondence developed between the Jews in the Holy Land and the Christian Occident in the West. Thus, for example, the rabbis in Worms and Regensburg in Germany knew that Saladin’s Ayyubids had been ruling in the Holy Land since 1187.

At this time the Rabbi of Regensburg, Judah the Pious, published the results of his biblical calculations (Gematria) and astrological observations and summarized as follows:

“When the Ottomans (Turks) – who were already a power to be reckoned with on the Bosporus in the time of Judah Ben Samuel – conquer Jerusalem they will rule over Jerusalem for eight jubilees. Afterwards Jerusalem will become no-man’s land for one jubilee, and then in the ninth jubilee it will once again come back into the possession of the Jewish nation – which would signify the beginning of the Messianic end time.”

One jubilee is 50 years (Leviticus 25). It is the 50^th year after seven times seven years, the year in which each person should re-gain ownership of his or her land. Ben Samuel’s calculations were purely theoretical; there was absolutely no sign at that time of their being fulfilled. He himself was not able to experience their fulfillment, for it was only 300 years after his death that his predictions were to come true.

The Mamluks, who had been reigning in Jerusalem since 1250, were conquered in 1517 by the Ottomans (Turks). They remained for eight jubilees (8 x 50 = 400 years), that is to say they were in Jerusalem for 400 years. Exactly 400 years later, in 1917, the Ottomans (Turks) were conquered by the British. The League of Nations conferred the Mandate for the Holy Land and Jerusalem (Palestine Mandate) to the British. Thus from 1917, under international law, Jerusalem was no-man’s land.

Then, when Israel captured Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967, exactly one jubilee (50 years) after 1917, Jerusalem reverted to Jewish-Israeli ownership once again. Thereby, according to the prophecies of Judah Ben Samuel, the Messianic End Times began.

Many scholars have studied and made reference to Judah Ben Samuel’s writings in an effort to understand how he reached his conclusions. Among those referencing Ben Samuel were Rabbi Isaac Ben Solomon Luria, a mystic dealing with the Messianic world (Jerusalem, 1531-1572, Safed); Joseph Solomon Delmegido (1591 Candia – 1655 Prague), a mathematician and astronomer (“Mazref le-Chochma”), Azulai I. (1724-1806), a famed bibliographer; Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), a Bible scholar;  historian Heinrich Graetz (1817-1891); and Torah scholar Jacob Epstein (1925-1993).

The secret of how Judah the Pious arrived at such accurate predictions has less to do with the actual calculations than it does with the fact that he had consecrated his life to God. His pupils Rabbi Isaac ben Moses (Vienna), Rabbi Baruch ben Samuel (Mainz) and Rabbi Simcha (Speyer) testify that Ben Samuel was a model of abstinence and selflessness and was awaiting with a burning desire the coming of the Messiah.

Ben Samuel was often called “Light of Israel.” Even bishops came to him for advice. If anyone asked him where his wisdom came from he would answer, “The prophet Elijah, who will precede the Messiah, appeared to me and revealed many things to me and emphasized that the precondition for answered prayer is that it is fueled by enthusiasm and joy for the greatness and holiness of God.”

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/messianic-end-times-from-christian-and-jewish-perspectives/

BIBLICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR KING MESSIAH

Keeping true to the Scriptures, what verses do the Jews use to describe their Messiah and what will be accomplished? These are my notes from Mark Biltz' book "Decoding the Antichrist and the End Times"

1. Messiah will be a military leader. We see from Zechariah 14: 3– 4 that “the LORD [shall] go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” We sure know that has not happened yet! Zechariah goes on to say in verse 9 that “the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.” We know the LORD is definitely not physically king over all the earth at this time.

2. Messiah gathers the outcasts of Israel and Judah back to their land. According to Isaiah 11: 12, the Messiah will gather all the Jewish exiles from around the world. “He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (emphasis added). This concept is reiterated in Jeremiah 30:

Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. —JEREMIAH 30: 2– 7, EMPHASIS ADDED

3. Messiah will bring redemption to the Israelites and restore their fortunes, and they will all be righteous. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD. —ZEPHANIAH 3: 20

We also see from Zechariah 14: 14 that “Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.” And get a load of this! Isaiah 60 mentions the gates of Jerusalem will be open continually day and night because the wealth of the nations will be brought to them. Every nation that doesn’t serve Israel will perish, and all those who afflicted and despised the Jewish people will bow down before them. Jerusalem will be called the city of the Lord. This is beyond imagination!

4. Messiah will reestablish the feasts of the Lord. It shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. —ZECHARIAH 14: 16– 17

We are definitely talking a whole new world here! Can you imagine every nation having to send representatives to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in order for their countries not to experience drought and plague? There will be human survivors after Armageddon who will have to come every year to the temple in Jerusalem that Messiah builds. So the Jewish people are expecting a messiah who will be a great military leader, conquering the entire world and bringing it under the submission of a Jewish messiah who teaches God’s Torah to the nations.

5. The Torah will be magnified, have its honor restored, and be taught to all nations, as Jerusalem becomes the capital of the world.  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. —MICAH 4: 1– 2, EMPHASIS ADDED

Wow! People from all nations will come to Jerusalem as not only the capital of Israel but the capital of the whole world, and the Torah will be magnified and taught to all nations. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’s servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who among you will give ear to this? Who will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. —ISAIAH 42: 18– 24

The ones God refers to as being spiritually blind and deaf are not the heathen but His own people who refuse to hear and obey the Law. When it says “who will hearken and hear for the time to come,” the phrase “time to come” refers to the last generation! The Law, or the Torah, is to be magnified and made honorable. Yet we find the ones who are robbed and plundered are those who do not walk in God’s ways. Psalm 138: 2 states that God has exalted His Word even above His name! If He goes against His own Word, it would definitely dishonor His name.

6. Messiah Himself builds the temple and is both a priest and a king in Jerusalem. This comes from Zechariah 6: 12– 13: Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of the LORD: even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. We are seeing a messiah who will be both a priest and a king! Look at these verses in the Book of Ezekiel:

The glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places. —EZEKIEL 43: 4– 7, EMPHASIS ADDED

7. There will be a supernatural peace in the land of Israel. According to Isaiah 11: 6 and 9, there will be nothing but peace in Jerusalem: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them . . . for the whole earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” And in Zephaniah we find the following:

The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. —ZEPHANIAH 3: 13

8. Strangers or non-Jews will also be welcome to live in the land of Israel and enjoy the temple. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD. —EZEKIEL 47: 21– 23, EMPHASIS ADDED

Ezekiel 48 mentions the gates of the city of Jerusalem being named after the tribes of Israel. There will not be any non-Jewish gates. The Jewish people very strongly believe in the new covenant! We read about it in Jeremiah 31: 31, which says, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” Did you see that! The new covenant is not with Gentiles. Gentiles are grafted into the covenant God made with the Jewish people. So just what kind of covenant is this new covenant? It says in verse 33 that “this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Oh my. The Torah will not be done away with but will be written on the heart instead of being written on stone. Some might think that because the Israelites have rejected Yeshua, God has forsaken them. But look at what the Scriptures say concerning Israel in regard to the new covenant:

If these ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. —JEREMIAH 31: 36– 37

Not only that; some may argue that the land covenant made to Abraham four thousand years ago has expired and the land now belongs to the Palestinians. If a generation is sixty years, then from the creation of Adam until now it has only been one hundred generations, or six thousand years! In the Book of Psalms, God confirms the land covenant He made with Abraham for a thousand generations!

That’s sixty thousand years, or all the time of human existence up to now times ten! He hath remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; and confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance. —PSALM 105: 8– 11

So the Jewish Messiah will come and confirm the land covenant. After all, it is His own inheritance, and He will not divide it or give any of it away. Now, this next one is very controversial! What else will the Jewish Messiah accomplish?

9. The Messiah restarts the priesthood and the sacrificial system. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: and the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. —EZEKIEL 45: 18– 21

The last several chapters of Ezekiel speak of the Messianic era when the Messiah builds the temple and the sacrifices are reinstituted. Ezekiel’s temple has not been built yet! Here is an unbelievable verse:

Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. —EZEKIEL 44: 9– 11, EMPHASIS ADDED

We know for a fact that only God Himself can determine if someone’s heart is uncircumcised. Many believers recoil at the thought of the sacrificial system being reinstituted, but that’s because they never really understood the sacrificial system. I realize there is much controversy about the sacrificial system after the cross in the future millennial temple, but I also believe in sticking to the plain meaning of the text rather than allegorizing everything away that does not fit our theology. If that were the case, then the wages of sin would no longer be death but just unhappy feelings, and the Ten Commandments would become ten suggestions. Even when we can derive other symbolism or meanings from the Scriptures, we are still to never do away with the plain meaning of the text.

We also need to realize that classifying all Jewish tradition as non-biblical is anti-Semitic. There are a lot of Christian traditions that are non-biblical as well. There is a lot of tradition on both sides that has nothing wrong with it; it’s just tradition. So we need to set aside our prejudices and simply read the Bible for what it says. The daily sacrifices were never for intentional sin. The Jews never believed the daily sacrifices atoned for intentional sins either. Yes, there were sacrifices for sin, but they were for sins of ignorance and not intentional sins. The only way the Jewish people ever felt they could find forgiveness for intentional sins was through confession of their sin, repentance, and making restitution as required in the Torah. The sacrifices were one way for them to draw near to God and sit at His table and have a meal together. Biltz, Mark. Decoding the Antichrist and the End Times (p. 54). Charisma House. Kindle Edition

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT WILL NOT BE FOUND

Many believe the ancient Ark of the Covenant may be found in the future based on investigations by Ron Wyatt in his search for the Ark of the Covenant. The WORD is purposely silent on what happened to the Ark. The WORD does however, say that in the days to come the Ark will not be visited or remembered.

¶ Go and proclaim these words toward the north wind and say, Return, thou rebellious Israel, said the LORD and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful, said the LORD, and I will not keep anger forever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast rebelled against the LORD thy God and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not heard my voice, said the LORD.

 Turn, O rebellious sons, said the LORD; for I am your Lord, and I will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: and I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

 And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied and increased in the land; in those days, said the LORD, they shall no longer say, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the Gentiles shall congregate unto it in the name of the LORD in Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the hardness of their evil heart.

 In those times they shall go out from the house of Judah unto the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north wind to the land which I caused your fathers to inherit. But I said, How shall I place thee as sons and give thee the desirable land, the heritage that the hosts of Gentiles desire? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father, and shalt not turn away from following me. Jeremiah 3.13-17

Commentary from the Jewish Study Bible:

The Ark of the Covenant, constructed in the wilderness at the time of the Exodus to hold the tablets of the covenant (Exodus 25.10-22; 37.1-9; Deut. 10.1-5; Num. 10.35-36), symbolized divine presence in Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 81-13; 2 Chron. 5.1-14). When the Temple was destroyed, no mention of the ark was made of the fate of the ark (2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 52), suggesting that it had disappeared earlier.

According to Macc. 2.1-8, Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave on Mt. Nebo/Pisgah in Moab, where Moses was buried (Deut. 32.49-52; 34.1-8). Rabbinic tradition maintains that Josiah hid the ark so that it would not be taken to Babylon. The ark that houses the Torah scrolls in synagogues symbolizes the ancient Ark of the Covenant.

The reunification of Israel and Judah was a major goal of Josiah’s program of religious reform and national restoration. The return of all 12 Tribes of Israel to the restored Jerusalem Temple is the foundation of Jewish thought concerning the days of the Messiah and the world to come (Olam Ha-Ba, Ezekiel chapters 40-48). The ingathering of all the exiles is likewise an important motif in modern Zionism.

OLAM HA-BA (Heb. עוֹלָם הַבָּא). The term olam ha-ba (literally, "the coming world" a synonym frequently used in place of "the world to come" is atid lavo ("What is to come" or "the future") as in Tosefta Arakhin 2:7. Often also "the days of the Messiah" being the period referred to by the phrase olam ha-ba or its equivalent atid lavo, between which and the present order of things comes the age of the Messiah (cf. Zev. 118b; Tosef. Ar. 2:7; also Ar. 13b), is the final order of things beginning with the general resurrection and the last judgment. Jewish Virtual Library

In the “Coming world” or Millennial Kingdom there will be no need for the Ark. Messiah will be present in His Temple. If an ark was discovered what would the world do? Based on the above scriptures and countless others in the WORD the nations would most likely turn it into a religious relic and worship it! Jeremiah says it won’t even be remembered!

A very good reason why the Ark most likely does not exist today.