Until we see - Ian Heard's Blog

HaMakom, BaMakom in your Bible

2/8/2018

‘Abraham arose and went to HaMakom....he lifted his eyes and saw HaMakom afar off.....then they came to HaMakom.... and Abraham called the name of HaMakom ‘The LORD will Provide’
(Genesis 22:3, 4, 9 and 14)

'... and Jacob encountered BaMakom...and took one of the stones of HaMakom ...and lay down in BaMakom to sleep...and he said ‘surely the LORD is in BaMakom.... how dreadful is HaMakom this is none other than the house of God (Bethel)...and he called the name of HaMakom, Bethel’
(Genesis 28:11, 16, 17, 19)

God to Moses...’then you shall seek HaMakom....there will be HaMakom’
(Deuteronomy 12:5, 11)

‘So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for BaMakom ’ ... and David said, ‘I have loved the habitation of your house and UMakom where your glory dwells’
(1 Chronicles 21:25 and Psalm 26:8)

Nehemiah in his prayer, ‘remember LORD how you said...’I will gather them from there and bring them to HaMakom which I have chosen as a dwelling for my name’
(Nehemiah 1:9)

Jeremiah uses HaMakom a dozen times...
and so it goes, all through scripture, so that we see how important HaMakom is to God: THE PLACE He chose as special to Himself and to His people.

Read the book THE PLACE: HaMakom: where Jerusalem’s temples stood to discover more.

Key: HaMakom = THE PLACE; BaMakom = to THE PLACE; UMakom = and THE PLACE.

THE THRESHING FLOOR OF ORNAN?

31/7/2018

Above: Examples of Threshing Floors on hillsides

So… a threshing floor had to be a large, flat, open space on top of a hill or on open, flat ground, right? Which would mean that Ornan’s floor must have been on such a site, right?

Wrong! And misleading... perhaps resulting from traditional and idealized depictions in paintings. It’s true that some threshing floors of course, were in open areas both in valleys and on hilltops—but threshing floors have come in many sizes and in many locations. Some have been found on hilltops, but also in many other interesting sites. Take a look at these pictures above of ancient threshing floor sites around Europe to see what I mean.

What is this?

The strange markings near Gihon Spring

Now—what about the strange markings found on level limestone near the Gihon Spring site at the ancient City of David? A world-wide invitation was put out by archeologists and the City of David Foundation to help solve the mystery of what they might be. See https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/jerusalem/what-are-these-strange-markings-found-near-jerusalems-gihon-spring/

Could it be possible? Despite all the categorical statements being made about where threshing floors have to be, that this flattened area half-way up the side of a ridge—on the side of a valley along which the prevailing Summer westerly winds of the threshing season, funneled—was eminently suited? Especially when there are evidences of a dwelling or dwellings in the rock behind it and a possible sacrificial altar nearby! And especially if you have been the chieftain of a stronghold and settlement once known as Jebus and had pride-of-place near its magnificent water supply...

So…in a radical view—open for comment, here goes--

I believe that this site ages ago, may well have been the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The very site where Ornan (also known as Araunah) said to David, ‘Take it to yourself….Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all’ (1 Chronicles 21:23 and 2 Samuel 24:22). More about the implements shortly…
To see how Ornan’s threshing floor located here might have worked, one depiction is given in my sketch below where the flat floor had a recess to accommodate a central pole which could be put in or taken out. Timber wedges would be used to clamp it in position (remember the low wall/s seen in the photographs of the site today were probably not there in Ornan’s time). This pole would have provided the central pivot around which Ornan’s oxen walked in their neck yokes as shown. Whilst the wheat or barley was being trampled by the oxen, the floor grooves (which served another purpose) were simply filled with timber pieces cut to fit so that the oxen had a flat surface when treading.

Sketch of the threshing floor of Ornan at the site of the strange markings near Gihon Spring, showing how the implements mentioned in the Biblical account may have featured on the floor. See explanation below.

Now…what did the oxen tread? Many will know that in today’s world of grain harvesting a huge mechanical ‘Header’ moves through the grain field taking the head of grain from the stalk, but in Biblical times the stalk was cut long, near the ground, using a sickle because the stem was required for fodder or straw for bedding, pillows and brick-making. We’ve all seen pictures of sheaves of grain like those I’ve included here. A group of these left to dry was called a stook, or in America, a shock (see picture). In biblical times usually the whole sheaf or bundle was thrown onto the threshing floor, but what if a device as shown in my sketch was employed to retain a sheaf and cut the stem (straw) off the grain head prior to threshing? This would separate the straw component before threshing.

Can you see that boards, wedged into the floor grooves with timber wedges would provide a useful ‘V’ into which one or more sheaves could be inserted with stems protruding for easy removal of the stem for discard to a separate straw stockpile? Once a batch of sheaves was trimmed and the heads placed on the threshing floor, the upright boards could be removed, perhaps then doubling as threshing sledges, then the oxen, yoked into the device, walked around the pole.

Compare the photograph of the grooves and of the central floor hole with what I have depicted in my sketch. Fanciful? I think not. Clearly these grooves had some mechanical function and I urge consideration of this proposal.

‘First the natural then the spiritual.’ THE TEMPLE & LIVING WATER!

28/7/2018

1 Corinthians 15:46

All the typology in the Bible bears this principle out. For example, the tabernacle furnishings, the priestly garments, the Feasts of Israel and etc are all natural items or events designed to carry and speak of a non-natural (spiritual/real) truth. When Paul enunciated this principle he was talking about how our natural earthly body is but a shadow/representation of the coming spiritual and eternal one. In all of God’s communication with us he speaks the language we understand—that of the natural world in which He put us, and uses its ‘paraphernalia’ as pointers to spiritual reality—what exists in His realm.

In almost every Biblical depiction of the dwelling place and the ‘throne’ of God in His realm, there is water—a stream that flows to bring life (For example Psalm 46:4; Ezekiel 47:5-9; Isaiah 8:6; Jeremiah 2:13; Zechariah 14:8; Joel 3:18b; Revelation 22:1)…not to mention what Jesus said about fountains of living water flowing out from those who would become His new residence, John 4:14 and 7:38!

Why then, when it comes to THE PLACE where Yahweh put His earthly temple, do so many want discard or ignore this principle of shadows and types? Why would God not be consistent when it comes to the place of His presence among His people of old, from which His life-giving water was to flow?
The first natural temple therefore, had a spring of living water to declare the spiritual truth of His life being made available and flowing to a thirsty world.

Can you see that we must get hold of both truths? How that which is presented in the natural world provides a picture of what exists in the world of the Spirit. Or...to put it the other way around, what exists as spiritual truth and reality, has its ‘type’ or shadow-picture in our material and natural realm. But from the believer’s ground-based view it is ‘first the natural, then the spiritual.’ The first is to point us to the second!

The TENT in the City of David

16/7/2018

'Now David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it (1 Chronicles 15:1)

Where was that Tent? It was at Gihon as 1 Kings 1:33-40 makes clear. That Tent was positioned at what David knew to be the ordained place--the site known throughout the Bible as The Place, (in Hebrew HaMakom). All of his thinking about the 'House' that the Lord had put in his heart, revolved around that place. It was IN the City of David, also known as Zion. Zion is NOT the so-called Temple Mount!

What do these old aerial photos of City of David area and Jerusalem reveal?

12/7/2018

In these extraordinary early aerial photos of Jerusalem can be seen the zone once known as the City of David. In the above photo, purported to date at 1910, I have highlighted the City of David area with a thin yellow line. It constitutes a crescent shape (as described by Josephus), above the Kidron Valley. In fact, a close inspection reveals what appears to be remains of old walls defining the area (along the left side of the area enclosed with the yellow line). Many have come to believe that this is where the Temple of Solomon and the later Temple actually stood.
2 Samuel 5:7 '..and David captured the fortress of Zion, which is the City of David.'

The 1930 picture (above) shows the same area in the lower right before being built up and the final picture is of more recent times. One wonders what secrets would have been revealed had archaeological digs been conducted in this zone prior to being covered in houses and other buildings as seen in the image below!

This recent arial photograph clearly shows a street now running along the west of the area and Kidron Valley on its East (or right hand side as the picture is viewed). Its crescent shape can be clearly seen.
You can get an understanding of the Biblical history of this site in the exciting narrative 'THE PLACE HaMakom: where Jerusalem's temples stood'

It's available HERE or on Amazon OR as an e-Book HERE

‘For the LORD has chosen Zion’ (Psalm 132:13)

25/6/2018

Too easily is this critically important phrase overlooked. Things and places CHOSEN by God are deeply significant and should be important to us.

There was a location which became known as THE Place (in Hebrew HaMakom) which, as this Psalm indicates, he had both ‘chosen’ and ‘desired’ from the beginning!

What the ancient Gihon Spring enclosure looked like.
The chosen and desired Place had been indicated from ancient time. It was where Abraham offered Isaac, where Jacob had his dream, it was what Moses instructed Joshua to seek upon entering the land! It was where David placed the Ark of the Presence in a specially prepared tent—at Gihon, the fountain that provided life-giving water for the City of David. It is where David’s son Solomon constructed the temple that God had put in David’s heart.
Read ‘THE PLACE: where Jerusalem’s temples stood’ available here
or as eBook here.

John used the age-old nickname THE PLACE for the Temple

19/6/2018

Note carefully the correct translations following (with my emphasis added):

John 4:20 “…and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is THE PLACE where one ought to worship” Samaritan woman to Jesus (Note: not “Jerusalem is the place”)

John 11:48 “…and the Romans will come and will be taking away from us both THE PLACE and the nation.” Literal translation where the Chief Priests and Pharisees gathered after the raising of Lazarus. Note that some translations (eg NIV) actually say Temple here although that word is not used.

John 19:20 ‘This title therefore many of the Jews read, for THE PLACE of the city where Jesus was crucified was near; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin..’ in Darby's translation—one of the few that is strictly accurate; the Greek actually says, ‘for near was THE PLACE of the city.’
Details here

Why was the ark of the covenant in a tent at Gihon?

7/6/2018

(1 Chronicles 15:1 and 1 Kings 1:33-40)
Because ‘X’ marks the spot--the sacred spot!
David knew that this was where it ultimately belonged—at the site known as Ha Makom, The Place: The Place where Abraham offered Isaac; The Place where Jacob had his dream and said, “this is the Beth-El, the House of God”; The Place that David purchased and said “this is the Beth-El”...and The Place where Solomon built the true Beth-El and the fire of God fell!
Read 'THE PLACE' and get the full story, available HERE or as eBook Here

Why Living Water at Jerusalem's Temple is important

5/6/2018

Where's the Living water?
A major problem with the traditional 'Temple Mount' site for the Jerusalem temples is the absence of 'living' water (water that is not stagnant but flows or springs!)

Biblical 'types' are very important. They are earthly ‘shadows’ of what exists in the spiritual realm or in subsequent revelation. The Red Sea is a ‘type’ of baptism; The Tabernacle and later permanent Temple are a shadow-type of the Church (the people in whom God now dwells by his Spirit). Egypt typifies slavery in sin; Babylon typifies estrangement from God through neglect and disobedience; the bread in the Tabernacle speaks as a ‘type’, of Jesus (‘I am the bread of life’). There are many ‘types’. In each case, a physical item, place or event typifies a spiritual truth.

Through the Bible, the imagery of God’s 'throne-room' almost always includes a river of life-giving water. Solomon’s temple, the design for which came from God, via David, was full of typology.

So then…in order for the Temple site to qualify as a true ‘type’ for the place of God’s throne and presence it must surely include flowing water!

There is only one site that qualifies; a site in the City of David (Zion), above and near the once powerful and gushing Gihon Spring, whose water was channeled into the site as many ancient records attest. For more, read ‘THE PLACE: HaMakom: where Jerusalem’s temples stood’
Click HERE or for eBook here

Temple location clues in your Bible!

30/5/2018

Your Bible provides many clues to the true location of Jerusalem's temples. Here are a just few...

Clue 1: In Ezekiel chapter 9 the prophet sees God's plan to clean up Jerusalem. Ministers of judgment are deployed to mark out the righteous and destroy those who have corrupted the city. In verse 4 they are instructed to 'go through the middle of the city' marking those who are corrupt. The slayers are to follow them to strike the offenders. But note where they are to begin; God says, 'begin at my sanctuary.' Those marked as corrupt were clearly within the city and the judgment was to begin at the very centerpiece of the city--the temple.

Clue 2: Another of Ezekiel's visions is that of the glory of the LORD abandoning the temple. It is in chapter 11 where in verse 23 he sees that 'the glory of the LORD went up from the middle of the city and stood on the mountain to the east' (Mt of Olives).
The glory of God dwelt in His house, the temple and it was from here in the middle of the city that the glory ascended .

Clue 3: A day came after the exile when the glory of God returned to the temple. Zechariah writes of it as God says, 'I will return to Zion and dwell in the middle of Jerusalem and Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain' (see Zechariah 8:3). Clearly the temple was in the middle of the city--God in the midst of His people, not on some northern extension removed from it.

Clue 4: Psalm 122 is about Jerusalem as the City of God, the holy city where the 'Testimony of Israel' resides. The Testimony (Hebrew EDUTH) is the Law of Moses within the ark of the covenant around which the nation gathered to worship and honor God. Clearly this psalm was written after the building of Solomon's temple, but, importantly, places it within the boundaries of the city (see for example, v.7 'within your walls'). The words translated 'compact together' in verse 3 mean 'of a piece' or 'all joined together'. Temple and township were an inseparable entity. The temple was not remote from the township, up the hill some 200 meters to its north! Its location was the City of David, otherwise known as Zion.

Location

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What people who've read THE PLACE are saying...

Marilyn Sams - author of The Jerusalem Temple Mount Myth: Ian Heard’s book adds a unique fictional aspect to the growing movement of people accepting the City of David location for the temples in Jerusalem. His perspective .....brings many insightful possibilities to the table. Especially moving are his heartfelt expressions of faith in and love for the prophets and the Savior of the world'.
Barry Buirski of Celebrate Messiah Ministry: I Iove it, I love it, I love it !!! This book is The Place to find your Place! ..... I share the view that the temple in Jerusalem was more likely to be found in the city of David rather than where the present western wall is situated.
Pastor, Luke Yeghnazar of the Iranian Church of Los Angeles: Wonderful book. I trust it will be distributed widely. I read it with excitement. The reader will want to know what happens next. An exciting book to be read by Christians, Jews and others.