https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CTvS4UOp7E&list=PLD9o3pQYhVMF2TXItDBjF2-WOro3i93Af&index=21
These are overhead projector images from LDS Seminaries and Institutes in @1980. Note the inaccuracies and anachronisms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erHSSzMnCRs&list=PLD9o3pQYhVMF2TXItDBjF2-WOro3i93Af&index=20
Three papers I recommend this week:
Margaret Barker: Beyond the Veil of the Temple: The High Priestly Origin of the Apocalypses
https://www.marquette.edu/maqom/veil.html
Margaret Barker : The Temple Roots of the Liturgy
https://www.marquette.edu/maqom/Roots.pdf
and Elliot Wolfson : Seven Mysteries of Knowledge: Qumran E/sotericism Reconsidered
https://www.academia.edu/3335498/Seven_Mysteries_of_Knowledge_Qumran_E_sotericism_Reconsidered
There are NO good pictures/Google images of worship in heaven. Good luck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1H_Oa4bnKg&list=PLD9o3pQYhVMF2TXItDBjF2-WOro3i93Af&index=19&t=1142s
We will be studying Rev 4-5 and it would be very helpful to read Ezekiel chapters 1, 9, and 10 before class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3De-76vXmM&list=PLD9o3pQYhVMF2TXItDBjF2-WOro3i93Af&index=18
The
discovery of the Book of Balaam inscriptions:
1. "In an unprecedented discovery, an ancient text found at Deir
Alla, Jordan, in 1967 tells about the activities of a prophet named Balaam.
Could this be the Balaam of the Old Testament? The text makes it clear that it
is. Three times in the first four lines he is referred to as “Balaam son
of Beor,” exactly as in the Bible. This represents the first Old
Testament prophet to be dug up in Bible lands — not his tomb or his skeleton,
but a text about him. The text also represents the first prophecy of any scope
from the ancient West Semitic world to be found outside the Old Testament, and
the first extra-Biblical example of a prophet proclaiming doom to his own
people. … The remarkable text found at Deir Alla consists of 119 fragments of
plaster inscribed with black and red ink. It was among the rubble of a building
destroyed in an earthquake. It seems to have been one long column with at least
50 lines, displayed on a plastered wall. According to the excavators’ dating,
the disaster was most likely the severe earthquake which occurred in the time
of King Uzziah (Azariah) and the prophet Amos in about 760 BC (Am 1:1; Zec
14:5). The lower part of the text shows signs of wear, indicating that it had
been on the wall for some time prior to the earthquake." (Balaam Son of
Beor, Bible and Spade, Bryant G. Wood, p114, 1995 AD)
2. "Deir
Alla in the eighth-century B.C. was a large city, perhaps even a center of
religious instruction. On the walls of a room in one building that may have
stood near a temple, a professional scribe copied the text of an important
religious manuscript. First he drew four red frames. Then he filled the frames
with text, adding a drawing here and there for adornment. See artist’s
reconstruction of how this inscribed wall may have looked. Sometime in the
eighth century B.C. Deir Alla was leveled by an earthquake, perhaps the very earthquake
mentioned in the Book of Amos, and also spoken of by Zechariah as “the
earthquake that stopped up the valley in the days of King Uzziah of Judah.” In
the Deir Alla disaster, the inscribed wall fell, crumbling into a myriad of
fragments that scattered over an area of more than 20 square feet. The author
observes that most of one section of the wall seems to have fallen in a pit,
while another section fell at the corner of the original wall (see plan)."
(Fragments from the Book of Balaam Found at Deir Alla, André Lemaire,
BAR-11:05, Sep/Oct 1985)
3. "Found at Tell Deir ʿAllā, near the River Zerqa (biblical
Jabbok) in the eastern Jordan Valley, these texts were apparently once
displayed in a room of a building that is commonly believed to have been a
sanctuary. Written in black and red ink on white plaster, fragments of the
texts were found on the floor of that room when the building was destroyed by a
violent earthquake—one of the many that plagued the region. As a result of that
disaster, part of the plaster was burnt and the entire inscription fell to the
ground, shattered in pieces, much of which was irretrievably lost. The
fragments that remain were found in several groupings." (Deir Alla Plaster
Texts, Prophets and prophecy in the ancient Near East, Vol 12, 138, 2003 AD)
4. "Combination
I clearly concerns the vision of Balaam son of Beor, “a seer of the gods,” who
is also known in the biblical tradition recorded in Num 22–24. Like the
prophets of ancient Israel, Balaam in this account is privy to the deliberations
of the divine council. The assembled deities—known in the account alternatively
as “gods” and “Shaddayin” (a term related to the biblical divine epithet
“Shaddai”)—have ordained a catastrophe, and they charge a certain celestial
being to execute the destruction on their behalf. Unfortunately, only the first
letter of her name has been preserved (line 6), so her identity can only be a
matter of conjecture. Like the deceiving spirit sent forth from the divine
council witnessed by the prophet Micaiah the son on Imlah (1 Kgs 22:5–18) and
like the adversary in the divine council who was permitted by God to set forth
to harm Job (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–8), she plays a destructive role. The impending
doom that she is to bring about is in many ways reminiscent of end-of-the-world
scenarios that are often found in the Bible, notably in the preaching of the
prophets. Creation will apparently be undone as the cosmic floods will be
released upon the earth (“the bolts of heaven” will be broken), the dark rain
clouds will cover the skies, and there will be pitch darkness and terror on
earth." (Deir Alla Plaster Texts, Prophets and prophecy in the ancient
Near East, Vol 12, 138, 2003 AD)
Pergamon Museum, Berlin Germany : Altar
White stone
But in ancient times, particularly in the middle east and Mediterranean, the white stone represented important details about one’s social status. In some cultures, the trial judges on a panel would each deposit a black stone or a white stone in a bowl or urn, or reveal one from the palm of their hands, to cast their votes on the verdict of the accused. A black stone indicated the judge favoured a guilty verdict and a white stone meant the accused was considered innocent of the charge. If the accused received more white stones than black from the panel, he was acquitted. So, the white stone became a symbol of being judged innocent.
(See Metamorphoses, by Ovid. (A.D. 8) Lib XV, verse 41. Translated by John Dryden, et al [1717]. “A custom was of old, and still remains, Which life or death by suffrages ordains: White stones and black within an urn are cast, The first absolve, but fate is in the last.”)
In Classical
Athens, when the decision at
hand was to banish or exile a certain member of society, citizen peers would
cast their vote by writing the name of the person on the shard of pottery; the
vote was counted and, if unfavorable, the person was exiled for a period of ten years from the city,
thus giving rise to the term ostracism.
Similarly, in ancient Rome, before a gladiator match, the gladiators pulled stones from a bag and the ones who drew black stones were to fight while those who pulled white were given a reprieve.
In other situations, a person who carried a white stone with a name of a patron on it, enjoyed the privileges of a modern day credit card, with expenses charged to the patron. Often it was a white tesserae (mosaic stone) that was used to permit charging expenses to another’s account. (See Pliny Natural History, 7.40.131).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-h59SDWDC8&list=PLD9o3pQYhVMF2TXItDBjF2-WOro3i93Af&index=17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhOlFw56ew8&list=PLD9o3pQYhVMF2TXItDBjF2-WOro3i93Af&index=16
Lots of handouts to accompany the Epistle to the Hebrews:
John Widtsoe in 1931.
"One may quite as easily find himself in mistaken notions
if he attempts the interpretation of the scriptures without getting a full
perspective of the subject and adequate knowledge of human events that led to
the giving of the scriptures, including origins and translations."
In the allegory "The Cave", Plato describes a group of
people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all their lives, facing a
blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing
in front of a fire behind them and give names to these shadows. The shadows are
the prisoners' reality, but are not accurate representations of the real world.
The shadows represent the fragment of reality that we can normally perceive
through our senses, while the objects under the sun represent the true forms of
objects that we can only perceive through reason. Three higher levels exist: the natural sciences; mathematics, geometry, and deductive logic; and the theory of forms.
Socrates explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is
freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are
actually not the direct source of the images seen. A philosopher aims to
understand and perceive the higher levels of reality. However, the other
inmates of the cave do not even desire to leave their prison, for they know no
better life.
Jesus, in John 3, tells Nicodemus “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has
risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.- C.
S. Lewis
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness…'” (Genesis 1:26)
The Hebrew word for “in our image” is “betzalmenu בצלמנו .” The word “tzelem צלם”
is from an unused word, which means “to shade” according to the
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. Here is the detailed definition: “images
(of tumours, mice, heathen gods); image or likeness (of resemblance).”
“Tzelem” is related to the word “Tzel צל”,
which is the modern-day Hebrew word for “shadow”. This gives us a deeper
understanding of “btzalmenu”, which means “in our shadow.” We were created in
the shadow of God! When we think of this, how does a shadow form? It is when
sunlight or any light hits an object, and the exact form of that object casts a
shadow. The shadow is an exact representation of the person.
There is one more person we should look at in the Bible who
reflects the idea of being a shadow of our God. It is Betzalel בצלאל, who appears for the first time in the Torah in Exodus 31:
The LORD spoke to Moses,
saying, ‘See, I have called by a name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the
tribe of Judah. I have filled him with a Godly spirit רוח
אלהים, with wisdom, בחכמה ,
understanding תבין, and knowledge דעת , and with every craft.’ – Exodus 31:1-2
One of the meanings of Betzalel is “In the shadow of El (God).”
The other remarkable thing about him is that he is the “son of Uri.” “Uri אורי” means “my light”. We have a perfect picture of the shadow which
is cast by sunlight! But there’s more. The words that describe the Godly spirit
of Betzalel in the Torah are the same words used to describe someone else:
And the spirit of the
LORD רוח יהוה
shall rest upon him – a spirit of wisdom חכמה and understanding בינה, a spirit of counsel and strength, a
spirit of knowledge דעת and the fear of the LORD. – Isaiah 11:2
Gen 5:3 And Adam lived an
hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image;
and called his name Seth:
צָלַל shadow, shade through
the idea of hovering over); to shade, as twilight or an opaque object:—begin to
be dark, shadowing.
BELOW http://tcemission.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Types_Shadows_Patterns.pdf
TYPES A type is a divinely purposed illustration
of some truth. It may be: (1) a person (Rom 5:14); (2) an event (1 Cor 10:11);
(3) a thing (Heb 10:19-20); (4) an institution (Heb 9:11-12); or, (5) a
ceremonial (1 Cor 5:7). Types occur most frequently in the Pentateuch, but are
found, more sparingly, elsewhere. The antitype, is found generally in the NT
Rom
5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from
Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of
Adam's transgression, who is the figure
τύπος of him that was to come.
For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not
the very image of the things...Heb 10:1
Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses
was· admonished of God when he was about to make
the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the
pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Heb 8:5
Howbeit for this cause I
obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might· shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 1Ti 1:16
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect
of an· holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath
days: Which are a shadow of things to
come; but the body is of Christ. Col 2:16-17·
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are· written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are
come.1Co 10:11
a person (Rom 5:14); (2) an event (1 Cor 10:11 Exodus); (3) a thing
(Heb 10:19-20 veil); (4) an institution (Heb 9:11-12 copy of heavenly temple);
or, (5) a ceremonial (1 Cor 5:7 passover).
1Co 10:1Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant,
how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the
sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses
in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink:
for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was
Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown
in the wilderness. 6 Now these things
were our examples,
Liken ὁμοίωμα homoiōma
that which has been made after the likeness of something; a figure, image, likeness,
representation; likeness i.e.
resemblance, such as amounts almost to equality or identity
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and
creeping things.
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death
reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude
of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been
planted together in the likeness
of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 8:3 For what the law
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Phil 2:7 But made himself of
no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men:
Rev 9:7 And the shapes
of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads
were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men
Matt 6:8 Be not ye therefore
like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before
ye ask him.
Matt 7:24 Therefore
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken
him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon the sand:
Matt 11:16But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children
sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
Matt 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his
field:
Matt 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a
certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Matt 22:2 The kingdom of heaven
is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Matt 25:1 Then shall the
kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps,
and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Luk 7:31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of
this generation? and to what are they like?
Luk 13:18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto
shall I resemble it?
Act 14:11 And when the
people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the
speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Rom 9:29 And as Esaias said
before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma,
and been made like (HB דָּמָה damah דָּמָה
dâmâh, to compare; by implication, to resemble, liken, consider, devise, (be)
like(-n), mean, think, use similitudes. ) unto Gomorrha.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all
things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Rocks and Stones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P2KU4zo0R4&list=PLD9o3pQYhVMF2TXItDBjF2-WOro3i93Af&index=15&t=26s Here is the text of the handouts from this class. First, a study of the name Peter.
Below is the second handout on Eben Shetiyah, the Foundation Stone.
____________________________________________________________
I was
teaching John 1 this week : where John and James and Andrew and Simon meet
Jesus, and where Simon is renamed Peter. Here are my thoughts.
Isaiah 51:1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. 2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
to me, ye
that follow (see John 1:37,38,40)
after
righteousness (a name for Jesus/Melchizedek priesthood),
ye that seek
(see John 1:38)
the LORD
(read: Jehovah/Jesus):
Look to the
rock (John 1:42) whence ye are hewn
and to the hole
of the pit (a stone quarry) whence ye are digged.
So, this is synonymous parallelism over and over: for an example of how seeking and following the LORD brings blessings.
Look to the
rock, which is Abraham,
and to the
stone quarry, which is Sarah and see how they got ebenim/banim=stones/children. Of course you see the sexual imagery: of
Jacob’s rock, standing upright and anointed with oil (the Hebrew for oil is
semen, as in Geth semen e ) and the quarry as the womb.
We, the seed of Abraham, are living stones (ebenim/ sons/children) “chips off the old block”: the ‘lively stones” of 1 Peter 2:5 (isn’t that cool? The whole first half of 1 Peter chapter 2 is good, talking about Christ as a living stone – tie that in to eben shetiyah, the foundation stone – over which the Jews stumble –Jacob 4) out of which God builds (I in Hebrew: the verb root from which the words eben/stone, ben/son, and beth/house/daughter are all constructed) HIS house, the temple, Bethel, and HIS family.
Before Abraham and before Peter, God was the Rock :
In well-known Jewish Midrash, the very first creation of God (we Mormons know that was Jesus) was the foundation stone, eben shetiyah [ אֶבֶן שְׁתִיָּה ] . Shet means foundation, to place, to appoint, to mark, to be stayed. It is the name for Adam and Eve’s son Seth: he was appointed by God in place of Abel.
This
rock, of course, is the rock outcropping on Mt. Moriah (later the temple mount)
on which Abraham offered his son Isaac.
It is the threshing floor of Arunah the Jebusite, the highest ridge of
Mount Zion, purchased by King David after he conquered Jerusalem for his
kingdom’s capital. It was the location
of the Jewish Holy of Holies in the temple built by Solomon (think of Christ as
the chief corner stone and as a stumbling stone to the Jews), and where the
Dome of the Rock stands today.
Simon
was renamed “Peter” the rock, PTR (‘Peter’) in Greek is Petros = Stone. In Isaiah, this was a name for Abraham. In Matt 17, Peter is given the sealing power
to seal the faithful into the Abrahamic covenant, to promise them the blessings
of Abraham and Sarah: seed, posterity, sons = banim = living stones.
BUT,
what if Peter / PTR had another meaning in another language that Jesus spoke,
creating double play on words.
PTR
(‘Peter’) in HEBREW is Peter = firstborn [פֶּטֶר ] .
This is the Levitical technical term for the first animal or child born
to a given female, that which “openeth the womb.” See Exodus 13:12. The firstborn belongs to God and in Genesis,
one of the rights of the firstborn is to be the priest for the family. פֶּטֶר also means “to set free”.
See Isaiah 22:22 : “he shall open and non shall shut.” The PTR is to
open the earth and set the prisoners of death go free
So,
naming Simon “Peter” may be Jesus’s way of appointing HIS firstborn : his first
convert (see Matt 16:16), his ‘oldest son’.
(See Philemon v. 10,16 for usage of ‘son’ for your converts)
As
the firstborn, Peter REPLACES the Levites in holding the priesthood in the new
Church established by Jesus Christ in mortality, effectively reversing or
returning priesthood rights to all families. (see Numbers 6 for where the
Levites were chosen to replace the firstborn as the priests). In Matt 17, Peter
receives all the priesthood keys to be the new high priest after Jesus.
As
the firstborn, Peter becomes the birthright son who is responsible to care for
the whole family, especially the widows, orphans and strangers (read:
Gentiles). He becomes the president of the High Priesthood (responsible for
spiritual / temple blessings) and the
presiding bishop of the church (responsible for temporal blessing, especially
for the poor, widows [single women], orphans [fatherless children], and
strangers in the land [those not yet members of the covenant people, whether in
this life or the next!].
As
the firstborn, Peter will also die as a sacrifice: so he is martyred in Rome.
I also think that the Akedah ( Abraham offering Isaac on Moriah) is actually Isaac’s endowment ceremony: when Isaac choses God to be his God by allowing himself to be bound (which is what Akedah means) and is taught all about the atonement.
More stuff: just a note to go along with "Peter" yesterday: none of this midrash was meant to replace any current interpretations of the text. Just to supplement them.
The rock is personal revelation : Matt 16:18 : we will see Peter continuing to receive revelation in the book of Acts, and as “lively stones” which comprise the House of the LORD, we are encouraged by President Nelson, our current “Peter, “ to seek revelation in our lives.
One Jewish understanding of keys and “binding and loosing” (Matt 16:19) is this:
Having a key
to something implies authority to USE the key.
In Talmudic times (after the temple was destroyed by the Romans), a
Rabbi who was considered exceptionally astute and faithful was ordained by the
Sanhedrin with authority - HB smichah
- to make judgment calls about how to interpret the law of Moses in
everyday applications. To this day,
Orthodox Jews still have rabbinical courts (din)
who make those decisions today. The rulings that a rabbi with smichah makes are
considered binding on earth and in heaven (meaning God himself accepts that
rabbi’s legal interpretation).
What is
cool is that that is exactly what Jesus (think Sermon on the mount) did: He reinterpreted
scripture and how to apply it. When the
Jews asked,"by what authority? who gave YOU smichah?" His
answer was, "My Father." Then, He gave that authority to Simon
Peter to reinterpret the laws through receiving continuing personal revelation
(think of the dream of the sheet full of unclean animals). Peter then made the judgment calls necessary
for the law to be applied fairly in his day: ie. baptized Gentiles were to be
accepted into the Kingdom without circumcision.
FOUNDATION STONE – UPON THIS ROCK
I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH
STONE: EBEN אֶבֶן Definition:
a stone [ from the root banah בָּנָה to build (begin
to) build (-er), obtain children, make, repair]
Gen. 28:18, 22
And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that
he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and
poured oil upon the top of it; this stone was to be God’s House. Jacob
repeated it in Gen. 35:14
Gen. 49:24 – Joseph’s blessing “the stone of
Israel” prophecies of Jesus Christ; see also D&C 50:44
Ex. 20:25 – Altar of stone erected after 10
Commandments given by Jehovah, as well as at Ebal & Gerizim (Deut.27:4)
Ex. 24:12 – Commandments written on tables of
stone, by the finger of God (Ex.31:18)
Ex. 28:9-10 The ephod was held on the High Priest’s
shoulders by two stones engraven with the names of all 12 tribes as a memorial
to Israel that the HP bore their names on his shoulders into the presence of
the Lord. (28:21) This is also true of the 12 stones in the breastplate. Cf
Ex.39:1-31
Deut. 27: 4,5,6; 28 Commandments to be written on stones
after crossing over the Jordan. Joshua did this at Shechem, between Mt Ebal and
Mt Gerazim, where he also built a stone altar (see Joshua 8:31-2).
Joshua 4:2-3, 5, 9. 20 Joshua was to choose 1 man from each
of the 12 tribes to pick up a stone out of the Jordan to be set up as a
memorial of God’s power to dry up the river. The 12 standing stones were set up
in a circle at Gilgal (gilgal means circle). This is also where all the
Israelite men were circumcised :made a circular cut on their own ‘standing
stones.”
1Sa 17:50 David prevailed over the Goliath with a sling
and with a stone
Job 38:6
Whereupon are the foundations of the earth fastened? or who laid the
corner stone thereof
Psa 118:22
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the
corner.
Isa. 8:14 – [Christ] “shall be for a sanctuary;
but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of
Israel, for a gin and a snare to Jerusalem.
Isa.
28:16- Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a
tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that
believeth shall not make haste.
17
Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the
hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the
hiding place.
Isa
54:11-12 I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and
lay thy foundations with sapphires. 12 And I will make thy windows of agates,
and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. (To be
fulfilled when the New Jerusalem is built with a foundation made of the 12
precious stones of the HP breastplate Rev 21.)
Dan. 2:34-35 – stone cut out of the mountain
without hands, becoming a great mountain and filling the whole earth
ROCK: צוּר tsoor – cliff (or sharp rock) or
Boulder; fig. a refuge; also an Edge
(as precipitous) , edge, God (one), rock, sharp, stone, strength,
strong.
Ex 17:6; Deut. 8:15
Thou shalt smite the
rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.
Ex.
33:21-22;
34:4-7 – Where the LORD reveals His name on Mt.Sinai to Moses
Deut. 32:4 – Jehovah is the ROCK [ Deut. 32:15]
which Israel forsook [Deut. 32:18]
the ROCK that begat Israel! [ Deut. 32:31,
37] But their rocks are not our ROCK!
1 Sam. 2:2 – No ROCK like our God, Jehovah.
Ps. 18:2 – The LORD is my ROCK, fortress,
deliverer, high tower [ Ps. 18:31]
Ps. 19:14 – ROCK here is “STRENGTH” and
salvation (62:2)
Ps. 27:5 –HIDE me in time of trouble in thy
pavilion, in the secret of the Tabernacle, hide me “upon a ROCK”
Ps. 31:2- House of defense, ROCK, fortress.
Ps. 61:2-3 ROCK =
Tabernacle/tent
See also Ps.
89:26, Ps. 89:43, Ps. 92:15, Ps. 94:22, Ps. 95:1, Ps. 105:41, Ps. 114:8, Ps. 144:1, Prov. 30:19, Isa. 2:10, Isa. 2:19, Isa. 2:21, Isa. 8:14, Isa. 10:26, Isa. 17:10, Isa. 26:4, Isa. 30:29, Isa. 44:8,
Isa. 48:21,
Isa. 48:21,
Isa. 51:1,
Jer. 18:14,
Jer. 21:13,
Nahum 1:6,
Hab. 1:12,
Matt. 5:21,
27,
Luke 9:8,
19,
Acts 15:7,
21,
21:16,
2 Cor. 5:17,
2 Pet. 2:5,
Rev. 12:9,
20:2
Foundation Stone
This is a prophecy of Jesus
Christ, in which he is called a stone, a tried stone (or a stone tested for
strength), and a precious corner stone. A cornerstone adds permanence and
strength to the foundation of a building. Here the building is the latter-day
Zion, and "he that believeth" may have a "sure foundation"
on which to build (1 Pet. 2:6-8).
He that believeth shall not
make haste. Peter's quotation of
Isaiah here reads, "He that believeth on him shall not be confounded"
(1 Pet. 2:6), and Paul's quotation reads, "shall not be ashamed"
(Rom. 9:33; 10:11). The meaning of this phrase, then, is: "Whosoever believes on him [Christ, the
stone] shall not be [confounded or] ashamed." Understanding Isaiah –
p. 254, Parry
1 Peter 2:4-10. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,
an holy priesthood, to offer
up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,
Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect,
precious: and he that
believeth on him shall not be
confounded. 7 Unto
you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which
the builders disallowed, the
same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of
offence, even to them which
stumble at the word, being
disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvellous light: 10
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God:
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
“From the Psalmist, Peter
quoted the inspired prophecy, "The stone which the builders refused is
become the head stone of the corner" (Psalm 118:22), having reference to
the rejection by the Jews of their Messiah and his subsequent acceptance by
them as the foundation or cornerstone upon which they should build.
“It is to the Book of Mormon
that we turn to see how the Jews would both reject their Messiah and yet have
him as "the head of their corner." Jacob, son of Lehi, foretelling
our Lord's mortal ministry said: "I perceive by the workings of the Spirit
which is in me, that by the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone
upon which they might build and have safe foundation. But behold, according to
the scriptures, this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only
sure foundation, upon which the Jews can build. And now, my beloved, how is it
possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build
upon it, that it may become the head of their corner? Behold, my beloved
brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you." (Jacob 4:15-18.)
“By way of explanation, Jacob
then quotes from the Prophet Zenos, the allegory of the tame and wild olive
tree, and shows how in the latter-days, after a long night of apostasy and
darkness and following the restoration of the gospel, the Jews will be led to
believe and gain sanctuary with Christ through faith in his name. (Jacob 5 and
6.) Bruce R. McConkie, NTDC
Vol.1
Ideas
and connections to consider:
·
Wise man builds his house upon a rock - Matt.7:25; 3 Nephi 14:24
·
Upon this rock, I will build my church – Matt.16:18
·
Gold plates were molten out of rock – 1 Nephi 17:16
·
He that is built upon the rock of Christ, receives the
word of truth of God with gladness – 2 Nephi 28
·
Christ’s doctrine builds upon His Rock – 3 Nephi11:39
·
The 16 stones of Brother of Jared were molten out of rock
to give light to those in darkness – Ether 3:1
·
If ye are built on the rock of Christ, your enemies
cannot prevail – D&C 6:34
·
Christ’s word is His Rock, His Church, His Gospel –
D&C11:16, 24
·
Christ is the cornerstone of the the Temple Eph.2:20; Mark 12:10; Matt 21:42-44
IT IS UPON THE ROCK OF OUR
REDEEMER, WHO IS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD, THAT YE MUST BUILD YOUR FOUNDATION…A
SURE FOUNDATION WHERE ON IF MEN BUILD, THEY CANNOT FALL. Hel.3:12
At one time, this area on top
of Mt. Moriah had been a threshing floor, and was made of rock. Today, the Dome of the Rock is built surrounding this rock.
Some scholars believe that
the rock where Isaac was offered became the great rock foundation of the Holy
of Holies in Solomon’s Temple.
During the celebration of
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), the Talmud tells us that the Jews
circumambulated the temple, and later their synagogues carrying willow and palm
branches and reciting the “Hoshanot” (‘Hosannas’). One of those shouts is “Hosanna, Eben Shetiyah, Hosanna!” They would pile up their branches at the end
of Sukkot and burn them. This may be the
source of why Catholics burn their Palm Sunday branches after Easter and save
the ashes to use the next year to mark the foreheads of worshippers on Ash
Wednesday.
Ps.29:10; Job 38:8 – can be
seen as alluding to the stone or rock as God’s throne, the foundation for the Ark
of the Covenant. This stone was set to
control the bounds of the waters of chaos and flood under the earth. Thus He is
“enthroned” over the flood. When God wanted to flood the earth in the days of
Noah, He removed the ‘foundation stone’ and chaos flooded the earth.
This rock is seen by many
rabbis as the top of the cosmic mountain, the first piece of earth that came up
during creation, where the separation of the waters on earth began. It was
viewed as the “highest point” the Mountain of the Lord, or the Holy Mountain.
Mishnah describes 10 degrees
of holiness in concentric rings surrounding the Holy of Holies. The stone is
the center point of those rings and thus, the holiest of all things.
