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© 2013 John D. Brey.
Zion is the city of David, Bethlehem. Bethlehem is the city
of unleavened bread. Zion is etymologically related to a "dry" or
"parched" place. Messiah is to come from Bethlehem. From a dry
parched place. A place of bread of affliction, dry bread. No leavening.
Poor-man's bread: matzoh.
The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 is associated with a dry place (verse 2). He will rise out of dry ground.
Bethlehem is the city of David. ----- David and Messiah are born in Bethlehem.
The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 is associated with a dry place (verse 2). He will rise out of dry ground.
Bethlehem is the city of David. ----- David and Messiah are born in Bethlehem.
"But
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of
you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from
old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:2). David and Messiah come out of
Bethlehem:
The Lord loveth the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of thee,
O city of God.
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of thee,
O city of God.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me:
Behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia;
This man was born there.
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her:
And the highest himself shall be formed in her.
The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people,
That this man was born there.
Psalm 87:2-6.
David
and Messiah are born and come out of Bethlehem. When the Lord's day comes, He
will point out that David and Messiah were born in the city of dry bread, beit
lehem. They were born in the city of matzoh,
bread of affliction, dry bread, sion bread. Messiah is born without
leaven in the city of unleavened bread. Zion is the city of dry bread; bread
that leaves the oven without leaven or the agent of leavening.
Whereas God can point out that David and Messiah are born in Bethlehem, the city of dry birth, unleavened birth, Nehemiah tells us that Jerusalem boasts the births of the sons of Perez. Perez, who breached the womb ahead of the true firstborn, Zarah, who, Zarah, wore a scarlet ornament on his hand.
Psalm 87:2-6 associates Zion with royal births. David and Messiah are the royalist of the royal births. When God writes up the birth writs of the great He will celebrate the birth of David and David's greater Son, Messiah. Zion is the city of these great births. Zion is David's city. Zion is Messiah's city. Zion is the city of all those who are stained with the crimson ornaments they wear as the passport signifying their residency in the City of God.
Whereas God can point out that David and Messiah are born in Bethlehem, the city of dry birth, unleavened birth, Nehemiah tells us that Jerusalem boasts the births of the sons of Perez. Perez, who breached the womb ahead of the true firstborn, Zarah, who, Zarah, wore a scarlet ornament on his hand.
Psalm 87:2-6 associates Zion with royal births. David and Messiah are the royalist of the royal births. When God writes up the birth writs of the great He will celebrate the birth of David and David's greater Son, Messiah. Zion is the city of these great births. Zion is David's city. Zion is Messiah's city. Zion is the city of all those who are stained with the crimson ornaments they wear as the passport signifying their residency in the City of God.
Micah 5:2 says
that even though Bethlehem might seem insignificant in comparison to other
places where Israel dwells (say Jerusalem), nevertheless Messiah will be born
from Bethlehem. Psalm 87:2-6 expands the idea. We're told that God loves the
gates [sare] of Zion more than all the gates of Jacob (to include
Jerusalem).
In Micah 5:2 it says, "though you are small [sair] . . . out of you will come for me the one who will be ruler over Israel." ------The Hebrew word sair (translated "small") means a younger sibling, someone other than the firstborn; someone considered insignificant or poor. The word translated "dwelling," in Psalm 87:2 is the Hebrew word mishkan "tabernacle." God loves him who will come forth from the gates of Bethlehem more than he who dwells in the Jerusalem tabernacle.
The Lord says He's going to make David a house. The profane interpretation suggests that the Lord is going to make a house for David, a place for David to dwell. ------ But the spiritual interpretation suggests the Lord is going to make David (himself) a house: David, the tabernacle, the ohel mo’ed of the Lord (2 Sam 5:10), will have a seed who will become the House of the Lord.
In 2 Samuel 7 the Lord toys with this idea. He asks David if David should build him a house when he has had a tabernacle all along. The Lord explains that when David dies, from his seed will come the one who will build the Lord a "House" to replace the "tabernacle." It's assumed that this seed is Solomon, and the House is the temple in Jerusalem. But Solomon is born in Jerusalem, and not Bethlehem. And the "house" built in Jerusalem, is built by the king of Tyre (2 Sam. 5:11), who, in Ezekiel, is a type for Satan. The House of Hashem was born in Bethlehem. The Temple of Hashem is in Zion: Heavenly Bethlehem, the New Jerusalem, which will be given a new name that no man knows until it's given from the mouth of Messiah.
In numerous places Zion and Jerusalem are treated as different entities in the same statement. Zion is a spiritual designation overlaying (or overlapping) geography (usually a dry cliff, a mountain, or military fortress), a city (Bethlehem or Jerusalem), God (an anthropomorphism/pathism), and lastly the redeemed or righteous who together make up a "city" or "community," known as "Zion." On this last point it's notable that Zion is said to be taken away to Babylon. Zion is at one point in Babylon.
In Micah 5:2 it says, "though you are small [sair] . . . out of you will come for me the one who will be ruler over Israel." ------The Hebrew word sair (translated "small") means a younger sibling, someone other than the firstborn; someone considered insignificant or poor. The word translated "dwelling," in Psalm 87:2 is the Hebrew word mishkan "tabernacle." God loves him who will come forth from the gates of Bethlehem more than he who dwells in the Jerusalem tabernacle.
The Lord says He's going to make David a house. The profane interpretation suggests that the Lord is going to make a house for David, a place for David to dwell. ------ But the spiritual interpretation suggests the Lord is going to make David (himself) a house: David, the tabernacle, the ohel mo’ed of the Lord (2 Sam 5:10), will have a seed who will become the House of the Lord.
In 2 Samuel 7 the Lord toys with this idea. He asks David if David should build him a house when he has had a tabernacle all along. The Lord explains that when David dies, from his seed will come the one who will build the Lord a "House" to replace the "tabernacle." It's assumed that this seed is Solomon, and the House is the temple in Jerusalem. But Solomon is born in Jerusalem, and not Bethlehem. And the "house" built in Jerusalem, is built by the king of Tyre (2 Sam. 5:11), who, in Ezekiel, is a type for Satan. The House of Hashem was born in Bethlehem. The Temple of Hashem is in Zion: Heavenly Bethlehem, the New Jerusalem, which will be given a new name that no man knows until it's given from the mouth of Messiah.
In numerous places Zion and Jerusalem are treated as different entities in the same statement. Zion is a spiritual designation overlaying (or overlapping) geography (usually a dry cliff, a mountain, or military fortress), a city (Bethlehem or Jerusalem), God (an anthropomorphism/pathism), and lastly the redeemed or righteous who together make up a "city" or "community," known as "Zion." On this last point it's notable that Zion is said to be taken away to Babylon. Zion is at one point in Babylon.
Jerusalem
is overlaid with the spiritual designation "Zion" when David conquers
a military outpost within Jerusalem which is thereafter known as "Mount
Zion." The temple mount is only secondarily associated with the term Zion.
Zion is wherever God's redeemed dwell. It's a spiritual designation applied
only secondarily to a geographical locale assuming God's redeemed dwell there.
David and Messiah are the prototypes of the communities they establishes under
the name "Zion." Zion is wherever David and Messiah dwell and raise
their families.
Jerusalem
is associated with Sodom, and not Zion, when evil men and communities dwell
there. The scripture is clear that Jerusalem at times is far worse than Sodom.
In the New Testament, Sodom is used as a spiritual designation for Jerusalem. .
. Which is to say, if David or Messiah are ruling Jerusalem, it's Zion. If evil
men are ruling Jerusalem, it's Sodom.
"Zion"
designates a person (David and Messiah) and a community associated with
righteousness and righteous leadership (God's fortress on earth). When David
ruled from Jerusalem, Jerusalem was God's fortress on earth: Zion. When Messiah
rules, wherever he rules will be God's fortress on earth: Zion.
From the Hebrew of Micah 5:2 Rashi links Bethlehem to Psalm 118:2:
from you shall
emerge for Me: the Messiah, son of
David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:2): "The stone the builders had
rejected became a cornerstone."
Throughout the Tanakh there's a strange relationship between the City of David's
birth, Bethlehem, and the City of David's rule, Jerusalem. They're both united
as the City of David. The Rock, Zion is
intimately associated with the cities of David --- Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The
stone fortress David conquers in 2 Samuel 5:7 (the first time the City of David
is associated with Jerusalem and Zion) is smack dab between Jerusalem and
Bethlehem.
This fortress was a pagan shrine to virgin fertility, built upon an ugly and lowly rock formation. A pagan temple was erected on the highest point of the Rock and was known as the “Millo”. (David and Solomon both repair the statue after it is destroyed in battle.)
The "stone the builders rejected" is the fortress Rock between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The stone was ugly and lowly and associated with pagan fertility symbols, primarily virgin birth. The builders of both Jerusalem and Bethlehem rejected the Rock fortress with the pagan temple upon it so that it remained just outside the borders of both cities.
When David’s going to conquer the fortress he's laughed at and told that he will have to kill the blind and the lame if he wants to conquer the fortress (apparently the lowest of the low had taken up residence in the fortress). When Jesus is laughed at for claiming that he’s the rightful heir of Jerusalem and Bethlehem he heals the blind and the lame of both cities turning the joke back on the Jebusites.
Zion is the cornerstone of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. It's the cornerstone where the civil and the spiritual are united; where male and female are united; where Jew and Gentile are united.
The point is simply that the
Millo is treated as a residence, with its own residents, who are not directly
associated with the residents of the city: a priesthood. Lamentations 2:10
speaks of the "elders of the daughter of Zion." Again, this can only
be speaking of a priesthood associated with the "virgin daughter of
Zion." “Virgin,” used in the singular, is telling. Who is being spoken of
as the virgin daughter of Zion who has her own "elders"? The virgin
daughter of Zion is obviously not a real daughter who happens to be a virgin.
Etymologically "Millo" is associated with the idea of a supporting structure upon which something is erected. Furthermore "walls" are associated with Zion, and Millo. The Millo seems to be a superstructure upon which two walls come together to form a "house." Psalm 118 anthropomorphizes a particular cornerstone. And the cornerstone of Psalm 118:22 is a mirror image of Psalm 22, and Deutero-Isaiah's Suffering Servant . . . Zion.
This fortress was a pagan shrine to virgin fertility, built upon an ugly and lowly rock formation. A pagan temple was erected on the highest point of the Rock and was known as the “Millo”. (David and Solomon both repair the statue after it is destroyed in battle.)
The "stone the builders rejected" is the fortress Rock between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The stone was ugly and lowly and associated with pagan fertility symbols, primarily virgin birth. The builders of both Jerusalem and Bethlehem rejected the Rock fortress with the pagan temple upon it so that it remained just outside the borders of both cities.
When David’s going to conquer the fortress he's laughed at and told that he will have to kill the blind and the lame if he wants to conquer the fortress (apparently the lowest of the low had taken up residence in the fortress). When Jesus is laughed at for claiming that he’s the rightful heir of Jerusalem and Bethlehem he heals the blind and the lame of both cities turning the joke back on the Jebusites.
Zion is the cornerstone of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. It's the cornerstone where the civil and the spiritual are united; where male and female are united; where Jew and Gentile are united.
Zion is the cornerstone between Jerusalem and
Bethlehem. It was refused by the city planners of Jerusalem and Bethlehem
because it was an ugly stone. It had no beauty or majesty to attract Jews to
it. Nothing in its appearance to be desired. So it was despised and rejected by
men. A place of sorrow, a place familiar with battle and suffering; an ugly
fortress men hid their faces from looking at.
But the Millo the builders refused has become the chief cornerstone. The tabernacle erected on that stone, the Millo, the tabernacle the builders refused, has now become the Foundation stone that unites Judaism and Christianity in one Person forever.
But the Millo the builders refused has become the chief cornerstone. The tabernacle erected on that stone, the Millo, the tabernacle the builders refused, has now become the Foundation stone that unites Judaism and Christianity in one Person forever.
Etymologically speaking
"Millo" might be related to the concept of a "cornerstone"
a firm foundation upon which a temple can be constructed. But the scripture is
clear that there was a temple associated with that firm foundation. And that
temple is the Zion temple. And that temple is a virgin. And that virgin left
Bethlehem because there was no room in the inn, and wandered outside the legal
precincts of the city of Bethlehem, up a road to a Roman garrison where she
gave birth to a virgin born savior right on the very ground, the very Millo,
where a temple once stood. A temple David loved and protected. A temple Solomon
loved and protected. A mysterious temple whose existence has been hidden away
in the text long enough for the archetype of the temple to be erected in the
heavenly realm, the temple of the true Zion, only signified by the Millo on
that stony fortress.
Judges 9:6-46 speaks of the
"House of Millo." ----- This House of Millo is associated with the
temple of Baal-berith, and some sort of "monument or memorial"
stone. Likewise the men of Shechem are distinct from "all of the house of
Millo." Which is to say we have two different peoples in the verse. We
also have a memorial stone and a tower-fortress which are all separate from the
Millo.
The commentaries try to
connect the "Millo" with the fortress. But the fortress-tower is
clearly distinct from the Millo, and the Millo is distinctly called a
"house" בית מלוא. It has persons associated with it -- priests ---
who are not associated with the residents of Shechem. 2 Samuel says that David
dwelt in the "fort" (the fortress-tower) and build round about from
Millo and inward. Millo is again distinct from the fortress-tower.
1 Kings 9:15 says Solomon
raised a levy to build the house of the Lord, his own house, and the Millo.
Again, the Millo is treated in association with the house of Solomon, as it was
treated in association with the house of David on Zion.
Etymologically "Millo" is associated with the idea of a supporting structure upon which something is erected. Furthermore "walls" are associated with Zion, and Millo. The Millo seems to be a superstructure upon which two walls come together to form a "house." Psalm 118 anthropomorphizes a particular cornerstone. And the cornerstone of Psalm 118:22 is a mirror image of Psalm 22, and Deutero-Isaiah's Suffering Servant . . . Zion.
This particular Stone of Zion, is hated
and rejected of men. He's Suffering the thorny-scorn (118:12) and wrath of men.
But he triumphs over them to become the chief cornerstone of God's salvation:
Out
of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
10 All nations surrounded me . . .
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they blazed like a fire of thorns . . .
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it. . .
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
10 All nations surrounded me . . .
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they blazed like a fire of thorns . . .
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it. . .
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
Jesus' crucifixion is picture-perfectly described in Psalm 22, Psalm 118, and Deutero-Isaiah. He's the cornerstone that connects the temple of Zion and the temple of Jerusalem: Israel and the Church. He's the Rock the builders rejected who has become the chief cornerstone: Millo.
Jewish cosmology speaks of a particular Stone (which
was rejected by the builders, Psalm 118:22) but which has become the chief
cornerstone. According to Jewish sensibilities this stone is created before the
world, before creation, as the first creation of God. Zion emanates from this stone,
and then the world emanates from Zion.
Sophia, Wisdom, is an incarnation of this Rock, or Stone. In both Christian and Jewish theology, Zion is both the Stone, and the place where this Stone, or Rock, resides.
The Jewish mystics often speak of a heavenly Israel and a heavenly Jerusalem represented on earth by the terrestrial city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel. Zion is typically the spiritual or heavenly Jerusalem, while Jerusalem is the terrestrial Zion. When David conquered the Rock known as Zion, he established his kingdom on the very Stone the builders of Jerusalem had rejected.
Sophia, Wisdom, is an incarnation of this Rock, or Stone. In both Christian and Jewish theology, Zion is both the Stone, and the place where this Stone, or Rock, resides.
The Jewish mystics often speak of a heavenly Israel and a heavenly Jerusalem represented on earth by the terrestrial city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel. Zion is typically the spiritual or heavenly Jerusalem, while Jerusalem is the terrestrial Zion. When David conquered the Rock known as Zion, he established his kingdom on the very Stone the builders of Jerusalem had rejected.
Zion is the Rock upon which the spiritual temple of God, the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city, will be constructed.
A young virgin Jewess and her betrothed
husband were traveling through Bethlehem when she unexpectedly went into labor.
Since all the inns of the city were full (from Passover celebrations) and the
couple were strangers in the city, they wandered outside of the city walls,
down a path toward a Roman garrison where they saw light in a manger.
Having nowhere else to go they entered this structure in order to deliver her child.
As fate would have it this particular structure was erected in the very spot that the Millo of David's day had stood. Which is to say on the Rock from whence the temple and then the world emanated (Colossians 1:15). A male child was born of a virgin, on the Millo, signifying that the Rock on Mt. Zion is a stone manifestation of this male child, and not vice versa. The foundation of the world was born on the foundation of the world.
The child grew in Wisdom and Grace and in time was rejected by the builders of Jerusalem and her temple. When they looked on this Rock he had no beauty or majesty to attract them to him. Nothing in his appearance that they should desire him. And he was clearly poor, despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrow, familiar with suffering, a spiritual leper as it were.
The rulers of the city eventually brought this virgin born Rock --- born on the Rock of Zion --- before their Roman masters to be tried for allegedly fomenting a revolt. According to Roman legal code a criminal should be executed at the scene of the crime. So the rulers of the city of Jerusalem put their heads together to decide where his greatest crime had been committed. They had the Roman's strap a cross to his back and pointed southeast toward a Roman garrison on a Rock between Jerusalem and Bethlehem: "There . . . right there . . . on that Rock . . . that's where his greatest crime was committed. That's where he came into this world."
Having nowhere else to go they entered this structure in order to deliver her child.
As fate would have it this particular structure was erected in the very spot that the Millo of David's day had stood. Which is to say on the Rock from whence the temple and then the world emanated (Colossians 1:15). A male child was born of a virgin, on the Millo, signifying that the Rock on Mt. Zion is a stone manifestation of this male child, and not vice versa. The foundation of the world was born on the foundation of the world.
The child grew in Wisdom and Grace and in time was rejected by the builders of Jerusalem and her temple. When they looked on this Rock he had no beauty or majesty to attract them to him. Nothing in his appearance that they should desire him. And he was clearly poor, despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrow, familiar with suffering, a spiritual leper as it were.
The rulers of the city eventually brought this virgin born Rock --- born on the Rock of Zion --- before their Roman masters to be tried for allegedly fomenting a revolt. According to Roman legal code a criminal should be executed at the scene of the crime. So the rulers of the city of Jerusalem put their heads together to decide where his greatest crime had been committed. They had the Roman's strap a cross to his back and pointed southeast toward a Roman garrison on a Rock between Jerusalem and Bethlehem: "There . . . right there . . . on that Rock . . . that's where his greatest crime was committed. That's where he came into this world."
