Ian Heard's Blog - Until we see

STANDING WHERE ABRAHAM STOOD...

6/12/2019

Viewing these two pictures, you are standing where Abraham stood when, after a couple of day’s journey from Beer Sheva behind us to the south, ‘he lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off.’ (Genesis 22:4).

The first picture is an artist’s impression of early Salem (where Melchizedek dwelt) which became Jebus and eventually the City of David and Jerusalem. The second is one I took recently from an approximately similar position.

There is an excellent time-lapse series at the City of David website which you can view here http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/en/virtual-tours/interactive-jerusalem-virtual-tour (although it incorrectly still places the temple on so-called Temple Mount).

What Abraham saw that morning was the site which was becoming known as HaMakom—The Place. In Abraham’s time, The Place comprised little more than a spring surrounded by a protective wall, above which a walled settlement was emerging. The description is used some four or five times in the Genesis 22 story and then in the patriarchal stories it features often. But the spring called Gihon was the central feature...a khast type spring whose name meant ‘gushing forth’ because of its abundant water and its force.

Here is what Rabbi Professor Yoel Elitzur says about HaMakom...

‘Ha-makom in Genesis
Once we understand the significance of “the place,” we can see that this keyword – ha-makom – is a keyword that is emphasized in the stories of the patriarchs in the book of Genesis as well. It appears in the story of the binding of Isaac and in Jacob’s Bethel narrative. The proof that the prominent role of the word ha-makom in these passages is no coincidence lies in the fact that often, the word is stressed in the Biblical text much more than what would be linguistically reasonable. That is to say, there are several instances in Genesis where the word ha-makom makes it difficult to understand the simple meaning of the verse’ (end quote).

Imagine Abraham’s feelings as he lifted up his eyes and saw where God was taking him—and the destination where he was to offer his son! Would he turn back from here...or go on into what he knew God was calling him to?

He concluded, says the writer of Hebrews 11, ‘that God was able to raise him (Isaac) up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.’

This vantage point can represent for us, those same moments God brings us to when we must commit to His absolute sovereignty, or return and miss the enlargement that surrender always brings!

JOSEPHUS, The Valley of The Cheesemakers, and the Temple

19/11/2019

According to Josephus (Wars Book 5, Chapter 4:136-141) the two halves of the City (Jerusalem) were lower and upper, east and west respectively—separated by the Valley of the Cheesemakers (or Tyropean Valley) which ran north and south.
He describes the ‘lower’ city (Acra) or the City of David, as having the ‘shape of a moon when she is horned’—ie, a crescent moon.

This describes the City of David area seen in the attached picture which I took recently from the south, whilst visiting Jerusalem. The crescent shape can be clearly seen and I have outlined it in the second picture with a yellow line for clarity. (This is where Abraham, arriving from Beer Sheva in the south, would have caught his first view of HaMakom--The Place to which God was directing him with Isaac...see Genesis 22:4 'Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw The Place [HaMakom] afar off').

The Valley of the Cheesemakers is not as discernible today for two reasons:

1. As Josephus informs us, the Hasmoneans ‘filled up that valley with earth.’
2. It is today covered with dwellings and other buildings

But the reason the Hasmoneans filled it is of great import: Josephus tells us that the reason was that they ‘had a mind to join the city to the temple.’

Clearly this can only mean that the temple was in this Acra region and the Hasmoneans desired to make the temple more easily accessible from the western side of the valley.

Ergo, the temple was in the Acra, or the portion recognised to ancients and today, as the City of David.

'OUT OF ZION...'

25/10/2019

Many times the Bible employs the phrase ‘out of Zion’, ‘from Zion’, and others like it—‘in Zion’ or ‘to Zion.’ For example...

‘The LORD roars from Zion...’ (Amos 1:2)
‘For the LORD dwells in Zion.’ (Joel 3:21)
‘Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.’ (Psalm 50:2)
‘The LORD bless you out of Zion...’ (Psalm 128:5)
‘For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.’ (Isaiah 2:3)

Why?
Clearly Zion is viewed as a centre and source, The Place from which things emanate and within which, things of real consequence occur.

We should not ignore this. Zion was ‘ground zero’ where God had determined to put His presence among the people chosen as His ‘demonstration’ people. He did so by having the ark of the Covenant—the ark of His presence, housed there, yes, in Zion!

So we must ask...where was ancient Zion? It’s not a difficult question to answer. It was the small stronghold above and westward of the Gihon Spring, the means by which David captured Zion which had to that time been held by the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-7 and 1 Chronicles 11:5-7). Gihon was where David had erected a tent to (temporarily) house the ark and the sacred objects—and it was the ‘X’ that marked the ancient spot known as The Place (HaMakom) where the permanent temple was to stand.

David named it the City of David. What was known as Mount Zion was part of the Mt. Moriah complex and is not as prominent today, as the ‘bump’ it once had been, was levelled and the valley between it and the rise northward raised up (bringing to mind Isaiah 40:4).

Zion and the City of David was on a southward-pointing ‘peninsula’ of land skirted by the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys—and that was where the temples stood! (The word Zion is thought to mean something like ‘sunny high-point’).

In the accompanying picture of the Jerusalem area from early in the 20th Century, the approximate area of ZION is circled. It is well south of the Muslim shrine further up the hill--and in the region which comprised the ancient City of David just west of the Gihon Spring.

THE ARCHBISHOP AND THE CALIPH IN ZION...

7/10/2019

When Jerusalem surrendered to the Muslims in 637AD Caliph Umar (or Omar) travelled to Jerusalem to receive the submission of the Christian Patriarch Sophronius.

Umar was eager to discover the site where Solomon’s temple had stood and he knew it must have been located where David had erected his altar and temporary tent. After some mis-direction, the Caliph finally prevailed upon Sophronius to be completely honest with him, whereupon Sophronius said words to the effect, “then we must go to Zion.”

Taking Umar by the hand he led him down the hill to the site on Zion, in what once was the City of David, near the Gihon Spring—and which was now the refuse heap of the city. It was completely covered in refuse and rubbish, which was why Christian pilgrims and visitors to Jerusalem had gone further up the hill to uncluttered ground to build shrines and to worship.

But the Caliph insisted on praying where David had prayed and where Solomon had erected the temple, and he did so.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE

9/9/2019

Artist's impression of City of David in Solomon's time with the Temple on alleged Temple Mount

If you believe that Jerusalem’s temples were located on what became falsely named Temple Mount here are just a few of the questions you must address...

1. Why did Ezekiel say, when describing the glory of the Lord leaving the temple, that it went up from ‘the middle of the city’? (Ezekiel 11:23).

2. Why did Zechariah say, when speaking of the return of God’s glory, ‘Thus said the LORD; I am returned to Zion, and will dwell in ‘the middle of’ Jerusalem’? (Zech. 8:3)

3. Why did the Psalm-writer say that he would offer his worship and thanksgiving in the courts of the Lord’s house, in ‘the middle of Jerusalem’? (See Psalm 116:17-19)

4. Why did David erect a tent for the ark and the anointing oil etc at Gihon?

5. Where is the ‘living’ water that provides a ‘type’ and picture of the life that flows at and from God’s throne and presence?

6. Why did John use the ancient site’s name when writing about the inscription on Jesus’ cross—‘for the place of the city where Jesus was crucified was near; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin’? (John 19:20 see original Greek and Darby translation).

7. Why did the Samaritan woman use the ancient name when said to Jesus, ‘you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where we should worship’? (See John 4:20 in various translations and in the original Greek).

8. Why did David write ‘for the LORD has chosen Zion; he has chosen it as His dwelling place’? (Psalm 132:13)

9. Why did Matthew write (Matthew 4:5) that the tempter ‘took Jesus into the the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple’ if the temple was not within the city?

10. Why did Nehemiah, whose stated primary concern and objective was the temple (see Nehemiah 2:8) inspect only the southern portion of the area known as the City of David, if the temple was well to the north of it?

Find the answers to these questions and more in
'THE PLACE HaMakom: where Jerusalem's temples stood'

NEHEMIAH AND THE TEMPLE SITE...

21/8/2019

What was uppermost in Nehemiah’s mind when he asked the king to permit him to return to Jerusalem?

Clearly it was protection of ‘the House’—the Temple of God (Neh 2:8).

When Nehemiah spoke to King Artaxerxes he desired a letter from the king to the keeper of the king’s forest ‘to make beams for the gates of the fortress pertaining to the temple.’
The walls were broken down and the gates of the fortress-city—the City of David—had been burned.

Nehemiah’s primary concern as expressed to the king was the vulnerability of the temple. He wanted to repair the gates ‘...pertaining to the House (the Temple). It is also clear in his prayer, where he makes reference to God’s promise to return the people to HaMakom—The Place He had chosen as a ‘dwelling’ for His name (Neh. 1:9)!

On his return to Jerusalem he went on an inspection tour by night (so as not to alert the enemies of God as to his purpose).

That the Temple was in the City of David becomes quite clear when we examine the area Nehemiah encompassed and assesses in his night-time survey.

He left the city by the Valley Gate, went past the Dung Gate in the Valley of Hinnom, and proceeded toward (in the direction of) the Serpent or Dragon Well also called En Rogel in the Kidron Valley and then turned north up the Kidron Valley to the Fountain Gate—possibly the gate by which people exited to walk to the well at En Rogel (see diagram)—or it could be the gate further north that accessed the Gihon Spring (and shown as the water Gate in the accompanying diagram borrowed from http://www.biblemysteries.com/lectures/nihemahwall.htm.)

Nehemiah then retraced his steps and re-entered the city via the Valley Gate.

The area he viewed is the ‘neck’ or peninsula that comprised the City of David.

He was nowhere near (by hundreds of meters) the prominence to the north of the City of David which is today erroneously known as Temple Mount.

If, as seems quite clear, the temple was his major concern—and it was ‘up there’—it seriously begs the question, ‘why did Nehemiah go nowhere near it?’

Here is his report from Nehemiah 2:13-15 in the NASV...

‘So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.
Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass.
So I went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned.’

Read 'THE PLACE HaMakom: where Jerusalem's Temples stood' to help you understand this ancient site that Jacob called the House of God (Bethel). See details elsewhere on this site or here.

NOT MY PEOPLE!

19/8/2019

“Call his name Lo-Ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be your God.”

NOT MY PEOPLE!
This is what the prophet Hosea was instructed to call his third child as God showed His disgust over The People—the privileged people who had shown only dishonor and contempt for Him!

How did those whom God had named His own, and, HaAm, THE PEOPLE—to whom He had attached His name and (in a sense) His reputation—become so distasteful to Him that He was ready to disown and disenfranchise them?

Their behavior, to use human language, made God, and His prophet, ‘cringe.’ I can imagine that the emphasis God was making in the name was ‘Not my People (thank you very much!)'.
In other words, ‘don’t attach them to me or to my Name’ and, ‘don’t judge me by them’!

Read the enthralling story of those God called ‘The People' and 'My People.’

Here’s a what Alan Bull PhD has to say:

"THE PEOPLE... is an enthralling and innovative approach, not only to telling old familiar stories but using narrative to portray, in a subtle but powerful way, the truth of good and evil in our world . . . There is good and evil, God and Satan, and in every human relationship, interaction and behavior a choice is to be made. The consequences, for those with the spiritual eyes to see, are clear.
It is an exceptional and well written piece of work.”

'THE PEOPLE: the sons of God (Through the eyes of a Watcher)' is the second work in a trilogy of books comprised of 'THE PLACE', 'THE PEOPLE' and, publishing soon,
'THE PERSON'

Find out more about 'THE PEOPLE: the sons of God (through the eyes of a Watcher' on this site or go to the publishers site here

Or to Amazon here

WERE THERE TWO BETHELS? And...IS JERUSALEM THE TRUE AND ORIGINAL BETHEL?

2/8/2019

My answer is ‘yes.’

A Jewish acquaintance has spent a lot of time with archeologists in and around Jerusalem, researching the latest finds in the ancient area known as the City of David. Although a very successful businessman, he is also a true scholar of Israel’s history and of the Old Testament. I will refer to him as KB.

KB’s considered view (with which I am in accord) is that the site of Jerusalem and particularly the Gihon Spring and Zion area is the original site at which Jacob declared, ‘this is none other than the house of God (BETHEL) and the gate of heaven’ (Gen. 28:17). I quote KB as follows (with some clarifications of mine in parenthesis. Underlining is also mine).
The map referred to is at right--

Quote:
“The precise location of Bethel (which is Luz according to Genesis 28:19 and Joshua 18:13) remains a major point of contention among academics and Biblical scholars. Luz being synonymous with Bethel may not seem that significant, but it has caused and continues to cause Israel's greatest disasters. Rivalry is the heart of this dynamic millennial problem.
The problem is relevant because modern Bethel, which is north of Jerusalem significantly distorts our understanding of Torah, especially when it substitutes the location of Luz-Bethel-Jerusalem on Benjamin’s southern border intersecting Judah's northern boundary. The problem originated on Benjamin's northern boundary with Ephraim (see Bethel in the map above).
Replace the name "Jerusalem" with "Bethel" and you will immediately notice the mirror image problem for two of Israel's most competitive tribes at their dueling Bethel locations (dueling over their Bethel locations).

What's the big deal you may ask? During Israel’s ~250 year exile in Egypt and sojourn in the desert, the location of Jacob's covenant at Bethel was hidden. Around 250 years before the allotment of land to the tribes of Israel under Joshua, Jacob had returned to Luz-Bethel-Jerusalem where he had made a covenant and took the name Israel (Genesis 35:10). Importantly the mountain on which Luz-Bethel-Jerusalem was located, Mount Moriah (Mt Moriah must be seen as the ‘Moriah Complex’, including its ridge southward into the Kidron Valley) would ultimately become the site of the altar and temple.
As such it would be extremely prestigious and economically lucrative, but, at that time it was not generally known whether Jacob's Bethel was on the northern or southern boundary of Benjamin. This gave rise to massive rivalry between Ephraim and Judah.

The Book of Joshua, was completed by the end of his life, it set the guidance that would demarcate land, but in Joshua's absence it was open to interpretation and became food for rivals (rivalry). The tribes were preoccupied defending and settling their respective land, but they could not penetrate the fortress that had been built over Jacob’s covenant (site) and (had been) occupied by Jebusites at Luz.
It would be another 300 years before the fortress would be captured by King David. During this long period, without knowing where Luz-Bethel-Jerusalem was in the south, Bethel north of Benjamin became entrenched (or understood to be the site)”
End quote.

This explanation clarifies much. Clearly the original Bethel (Beit-El) ‘House of God’ was where Jacob had his vision and he, as his father Abraham had, called the site, HaMakom—THE PLACE.

Discover more about this ancient and most significant Biblicel site in
'THE PLACE HaMakom: where Jerusalem's temples stood'

Or from Amazon as Paperback or Kindle

HaMakom (THE PLACE) and its meaning in the Bible...

25/7/2019

From an article by
Rabbi Professor Yoel Elitzur (circa 2014)

‘Ha-makom in Genesis
Once we understand the significance of “the place,” we can see that this keyword – ha-makom – is a keyword that is emphasized in the stories of the patriarchs in the book of Genesis as well. It appears in the story of the binding of Isaac and in Jacob’s Bethel narrative. The proof that the prominent role of the word ha-makom in these passages is no coincidence lies in the fact that often, the word is stressed in the Biblical text much more than what would be linguistically reasonable. That is to say, there are several instances in Genesis where the word ha-makom makes it difficult to understand the simple meaning of the verse. The Torah says:

Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran. He came upon that place (ba-makom) and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place (ha-makom), he put it under his head and lay down in that place (ba-makom). (Genesis 28:10-11)
The word appears again shortly thereafter: “Surely the Lord is present in this place (ba-makom)… How awesome is this place (ha-makom)! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven” (28:16-17)’ (end quote)

Discover the secrets of this mysterious and unique place--THE PLACE--in the book...
'THE PLACE HaMakom; where Jerusalem's temples stood'
See details here

ON 'THE SONS OF MEN' IN PSALM 31:19

22/7/2019

‘'Oh how great is your goodness which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men’

Can you see the distinction David makes here between 'those who fear you' (known elsewhere as the sons of God) and, 'the sons of men' (Hebrew benei adam) before whom the blessings and benefits are dispayed?

Throughout the Bible the distinction between the two groups becomes plain: those who choose not to follow Yahweh are known as the benei adam, whilst those who fear and follow Him are distinguished as benei haElohim—the sons of God.

In ‘THE PEOPLE, the sons of God (through the eyes of a Watcher)’ you will see how the distinction is employed and becomes clear throughout your Bible, right into the New Covenant where the term is also used, for example, by Paul when he describes the whole creation as eagerly awaiting the revealing of ‘the sons of God’ (Romans 8:19, Greek ‘huion tou theou’).

Told in stimulating narrative style by Shaqaad, an angelic Watcher, you will travel through our time sojourn as a fellow-observer with Shaqaad (‘The Wakeful One’) gaining a new perspective on God’s redemptive plan to bring many ‘sons’ to glory!

See details and how to purchase at Base Camp page on this site.

Location

Beautiful Newport Beach,
Sydney, AUSTRALIA

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 ....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'.
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.

What readers of THE PEOPLE are saying...
The People is an enthralling and innovative approach, not only to telling old familiar stories but using narrative to portray, in a subtle but powerful way, the truth of good and evil in our world . . . There is good and evil, God and Satan, and in every human relationship/interaction and behavior a choice is to be made. The consequences, for those with the spiritual eyes to see, are clear. It is an exceptional and well written piece of work.” Allan Bull, Macquarie University, Sydney.